Bank of America: 2021 credit card spending up 24% over pre-pandemic levels
Bank of America reported Monday that its consumer clients spent $335 billion in total payments in January, up 17% from last year. Credit and debit card spending reached $65 billion for the month, up 16%.
According to a press release, travel spending increased almost 120% year over year, with retail and food spending also seeing growth. Credit card spending as a whole increased 28%. Consumer spending was up 24% over pre-pandemic 2019 levels, and a total of $3.8 trillion was made in payments in 2021.
The company said this is an indication that the economy is in a good position going into 2022. Air travel was up 160% over the previous year, and November and December 2021 both saw record spending around the holidays.
Spending by low-income consumers (below $50,000 annual income) was up 7%, and spending by high-income consumers (above $100,000 annual income) increased by 23%. In addition, the company said that checking and savings account balances are up 15% from the year before.
"Bank of America consumer clients continued their strong payment trends in January, following record levels in 2021," said Mary Hines Droesch, Head of Consumer and Small Business Products at Bank of America. "These trends bode well for the economy as we move further in 2022."