FreedomPay Announces Commerce Technology Innovation Deal with Marriott International
With the newly upgraded Marriott Bonvoy Bold credit card, Marriott and Chase have introduced a new category, “Travel Now, Pay Later.” Inspired by the increasingly popular buy now, pay later plans, Chase and Marriott are allowing cardmembers to pay for eligible travel purchases in equal monthly installments with no interest or plan fees.
Cardmembers can travel now and pay later on purchases ranging from $100 to $5,000 directly with airlines or participating hotels in Marriott Bonvoy, and members earn the usual points on these purchases, though Marriott also warns in the fine print that access to this plan isn’t guaranteed for all cardholders.
That highlights a potential problem with Marriott’s plan. A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report last year found that about 43% of respondents who used BNPL services had insufficient funds in their bank accounts within the past 12 months. The study also found that BNPL borrowers have lower average credit scores than consumers who didn’t borrow through BNPL. Borrowers with shaky credit histories seem like the types of people Marriott would likely reject if they applied for its travel now, pay later plan.
Bonus for Chase
The deal is at least as beneficial for Chase as it is for Marriott, said Ben Danner, senior credit and commercial analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research.
“Chase appears to be positioning this card as an entry point into their very popular Marriott Bonvoy program,” Danner says. “Chase’s addition of the ‘Pay Over Time’ feature to the Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card is a great way to attract a younger demographic of customers who may be using BNPL for travel. Chase is also allowing customers to earn points on their spending, even when using the Pay Over Time feature, which is a nice bonus.”
Marriott has been bringing in more prominent partners to its employee benefits plans recently: Last month, the hotel chain announced a partnership with Starbucks, allowing travelers to earn both Starbucks Stars and Marriott Bonvoy points. In the second quarter of 2024, Starbucks Rewards membership in the U.S. reached nearly 33 million members within 90 days, up 6% year over year.
