by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:40 PM ET, Thu October 16, 2025
A handful of recent reports have indicated that Americans may be reeling in spending this holiday season amid inflation, the rising cost of living and general economic uncertainty.
A new Fall Consumer Trends Report from the consumer data company Resonate, for instance, stated that when it comes to Americans’ holiday plans and priorities for 2025, 55 percent don’t plan to travel at all. And those who do plan to travel are slashing their budgets, limiting spending to less than $5,000. While, 13 percent are budgeting less than a mere $500 for a holiday trip this year.
However, a new report, this one from NerdWallet, seems to fly in the face of all of that.
The publication's 2025 Holiday Spending Report says “Americans are gearing up to spend,” adding that “U.S. adults will spend a collective $242 billion on holiday gift shopping and nearly $311 billion on flights and hotels this holiday season."
Moreover, nearly half of Americans (48 percent) are planning to travel “regardless of costs.” Let’s state that again shall we? Cost does not matter to nearly half of Americans when it comes to pursuing their holiday travel plans and goals.
Based on a survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults and conducted online by The Harris Poll, the report also found that 45 percent of Americans plan to spend money on flights or hotels this holiday season and will shell out an average of $2,586 for these expenses.
Still, there's at least some data in the NerdWallet report that seems to align with recent predictions about Americans feeling the economic pinch. For instance, the NerdWallet survey showed that 91 percent of travelers are taking action to save on their holiday travel this year, including using points (25 percent), flying on off-peak days (30 percent), or staying with family (26 percent).
Also noteworthy, debt is lingering for American globetrotters. In fact, 31 percent of holiday travelers who used credit cards in 2024 to pay for their expenses still have yet to pay off that debt. In addition, about 1 in 6 (17 percent) 2025 holiday travelers say they still have credit card debt from multiple holiday travel years.
So, perhaps the moral of the story is that Americans are still spending this year, but may be paying for it years to come.
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