America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - HP introduces "Bill Me Later" ticketing option

Just strolling through the HP website tonight and I ran across their latest feature.

Bill Me Later (http://www.americawest.com/specials/sp_billmelater.htm?c=8474BMLAWAHOMELINK)

Ooooooh how convenient! :D ^

As a sort of a warning - the Bill Me Later service has its drawbacks. They do not have a way to pay online - you can only pay by sending them your payment - and they are very vigilant about collecting their late fees if your payment doesn't make it to them by the deadline date.

For those of us who only make their payments online, it's a tough thing to get used to again. ;)

Mike

That is a nice innovation! Way to go HP. ^

I dont know about this... it looks like they will look into your credit report to check your credit worthiness.... do you really want a credit inquiry on your credit report every time you want to purchase an airline ticket??

I dont know about this... it looks like they will look into your credit report to check your credit worthiness.... do you really want a credit inquiry on your credit report every time you want to purchase an airline ticket??

This is basically one of those "Buy your sofa now, don't pay until 2007" deals. In this case, if you don't pay within the 90 days, the 18% interest starts, which is obviously what they're banking on. It has a "payday loan" kind of feel to it.

I suppose if someone got sick or died, or some other last minute trip came up, it could be a way for people to defer the payment of an expensive airline ticket for 3 months. So that could be helpful for some -- assuming they can qualify for the credit.

Seems like a pretty nominal benefit for most, but if you were in a situation where it was your only option, it would be huge.

Granted it is a good deal if you make sure you pay it per the terms of the agreement.

However here is a situation that would not be favorable. Let's say Great Plaines Airlines had a system like this before they went into bankruptcy and ceased flying. When they went under they ceased operations, and maybe you could use the ticket on another airline, maybe you couldn't. The farther out your ticket was the less likely you were able to use it on another airline.

Now had you purchased a ticket for Thanksgiving, and Great Plaines stopped flying prior to Thanskgiving but you purchased it using the 90 days same as cash from this other entity, Bill Me Later you probably lose any right you would have had to contest the charge because you did not purchase it directly from the airline. You just now have a claim in their bankruptcy.

Also now since you are using a middle man if something happened to them and they went out of business would your ticket still be good? What if the airline had a schedule reduction, or for some other reason had to cancel your flight and you decided to get a refund. We all know how long refunds take to process on credit cards, so now would you have to wait to get the refund from the Bill Me Later people if you had already paid for the ticket?

I had an issue years ago with a travel agency who went out of business after I bought a cruise from them. Since they had never bought the cruise I was out of luck and had to try to get my money back from the agent, which was difficult to put it mildly.

So it is a good idea, and when things are all going well a good way to get 90 days float on a large airline ticket. I use those 90 days same as cash on furniture, and when I buy stuff at Best Buy, as I walk out of the store with the product, but for a service in the future I want to make sure I know all the parties involved. I would be a bit more comfortable with the plan if the airline was actually running the 90 days same as cash program, rather than contracting it out.

I'm sure they are planning on a lot of people missing the payment deadline, or being in a cash flow crunch at some point during the 90 days so they can collect the 24% or whatever interest on the late payments. Some people don't have any other option.

I would just make sure I did all my homework before I signed a promissary note to a company so that I could get 90 days float on an airline ticket. It could be a great deal, or there could be some pitfalls in the transaction.

so ive been thinking about trying this new thing out...poor college kid has to take a trip to california in a few weeks

i was wondering...how long does it take for them to "approve" you? and if it takes more than just a few minutes, does it still reflect the fare at the time you started the transaction? i know you pay via snail mail, but how do you know if they dont approve you...any experiences?

so i held my breath and tried it...but nothing. i got an error message???