The winter holidays are a time for dusting off decorations and observing traditions — but they’re also rife with money decisions.

Americans are choosing how much to spend on travel, gifts and decorations in today’s economy, along with how they’ll make those purchases. Some holiday shoppers and travelers plan to use credit cards, but debit cards, buy-now-pay-later services and rewards points are other popular payment options.

Here are the key findings from Bankrate’s 2025 surveys:

Fewer Americans will travel for holidays this year, compared with last year. Twenty-one percent plan to fly or stay in a hotel or short-term rental for Thanksgiving or the December holidays, compared to 27 percent in 2024.

Forty-one percent of holiday shoppers expect higher price tags this year. But only 24 pe

See Full Page