Make travel more rewarding with One Key
At TopCashback, we’re always looking for ways to help our members save money, and with the current cost of living crisis, we know this is more important than ever.
Having the opportunity to travel the world is something lots of us hold very close to our hearts. And while money is tight for many of us right now, we shouldn’t feel forced to give up the things we enjoy.
This is why we’re so excited to tell you about Expedia Group’s brand-new loyalty programme, One Key. You can now combine your rewards when you book travel or accommodation with Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo, helping you stretch your travel budget further.
We’ve got the lowdown on what One Key is, what rewards are up for grabs, and how to start earning, so keep reading if you want to find out more.
What is One Key?
One Key is a brand-new loyalty programme brought to you by Expedia Group, which owns the companies Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.
Expedia and Hotels.com are joining forces to create the ultimate travel loyalty scheme, giving you more opportunities to earn rewards on your bookings purchases.
You’ll earn a percentage of your spending at Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo back in the form of OneKeyCash, which is their all-new rewards currency. Spend your OneKeyCash on future travel or hotel bookings with Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo.
What do the changes mean?
Expedia Rewards and Hotels.com Rewards are being combined to create one loyalty scheme that’s simpler to use.
With the merging of these two travel and accommodation heavyweights, your possibilities for rewards are opening up.
You’ll now collect your rewards for Expedia and Hotels.com purchases (as well as any Vrbo purchases) together on your One Key account. This means you should be able to reach rewards milestones quicker.
One Key gives you more flexibility, as you can earn and redeem your rewards on each and every part of your trip that qualifies.
You can use your rewards the way you want to. For example, your points could go towards a flight instead, or another eligible booking, such as a car rental or holiday activity.
When is this happening?
The switch to One Key has already begun and will have fully replaced the existing Hotels.com and Expedia Rewards schemes by September 16th 2024.
If you have stamps on your Hotels.com account, you won’t lose their value when the scheme changes over. Your stamps will be converted to OneKeyCash, which can be used to spend on flights, hotel stays or extras at Hotels.com, Expedia and Vrbo.
What are the benefits?
Because Expedia Rewards and Hotels.com Rewards are combining to create One Key, this means that whatever level you're at on one site will be the same for all, making everything simpler.
You’ll get discounted member prices of at least 10% (depending on your reward tier) as well as the chance to earn up to 6% OneKeyCash with every purchase you make.
With the One Key scheme, you can collect points for every trip ‘element’ you collect. A trip element is any one of the following:
- Hotel room night
- Vacation rental night
- Flight ticket
- Car rental day
- Cruise cabin night
- Activity ticket
This also means you can put your points towards a wider range of activities. You could use your points towards an Expedia flight, a hotel room via Hotels.com, or another eligible booking.
How to get the most out of One Key
The more you use One Key, the more you’ll be rewarded.
With their four membership tiers, frequent travellers will quickly progress up the chain, reaching Silver, Gold or Platinum levels. Your member discounts will increase as you move up the tiers, as Gold and Platinum members are able to save 20% or more on over 10,000 hotels worldwide.
You can also stack your One Key rewards with our cashback deals to make your budget go even further.
Our Expedia cashback covers package holidays, hotel bookings and flights, as well as transfers, car hire and holiday experiences. We also offer our members cashback on hotel bookings from Hotels.com.
If you’re already signed up as a TopCashback member, you can sign up for your free account today and start earning cashback in no time.
If you’d like to find out more about how you can save money on travel and accommodation, our Money Guides are packed full of useful advice that actually makes a difference. Find out how to save on hotel bookings with secret hotels, uncover our top tips for affordable UK staycations, and discover how to get the best deal on your travel insurance.
by Becca Moody
Becca Moody is a copywriter at TopCashback UK. As someone who loves snapping up a good bargain almost as much as she loves shopping itself, Becca is here to keep you up to date on all the latest money-saving hacks. For more of her tips and tricks, check out TopCashback’s Money Guides.
