Gen Zs and Millennials Are Willing to Go Into Debt to Travel This Summer

Three new reports show that Americans are willing to go into debt just to travel this summer, with millennials and Gen Zers leading the pack. The surveys came from Credit Karma, Bankrate, and Bank of America.

According to Bankrate’s reports, one-third of Americans are willing to borrow money to fund their vacation. The data came from YouGov, which surveyed 2,360 US adults online from March 18 to 20. 

According to this report, 47% of millennials are willing to go into debt to travel this summer. Gen Zs came second at 42%. Gen X and the Boomers were at 31% and 22%, respectively. 

Meanwhile, Credit Karma’s report wasn’t far off from Bankrate’s report. Credit Karma discovered that almost 40% of GenZs and millennials will choose to travel over finances. Qualtrics surveyed 2,006 US adults online from June 6 to 8 on behalf of Credit Karma. Another information from the report was that 44% of Gen Zs and millennials are spending more this year on travel than in previous years. 

The lack of financial stability is not a barrier to making summer plans. Credit Karma’s data indicates that a third of Gen Zs and millennials don’t feel presently financially stable. However, more than a third are willing to  “put their financial goals on hold in order to have a fun summer.” 

Gen Z’s Willing to Go in Debt for Summer Travel

Credit Karma’s report even indicates that Gen Zs and millennials expect to go into debt by as much as $2,000 this summer. For 11% of Gen Zs and 8% of millennials, their expected debt for summer surpasses $4,000. 

This could mean maxing out their credit cards, borrowing money from friends and family, or even going after fly now pay later plans. 

Additionally, Bank of America discovered that Gen Zs and Millennials tend to go for longer trips and spend more vacation this summer. 

Regardless of age, domestic travel is the most popular across all ages. 70% of respondents in the Bank of America survey say they plan to vacation this summer in the US. This is reflected by Bank of America’s card data that tourism in Florida and California are up by around 15% compared to 2019.