47 Million Americans Will Set New July 4th Holiday Travel Record

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Are we there yet?  The Independence Day holiday travel record will be shattered when 46.9 million Americans will travel 50+ miles from home, according to AAA and INRIX, a transportation analytics firm.  The biggest jump will be in air travel.

Here’s where you’ll find your fellow travelers:

  • 39.7 million will be on the road (5.1% increase from last year)
  • 3.8 million will fly (7.9% lift over last year, and the 9th straight year of more air travel passengers)
  • 3.5 million will travel by train, bus, and cruise ship (5.8% increase)

That’s the most Americans traveling during the Independence Day holiday period (defined as July 3 to July 8) since AAA began tracking 18 years ago.

“This Independence Day will be one for the record books, as more Americans take to the nation’s roads, skies, rails and waterways than ever before,” stated Bill Sutherland, senior vice president, AAA Travel and Publishing.

Try to Avoid This Worst Time to Be on the Road

Call it a “frustration forecast.”  The prediction is drivers will sit in the worst traffic on Tuesday, July 3, in the late afternoon.  Because commuters will leave work early and contribute to gridlock with holiday travelers.

Travel times could DOUBLE in major metropolitan areas across the country.  Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington D.C., could suffer the most significant delays.

So get your podcasts, audiobooks, and music playlists ready.

TSA PreCheck Is Essential During Holiday Travel

Here at Million Mile Secrets, we love taking the quicker TSA PreCheck line through airport security.

TIP:   Don’t want to pay that $85 fee?  Apply for the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card.  Use it to buy TSA PreCheck ($85)  Global Entry ($100) and you’ll get the cost reimbursed.

Million Mile Secrets features a team of points and miles experts who have traveled to over 80 countries and have used 60+ credit cards responsibly to accumulate loyalty points and travel the world on the cheap! The Million Mile Secrets team has been featured on The Points Guy, TIME, Yahoo Finance and many other leading points & miles media outlets.

Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)

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