Travel financing innovator UpLift announced that it expanded its lending capacity to $200m and closed financings of $90m, as the UpLift Pay Monthly solution gains rapid adoption across the travel industry. UpLift’s $75mm credit facility is in partnership with funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC. The $15mm equity round includes participation from previous investors including PAR Capital with Draper Nexus, Highgate Ventures, and former Expedia CEO Erik Blachford joining the round. UpLift Pay Monthly is now available to travelers booking with American Airlines Vacations and soon, Vacation Express and Lufthansa German Airlines. They join previously announced partners as UpLift continues to expand across the travel industry.
UpLift is the only financing solution 100% focused on the travel industry, delivering suppliers increased booking values, booking windows and ancillary sales while helping make travel more affordable for travelers.
Founder and CEO Brian Barth said, “There is an acute need for travel-specific solutions that make consumer travel more affordable, accessible and rewarding, while providing upside revenue opportunities for suppliers without any operational impact. The technologists that created meta-search have created UpLift Pay Monthly, the only solution that provides fixed monthly payments at low interest rates and also allows consumers to pay with their favorite co-branded credit cards, earning points and miles. The capital events announced today allow us continue to scale and accelerate our solution across travel categories and worldwide.”
UpLift Pay Monthly helps travel providers build top line revenue and increase conversion by providing consumers with simple to understand monthly payments integrated in the booking process. The solution enables payment over time for travel globally, giving consumers more choice and flexibility in booking, supporting all channels and payment paths in a highly secure, easy to integrate environment.
Eric Blachford said, “UpLift's solution benefits both travelers and the world’s biggest travel brands. I’m excited to participate in an innovation that is changing the way consumers book and pay for travel, allowing them to maximize and enjoy travel experiences as they never have before."
In addition to the newly announced partners, the company’s UpLift Pay Monthly Solution is available on the vacation sites of United Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and many more.
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