Qantas Offering Fly To Bali Now And Pay Later Option

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Australia’s flagship airline, Qantas, has announced a new partnership with buy now, pay later operator Zip. The partnership will allow Qantas members to book and fly to destinations like Bali while they pay in instalments at a pace that suits them. 

Zip is a leading financial service provider that specialise in buy now pay later services. They operate globally and the new partnership with Qantas is hoped to help boost the reopening of the airline industry from the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only will Qantas customers be able to book international flights to destinations like Bali through the buy now pay later scheme, but they will also be able to book domestic flights and rack up Frequent Flyer points. 

Flyers can either bank frequent flyer points with Qantas or they can convert points from their flights to Zip Rewards that can be used across their everyday purchases. As the world reopens from Covid-related lockdowns travelers can expect to see an increase in partnerships like this that support jet setters in getting back into the skies, especially to popular destinations like Bali.

The CEO of Qantas Loyalty, Olivia Wirth, speaking to business news reporters said that “After two years of restricted travel Australians are making up for lost time. Domestic travel is back at pre-Covid levels while international travel is building back strongly to destinations like the US, Europe, Bali, and Fiji..we know that financial services are one of the most popular ways to earn points. Being able to earn points on buy now, pay later purchases through Zip Rewards…is something that will appeal to many of our members.”

The fly now pay later program will offer travelers the chance to soak up some winter sun and not break the bank. Though Zip and Qantas are clear that this program does incur some interest rates and fees. They have prioritized the of minimizing costs for their travelers and it seems that the offer has been well received by their flyers.

During the announcement of the new partnership, the companies shared how their research has shown that travelers are more likely to travel in the next 12-months if they have a fly now pay later offer available. Research conducted by Zip also showed that 75% of their customers are planning to travel internationally in the next 12-months.

Qantas Airlines currently flies from Sydney to Bali on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, with flights returning to Sydney on the same schedule. Qantas’ Melbourne-Bali route operates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Qantas is also the parent airline for the budget operator JetStar, which operates a short-haul Darwin-Bali schedule on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. These routes are almost back to their pre-pandemic schedule. 

As the Australian winter holidays approach bookings are increasing for flights from Australia’s key cities to Bali. Search engines are seeing a soar in interest in searches for hotels in Bali from prospective Australian travelers. This week Bali confirmed a 1000% increase in international arrivals in the first quarter of 2022.

This was primarily due to the reopening of borders in February, and the reintroduction of Indonesia’s visa on arrival program. Speaking at a press conference on the 17th of May, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced that he was scrapping the pre-arrival PCR test for vaccinated international arrivals. He also relaxed the mask mandates allowing people to be in outdoor public settings mask-free.

Qantas’ fly now pay later scheme will make it possible for thousands of Australian travelers to visit Bali earlier than their budgets may have initially allowed. This scheme is not only designed for budget travelers. These schemes are ideal for digital nomads and ex-pats who want to strategically manage their cash flow and get their feet firmly back on the shores of the Islands of the Gods as soon as possible.