Expedia Rewards was launched just last year and the program has already made some big changes to how members earn points. Expedia Rewards allows members to earn points on all hotel stays, flights, packages and activities booked on Expedia.com and they can then redeem points for travel with no blackout dates.
The program made some changes including that members will now earn one Expedia point for every $2 spent on flights instead of one point per $1 spent. All vacation packages will now earn double points (two points per dollar spent) when you book your flight and hotel with Expedia. And members can earn double points (two points per dollar spent) through June 30, 2012, on all hotel bookings starting with your second hotel booking. Members must register at http://insideflyerus.wpengine.com/link/?5601 to receive the bonus points. As an Elite Plus member, you’ll earn 25 percent bonus points on any hotel stay or vacation package that includes a hotel.
Other news includes a change in the award chart. Expedia warned members by almost a month that changes were coming, but did not tell them what the changes were going to be. The new award chart no longer features flights at a dollar for dollar ratio. Now, the program will base the flight costs upon the price of the flight at time of booking and for every $1 in flight cost, customers will need approximately 125 points. Which means that the flight awards have increased by 25 percent. The new hotel redemption rate is variable with coupon values that start at 7,000 points for a $50 hotel coupon (there is no longer a 3,500 points for a $25 discount option).
Bottom line: This is certainly a devaluation of the program for those who prefer to use Expedia to book flights. If, however, you prefer to book packages that include a flight and hotel, you’ll now earn double. Remember, though, that flights booked through Expedia will still earn miles through your frequent flyer program, but hotels do not allow points earning when stays are booked on third-party sites like Expedia. So, Expedia Rewards is best used for hotel booking if you like to stay at hotels that do not have a frequent stay program.
