A Slowing Economy Hasn’t Grounded Travel Spending — WSJ

By Charley Grant

The economy might be cooling, but wealthy U.S. consumers and businesses are still spending on travel.

That’s one takeaway from Friday morning’s earnings report from American Express. The credit card giant said that cardholder spending on travel and entertainment rose 9% from a year earlier.

That figure is down from 13% in the third quarter–and 34% in the fourth quarter of 2022, when growth surged relative to pandemic-era spending.

Still, the category grew more quickly than overall spending, which rose 6% from a year earlier.

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