Credit One Bank Card Member 2018 Holiday Expectations [Infographic]

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” proclaims the holiday song with the same name as its iconic opening line. But it can also be the most expensive time of the year for many Americans. Credit One Bank was interested in finding out how our card members expect their 2017 holiday spending to go, so we contacted over 18,000 of them back in September 2017. Our definition of the “holiday season” included November through New Year’s, and the nearly 1,000 survey respondents were asked to consider the following five categories in their responses: gifts, food, decorations, entertainment, and travel. Here’s what they told us.

For many, the holiday season is all about giving. Giving gifts to loved ones, making donations to charities, giving time and any accumulated airline miles to visit friends and family, and giving away healthy chunks of our paychecks this time of year to make all of the above happen.

The end of the year may be associated with the holiday season for most of us, but it’s also known as “The Giving Season” amongst charities. According to a 2016 CBS News report, many charities receive up to half of their annual donations during the five weeks between the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (“Giving Tuesday”) and New Year’s Eve.