Holiday travel survey: Americans are getting deals, but they’re willing to pay more for convenience

It’s that time of year again: The holiday season is upon us. Consider this your phone to start booking that vacation.

As TPG reported, the best time to book flights for Thanksgiving travel is now, and Christmas travel should be booked around Halloween and mid-November at the latest — at least if you’re looking for a bargain.

And more Americans are planning to go on vacation and get deals, according to a new survey created by TPG and conducted by Harris Poll.

Travelers have a lot to say about price versus comfort

TPG released a survey to learn more about vacation travelers’ plans, how they pay for travel, and how they use points and miles to make those trips more affordable.

According to our findings, more than half of Americans (51%) plan to travel this holiday season, and just over half of those travelers (55%) will be flying. A small majority (56%) have started the booking process.

A whopping 91% of travelers who have started booking their holiday travel have already said they have found savings this year. That is music to our ears.

In fact, 69% of vacationers surveyed who plan to fly say price is more important than flying with a particular airline, so loyalty doesn’t play as big a role for nearly two-thirds of vacationers polled as possible. with us at TPG.

Just over three-quarters of holiday travelers (76%) have some type of points or miles rewards card or are members of a points or miles program, and among those people, nearly 9 in 10 (88%) say they will use those rewards for their travel this holiday season .

Still, nearly 4 in 5 (79%) vacationers with reward points or miles say they’d rather skip those points and miles if it means getting a better deal.

Those people may have something, as our exclusive 2024 vacation flight report earned using high-season vacation airline miles often doesn’t offer the best value for those miles.

We hired our friends at Points Path to help us find interesting data. Using 7.2 million pieces of data, we found that in general, there is a big jump in the number of miles you would need to book vacation flights.

Meanwhile, the Harris Poll-TPG survey found that consumers want to keep it simple, with nearly 3 in 4 vacationers agreeing that it’s worth paying more for convenience on vacation. That’s 73% of travelers.

64 percent of vacationers say they plan to earn rewards for their vacation travel this year.

It’s never too late to book a vacation

More than 2 in 5 holidaymakers we spoke to (44%) said they had not yet booked their holiday. The good news is there’s still time to get some great deals.

The Points Guy recommends booking domestic flights one to two months in advance. You should have already set up a Google Flights alert, but now is the time to book Thanksgiving travel, and you should book Christmas travel around Halloween.

According to a Harris Poll-TPG survey, nearly one in three travelers who feel they’ve waited too long to book a vacation say it’s because they’ve been waiting for prices to drop (35%) or waiting to confirm plans with friends and family. (33%).

But as we suggested, it is not too late to book those flights.

It still makes sense to use points and miles

Of course, while it may not be the best use of points and miles, using rewards for vacation travel can still be your best bet, especially when cash prices are high.

A Harris Poll-TPG survey found that more vacationers with rewards points or miles plan to spend their rewards on hotels (54%) than airfare (29%) this year.

That’s why we at TPG like to have plenty of points and miles, whether you’re planning to use them for vacations, last-minute emergencies or that once-in-a-lifetime business class trip. It’s always good to have a stash.

Related: Credit cards can get you $1,000 or more in value for the first year

This is a big reason why TPG is so opposed to the proposed Credit Card Competition Act, which a group of lawmakers is trying to push through Congress. If passed, it could lead to major cuts — or worse — to credit card rewards programs … and the travel dreams that help unlock them. You can find more information about that here.

Travelers are worried about delays and cancellations

Finally, we found that 85% of those planning to travel have some anxiety. Almost half (47%) are worried about large crowds of travelers, 43% are worried about possible weather delays, 27% are worried about delays and cancellations, and 23% are worried about lost luggage.

Never fear, though: TPG is here with all the tips and tricks you need to stay healthy over the holidays.

Related reading:

Survey method: This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of The Points Guy from Oct. 3-7, 2024, among 2,085 US adults (18 and older), among them 1,069 plan to travel this holiday. the season. TThe sampling accuracy of online Harris polling is measured using a Bayesian confidence interval. In this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 points using a 95% confidence level.