Points in hand, ready to travel: Survey highlights generational and gender differences in American vacation habits

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of the summer travel season, which is expected to be particularly busy this year. A new poll commissioned by TPG and conducted by The Harris Poll reveals that 76% of Americans plan to travel within the next 12 months. Among these travelers, 56% say they will fly for personal trips.

TPG commissioned the survey to gain insight into travelers' habits, how they use rewards cards, and their strategies for earning and spending points and miles.

The survey uncovered that travel decisions, such as when to go, the purpose of the trip, and how credit cards and travel rewards are used, differ by both gender and generation.

Travel trends as we approach the summer rush

While there are variations in when and where travelers hit the road, it's no surprise that the majority of people planning trips over the next 12 months (69%) will do so during the busy summer travel season from June to August. Interestingly, 44% of travelers intend to travel in the fall (September to November), suggesting that the "shoulder season" is gaining popularity.

Additionally, 26% of travelers plan to travel during the winter months (December to February), and 19% aim to travel in the spring of next year. Men are more likely than women to report plans for winter travel.

Among travelers, women are slightly more likely than men to say they're traveling for personal reasons (95% vs. 92%), while men are more inclined to travel for business (36% vs. 21%).

The generational divide

The survey also uncovered intriguing travel patterns across different generations: Generation Z (ages 18-27), millennials (ages 28-43), Generation X (ages 44-59), and baby boomers (ages 60-78).

Here's a look at the findings among travelers:

• Gen Xers and baby boomers are more likely than Gen Zers and millennials to travel for personal reasons (96% and 99% vs. 86% and 91%).
• Gen Zers and millennials are more likely to travel for business (43% and 41% vs. 26% and 11%), which is likely due to their age and current roles in the workforce.
• Gen Zers and millennials are also more likely to travel internationally, with an increase of around 11% compared to older generations.

Gen Xers and baby boomers are more likely than Gen Zers to say they’ll travel this fall (45% and 52% vs. 33%). This could be due to a more flexible schedule that's less affected by school calendars, while for older generations, retirement might offer more freedom to travel during the off-peak season, avoiding higher summer prices.

Who owns rewards credit cards?

TPG also gained some intriguing insights into who carries — and who doesn't carry — rewards credit or charge cards.

Approximately 67% of Americans aged 18 and older possess some form of rewards credit card, with 58% having a cash-back rewards card and 27% holding a travel rewards credit card.

Around 24% of Americans only have a standard credit card that doesn't earn rewards. One in 10 (10%) have a different type of credit card, such as a store card, while 20% of people don't have any credit cards at all.

Our survey once again uncovered generational and gender differences in how people use credit cards and rewards.

Older baby boomers are still more likely than Gen Xers, millennials, and Gen Zers to have a credit card, with 89% of boomers owning one compared to 79%, 74%, and 73% in the younger generations.

We also found that Gen Zers and millennials with rewards cards are more inclined than Gen Xers and baby boomers to redeem their rewards for travel-related expenses. In fact, 73% of Gen Zers and 69% of millennials have used their rewards for travel, compared to 55% of Gen Xers and 47% of baby boomers.

The survey also showed that not everyone shares our obsession with checking rewards balances, unlike us at TPG.

Around 36% of Americans with rewards credit cards check their balances only a few times a year or less. Meanwhile, 30% check once a month, and 34% check more frequently. Personally, I'm in the latter group — I check my balances daily.

However, not everyone keeps such a close eye on their rewards.

The survey revealed that 40% of rewards cardholders are often unsure of when to use their rewards or when it's better to save them. This confusion is especially common among Gen Zers.

How consumers are spending their rewards

While some travel rewards cardholders tend to hoard their points because they're uncertain about how to use them or forget about them entirely, that's not true for the majority of people.

Our survey shows that nearly all rewards cardholders have redeemed their rewards in some way.

An impressive 94% of rewards cardholders have used their rewards, whether it was for travel or cashback.

Over half of rewards cardholders have redeemed their rewards for either travel expenses or cashback (57% each), while 36% have used them for non-travel purchases. Only 6% haven't redeemed their rewards at all.

Still, 80% of rewards cardholders prefer to let their points accumulate as much as possible before cashing them in. This strategy makes sense since larger, more strategic redemptions can often offer better value than using rewards at fixed rates, like during a checkout on Amazon.

A large 81% of rewards cardholders planning to travel this summer intend to use their rewards to cover travel costs. Here's how they plan to spend them:

• Hotels – 42%
• Cashback for travel expenses – 41%
• Airline tickets – 31%
• Meals while traveling – 29%
• Entertainment while on the road – 23%
• Car rentals – 22%
• Other travel-related costs – 7%

As we mentioned earlier, there are clear generational and gender-based differences in how rewards are used. For instance, baby boomers in our survey were less inclined to use their rewards for summer travel compared to millennials and Gen X. Additionally, women tended to favor cashback redemptions more than men, while men were more likely to use their rewards for travel-related purchases.

Another interesting finding: almost half of rewards cardholders (45%) admit to opening a credit card specifically for travel rewards.

What's more, 46% of rewards cardholders agree that having a rewards card motivates them to travel more often. This is hardly surprising, as redeeming points or miles can bring you closer to your next adventure much faster than saving up cash.

This is exactly why TPG strongly opposes the proposed Credit Card Competition Act, a bill that lawmakers are attempting to pass through Congress. If it succeeds, it could severely limit or even dismantle the rewards programs that help fuel travel dreams. You can find out more about this issue here.

Survey details: This survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Dinogo from May 7-9, involving 2,100 U.S. adults (aged 18 and older). Of these, 1,548 plan to travel within the next 12 months, and 1,393 currently hold a rewards credit card. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is calculated using a Bayesian credible interval. For this survey, the results are accurate within +/- 2.5 percentage points, with a 95% confidence level.