The changes were also lower than those for the previous week ending Aug. 23, when spending rose 18.1% for debit cards and 0.9% for credit cards compared with a year earlier. The gains were the best since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic March 11, and the first gain for credit cards.

The latest report showed continuing pandemic-era trends. The 9.4% gain in debit card spending for the week was below the prior four-week average of 16.1% growth. The 2.5% drop in credit card spending showed deterioration from the four-week average decline of 1.5%.

"Debit continues to outperform credit across most categories, buoyed by the impact of economic stimulus monies and deferral programs," Frechette said. "We expect a rebound in overall transactions and spend next week and will monitor consumer spending from the holiday weekend with interest."

This week's report looked at trends in travel spending for the four weeks ending Aug. 30, compared with the four weeks ending Sept. 1, 2019. It found:

• Airline purchases, the largest component of the travel sector, have fallen dramatically down since the start of the pandemic. The four-week average descents for airline purchases were 52.5% by debit and 76.3% by credit card.
• Automobile rentals have fared the best within the travel sector and most notably on debit purchases. The four-week average rose 26.9% by debit, while falling 37.2% by credit card.
• Hotels and motels purchases were also down. The four-week average fell 2.6% for debit and 46.3% for credit card purchases.
• Cruise lines remained in a pandemic dry dock. Weekly credit card purchases on cruise lines have remained 80% or more lower than year-ago levels since the start of the pandemic. The four-week average shows a drop of 87.8% by credit card. Debit purchases have been down at least 80% since June, with a four-week drop of 84.8%.

"The travel sector," Frechette said, "remains down while slowly trending upward, with pockets of strength in automobile rentals as consumers begin to feel comfortable resuming various degrees of domestic travel."

By region, the best gains on debit purchases were in the Great Lakes (+13.9%) and the Plains (+12.7%). The lowest were in Hawaii (+2.3%), the Far West (+4.3%) and the Rocky Mountains (+ 4.4%).

For credit cards, the biggest gains were in the Plains (+5.8%) and the Great Lakes (+4.9%). Declines occurred in New England (-5.4%), Hawaii (-3.8%), the Far West (-1.5%), the Rocky Mountains (-0.9%) and the Midwest (-0.3%).