You can learn a lot about people from their travel habits generally and their attitudes toward winter travel in particular. After all, winter 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.
Key Stats
- Winter Debt Dilemma: 1 in 4 people think winter travel is worth going into debt for.
- Inflation’s Impact on Travel: 55% of people say inflation will affect their winter travel plans this year.
- Travel Experiences Top Holiday Wish Lists: 62% of Americans say they’d rather travel than receive gifts during the holidays.
- Affordability Concerns: 58% of people say the main reason they’re not planning to travel away from home this winter is because they can’t afford it or need to save money.
- New Credit Cards for Savings: 31% of people say they plan to apply for a new credit card to save on travel this winter.
- Cashing in Rewards: Nearly 3 in 5 Americans plan to redeem credit card rewards to help with their holiday spending this winter.
Survey Methodology
This report reflects the results of a nationally representative online survey of nearly 350 respondents.
After we collected all responses, we normalized the data by age, gender and income so the sample would reflect U.S. demographics.
Full Details Overall
| Do you plan to travel away from home this winter? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 71% |
| No | 29% |
| If no, what is the main reason you’re not planning to travel away from home this winter? | |
| Can’t afford it | 38% |
| Need to save money | 20% |
| Don’t feel like it | 20% |
| Other | 16% |
| Inflation | 7% |
| How will your winter travel spending compare to last year? | |
| More | 54% |
| Same | 26% |
| Less | 20% |
| Will inflation affect your winter travel plans? | |
| Yes | 55% |
| No | 45% |
| Do you plan to apply for a new credit card to save on travel this winter? | |
| No | 69% |
| Yes | 31% |
| Do you plan to redeem credit card rewards to help with your winter holiday spending? | |
| Yes | 58% |
| No | 42% |
| Do you have a travel rewards credit card? | |
| No | 54% |
| Yes | 46% |
| Is it worth paying an annual fee to get a hotel or airline credit card with better perks? | |
| No | 59% |
| Yes | 41% |
| Is winter travel worth going into debt for? | |
| No | 75% |
| Yes | 25% |
| Would you prefer traveling over receiving gifts for the holidays? | |
| Prefer travel | 62% |
| Prefer gifts | 38% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.
Supporting Video & Audio Files:
- YouTube (for web embedding)
- Raw video file (for editing into clips)
- Raw audio file (for editing into clips)
WalletHub experts are widely quoted. Contact our media team to schedule an interview.