Expedia Rewards: The Complete Program Guide (2024)

Expedia Rewards is now One Key.

Expedia Rewards is designed for travelers who want to earn rewards and benefits without having to stay loyal to a single brand. Members earn points on all eligible reservations, regardless of the type of travel: flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises and even tours and activities. The obvious catch? You’ll need to make all your bookings through Expedia.

History

Expedia Inc. is an online travel agency (OTA) which launched in 1996, originally a division of Microsoft.

The name Expedia is a “union between ‘exploration’ and ‘speed’”—and indeed, as one of the first online booking engines, it has sped up the process for booking travel and encouraging exploration. Aggregating travel options and making it easy to confirm reservations worldwide has forever changed how most people book travel.

Today, the parent company, Expedia Group, owns not just Expedia itself, but also CarRentals.com, CheapTickets, ebookers, Expedia Cruises, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Orbitz, Travelocity, Trivago, Vrbo and Wotif.

Expedia Rewards, the loyalty program, was launched in 2011. Today, it only covers bookings made specifically with Expedia.com but eventually they intend to unify rewards across multiple Expedia Group companies through a new, “One Key” rewards program, expected to launch in 2023.

How To Earn Expedia Rewards Points

Earning Expedia Rewards is as easy as making your travel reservations on Expedia while you are logged into your account. There are a few caveats as to which purchases are eligible, but for the most part, it’s effortless.

Since Expedia’s booking engine is so comprehensive, travelers have the opportunity to earn rewards on all types of travel, ranging from flights to hotels to rental cars. This is especially useful for less frequent travelers: there’s only one account to manage and your balance will build more quickly than if you have points scattered across multiple programs.

Most points post to your account within 30 days of travel, though in some cases it could be longer. Rental car rewards may take up to 90 days.

Related: Best Travel Credit Cards

Hotel Stays

Each time you complete a stay at an eligible hotel booked via Expedia, you’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent. Therefore, a hotel costing $100 would earn 100 Expedia Rewards. Some properties designated as VIP hotels earn additional bonus rewards.

While that sounds straightforward, only the base rate of the room qualifies for points. Taxes, fees and any ancillary charges on-site (such as room service or spa treatments) do not earn Expedia Rewards. The total expected rewards are clearly indicated at the top of your check-out page so you can confirm the total before making payment.

Be aware that hotels booked through Expedia will forfeit any discounts, benefits or rewards typically provided directly through hotel loyalty programs. For example, if you book a Marriott hotel on Expedia, you won’t also earn Marriott Bonvoy points or be eligible for elite benefits offered by Marriott. At independent properties this won’t be relevant, but at chain hotels you’ll need to decide whether you prefer Expedia Rewards or points from the hotel. Book accordingly.

Rental Cars

Like with hotel stays, you’ll earn 1 point per dollar spent on rental car reservations. Extra charges, such as prepaid gas or insurance, do not earn rewards.

Cruises

Cruises earn 1 point per dollar spent on the cruise fare. Gratuities and onboard expenses are excluded.

Activities

Tours, excursions and other activities booked on Expedia also qualify to earn rewards at a rate of 1 point per dollar spent.

Flights

Flights earn Expedia Rewards at a lower rate than other types of purchases: you’ll earn 1 point per $5 spent. On a cheap $100 flight, you’d earn only 20 rewards points. On a $1,000 ticket, you’d earn 200.

That may seem absurdly low, but unlike hotel bookings, you can double dip with frequent flyer programs. You’ll be able to earn Expedia Rewards and frequent flyer miles with the relevant program on the same ticket. Simply add your member number while checking out on Expedia or by contacting the airline anytime before boarding. You’re also eligible for any of your normal elite benefits, if applicable, like free checked bags or seat upgrades.

Packages

Many packages are eligible to earn rewards based on the amount spent. However, packages that include activities are generally ineligible for rewards. Because of this, you may want to book your tours separately unless the package provides a discount.

The following packages are not eligible to earn points:

• Flight + Activity packages
• Hotel + Activity packages
• Car + Activity packages
• Hotel + Flight + Activity packages

Bonus: App Bookings

All bookings made on the Expedia app, rather than the website, will earn double base points. This is an easy way to speed up your earning process, although at the expense of a shopping portal bonus.

Credit Cards

Expedia Rewards previously offered a credit card to earn additional points, but the Expedia Rewards Credit Card from Citi* no longer accepts applications.

Elite Status

All members of Expedia Rewards are immediately granted Blue tier status, which makes you eligible to earn rewards and to enjoy access to member prices. Additional tiers include Silver and Gold, which include elevated earning rates and additional travel benefits.

Earning Elite Status

With additional bookings, members may earn Silver or Gold tier status:

• Earn Silver status with 10 Trip Elements in a Calendar Year
• Earn Gold status with 25 Trip Elements in a Calendar Year

Trip elements include hotel nights (1 night = 1 element), cruise nights, flights, rental car reservations and activity tickets. A trip element must cost at least $25 before taxes and fees (and after coupons or discounts) to qualify.

Since each hotel night is counted separately, it’s not unrealistic to earn silver status from a single vacation: two round-trip flights (for you and a companion), five nights hotel, a rental car booking and two different activities would easily get you there.

Be aware that qualifying dates are based on the day of travel rather than the day of purchase. Trips that span multiple calendar years, for example a trip from December 28 to January 2, will be prorated to each applicable year.

Once status is earned, it’s valid for a generously long amount of time. You’ll hold your status tier for the rest of the year in which it was earned, as well as the entire next calendar year and then until February 28 of the year after that. So, status earned on August 1, 2022 would be valid until February 28, 2024.

Benefits of Expedia Rewards Tier Status

The most tangible benefit of holding Expedia status is increased earning rates on eligible bookings:

• Silver: Earn 1 additional point per dollar spent
• Gold: Earn 2 additional points per dollar spent

There are a few other benefits for both Silver and Gold members, but they’re a little more nebulous. You’ll receive a vague set of “free perks” at select hotels if you’re Silver. If you’re Gold, you’ll also enjoy room upgrades “when available” and guaranteed late checkout at an unspecified time—both only at VIP Access properties. Consider all of these icing on the cake when you receive them.

Silver and Gold members also receive expedited customer service when calling by phone. In today’s climate of frequent delays and cancellations, this benefit on its own could prove valuable.

How To Redeem Expedia Rewards

Expedia Rewards keeps redemptions as simple as the earnings side. Currently, points are worth 1 cent each toward travel. For your convenience, if you log into your account, you’ll see that Expedia shows you your total rewards value in both points and dollars to keep the math easy.

You will only be able to redeem Expedia Rewards for future bookings on Expedia—there’s no option to cash out or redeem for non-travel rewards.

To complete your redemption, just login and click the box at checkout to apply your rewards and the total cost will be updated accordingly.

Hotel Redemptions

Expedia allows you to redeem your points for a hotel stay at a rate of 1 cent per point. Because of this, the number of points required for a free night will vary based on the exact hotel and the dates of your stay in order to match the cost of the hotel.

There’s no minimum number of points required for a redemption—if you don’t have enough points to cover the total cost, your rate will be discounted accordingly and you’ll simply pay the balance.

Be aware that all hotel redemptions must be paid for in full at the time of booking. If your points cover the entire cost, there’s no problem. If you need to supplement your rewards with a cash copay, be prepared to front the additional cost when you make the reservation rather than when you arrive at the property.

Rental Car Rewards

Similar to hotel reservations, rental cars can be paid for with Expedia Rewards, either partially or in full depending on how many points you have. Again, you’ll need to select the “Pay Now” option in order to use points.

Activity Rewards

If you’d like to redeem your Expedia Rewards toward things to do at your destination such as walking tours, whale watching or ziplining, you’ll have the option to apply points toward either the partial or full cost of your ticket when selecting the Pay Now option.

Airline Rewards

Redeeming your points for free flights has one extra rule, but it’s still easy. Points are worth 1 cent each toward airfare, but you must have enough points to cover the cost of a ticket in full. There’s no way to use points and cash for a flight with Expedia Rewards.

Unlike other frequent flyer programs, you don’t need to worry about blackout dates or limits on the number of seats available for miles. If a seat is available for sale on Expedia, you’ll be able to redeem rewards. The downside of this is that expensive flights will require a large balance of points. There are no deals or sweet spots for travelers in the know since points are a flat 1 cent each.

Flight Plus Hotel Package Rewards

Booking packages sometimes offers discounts compared to booking only a flight or hotel alone. However, this type of redemption requires some extra steps.

Instead of applying your rewards balance to the total cost, you’ll instead need to redeem points for a “Reward Coupon” with a maximum $300 value. You’ll receive a coupon code you need to apply at checkout and only one can be used per package. In other words, you might not be able to use points to cover the full cost of your trip. Any additional costs need to be paid for at the time of booking.

Reward Coupons expire one year after issuance, so it’s best not to request one until you’re ready to use it. There are no refunds for unused or expired coupons.

Other Important Notes About Expedia Rewards

Expiration

Points expire if you have no qualifying activity in your account in 18 months. Any form of earning or redeeming points counts as qualifying activity and will restart the clock.

Family Pooling

Although Expedia doesn’t allow you to pool or share points with other members after they’re earned, you can earn points on behalf of multiple travelers at the time of booking. Someone booking flights for a family of four in the same reservation will earn rewards based on the cost of all four passengers. Similarly, if you book and pay for a partner’s hotel room through your Expedia Rewards account—even if you’re not traveling—you’ll still earn points.

Similarly, redemptions can be made in any name, making this a flexible way to earn and redeem points for your household.

Bottom Line

Expedia’s flat-rate earnings and redemptions makes this an easy program to learn and a solid option for the casual traveler who doesn’t want to bother with joining multiple programs and waiting several years to earn meaningful rewards. By consolidating flights, hotels, car rentals and more in one place, points add up faster. The ability to earn for your entire household makes it feel speedy, too.

Aspirational travelers, though, may find Expedia Rewards a bit lacking. There’s no way to get outsized value from its points. A flat-rate of 1 cent each is a double-edged sword of simplicity and banality. If you’re hoping to earn enough points for a first-class flight and five-star hotels, you better expect to earn a million points or more.

Frequent travelers may also find Expedia Rewards lacking, since booking through the platform means foregoing hotel benefits and points that come with reserving directly through the hotel. If you stay often enough to earn elite status with a hotel program, you may find things like free breakfast and suite upgrades enough to sway you away from Expedia.

Overall, Expedia Rewards might not be the best fit for everyone but it’s a fair option for the right type of traveler. Essentially earning a 1% rebate on most travel purchases adds up over time and it’s not difficult to reach Silver or Gold status to double or triple your earnings. If that sounds like you, signing up and collecting rewards is as easy as can be.