Airfordable

jburd · Aug 25, 2016

I just used Airfordable for the first time to buy plane tickets, (for a non-Disney trip), and I wanted to mention that it was a great experience for me. You make payments on your plane tickets. They do charge a service fee, (mine was 20%), but do not charge interest, run a credit check, or require a credit card. I bought tickets for $1570 total, with $479 down, and $479 for 3 monthly payments after. They have both monthly and bi-weekly payment plans. Very straightforward, friendly folks, they get back to you quickly when you ask questions. I will definitely use this again.

I didn't actually need to use it at this time, but was talking about the company with friends, and everyone seemed interested but leery. I had a trip coming up, so I decided to give them a try and report back. I was very pleasantly surprised!

msmayor · Aug 25, 2016

I noticed in an article that you can purchase flights from as far as 11 months away to no more than two months away. Honestly, at a 20% fee, that's steep. You'd be better off using a lower interest credit card and paying it off monthly (with the same time constraints)...because effectively you're paying 20% interest. It also said that you don't get the confirmation of the flight's booking until after its paid in full. Not sure I'd be comfortable with that.

jburd · Aug 25, 2016

msmayor said:
I noticed in an article that you can purchase flights from as far as 11 months away to no more than two months away. Honestly, at a 20% fee, that's steep. You'd be better off using a lower interest credit card and paying it off monthly (with the same time constraints)...because effectively you're paying 20% interest. It also said that you don't get the confirmation of the flight's booking until after its paid in full. Not sure I'd be comfortable with that.

Well, all of that is true, but I was thinking of people who perhaps don't have credit cards for whatever reason, or have even higher interest cards. I was worried about not getting the booking until final payment, so I was on pins and needles until I got my confirmation today. Everything went well. I could see where this could be very helpful for some! :sunny:

sam_gordon · Aug 26, 2016

jburd said:
I just used Airfordable for the first time to buy plane tickets, (for a non-Disney trip), and I wanted to mention that it was a great experience for me. You make payments on your plane tickets. They do charge a service fee, (mine was 20%), but do not charge interest, run a credit check, or require a credit card. I bought tickets for $1570 total, with $479 down, and $479 for 3 monthly payments after. They have both monthly and bi-weekly payment plans. Very straightforward, friendly folks, they get back to you quickly when you ask questions. I will definitely use this again.

I didn't actually need to use it at this time, but was talking about the company with friends, and everyone seemed interested but leery. I had a trip coming up, so I decided to give them a try and report back. I was very pleasantly surprised!

That math doesn't add up. $479 + 3 payments of $479 = $1916. If the base tickets were $1570, that's a 22% increase. Or did you round down?

Sorry, that's just too steep an increase IMO.

jburd · Aug 26, 2016

sam_gordon said:
That math doesn't add up. $479 + 3 payments of $479 = $1916. If the base tickets were $1570, that's a 22% increase. Or did you round down?

Sorry, that's just too steep an increase IMO.

I did round off the ticket amount. It was 1570-something. Don't have the amount right in front of me right now. I think this is a program that is certainly not for everyone. But there are people who can benefit from having the option to do it this way. I have a friend with one credit card with a 300 dollar limit, who wants a 600 dollar plane ticket, and she will be using it.

OrangeCountyCommuter · Aug 26, 2016

Just a note... I just went to their website. Nowhere on there is there anything about escrow, insurance or their membership in TA associations that help protect travelers in the event of an agency bankruptcy.

DanInMN · Aug 26, 2016

20% for 3 months is more than 80% annually, which is insane at a time when mortgages are 3%.

This firm is taking advantage of people least able to afford it.

msmayor · Aug 27, 2016

I read in one article about the service that the deposit is non-refundable and that in the event the purchaser decides to cancel the purchase, only 'some' of the payments will be held as a credit for a future purchase. That implies that the first payment goes towards the 20% fee and not the actual cost of the ticket. I would imagine then that when whatever left in credit form is used to purchase a future ticket, there's ANOTHER 20% fee tacked on.

I get that it may help people with poor credit purchase needed airfare, but in my opinion they would be better off purchasing a Visa or Amex gift card and setting it aside to ultimately pay for those plane tickets. If someone with poor credit or the need to use 'layaway' to pay for airfare has to cancel their plans, it could very well be because they NEED that money for something else. Having the funds set aside in gift card form at least means the money is in their hands to use elsewhere, and not tied up forever to cover airfare in the future.

pooch · Aug 27, 2016

I'm with the majority here. Sounds like rent-a-centers, a low weekly payment that ends up costing twice what you'd pay if you bought it! If you are forced to buy an airline ticket this way, I might seriously reconsider the flight.
And I can't imagine spending an extra 20% just to try this out.

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