Bankrate’s 2025 holiday spending report

By Katie Kelton Bankrate com The winter holidays are a time for dusting off decorations and observing traditions but they re also rife with money decisions Americans are choosing how much to spend on voyage gifts and decorations in in current times s financial sector along with how they ll make those purchases Particular holiday shoppers and travelers plan to use credit cards but debit cards buy now pay later services BNPL and rewards points are other popular payment options Bankrate s key findings on holiday spending Fewer Americans will tour for holidays this year compared with last year plan to fly or stay in a hotel or short-term rental for Thanksgiving or the December holidays compared to in Source Bankrate s Holiday Voyage Survey Around in holiday shoppers expect higher price tags this year say they re concerned winter holiday gifts will be more expensive this year But only will budget for holiday spending Source Bankrate s Early Holiday Shopping Survey Roughly half of holiday shoppers will begin before the end of October That includes who started shopping or planned to in August in September and in October Source Bankrate s Early Holiday Shopping Survey Home for the holidays Fewer Americans plan to progress this holiday season If you re opting out of a flight to visit Grandma and Grandpa or a trip to Disney for the holidays in you re not alone Fewer Americans plan to passage for Thanksgiving or the winter holidays this year versus last year according to Bankrate s Holiday Advance Survey Around in U S adults percent say they plan to stay in a hotel or short-term rental or expedition by airplane for the upcoming holidays That s compared to percent in Younger generations men and parents of young kids are bulk likely to plan for less holiday progress this year Interestingly the people who are overall bulk likely to advance for the holidays are also the ones responsible for the biggest declines in voyage this year For example Gen Zers ages - and millennials ages - are overall the the majority likely to progress at percent and percent respectively compared to percent of Gen Xers ages - and percent of boomers ages - But the percentage of traveling Gen Zers dropped the bulk from last year by percentage points followed by traveling millennials who dropped by points Gen Xers dropped by points and boomers are traveling at basically the same rate this year as last with a -point difference And while percent of both men and women say they plan to expedition this holiday season that s down percentage points from for men and down points for women Let s look at parents percent of parents with children under the age of plan to excursion this holiday season down points from In comparison percent of all parents plan to movement this season down points from last year Lastly higher earners are more likely to trip for the holiday season Twenty-nine percent of those earning and above say they plan to passage compared to percent of those in both the to and to income brackets and percent of those earning below Still all of those income brackets are traveling less than or about the same as they did last year with drops of percentage points points points and points respectively While multiple Americans appear to be scaling back their passage plans this year we ll have to see if that truly happens says Rossman Consumer sentiment has been depressed for a while now thanks mostly to worries about inflation and tariffs yet people are still spending The disconnect between what people say and what they do has been growing Holiday travelers prefer credit cards Among all the procedures to pay credit cards are the the majority popular method for holiday tour percent either paid in full percent or with a balance paid over time percent Debit cards and or cash is the second the greater part popular option percent followed by rewards points percent asking friends family to pay percent and BNPL services percent Both credit cards and rewards trip are more popular this year The number of adults who say they ll use each method of payment are up percentage points and percentage points respectively from Don t forget about your rewards points and miles Rossman advises A great number of people have accumulated more than they realize Nearly in holiday travelers plan to take on debt Adjusting for overlap between those who plan to carry a credit card balance and those who will use BNPL nearly in travelers percent are likely to take on debt Millennial holiday travelers are majority of likely to accrue debt at percent That s compared to percent of Gen X percent of Gen Z and percent of boomer travelers And debt usage for holiday journey peaks among middle-income earners of to percent The lowest income bracket those making less than is next percent followed by percent of earners Learn how to journey smart and stay out of debt Around in holiday shoppers especially boomers fear high price tags this holiday season Loren Jerae a -year-old stay-at-home mom in Charlotte North Carolina has already begun Christmas shopping She ll frequent thrift stores online marketplaces and clearance racks for the next limited months until she s curated the perfect pile of presents for her -year-old son As a young mom I didn t want our finances to determine his holiday she says Ever since he was born I have invariably been budget-friendly Related Articles What to know as the annual sign-up window for wellness insurance arrives Trump takes aim at state laws shielding consumer credit scores from physiological debt Are air traffic controllers the key to ending the shutdown Jill On Money Estate planning cheat sheet Consumer price chart Monthly change in cost of groceries gasoline and more When it comes to holiday shopping Jerae is in good company Greater part Americans percent plan to holiday shop this year And about half of holiday shoppers percent have already begun or plan to begin shopping before Oct according to Bankrate s Early Holiday Shopping Survey Jerae starts even sooner She says she sets money aside during the first half of the year Come July she takes advantage of summer clearance sales and back-to-school deals to snag specific early Christmas gifts By August she s tackling her entire shopping list for her son fianc parents and other friends and family Two in shoppers percent are concerned that holiday gifts will be more expensive this year which may be why they re getting a head start I absolutely feel like prices are higher Jerae comments A scarce years ago she and her fianc tried shopping the month before Christmas and ended up spending around on a bunch of junk She described herself she d never do that again I am not spending that type of money on one or two items she says By shopping early I can make stretch and we can get several things Boomers and middle-income earners are bulk concerned about higher holiday prices Notably that concern over high prices is highest among boomers percent ages - and decreases with age Forty percent of Gen Xers ages - percent of millennials ages - and percent of Gen Zers ages - noted the same concern Concern about high holiday prices this year is also more prominent among middle-income households Forty-nine percent of - earners and percent of - earners say they re concerned versus percent of both the highest and lowest earners and under respectively Rossman says the higher earners are easier to explain as more disposable income allows for various wiggle room in the budget But lower earners may have already tightened their holiday budgets after high inflation and interest rates in the last meager years It could still be a tough financial season but they ve adapted On the other hand Rossman explains middle earners may be newly disenchanted by higher prices and feel like their paychecks aren t stretching as far as they used to Concern about high prices may be warranted Money woes are top of mind for particular holiday shoppers More than in shoppers say inflation will change how they shop percent and more than in say holiday shopping will strain their budgets percent and are stressed about winter holiday shopping costs percent In fact only percent explicitly reported they re not concerned about the cost of winter holiday shopping More holiday shoppers will make their purchases online Nearly in shoppers percent intend to make bulk of their purchases online versus in percent who plan to make majority of their purchases in person Perhaps surprisingly boomers are the the majority likely to make the bulk of their purchases online percent compared to just percent of Gen Zers Jerae a Gen Zer tends to shop more in person I d rather just hit all the thrift stores in my area she explains And roughly in shoppers percent expect that gifts will be harder to find this year Around in shoppers expect to spend more this holiday season Twenty-seven percent of holiday shoppers expect to spend more this holiday season than they did last year compared to percent who expect to spend less Forty-three percent expect to spend about the same There could be a couple of factors at play First those who plan to spend more may anticipate higher prices this year Rossman explains Or they could solely be earning more income and feeling generous Meanwhile Rossman says those who plan to spend less might be more optimistic about prices this year Or they might be shortening their gift lists to save money More than in shoppers plan to take on debt this season but debit cards are the top pick for payment Sixty-one percent of holiday shoppers expect to use debit cards for at least particular of their purchases avoiding debt but likely sacrificing rewards foreseen Credit cards are the next greater part popular option with percent of shoppers planning to use them Among those users percent plan to pay in full and percent plan to carry balances over time Cash remains a popular option with percent planning to pay with cash Buy now pay later BNPL services percent checks percent and particular other method percent round out the tactics people plan to pay for their winter holiday shopping Gen Zers are the most of likely to use debit cards percent and cash percent Boomers are the preponderance likely to pay with credit cards percent and millennials are the the greater part likely to use a BNPL function percent After adjusting for overlap more than in shoppers percent may take on debt either with a credit card they will pay off over time or BNPL But just percent say they are willing to take on debt in another survey question revealing a realizable disconnect between what Americans say and what they do Nearly half of shoppers will start before Halloween You re not behind on holiday shopping yet but nearly half of shoppers percent will have started or plan to start before the end of October That includes percent who started or planned to start by the end of August another percent in September and another percent in October leaving percent who plan to start shopping in November and percent in December Rossman thinks the early bird might get the worm While chosen consumers shake their heads that holiday shopping seems to start earlier each year the early start gives you more time to spread out your cash flow and find the best deals he explains methods to save money this holiday season You don t have to go into debt to pay for the holidays Instead try these tips to be a smart shopper this season Set aside money ahead of time Half of Americans are in credit card debt and the holidays make it easy to spend more money than you have Instead try building a holiday fund before you start shopping or booking expedition From January to July Jerae puts between and weekly into a high-yield savings account that she ll later use for Christmas gifts Only around in holiday shoppers percent expect to budget for the holidays but you can be one of them Learn how to create a sinking fund to avoid going into debt Start shopping early The thought of buying gifts in July may sound like holiday creep but it can really lead to better deals and help you dodge the December mall frenzy Take advantage of sales throughout the fall and compare prices without feeling rushed You could have every item on your list checked off weeks before the holidays leaving you more time to nosh on cookies and celebrate with your family Stay flexible with your tour schedule You can save on advance costs by going a scarce days before the holiday and or coming back a scarce days later Rossman explains Or even traveling on the holiday itself You could also consider nearby airports connecting flights less popular flight times and staying with family instead of booking a hotel room Try secondhand shopping Jerae located a play kitchen for resale well below the brand-new price tag She says kids don t know or care if a gift is secondhand and she can find better prices for items with higher quality and more character Learn how to thrift to help your budget Use a rewards credit card You could earn cash back or points on your holiday purchases flights or hotel stays with one of the best rewards cards And those rewards could go toward future gifts or a family vacation Learn how to choose a rewards card You can also combine money-saving methods Starting early and stacking discounts are strategies that shoppers can deploy to save money Rossman advises The bottom line Multiple Americans are holiday shopping early this year and possibly with good reason they re worried about rising prices and want more time to find the best deals Just don t fall prey to impulse shopping during those extra months By sticking to a list and a budget it really could be the preponderance wonderful time of the year MethodologyBankrate commissioned YouGov Plc to conduct the surveys All figures unless otherwise stated are from YouGov Plc Holiday Advance Survey Total sample size was adults of which plan to journey this holiday season Fieldwork was undertaken between Sept - The survey was carried out online It gathered a non-probability-based sample and employed demographic quotas and weights to better align the survey sample with the broader U S population Early Holiday Shopping Survey Total sample size was adults including who expect to participate in winter holiday shopping Fieldwork was undertaken between July - The survey was carried out online The figures have been weighted and are representative of all U S adults aged Bankrate com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC