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WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Donald Trump today met with leading U.S. travel executives to discuss the important role travel and tourism play in the American economy. The meeting comes on the heels of a strong summer travel season, with U.S. travel spending increasing 6.2 percent year-over-year in June to more than $122 billion.
Credit card rewards are an important driver of this economic activity.
In 2024 alone, more than 15 million Americans booked domestic air travel using points earned through airline credit cards, according to Airlines for America. Those trips generated approximately $24 billion in economic activity nationwide.
The economic impact reaches virtually every corner of the country. And travel is only part of the value Americans receive from credit card rewards.
Americans redeemed $60.9 billion in credit card rewards in 2024, according to the latest analysis from the Electronic Payments Coalition, including $27.8 billion in cash back. Those rewards help families pay for everything from vacations and trips to see family to groceries, gas, school supplies and other everyday expenses.
“Credit card rewards are economic engines,” said Richard Hunt, Executive Chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition. “They help families afford trips, and those trips put money in the pockets of local restaurants, hotels and small businesses.
“With millions of Americans using credit card rewards to travel and generate billions of dollars in economic activity, protecting rewards is tantamount to protecting American jobs, small businesses and local economies across the country.”
The benefits of rewards also extend across income levels. Since 2020, rewards card ownership has grown fastest among low-to-moderate-income consumers, and today more than two-thirds of LMI cardholders have a rewards card. Research also shows that cardholders across income groups earn rewards at virtually equal rates, while lower-income households place an even greater emphasis on cash-back rewards to help manage everyday expenses.
That is why protecting America’s current credit card system matters not only to consumers, but also to the broader U.S. economy.
The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates would deliver a double hit to American travel and tourism. By threatening the economics that make robust credit card rewards possible, the legislation risks making travel more expensive for millions of Americans while simultaneously reducing spending in tourism-dependent communities.
At a time when policymakers and industry leaders are focused on strengthening America’s economy and addressing affordability, Congress should be looking for ways to encourage Americans to travel and spend instead of threatening one of the tools millions of families already use to make that travel possible with the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates.
