Mahi Sall, Advisor, Fintech-Bank Partnerships, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
January 25th, 2023
When most people think of buying tickets for a flight, or making other travel-related purchases, they might reach into their wallet for their credit card. But did you know you might be able to pay with a form of digital cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a type of digital cryptocurrency that serves the same function as traditional currency, like US dollars. The main difference is that Bitcoin is not tied to any central bank, and is not regulated by a government body, thus offering a degree of anonymity to users.
The process for paying with Bitcoin is very similar to paying with a credit or debit card. If you’re purchasing online, you’ll simply select Bitcoin as your method of payment. You’ll then be redirected to a site like Coinbase, where you’ll follow the instructions to complete payment.
We’ll go through which travel sites accept Bitcoin, best practices when dealing with cryptocurrency, and some pros and cons of using digital currency to help you decide if it’s the right method of payment for you!
Although Bitcoin has not yet gone back to its 2017 levels (at one point it had increased over 1,800% in value during the year), it has recently been back on the rise. It’s still not as widely accepted at many retailers though, and it had a minor setback recently, with Expedia removing the ability to pay with Bitcoin from its website.
But there are still a number of other places that accept Bitcoin as a form of payment!
If you’re looking for alternative travel agencies to book flights, hotels, or car rentals, there are several options you’ll have:
You can book tickets directly with a few airlines that accept Bitcoin as payment:
With the run that Bitcoin had in increase in value last year, reaching a value of as much as over $17,000+ for 1 Bitcoin, you might have a lot of questions about how you can invest and pay using this cryptocurrency! So here are a few tips to keep in mind!
Many major banks no longer allow you to purchase cryptocurrencies with their credit cards, but fortunately there are still plenty of other options. You can still use debit cards, regular ACH transfers, and peer to peer platforms such as PayPal to purchase Bitcoin. Each has their own pros and cons in terms of how quickly the transfer can be made, size of the transfer/purchase, and any applicable fees.
You’ll also want to ask yourself what your investment goals are. For instance, are you looking to hold Bitcoin as a long-term investment, or are you looking for short-term gains?
With something as volatile as Bitcoin, which could fluctuate wildly in value, you won’t want to invest anything you can’t afford to lose. Regardless of the amount of hype, there’s never any guarantee of a positive return on this, or any investment. Along these same lines, borrowing money to invest in Bitcoin could spell disaster for you, because not only is there no guaranteed return, you could actually end up losing money this way and still have to pay back the monies you originally borrowed.
You’ll also need to do your research and choose trusted wallets to store your cryptocurrency. These wallets come in different hardware and software forms, such as apps on your phone, software on your computer, online storage, and physical hardware devices, similar to a USB thumb drive. Make sure the company you’ll be storing your valuable Bitcoin with is reputable, and not something that will disappear overnight.
The same advice applies for when you are paying with Bitcoin and paying through a travel portal, for instance. Doing a quick online search to see if a website is legitimate may save you a lot of headache in the future. If you’re able to find a good number of positive reviews from others, then chances are it’s legitimate. But if you’re not able to find any information on the website, then you should proceed with caution!
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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