Amex finds 1 in 4 people willing to drive up to 25 hours this holiday season
With the holiday season and New Year quickly approaching, many consumers are trading in their annual holiday traditions and travel plans for safe alternatives. In fact, this month’s Amex Trendex found 1 in 4 consumers are willing to drive up to 25 hours per trip in the next three months in order to travel safely.
The December Amex Trendex examined how consumers feel about traveling this holiday season and in the future:
Pod Holidays & 25 Hour Road Trips for Safe Holiday and Winter Plans
Half (50%) of travelers who are driving in the next three months say they will drive up to 2-4 hours at a time and 25% are willing to drive between 10-25 hoursTwo-thirds (67%) of adults plan on spending the holidays with a quarantine podHalf of millennials say they plan on taking more time off from work this December than previous years to de-stress from 2020 vs. just 31% of all adults surveyed
Dreams of Future Travel on the Horizon
63% of all adults surveyed agree that in 2021 they will take the trip they had originally planned to take in 202049% of adults would feel comfortable traveling by plane domestically within 6 months, compared to over two-thirds of millennials (62%)40% of consumers plan to spend more on travel over the next 12 months, compared to the last year41% of adults said they are more likely to travel on a plane for the holidays if the airport terminal had rapid COVID-19 testing
Saving Rewards Points For Travel
70% of U. S. adults say they are saving more of their rewards points than they are spending Over third (36%) of U. S. adults are planning to use their credit card rewards points to pay for flights 52% of consumers are interested in deals from their credit cards across travel
“Travelers are willing to go the distance to stay safe this holiday season,” said Audrey Hendley, President of American Express Travel. “We’re seeing many of our Card Members trade in their typical holiday travel plans and traditions for safer options like staycations or driving to nearby destinations.”
In addition to this travel data, this month’s Amex Trendex also examined how consumers are spending their time and money this holiday season - from gift giving to seeking out offers and deals to creating new holiday traditions. The Morning Consult poll was conducted between November 16-18, 2020 among a national sample of 2,000 general population travelers with a household income of at least $70K, and defined as adults who traveled by air at least once in 2019. Results from the survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
