British consumers are reaping the delights of lower petrol prices and higher wages by spending in shops, cinemas and restaurants.
Stronger sterling has encouraged more people to make holiday plans.
The sharp rise in consumer spending amounted to a jump of more than 4% in February compared to the same time in 2014.
When the effect of inflation is stripped out, this was the second strongest growth in monthly sales in the last three years, according to data from Barclaycard.
Restaurant spending was up by 16% while for hotels the increase was 9.5%.
The number of holiday booking soared 26% during the month while spending on airlines grew by nearly 4%.
The half-term holiday in February also brought a 38% increase in amusement park spending, 59% for aquariums and 20% for sports centres.
“Spending was up across the board, but discretionary purchases saw the highest levels of growth and leisure and travel really took off,” said the Barclaycard managing director.
Barclaycard processes more than 40% of the UK’s debit and credit card transactions, and based its figures on these.
