Expedia's One Key Rewards Program [How It Works, Benefits] (2024)

Expedia’s One Key Rewards is the new loyalty program that is shared between Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. Introduced in July 2023, this rewards program creates a single platform to earn and use rewards across these 3 key travel websites within the Expedia Group family.

In this article, we’ll go over details about the One Key Rewards program, including how to earn and use rewards, the benefits of status, and how these 3 programs — Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo — can work together for you.

What Is One Key Rewards?

One Key Rewards is the loyalty program shared by Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. It replaced any previous loyalty programs these websites had when it was introduced in July 2023. Now, you can seamlessly earn and use rewards across these 3 platforms.

While this is great news for fans of Vrbo, which previously didn’t have a loyalty program, frequent users of the popular Hotels.com Rewards program, which offered a free night for every 10 stayed, may not be as happy.

One Key Rewards is not being used by any other Expedia Group brands, including CarRentals.com, Cheap Tickets, Ebookers, Hotwire, Orbitz, Travelocity, Trivago, and Wotif.

Hot Tip:

If you had a U.S.-based Expedia or Hotels.com account before One Key Rewards was introduced in July 2023, your account should have been transitioned automatically. Vrbo customers must log in to accept the terms and conditions before a One Key account will be created.

What Is OneKeyCash?

OneKeyCash is the currency used within the One Key Rewards program.

Members earn 2% in OneKeyCash for every dollar spent (excluding taxes and fees) on eligible hotels, vacation rentals, activities, packages, car rentals, and cruises. Unfortunately, the earning rate for eligible flights is poor — just 0.2% in OneKeyCash for every dollar spent.

One Key members who have status within the program (more on that below) can earn up to 6% in OneKeyCash when staying at VIP Access properties booked through Expedia and Hotels.com.

VIP Access properties meet consistently high quality and service standards, as deemed by Expedia Group.

The account that makes the booking is the one that will earn OneKeyCash, regardless of who is traveling. For example, if you make hotel and flight reservations for yourself, a spouse, and kids, all of the OneKeyCash earned from the trip would be deposited into your account.

This could be a beneficial feature if you often make travel arrangements for friends and family.

OneKeyCash can be earned on both “Pay Now” and “Pay Later” bookings.

For Pay Now bookings, OneKeyCash will be awarded within 3 days of the trip completion. For Pay Later bookings and all Vrbo bookings, OneKeyCash will usually be credited to the account within 45 days after trip completion, although it could take up to 90 days.

OneKeyCash rewards do not expire as long as you’ve made an eligible booking or redeemed rewards in the last 18 months.

Status Discounts

In addition to earning OneKeyCash, status members can receive discounts of 10% to 20% on select hotels and up to 30% when booking a hotel and flight together.

How To Track Your Rewards

You can easily track your One Key Rewards online through Expedia, Hotels.com, or Vrbo.

After logging into your account, click on your name or profile picture icon, then click on View rewards activity.

As long as you use the same email address across all 3 websites, all of your rewards for Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo will be tracked using a single account.

One Key Rewards Status

Status within the One Key Rewards program is determined by trip elements. You’ll earn 1 trip element for each of the following:

Each trip element must be worth at least $25, not including taxes or fees, to qualify.

There are 4 levels of status within the One Key Rewards program — Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Each tier is determined by the number of trip elements you have earned in a calendar year.

Once you earn a status level within One Key Rewards, it will be valid for the rest of the calendar year in which you earned it, plus the following calendar year.

Bottom Line:

There are 4 levels of status within the One Key Rewards program. Status is based on the number of trip elements (hotel night, cruise night, car rental day, etc.) earned in a calendar year.

How To Use OneKeyCash

Once you have earned OneKeyCash, you can apply it to Pay Now bookings and eligible vacation rentals at checkout.

To use OneKeyCash for flights, you’ll need enough to cover the entire flight cost, including taxes and fees. Anything extra, like checked bags or seat assignments, must be purchased after booking the ticket, as they can’t be covered with OneKeyCash.

OneKeyCash is non-transferable, but you can use it to book travel for another person.

Hot Tip:

You can apply OneKeyCash to Pay Now bookings and eligible vacation rentals at a rate of 1:1 ($1 OneKeyCash will be worth $1 at checkout)

If you previously had a Hotels.com Rewards or Expedia Rewards account, you should have been transferred over to a One Key account automatically.

Any confirmed Hotels.com stamps or reward nights (from the U.S.-based website) were automatically converted into OneKeyCash. A $100 reward night became $100 OneKeyCash. Each stamp turned into OneKeyCash at 10% of the value of the stamp.

Expedia Rewards points earned from the U.S.-based site were automatically converted into OneKeyCash at a rate of 100 Expedia Rewards points to $1 OneKeyCash.

The latest expiration date between your Hotels.com and Expedia accounts was applied to your OneKeyCash balance.

Your new One Key Rewards status for 2023 is based on your qualifying activity in 2022 and any qualifying activity in 2023 up until the launch of One Key in July.

Beginning in 2024, your One Key Rewards status will be based on your qualifying activity (trip elements) from the previous calendar year.

Best Credit Cards To Use With One Key Rewards

The 3 brands that participate in One Key Rewards — Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo — will all code as travel on your credit card statement. Therefore, to earn the most points, you’ll want to use a card that includes travel as a bonus category.

These cards all earn 3x points per dollar spent on all eligible travel purchases, including online travel agencies like Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo:

• American Express® Green Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Another card, the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, earns 3 points per dollar on airfare and hotels (not vacation rentals) purchased through online travel agencies like Expedia and Hotels.com.

Is Expedia’s One Key Program Worth It?

To determine whether or not the One Key program from Expedia is worth it, we’ll need to look at what you would potentially be giving up by using it.

If you’re booking a hotel with its own loyalty program (such as World of Hyatt or Hilton Honors), using One Key Rewards will negate any benefits you may be eligible for through that hotel program. For many travelers, especially those with elite status, that’s a deal-breaker.

However, if you have no hotel loyalty or are booking an independent hotel without a loyalty program, One Key could be a good way to earn rewards on your booking.

If you’re planning to book a Vrbo rental, using One Key Rewards could absolutely be worth it since there’s no other loyalty program used with that platform.

Booking a flight using One Key Rewards won’t affect any frequent flyer miles you may earn or any airline elite status. However, the earning rate on flights through One Key is so low (0.2%) that going through a third party may not be worth it (customer service matters may be a bit more complicated when you don’t book directly).

While earning 0.2% in OneKeyCash is definitely better than nothing, you should consider how many points you could earn through other portals.

For example, you could earn 10 points per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars and 5 points per dollar spent on flights with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card through the Chase Travel portal. Similarly, you can earn 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars and 5 miles per dollar spent on flights with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card through Capital One Travel.

Bottom Line:

If you value a hotel brand’s loyalty program or have hotel elite status, booking through One Key may not be worth it. However, if you have no hotel or airline loyalty or prefer booking independent hotels and vacation rentals, One Key may offer a convenient way to earn rewards for different types of travel in 1 spot.

Final Thoughts

One Key Rewards is a new, unified loyalty program that covers Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. Launched in mid-2023, this rewards program allows travelers to earn and use rewards across all 3 platforms under a single account.

The information regarding the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the American Express^® Green Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.