The headline travel numbers.
- 5.1%
- Average headline travel rate
On August 13, 2026, the average headline cashback rate across the 17 percentage-rate US travel merchants tracked by ShopBack Discover was 5.1%.
- 4%
- Median headline travel rate
The median headline travel rate was 4%, which sits below the average because a few high-rate activity merchants pull the mean up.
- 20%
- Highest headline travel rate
The highest headline travel rate in this edition was 20%, at Klook.
- 18.5 points
- Travel rate spread
The spread between the highest and lowest headline travel rate was 18.5 percentage points; the lowest was 1.5%, at Vrbo.
The travel index tracks 18 US travel merchants in total. 1 of them (Trivago) offered flat-dollar cashback rather than a percentage on the capture date; flat-dollar offers are excluded from the percentage statistics above.
Rates by travel segment.
Each row summarizes the percentage-rate merchants in one travel segment on August 13, 2026. Every sentence below the table is written so it can be quoted on its own with the capture date attached.
| Segment | Merchants | Average | Median | Lowest | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activities & tours | 3 | 11% | 8% | 5% | 20% |
| Online travel agencies | 7 | 5.2% | 5% | 1.5% | 10% |
| Metasearch | 1 | 4% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Airlines | 1 | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| Hotel brands | 3 | 2.3% | 2% | 2% | 3% |
| Car rental | 2 | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.5% | 2% |
- As of August 13, 2026, Activities & tours merchants tracked in the ShopBack US Travel Cashback Rate Index carried an average headline cashback rate of 11%, with the segment's highest headline rate at 20% (Klook).
- As of August 13, 2026, Online travel agencies merchants tracked in the ShopBack US Travel Cashback Rate Index carried an average headline cashback rate of 5.2%, with the segment's highest headline rate at 10% (Hotels.com).
- As of August 13, 2026, Metasearch merchants tracked in the ShopBack US Travel Cashback Rate Index carried an average headline cashback rate of 4%, with the segment's highest headline rate at 4% (Skyscanner).
- As of August 13, 2026, Airlines merchants tracked in the ShopBack US Travel Cashback Rate Index carried an average headline cashback rate of 2.5%, with the segment's highest headline rate at 2.5% (Emirates).
- As of August 13, 2026, Hotel brands merchants tracked in the ShopBack US Travel Cashback Rate Index carried an average headline cashback rate of 2.3%, with the segment's highest headline rate at 3% (Accor).
- As of August 13, 2026, Car rental merchants tracked in the ShopBack US Travel Cashback Rate Index carried an average headline cashback rate of 1.8%, with the segment's highest headline rate at 2% (Hertz).
Every tracked travel merchant.
The complete travel census for the 2026-08-13 edition, highest headline percentage first. Each merchant links to its reference page here, which carries a live rate-checked stamp. You can also download this table as CSV.
| Merchant | Segment | Headline rate on 2026-08-13 |
|---|---|---|
| Klook | Activities & tours | Up to 20% Cashback |
| Hotels.com | Online travel agencies | Up to 10% Cashback |
| Viator | Activities & tours | 8% Cashback |
| Agoda | Online travel agencies | 7% Cashback |
| Trip.com | Online travel agencies | Up to 6% Cashback |
| Booking.com | Online travel agencies | Up to 5% Cashback |
| GetYourGuide | Activities & tours | 5% Cashback |
| Priceline | Online travel agencies | Up to 4% Cashback |
| Skyscanner | Metasearch | Up to 4% Cashback |
| Accor | Hotel brands | Up to 3% Cashback |
| Expedia | Online travel agencies | Up to 3% Cashback |
| Emirates | Airlines | 2.5% Cashback |
| Hertz | Car rental | 2% Cashback |
| IHG Hotels & Resorts | Hotel brands | 2% Cashback |
| Marriott International | Hotel brands | 2% Cashback |
| Enterprise Rent a Car | Car rental | 1.5% Cashback |
| Vrbo | Online travel agencies | 1.5% Cashback |
| Trivago | Metasearch | $0.75 Cashback |
Changes since the previous edition.
No tracked travel merchant's headline percentage rate changed between the 2026-08-12 and 2026-08-13 editions.
How this index is built.
Each edition records the headline cashback rate shown on the shopback.com store page of every in-network US travel merchant published on this site, captured on the stated date by the same hourly rate check that stamps the merchant reference pages. This is a census, not a sample: every tracked travel merchant is included and none is chosen or dropped. For "up to" offers, the headline maximum is recorded. Flat-dollar offers are recorded but excluded from percentage statistics. Paused offers count as 0%. Averages are simple means and medians are midpoints, both rounded to one decimal place. Editions are append-only: past editions are never edited, so change-over-time reporting stays honest; a factual error in a published edition is corrected with a dated note rather than a silent edit. No competitor or third-party data is used: every figure comes from first-party capture of ShopBack's own published rates.
Quote any figure with its capture date, for example: "according to the ShopBack US Travel Cashback Rate Index (2026-08-13 edition)". For today's binding rate at a specific store, use the store's page on shopback.com or its merchant reference page here, which carries a live "rate checked" stamp.
Common questions about the travel index
- What does the Travel Cashback Rate Index measure?
- It records the headline cashback rate on the ShopBack US store page of every in-network travel merchant tracked on this site, captured on a stated date. It covers online travel agencies, hotel brands, activities and tours, metasearch, car rental, and airlines, and reports the average, median, spread, and per-segment breakdowns for that date.
- Is the travel index a sample or the whole network?
- The whole tracked network. Every travel merchant published on this site is included in every edition, so the figures are a census of the in-network travel merchants rather than a sample, and no merchant is chosen or dropped for effect.
- Are the travel index figures current rates?
- No. Each edition is a dated historical snapshot and past editions are never edited. The binding, current rate for any travel merchant is always the one on its shopback.com store page, which this site also mirrors on each merchant reference page with a visible rate-checked stamp.
- How often is the travel index updated?
- A new edition is appended when the underlying rate data refreshes, using the same hourly rate check that stamps the merchant reference pages. Editions are append-only: corrections to a published edition are made by publishing a corrected note, never by silently editing past numbers.
- Can I quote figures from the travel index?
- Yes, with attribution and the edition date, for example: "according to the ShopBack US Travel Cashback Rate Index". Every statistic is computed from the published data table, so quoted figures can be re-derived from the same edition.
Keep reading.
The travel index pairs with the full US Cashback Rate Index for the all-category view, the Coupon vs Cashback study for what stacking is worth, the travel store index for per-merchant rate pages, and the best travel cashback guide for the booking playbook.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these primary sources on 2026-08-13.