Survey Examines How Much Americans Are Spending on Spring Break Vacation

Spring break is slowly approaching, and while some travelers are trying to figure out where to go, others are more concerned with how they're going to pay for the trip.

Nerdwallet recently conducted a survey that examined how Americans are planning their spring break vacation, and it looks like at least 2 in 5 Americans plans to take one.

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Of those planning a spring break getaway, 64 percent will be paying for their vacation with money they’ve saved. As for the others, one in three Americans will pay for the trip with a credit card and they plan to charge, on average, $1,308.30.

Others are looking to use their tax refund to pay for their trip, 19 percent, in fact. Thirty percent of millennials and 20 percent of Gen Xers will be using their tax refunds to fund their vacation compared to only five percent of Boomers.

In total, Americans plan to spend $1,817.70 on average on their spring break vacation, with families plan to spend a little bit more (but not too much) with an average answer of $1,996.90.

Shockingly, some millennials, about 10 percent, are planning to spend $5,000 or more on a spring break extravaganza.

Two-thirds of Americans don’t plan to pay off their credit card immediately. About 29 percent believes it will take them 2.7 months to pay off that spring break balance, which means travelers will be spending more than they planned for on their spring break vacation with interest added to the mix.

For those who don’t prefer to pay for a spring break trip with their credit card or don’t have a refund to rely on, save money by setting up your vacation with a travel agent or employ some travel hacks with loyalty programs.