It’s no secret that costs for on a regular basis bills are increased than most individuals are comfy with, however these increased on a regular basis prices appear to even be impacting once-every-so-often plans.
In actual fact, solely 46 p.c of U.S. adults are planning to journey this summer season, and lots of of these not planning to take action cite affordability because the issue retaining them at house (65 p.c), in response to Bankrate’s 2025 Summer time Journey Survey. With journey prices remaining excessive, you could end up questioning how individuals afford their getaways. It seems that almost 3 in 10 (29 p.c) of potential vacationers are planning to tackle debt to guide journeys, in response to the survey.
“It’s not too late to plan a summer season getaway. To economize, take into account placing current rewards factors and miles to make use of. You may also join a brand new bank card to earn a welcome bonus that may fund a free or discounted journey.” -Ted Rossman
Bankrate’s key insights on summer season journey in 2025
Bankrate perception
- Fewer than half of People plan to journey for summer season trip this yr. Simply 46percentplan to journey, 38% domestically and 15% internationally with some overlap between the 2.
- Price and lack of curiosity trigger individuals to forgo journey. 65% p.c of non-travelers say they’ll’t afford to journey and 23% cite an absence of curiosity in touring at present. Not with the ability to take time without work work and journey being an excessive amount of of a trouble each got here in at 16 p.c.
- The expense of on a regular basis life tops the explanations individuals can’t afford to journey. Practically 7 in 10 individuals (68%) who can’t afford to journey say on a regular basis life is simply too costly, whereas 64% say journey is simply too costly.
1 / 4 of U.S. adults aren’t planning any summer season trip this yr
About half of U.S. adults (53 p.c) are planning some sort of summer season trip this yr, whether or not a home journey, worldwide getaway or staycation (respondents might choose a number of choices). Whereas over half of People are planning a trip, the brand new Bankrate survey discovered that simply 46 p.c plan to journey for his or her trip, whether or not domestically (38 p.c) or internationally (15 p.c), with some overlap between the 2. Maybe within the face of upper costs for on a regular basis gadgets and journey prices, 1 in 10 People (10 p.c) are sticking near house with a staycation for no less than a few of their summer season trip plans (respondents might choose a number of choices).
A staycation generally is a enjoyable fallback possibility. Do not let your trip time go unused. If nothing else, take a while off to chill out and recharge at house. Play vacationer in your native space or simply get pleasure from some downtime with household and pals.
— Ted Rossman, Bankrate Senior Trade Analyst
Despite the fact that staycations could also be a extra cost-efficient or easier possibility, practically 1 / 4 (24 p.c) of People are planning on skipping summer season trip altogether — with not even a staycation deliberate.
Uncertainty has additionally infiltrated summer season trip plans at the next fee this yr, as 23 p.c of People say they don’t know or aren’t positive but a few trip this summer season; that’s in comparison with simply 18 p.c who mentioned the identical in final yr’s comparable survey. However ready too lengthy to make plans may get costly.
“When planning summer season journey, it’s typically suggested to guide sooner reasonably than later,” advises Ted Rossman, Bankrate senior business analyst. “It additionally pays to zig when others zag. For instance, take into consideration visiting a vacation spot throughout its shoulder season or offseason. Take an early flight or a late flight or a connecting flight. Or fly midweek.”
It’s going to be costly for those who journey on the most handy occasions on probably the most fascinating days to the most well-liked locations.
— Ted Rossman
Senior Bankrate Analyst
Home journey stays the most well-liked
Because it did in final yr’s comparable survey, home journey emerged as the most well-liked summer season journey alternative, with about 4 in 10 adults (38 p.c) selecting to journey inside the US this summer season. The share of worldwide vacationers additionally remained flat at 15 p.c (respondents might choose a number of choices). Whether or not it’s because of prices, air journey security or one more reason completely, many individuals are selecting to journey near house.
Linda Ta Yonemoto, a Licensed Monetary Schooling Teacher (CFEI), is retaining her summer season holidays home this yr with plans to go to Chicago in addition to a “mini journey” alongside the California coast. Native experiences align with what she desires out of a trip however retaining it near house additionally cuts again on prices.
“I’m centered extra on home or close by journey, provided that prices have risen with a number of the [airline] carriers” Yonemoto says. “I’m not attempting to sit down on a 20-hour flight to get midway world wide,” she provides, explaining she’d reasonably spend her time on native experiences and deciding what to do near house than chasing the holiday spots trending on social media.
I believe some of us fall for that Instagram life-style, when perhaps your favourite factor to do is to go to a ballpark and catch a sport, or take your loved ones to an exquisite nationwide park someplace and go climbing.
— Linda Ta Yonemoto, a Licensed Monetary Schooling Teacher (CFEI)
Prices and lack of curiosity are retaining non-travelers at house
Home journeys could also be extra wallet-friendly, however many People nonetheless cite value as the highest cause they’re not touring this summer season. Greater than 6 in 10 non-travelers (65 p.c) say they’ll’t afford to journey this summer season, whereas 23 p.c say they’re skipping summer season journey as a result of they aren’t desirous about touring proper now (respondents might select a couple of possibility). Different distinguished causes behind not touring embrace:
- Can’t take time without work work: 16 p.c
- An excessive amount of of a trouble: 16 p.c
- Apprehensive about air journey security: 15 p.c
- My well being and age: 15 p.c
Non-traveling millennials (ages 29-44) and Gen Zers (ages 18-28) are the most certainly teams to quote “I can’t take time without work work” as a cause they aren’t touring, at 24 p.c and 21 p.c, respectively. Compared, 14 p.c of non-traveling Gen Xers (ages 45-60) say they’ll’t take off work, whereas simply 9 p.c of boomers (ages 61-79) cite that cause.
Gen Z could have the means, however lacks the need to journey
Out of the Gen Z People who aren’t touring this summer season, solely half (50 p.c) say it’s as a result of they’ll’t afford it. That’s considerably decrease than non-traveling millennials, Gen X and child boomers.
- Millennials: 73 p.c
- Gen X: 67 p.c
- Child boomers: 68 p.c
Nevertheless, 25 p.c of Gen Zers say they only aren’t desirous about touring at present, which is analogous to the share of Gen Xers (24 p.c) and boomers (25 p.c) who additionally say they aren’t desirous about touring.
Millennials, however, appear to wish to journey, with simply 16 p.c citing lack of curiosity retaining them at house, however could not have the means to take action, as they’re the most certainly (73 p.c) to say affordability retains them from venturing out (respondents might choose a number of choices).
Increased earnings households are touring extra
When family earnings will increase, individuals are prone to have extra wiggle room to afford non-essentials like journey. Whereas value remains to be the highest cause People with annual family incomes of $80,000+ aren’t touring (47 p.c), as you may anticipate, it’s a far much less frequent response for that earnings bracket than it’s for decrease brackets. Compared, over 7 in 10 of these with an annual family earnings of lower than $40,000 (73 p.c) say they’ll’t afford to journey this summer season.
Because the earnings brackets rise above the sub-$40,000 mark, affordability issues progressively subside. Apparently, higher-income People (these incomes $80k+ yearly) cite not being desirous about journey (29 p.c) at the next fee than different earnings brackets (beneath $40k (24 p.c) and $40k to $79.9k (19 p.c), indicating that they, like Gen Zers, could have the means, however not the curiosity.
On a regular basis life is simply too costly for nearly 7 in 10 of those that say they can not afford to journey
To raised perceive why non-travelers say they’ll’t afford summer season journey, we dug extra deeply and requested concerning the elements affecting affordability for them. In an awesome response, amongst People who say prices maintain them from touring, 68 p.c cite on a regular basis life being too costly. Though the present fee of inflation is nearer to the Fed’s 2 p.c goal than it has been in recent times, excessive costs are nonetheless hitting individuals’s wallets arduous. To make issues worse, wages haven’t caught as much as inflation since Q2 of 2021, so budgets may nonetheless really feel tight even for those who’ve managed to safe a increase or promotion at work.
The value of journey makes it inaccessible for a lot of
Along with the value of on a regular basis items and companies, journey prices have gone up, too. And 64 p.c of those that can’t afford to journey say it’s as a result of journey is simply too costly.
In actual fact, the value of reserving a resort or motel has gone up by 1.7 p.c since final yr and is now over 15 p.c costlier in comparison with pre-pandemic costs, in response to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jessica Norwood, co-host of the Sugar Daddy Podcast, has an annual household custom of renting a seashore home in North Carolina. She and her husband often hire the home for per week and invite each units of grandparents, however this summer season seems totally different for them. The family-and-friends fee they often pay has gone up by $1,000 because of insurance coverage will increase. As a substitute of canceling a beloved household custom, Jessica bought artistic along with her seek for alternate options.
We’re truly doing a kind of timeshare promotions, so we’re type of hacking it a bit of. We did not wish to spend the $4,500 to try this seashore journey, however we nonetheless wished to offer the youngsters a bit of seashore trip. And so I truly ended up getting a proposal from Hilton for 4 days, three nights, so not a full week, nevertheless it was $224 at certainly one of their oceanfront resorts. The catch is, after all, we have now to do a two-hour tour, which we’ll say ‘no’ to your entire time, as a result of we won’t get bought.
— Jessica Norwood, The Sugar Daddy Podcast
Whereas airfare prices have dropped in worth since February 2020 in response to the BLS, some flights are nonetheless astronomical, just like the 85-minute flight Norwood checked out for a current work journey, which she priced at $733 for a direct American Airways flight from Raleigh, N.C. to Pennsylvania. Different frequent trip prices, like eating out, have jumped by over 28 p.c in comparison with pre-pandemic costs.
As a self-described type-A planner, Cinneah El-Amin, founding father of Flynanced and a senior product supervisor, maps out most of her journeys for the yr nicely upfront. It helps her make the most of flight offers, scout out award seats and craft a financial savings plan for these journeys. Her detailed planning additionally helps insulate her from feeling the sting of upper journey prices. Nevertheless, she nonetheless remembers when touring felt extra accessible.
“Perhaps as a result of I plan to this point upfront, typically I don’t really feel how far more costly issues are,” El-Amin says. “However, I can undoubtedly bear in mind a time, not so way back, when you may get flight offers for like, beneath $100 or, it even value much less to make use of reward factors to fly to locations like Mexico and the Caribbean. That was like 2020 to 2021. Within the early 2020s, I felt like I might take so many journeys and perhaps even be extra spontaneous and that’s once I made much less cash.”
Practically 3 in 10 American vacationers plan to enter debt for summer season journey
We’ve all been there. Scrolling by way of social media, watching somebody go on their third tropical trip this month and questioning how they’re paying for it.
For each 10 you see, depend to 3.
That’s about what number of American vacationers (29 p.c) plan to enter debt for his or her summer season getaways. That quantity has declined since final yr’s survey when 36 p.c indicated they anticipated to enter debt for his or her summer season holidays. That will counsel these touring People are much less tolerant of taking up new debt for non-essential bills like journey.
Within the face of financial uncertainty, most individuals are opting to pay for his or her holidays out of pocket. These debt-free cost strategies are a few of the hottest choices for individuals to cowl their summer season trip prices (respondents have been capable of choose a couple of possibility):
- 56 p.c are planning to pay in money
- 47 p.c are planning on utilizing a debit card
- 42 p.c are planning on utilizing their bank card and paying in full to keep away from curiosity
- 20 p.c are planning to dig into their rewards factors or miles
Along with being a CFEI, Yonemoto is a work-optional millennial who makes use of her bank card factors and miles to save lots of huge on holidays. She tracks her bank card utilization, rewards and redemptions by way of a spreadsheet and estimates that she’s saved over $10,000 on journey through the use of her bank card factors and miles strategically. She’s deeply within the behavior of utilizing her bank cards like a debit card and accruing sign-up bonuses for cash she was already going to spend.
Her monetary precedence is to remain “comfortably work-optional/retired,” so going into debt for a visit isn’t an possibility she would take into account. As a substitute, she pays for her holidays in money or factors.
As soon as individuals get into these sticky conditions of residing that huge life-style, it may be actually arduous to dig themselves out of that monetary gap.
— Linda Ta Yonemoto
CFEI
“I might encourage them to consider carefully about their selections,” Yonemoto advises. “If it’s a giant trip you paid for you could’t repay, that simply accumulates curiosity, and that curiosity is steep.”
Equally, El-Amin has a number of summer season journeys deliberate this yr, however she isn’t going into debt to take them. She’s utilizing her bank cards and reimbursing herself for journey bills that she’s already saved for. That allows her to make the most of her bank card’s journey insurance coverage and advantages and earn rewards whereas avoiding high-interest debt as she travels to Chicago, Senegal and Turks and Caicos Islands this summer season.
I am not counting on the bank card, nevertheless it’s extra in order that I can make the most of added advantages that may be part of my journey rewards card, like early check-in. If I take advantage of [The Platinum Card from American Express], being a part of the resort assortment, or shopping for resort stays, getting these upgrades, getting breakfast and incomes standing rewards.
— Cinneah El-Amin, Founding father of Flynanced
Millennials and Gen Z usually tend to tackle debt to journey
Despite the fact that taking up debt for journey appears much less standard than final yr, some generations are extra apt to make use of debt to fund their travels than others. Amongst these touring, millennials are extra keen to tackle debt for his or her summer season trip than older generations (Gen X at 29 p.c and child boomers at 22 p.c), however Gen Z isn’t far behind (31 p.c). Thirty-four p.c of Millennials plan to tackle debt for his or her summer season getaways within the type of bank cards that they’llay off over time (27 p.c); Purchase Now, Pay Later companies (4 p.c); private loans (3 p.c); or borrowing from household/pals (5 p.c; respondents might choose a number of choices).
Gen Z isn’t far behind, with 31 p.c of these vacationers saying in addition they plan to tackle debt for his or her summer season travels.
Then again, Boomers at 22 p.c are the least prone to tackle debt for summer season travels.
“Summer time is a giant season the place of us can discover themselves in debt, however you don’t wish to then run into the vacation season, and also you’re nonetheless paying off debt from the summer season, proper?” El-Amin factors out, including that the vacations are one other frequent time for individuals to tackle extra debt. “It looks as if it’s far-off, however for those who’re interested by 1000’s of {dollars} that you simply’re attempting to pay down, it will probably in a short time snowball into extra debt.”
In terms of taking up debt, Gen Z is extra keen to make use of Purchase Now Pay Later (BNPL) companies to fund their journey plans than some other era. One-tenth of them plan to make use of it to cowl summer season journey prices (millennials, 4 p.c; Gen X, 5 p.c; and boomers, 1 p p.c). However BNPL could encourage overspending, with 34 p.c of Gen Z BNPL customers saying they’ve spent greater than they need to have, in response to Bankrate’s 2024 Purchase Now, Pay Later Survey.
Keep away from high-interest journey debt with these alternate options
Bank card rates of interest are notoriously excessive, with the present common APR sitting simply above 20 p.c. Paying for a trip in your bank card may appear to be a good suggestion in the intervening time, however you may simply pay much more than you bargained for if there’s no clear plan to pay it off. As a substitute of swiping your card with reckless abandon and screaming YOLO, attempt a few of these alternate options.
