With consumers expected to spend as much as $1.1 trillion this holiday season, despite near-record credit card debt levels, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released the following reports to help holiday shoppers save money and avoid a financial hangover in the new year.
- 2019 Holiday Shopping Survey – 35 million Americans still have credit card debt from last holiday season, and nearly one third of consumers will spend less on holiday this year than last year.
- 2019’s Best Credit Cards for Holiday Shopping – The top cards, chosen from 1,000+ offers, include Capital One Savor Cash Rewards (best initial bonus), Citi Double Cash (best flat-rate cash rewards) & American Express Blue Cash Preferred (best ongoing bonus rewards).
- 2019’s Best Gift Cards – Gift cards have long been the most popular holiday presents, and the top gift cards for this year’s holiday shopping season are:
| Best Gift Cards (WalletHub Score) |
| 1) Target Gift Card (70 points) |
| 2) Walmart Gift Card (60 points) |
| 3) Sephora Gift Card (60 points) |
| 4) eBay Gift Card (55 points) |
| 5) Ikea Gift Card (55 points) |
| Biggest Buyer Discount |
| 1) Fandango Gift Card (13.47% discount) |
| 2) Netflix Gift Card (12.34% discount) |
| 3) H&M Gift Card (12.00% discount) |
| 4) Ikea Gift Card (10.85% discount) |
| 5) Old Navy Gift Card (10.22% discount) |
- Credit Card Price Protection – With price protection, cardholders can get a refund if the price of a purchase drops soon after the holidays. The best credit cards for price protection are Capital One Savor and Capital One SavorOne.
- Purchase Protection – This benefit can help repair or replace recent purchases that are damaged or stolen. The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card is the best credit card for purchase protection.
Q&A with WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou
How concerned are you about 35 million Americans still owing holiday debt from last year?
“It’s definitely very worrisome that 35 million Americans still have holiday credit card debt left over from last year, according to WalletHub’s 2019 Holiday Shopping Survey. That indicates people are just treading water financially and have been unable to use the past 12 months to prepare for the next recession, the arrival of which is just a matter of time,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou. “The fact that nearly one-third of consumers plan on spending less this holiday season than they did last year could be either good or bad news. It depends on whether people are recognizing the need to cut back and save before it’s too late or simply beginning to falter financially.”
Does it make sense to get a new credit card just for the holidays?
“Many people are rightfully hesitant to apply for new credit cards too often, but you definitely don’t want to let valuable savings opportunities pass you by, either. For example, credit card rewards bonuses are near record highs right now, and the winter holiday season may be the only time each year that you spend up to $3,000 within a three-month period, which is required to earn many of the best bonuses,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou. “In other words, if you’re going to spend a lot of money, anyway, an upgrade in rewards cards could save you hundreds of dollars. And if you’re not going to need the best possible credit score in the next six months, the temporary dip that occurs when you open a new account shouldn’t cost you. Just make sure to use the new account responsibly and not as an excuse to rack up debt.”
Why are credit card companies dropping secondary benefits like purchase protection and price protection?
“Several major credit card companies have dropped traditional secondary benefits in 2019. Citi and Discover dropped them entirely, cutting everything from rental car insurance to extended warranties. Barclays, Chase and USAA have also discontinued benefits recently, and American Express is in the process of making changes to its benefits programs. The issuers’ stated reasons have been that the benefits programs were too expensive to maintain, in light of an overall lack of customer interest,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou. “That is true. WalletHub surveys over the years have shown low consumer awareness about and usage of secondary benefits such as purchase protection and price protection. But there’s also a reason for that. These types of credit card benefits have never been easy to use. People had to wade through a lot of fine print and then jump through a few hoops to maybe get reimbursed. So, it seems like such benefits were useful as marketing tools for a while, until consumers began to catch on, and now issuers are moving on to new strategies.”
Do you have any tips for consumers thinking about buying gift cards over the holidays?
“A gift card can be a great holiday present, even though some people might see them as being less-than-thoughtful. If you decide to go the gift-card route, make sure to consider where you’re going to make your purchase. There are several places to buy gift cards at a discount, which could allow you to give a more valuable present without changing your budget. Or, you could score a great gift card without spending any money, by redeeming unused credit card rewards,” said WalletHub CEO Odysseas Papadimitriou.
