You can learn a lot about people from their travel habits generally and their attitudes toward summer travel in particular. After all, summer travel can be especially trying, on both our patience and our wallets.
To get a better sense of how U.S. consumers are feeling about their ability to get away heading into the most expensive time of the year, WalletHub conducted a nationally representative online survey. You can find the results in the following infographic.
Ask the Experts
- Do you have any tips for the 32% of WalletHub survey respondents who say they’re scared to fly this summer because of the Boeing airplane issues?
- Does it surprise you that roughly 1 in 5 people (19%) say they would skip a credit card payment before they’d skip a vacation? Do you have any advice for people faced with such a tradeoff?
- What are the 29% of people who say travel usually gets them into debt doing wrong?
- Does it surprise you that people are over two times more likely to worry about money than terrorism when traveling?
- What advice would you give the 46% of people who say they think about post-vacation credit card bills while on vacation?
Ask the Experts
- Abraham Pizam
Linda Chaplin Eminent Scholar Chair in Tourism Management, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida
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- Stephen Barth
Founder of The Global Travel Risk Summit, Professor of Law and Leadership , University of Houston
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- Russ McCullough
Ph.D. – Wayne Angell Chair of Economics, Angell Snyder School of Business, Founder/Director, Gwartney Institute, Ottawa University
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- Simon Hudson
Ph.D. – Director and Endowed Chair, Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development, College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia
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- Audrey Guskey
Ph.D. – Professor, Palumbo Donahue School of Business, Duquesne University
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- Thomas P. Sweeney
Ph.D. – Assistant Professor of Recreation & Tourism Management, Georgia Southern University
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More Experts
Full Details Overall
| What do you worry about when traveling? (Select all that apply) | |
|---|---|
| Weather | 53% |
| Money | 49% |
| Delays | 49% |
| Theft | 39% |
| Illness | 36% |
| Terrorism | 23% |
| Sleep | 22% |
| Which are you more likely to do? | |
| Skip a vacation | 81% |
| Skip a credit card payment | 19% |
| Do you think about post-vacation credit card bills during your vacation? | |
| No | 54% |
| Yes | 46% |
| How likely are you to apply for a new credit card before a vacation? | |
| Very Unlikely | 56% |
| Not Likely | 33% |
| Likely | 6% |
| Very Likely | 5% |
| Have you ever used credit card rewards to pay for at least part of a vacation? | |
| No | 58% |
| Yes | 42% |
| Do you save up for summer vacations in advance? | |
| Yes | 65% |
| No | 35% |
| What would you do for a free summer vacation? (Select all that apply) | |
| Stop drinking coffee for a year | 53% |
| Work weekends during the winter | 51% |
| Stop dining out for a year | 43% |
| Does travel usually get you into debt? | |
| No | 71% |
| Yes | 29% |
| Which, if any, credit card benefits have you used? (Select all that apply) | |
| None | 53% |
| Rental car insurance | 27% |
| Trip delay/cancellation insurance | 16% |
| Travel accident insurance | 15% |
| Price protection | 13% |
| Return protection | 12% |
| How difficult is it to take advantage of these benefits offered by credit cards? | |
| OK | 54% |
| Hard | 29% |
| Easy | 17% |
| Will you buy insurance from the rental agency or use your credit card’s coverage? | |
| Use credit card’s coverage | 57% |
| Buy insurance from the rental agency | 43% |
| What’s the most important feature when applying for a rewards card? | |
| Everyday rewards | 44% |
| Annual fee | 43% |
| Initial bonus | 8% |
| Foreign fee | 5% |
| Which type of credit card are you most likely to get? | |
| Cash back credit card | 61% |
| Gas credit card | 12% |
| Airline credit card | 12% |
| General travel card | 12% |
| Hotel credit card | 4% |
| Are you more scared to fly this summer than in years past because of the Boeing airplane issues? | |
| No | 68% |
| Yes | 32% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.