Tern gives you flexible tools to split trip payments in the way that works best for your clients, whether that’s across multiple cards or among multiple travelers. This guide walks through the most common ways to handle split payments during the credit card authorization process.
Split Payments Across Multiple Cards
Sometimes a single traveler wants to pay for different trip components using different credit cards. Here’s how to handle that in Tern:
Add each booking separately on the trip (e.g., hotel and transfer).
Once both are fully filled out and ready for authorization, they’ll appear on the Authorization tab.
When your client goes through the payment flow:
They can skip any booking they don’t want to authorize yet.
For example, they can authorize the hotel booking with Card A, and come back later to authorize the transfer with Card B.
This is the simplest way to split payments by card—no special configuration needed.
Splitting supplier payments between guests (Group Trips):
When each guest pays their own suppliers directly, place each booking on the sub-trip of the guest responsible for that payment. Each sub-trip has its own authorization flow, so guests only see and authorize the bookings assigned to their sub-trip. Do not use packages for this scenario — packages are for bundling items under a single merchant payment.
Let Travelers Choose Their Own Payment Splits
If multiple travelers are sharing a booking (like a hotel), but you don’t know who will pay what, you can enable partial payments:
Open the booking (e.g., lodging) and go to the Pricing tab.
Toggle Allow partial payments on.
When each traveler goes through the authorization flow:
They’ll see the Adjust Amount option.
They can choose the amount they’d like to pay (e.g., $500 of a $2,000 hotel).
Remaining travelers will only see the outstanding balance when they authorize.
This is ideal for travelers who want to self-organize their contributions without upfront coordination.
What if a traveler accidentally authorizes the full amount?
If partial payments is enabled but a traveler authorizes the full balance instead of just their share, the remaining balance will show as $0. Other travelers will no longer see a pending authorization request, because Tern treats the full amount as already covered.
Unfortunately, this can't be undone automatically. Here are your options:
Option 1: Collect the second traveler's share outside of Tern
Keep the first authorization on file as a record. Collect the second traveler's payment outside of Tern (e.g., via your own payment processor). This is the quickest path forward if you need to move on.
Option 2: Void the authorization and restart with packages
If you need both authorizations recorded inside Tern:
1. Void or delete the existing authorization
2. Set the original booking price to $0
3. Create a separate package for each traveler, priced at their individual share
4. Republish the trip so each traveler can authorize their own package
This gives each traveler a distinct line item to authorize, with clear pricing — and keeps everything inside Tern.
Split Known Amounts Between Travelers
If you know how much each traveler is responsible for, the clearest option is to assign prices via packages, not within the booking itself.
Set the booking price (e.g., hotel) to $0 in the main itinerary.
Create a package for each traveler:
One for Brad, priced at $1,000
One for David, priced at $1,000
These packages will appear as separate line items in the Authorization tab.
Each traveler can skip the other’s package and authorize only their portion.
This method is especially helpful when you want:
Clear pricing breakdowns
Easier traveler experience
Distinct reporting on who paid for what
Note: The pricing breakdown for the client will reflect their individual package(s), even though the main itinerary item (e.g., lodging) shows $0.
Commission tracking: for accurately tracking commission using this option, we recommend marking both packages as booked so they show up in agency sales. Then put in the full expected commission amount on one booking and marking the other as not commissionable.
Use Installments
If you prefer to keep pricing on a single booking but still want to break it into separate payments, you can use installments.
Go to the booking’s Pricing tab and create multiple installments (e.g., two $1,000 payments).
Each installment will show up as a separate item in the Authorization tab.
Travelers can each authorize one installment.
Keep in mind:
Installments are not labeled by traveler
This option works best when payment amounts are even and require minimal explanation.
Exclude a Booking from Authorization
When a trip has multiple bookings but only one needs authorization right now - for example, a new hotel night added after the original booking was already authorized - you can remove the other booking from the traveler's authorization form entirely.
Open the booking you want to exclude and go to Booking & Pricing
In the Expected Payments section, click the three-dot menu on the payment you want to hide
Select Exclude from authorization
The excluded payment won't appear on the traveler's authorization form and won't be included in the total amount shown. Your traveler sees only what they need to authorize.
To restore the payment later, open the same three-dot menu and select Include in authorization.
When to use this instead of Skip Item: Skip Item is a button the traveler clicks during authorization to defer a payment - the traveler still sees the item and the total includes it. Exclude from authorization is an advisor-side toggle that removes the payment before the form loads - the traveler never sees it. Use Exclude when you don't want your client to see or interact with a specific payment at all.
What if someone who isn't traveling wants to pay?
Payments in Tern can only be made or authorized by people on the trip — the advisor (trip owner) or a traveler. Someone who isn't listed as a traveler can't authorize the trip or be assigned a payment, even when they're paying on behalf of the travelers.
If a parent, partner, or other third party is footing the bill, here's the workaround:
Set the item or trip pricing to the full total (not per person), so the amount reflects the whole cost in one place.
Keep a traveler's name on the item so it's clear who the trip is for and who authorizes it.
Have that traveler authorize the payment in Tern, then settle up with the non-traveler outside of Tern. This keeps the authorization with someone who's actually on the trip while still letting the third party cover the cost.
Summary
Scenario | Best Approach |
One traveler, multiple cards | Use “Skip Item” during authorization |
Multiple travelers, unknown splits | Enable partial payments |
Multiple travelers, known splits | Use packages |
Split payments, but keep booking unified | Use installments |
One booking needs authorization, another does not | Exclude from authorization |
Each method helps you tailor the payment experience to your clients’ preferences.