Chase Survey Reveals How Credit Card Rewards Are Enhancing The Holiday Season

WILMINGTON, Del. – November 20, 2023 – As the holiday season approaches, a new survey from Chase, which ran between Oct. 16 – 26, 2023 and polled over 2,000 adults, highlights how consumers plan to use credit card rewards during the holidays to manage their expenses and create long-lasting memories with their loved ones.

The survey also polled 500 small business owners (SBOs) during the same period. Overwhelmingly, most respondents shared how they plan to use their credit card rewards during the holidays to help grow their business during the busiest shopping season of the year.

"Our survey data confirms consumers are tapping into their credit card rewards this holiday season to provide some holiday cheer for their loved ones,” said Catherine Hogan, Chief Business Officer for Card and Connected Commerce at Chase. “In parallel, small business owners are using their credit card rewards to prepare for the holiday rush, grow their businesses and thank their employees.”

From maintaining holiday traditions to rewarding employees, here are the top takeaways from the survey on how consumers and SBOs are utilizing credit card rewards, thinking about the holiday season and dealing with economic uncertainty:

Rewards Leveraged For Holiday Spending

• This holiday season consumers plan on spending their credit card rewards on gifts (33%), groceries for holiday meals (25%), gift cards (23%), and something for themselves (19%).
• Consumers anticipate that using rewards will help control overall spending (32%), enable them to gift everyone on their list (24%), and maintain holiday traditions (23%).
• Parents are more likely than non-parents to view credit card rewards as extremely or very helpful for holiday expenses (46% vs. 28%) and to use rewards to create positive holiday experiences for their families (28% vs 19%).

The Power of Credit Card Rewards

• Consumers with rewards overwhelmingly agree they add flexibility to their finances (81%) and purposefully use their credit card so they can earn rewards (73%).
• Almost all (92%) consumers said inflation has affected their finances and most people (85%) have found credit card rewards to be helpful.
• During this time of economic uncertainty, rewards are helping consumers afford basic needs (41%), cover unexpected expenses (30%), indulge in desired items or services (24%), and provide experiences with friends and family (22%).
• Two-thirds of people (65%) agree that credit card rewards help them to afford items and experiences they couldn’t have otherwise afforded.
• Cash back is helping consumers with their day-to-day lives, including putting it toward their credit card bill (37%), groceries (27%) and gasoline (21%).

Small Business Owners Tap Into Credit Card Rewards

• This holiday season, credit card rewards are helping SBOs:
  • Reward employees (42%)
  • Celebrate the holidays with employees (35%)
  • Keep overall spending down (31%)
  • Retain new clients or customers (29%)
  • Grow existing clients or customers (27%)
• Nearly all SBOs expect inflation to have an impact on sales this holiday season (91%) but are also looking forward to the sales the holiday season will bring (89%).
• SBOs have used credit card rewards to afford basic business needs (39%), reward employees (36%), and pay for unexpected business expenses (35%).

About the Survey

JPMorgan Chase and TRUE Global Intelligence, the in-house research practice of FleishmanHillard, conducted a six-minute online survey from Oct. 16 – 26, 2023 among n=2,000 U.S. adult consumers aged 18-77 and n=500 small business owners with 1-499 employees and annual revenues of $50,000 or more. The n=2,000 segment of consumers was weighted by age, gender, region, race, and ethnicity.

*Parents are defined as those having a child under 18.