Discover How Americans Are Planning to Pay for Their Travels in 2024

Ranked: The Top 5 Ways Americans Pay for Travel

Over 90% of Americans are planning to travel this year. Find out how they plan to pay for it to get ideas for financing your next getaway. Image source: Getty Images

Flights and hotels could be busy this year.

A recent survey by Empower found that over 90% of Americans are planning domestic travel in 2024, and they expect to spend an average of $1,163. For the 37% who are planning an international trip, they expect to spend an average of $2,904.

If you're hoping to take a trip of your own, one of the main challenges is figuring out how to pay for it. For some helpful ideas, here are the top five ways Americans said they plan to budget for and afford travel.

• Extra money from side jobs (45%): Getting a side hustle to earn extra money is popular financial advice. Americans appear to be taking that advice, too, as nearly half are using side jobs to fund their upcoming trips.
• Extra money from gifts, tax refunds, bonuses, etc. (34%): About one-third of Americans pay for travel using a windfall of extra money. At this time of year, many Americans are getting tax refunds, and it could be a sizable amount.
• Travel rewards/loyalty programs (32%): Another popular way to pay for travel is with travel rewards. Many airlines and hotels operate loyalty programs where you can earn points or miles every time you use them.
• A dedicated savings account (21%): About 2 in 10 Americans have a savings account set up specifically as their travel fund. You could either open a new savings account for this or see if your current account lets you set up savings buckets for different goals you have.
• Physical travel fund and budgeting apps/software (19%): Instead of a savings account, 19% of Americans prefer a physical travel fund. Equally popular were budgeting apps and software.

Those numbers add up to way more than 100%, because most people don't use just one method to pay for travel.

If you want to travel more without worrying about how you'll pay for it, setting up your own travel fund is a good place to start. A high-yield savings account is normally the best way to go, since your money will be safe and earning a competitive rate.

Tags: Travel, Finance, Savings, Side Jobs, Budgeting