Nuvei surveyed 1,000 US consumers in September 2026 about how they plan, pay for and rethink travel. The interactive experience above lets you explore every finding. The full research and data are summarized here.
Full research and findings
Travel intentions for the 2026 holiday season
Three in ten Americans (30%) expect to travel more this holiday season than in 2025, 36% expect to travel about the same and 18% expect to travel less. Booking habits are shifting too: 26% are booking holiday travel earlier than usual, while 11% are booking later.
The checkout moment
Nearly half of Americans (48%) rank unexpected fees at checkout as the number-one reason they would abandon a travel booking, and a further 25% rank price changes during checkout first. Together, unexpected fees and price changes account for 73% of top checkout deterrents. Payment security concerns (11%), a missing preferred payment method (6%), a long or complicated checkout (6%) and unfavourable exchange rates (4%) follow.
The AI trust gap
Comfort with AI falls as an assistant moves from finding travel options to spending money. 71% of Americans are very or somewhat comfortable letting an AI-powered travel assistant search for travel, and 69% would let it compare options and recommend what to book. Comfort drops to 54% for building a complete itinerary, 52% for booking after approval, 47% for completing payment after approval, 44% for buying automatically within a set budget and 41% for automatic rebooking when plans are disrupted. Only 40% are comfortable letting AI make travel purchases without approving each transaction.
A generation apart
Willingness to let AI buy travel without per-transaction approval varies sharply by age: 59% of Gen Z are comfortable with it, compared with 52% of Millennials, 35% of Gen X and 13% of Baby Boomers.
The rules of AI purchasing
Before an AI assistant spends their money, Americans want clear safeguards in place. 77% rate being able to set a maximum spending limit as very or somewhat important, and 77% say the same about limiting the types of purchases it can make. 76% want fraud protection if something goes wrong, 74% want to be able to easily cancel or dispute a purchase and 74% want merchants to be able to verify that the AI is authorized to act for them.
Payments around the world
International trips bring their own payment obstacles. 26% of international travellers paid more than expected because of currency conversion or exchange rates, 18% encountered unexpected foreign transaction or payment fees, 13% decided against a purchase because of the payment options available and 12% chose a business based on the payment methods it accepted.
Who earns consumer trust?
Asked who they would trust most to provide an AI assistant that makes travel purchases for them, 39% of Americans said they would not trust any company. Banks and credit card providers lead at 21%, followed by online travel booking platforms and digital wallets (7% each), airlines (6%), payment providers, hotel companies and major technology companies (5% each) and AI companies (4%).
What it means for travel merchants
Strong holiday travel demand does not guarantee completed bookings. Surprise fees and price changes are the moments travellers walk away, and as AI assistants take on more of the booking, consumers expect spending limits, fraud protection and the ability to cancel or dispute before they hand over control. Each obstacle is a payment moment, and connected payment infrastructure is how the journey stays smooth. Explore Nuvei's travel and mobility payment solutions.
Related reading
- What travelling home for the holidays reveals about how context shapes payments
- What travelling home for the holidays reveals about the future of agentic commerce
- What travelling home for the holidays reveals about the limits of purchase intent
Methodology
Nuvei surveyed 1,000 US consumers in September 2026. Results are reported for all respondents and by region (Northeast, Midwest, South and West), gender and generation: Gen Z (born 1997–2012), Millennials (1981–1996), Gen X (1965–1980) and Baby Boomers (1946–1964). Comfort and importance figures combine "very" and "somewhat" responses. Figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. International payment obstacles are drawn from the accompanying Nuvei research article.
