High Earners Make Card Installments a Pay-Later Power Tool

Pay later is no longer a niche solution for cash-strapped consumers, as high earners increasingly use credit card installment plans to manage spending with precision and control.

New PYMNTS Intelligence research shows that affluent consumers are not just participating in the Pay Later ecosystem but shaping it, too.

While buy now, pay later (BNPL) remains part of the mix, credit card installment plans are gaining momentum among higher-income users who already have access to traditional credit and are choosing structured payments for strategic reasons.

Travel Spending Offers a Clear Snapshot

Travel provides a concentrated view of how consumers deploy pay-later options because it combines high ticket sizes with predictable timing. During the summer travel season, the use of credit card installment plans surged, rising 46% compared with spring levels. More than one-quarter of consumers who booked travel paid using card installments, underscoring how installment options tied to existing cards have become central to financing discretionary spending.

BNPL, by contrast, played a smaller role in travel purchases. Just 8% of consumers who paid for travel used BNPL, highlighting that for larger, planned expenses, consumers often prefer to rely on established credit relationships rather than point-of-sale financing.

What the Travel Data Reveal

The travel data do not suggest that consumers are abandoning BNPL. Instead, they show that card installments and BNPL serve different roles within the pay-later ecosystem. Card installments appeal to consumers who want to spread payments while continuing to earn loyalty points or cash back, a feature that is particularly attractive to higher earners.

High Earners Lead Adoption of Card Installments

Income is one of the strongest predictors of pay later usage. Consumers earning more than $100,000 per year are 57% more likely to use credit card installment plans than those earning less than $50,000. This makes high earners the largest and most consistent users of card installments across spending categories.

Importantly, this adoption is not driven by financial strain. The report finds that higher-income consumers use installment plans to stay flexible, manage cash flow and align purchases with monthly budgeting preferences. Card installments allow them to do so without opening new credit lines or sacrificing rewards.

Card Installments Beyond Travel

High earners use card installments for discretionary retail purchases to spread costs without tapping savings.

They apply installments to home services and experiences to align payments with household cash flow.

Card installments support mixed baskets of essentials and discretionary spending under one account.

Affluent users favor installments for predictable budgeting rather than emergency financing.

Loyalty points and cash-back incentives reinforce card installments as a preferred pay-later option.

A Strategic Payment Choice

Across the pay-later landscape, the rise of card installment plans among high earners signals a shift in how credit is used. Rather than replacing credit cards or BNPL, installments extend the utility of existing cards by adding structure and predictability to spending.

For merchants, issuers and pay-later providers, the implication is clear. The growth of card installments is being fueled not by financial stress, but by affluent consumers who view installment payments as a tool for optimization. As pay-later options continue to evolve, high earners are setting the pace by choosing installment plans that combine flexibility, rewards and control.