10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
Whether you are traveling domestically or abroad, the best way to maximize your rewards on hotel stays is to book stays at large hotel chains (such as Accor, Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, Wyndham and more). These large hotel chains each have their own rewards programs that allow you to earn points on stays (or earn airline miles) as well as rack up credit towards achieving elite status with that program.
However, budget travelers and backpackers may find that staying with these larger hotel chains falls outside of their budget. In these cases, searching Booking.com for a place to stay can be a great option. Booking.com markets rooms that are available not only at major hotel chains but also at hostels, bed and breakfasts, homestays and more. Thus, it’s a great platform to find places to stay on a tight budget.
And, while it often flies under the radar, Booking.com also has its own loyalty program, known as Genius. If you use Booking.com often, participating in this program can be surprisingly lucrative. In this article, we’re going to explain everything you need to know about Booking.com’s Genius loyalty program, including how to achieve each status tier and the benefits that come with them, when it’s a good idea to use this program instead of a larger hotel rewards program and some other programs that are similar to Genius.
Booking.com Genius Loyalty Program Overview
Genius is the loyalty program of the popular third-party travel booking engine Booking.com. This program is accessible to anyone who visits Booking.com and signs up for a free account. While Genius members earn special benefits as soon as they sign up for the program, they can earn more benefits by moving up in levels.
The Genius program has three levels, each of which guarantees different benefits such as discounts on hotel stays, free breakfasts and more. Members can move up through the levels by completing a certain number of bookings in a given period of time (which includes stay, flight, rental car, taxi and attraction booking).
While the Genius program doesn’t offer rewards points or free stays, members can receive discounts of up 20% on all hotel stays and certain rental car bookings, which could net you significant savings if you use Booking.com frequently.
Plus, one of the best parts of the Genius program is that there’s no expiry to your benefits. This means that if you achieve Genius Level 3 (the highest level), you’ll enjoy the benefits of that level for life.
Level 1
As previously mentioned, as soon as you sign up for an account with Booking.com, you’ll automatically achieve Genius Level 1 and begin receiving the following benefits for life:
- 10% off select hotel bookings
- 10% off select rental car bookings
While getting a 10% discount on select hotel bookings for life can save you a lot of money (compared to booking hotels through Booking.com without signing in to your Genius account), it’s worth noting that almost every hotel loyalty program offers a similar benefit. For instance, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, Wyndham Rewards and almost all similar programs also offer a discounted rate on select bookings for loyalty program members.
At the end of the day, if you use Booking.com at all, you might as well sign up for an account and start receiving 10% off select hotel and rental car bookings as part of Genius Level 1.
Level 2
To reach Genius Level 2, you’ll need to complete five bookings in two years. Eligible bookings include hotel stays, car rentals, taxis, flights and attractions. It’s worth noting, however, that bookings for ride-hail, cruises, insurance, public transport, free options, partner offers and additional purchases (such as room upgrades, child seats for rental cars and additional luggage) will not help you progress in the Genius program.
Once you reach Genius Level 2, you’ll also receive the following benefits for life:
- 10-15% off select hotel bookings
- 10% off select rental car bookings
- Free breakfasts on select stays
- Free room upgrades on select stays
Free breakfasts and free room upgrades are only available for online bookings that have the blue Genius label. If you have Genius Level 2 status (or Level 3 status) and you book one of these properties while signed in to your account, your benefits should automatically apply and you should receive free breakfast and a free room upgrade without any action required on your part.
Everyone who stays in the eligible room will receive free breakfast. For instance, if you book a Genius-participating room for your family of five, then every member of your family should receive free breakfast for however many nights you booked at the property.
Also, hotels that are part of the Genius program (and have the blue Genius label next to their listing) are guaranteed by Booking.com to have a review score of at least 7.5 out of 10 (Booking.com sometimes makes exceptions if the average score in the area or city is below 7.5 and the property has a higher-than-average score for its area). So, you can rest assured that if you book a stay at a Genius-participating property, it’ll be a quality experience.
Level 3
To achieve Genius Level 3, you need to complete 15 bookings in two years. Once you reach this status, you’ll receive the following benefits for the rest of your life:
- 10-20% off select hotel bookings
- 10% off select rental car bookings
- Free breakfasts on select stays
- Free room upgrades on select stays
- Priority support on all stays
Compared to Genius Level 2, Level 3 doesn’t offer much more in terms of benefits. Unlike Level 2 members, however, Level 2 members will receive up to 20% off certain eligible bookings as well as priority support on all stays. That means you’ll receive direct access to a live agent to discuss or modify any of your stays.
Which Bookings Count Towards Your Booking.com Genius Status?
As previously mentioned, bookings for hotel stays, rental cars, taxis, flights and attractions will all count towards your Booking.com Genius status. Each reservation that you make counts as a single booking, regardless of how many nights, rooms, flights or people that reservation includes. For example, even if you book multiple rooms at a hotel for multiple nights on the same reservation, it will count as a single booking.
However, before your bookings can count towards your status, you need to be fully checked out. For example, you need to have checked out of the hotel or returned your rental car. On top of that, it may take additional time for Booking.com’s system to reflect your completed bookings.
Also, your completed bookings may not be reflected in your account if you haven’t verified the email address associated with your Booking.com account. So, if your completed bookings aren’t showing up in your account, you should double-check that your email address has been verified.
To unlock Genius Level 2 or Level 3, you need to complete 5 or 15 bookings, respectively, within 2 years of initiation. That 2-year period begins from the date of your first completed booking. For instance, if you were to complete your first booking on March 23, 2026, then you would have until March 23, 2028, to achieve the required number of bookings.
When Should You Use Booking.com Genius Loyalty Program?
We generally recommend using larger hotel loyalty programs such as Accor Live Limitless, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, Wyndham Rewards and other similar programs if you want to start earning points of hotel stays. These programs tend to offer far more robust rewards than the Booking.com Genius program. For instance, you can often earn free night awards, on-site experience credits and more by earning elite status with these programs. Plus, you’ll earn hotel points that can be redeemed for future stays.
So, if you want to book a hotel stay with Hilton, you’re probably better off booking that stay directly through Hilton than through Booking.com so that you can rack up Hilton Honors points and work towards your next Hilton Honors elite status tier. If you book Hilton stays through Booking.com (or other third-party booking engines), you won’t earn points or elite status credit with Hilton. The same goes for almost all major hotel loyalty programs.
However, there are several scenarios in which it makes sense to use Booking.com rather than larger hotel loyalty programs. For one, if you aren’t loyal to any specific hotel chain (for instance, if you stay with Marriott for one vacation, then Hyatt for another vacation, etc.), then it’s going to be difficult to earn elite status with any major hotel loyalty program and hard to rack up enough hotel points to earn free stays. In this case, it may actually make more sense to make all of your hotel bookings through Booking.com so that you can earn Genius Level 2 or Level 3 and receive discounts through the platform for life.
Another time that it may make sense to use Booking.com instead of booking through major hotel chain websites is if you’re staying at locations that aren’t part of any major hotel loyalty program. Some boutique hotels are independently owned and don’t participate in any loyalty program of their own. In this case, you may be better off making your reservation through Booking.com so that your stay can help you achieve Genius Level 2 or Level 3.
There are also other types of accommodations apart from hotels that can be booked through Booking.com (some of which are considerably cheaper than booking rooms with major hotel chains) such as hostels, homestays, bed and breakfasts and more. So, if you’re a budget traveler and you’re staying at these types of accommodations anyway, then you may as well reserve them through Booking.com and work towards earning Genius Level 2 or Level 3.
Other Third-Party Travel Rewards Programs
Booking.com is far from the only third-party travel booking site with its own rewards program. And there are some third-party booking engine rewards programs that are arguably more lucrative than the Booking.com Genius program.
So, before you decide to book your stays through Booking.com, you should look into the other third-party booking engine rewards programs first to see if there’s one that better suits your needs and spending patterns. Here are some of the programs we recommend looking into:
- Expedia Rewards
- Hotels.com Rewards
- Orbitz Rewards
- Trip.com Rewards
In particular, Hotels.com Rewards is a great program because it rewards you with a free night for every ten nights you book through Hotels.com. The value of your free night stay is equal to the average cost across the ten qualifying nights.
Orbitz Rewards is also a good program for travelers who prefer earning points to receiving discounts (like you would with Booking.com Genius). Whenever you book travel through Orbitz, you’ll earn 1X Orbucks on flights and packages, 3X Orbucks on hotels, vacation rentals and activities and 5X Orbucks on hotels and vacation rentals booked through the Orbitz app. Each Orbuck can then be used to take $1 off the cost of future bookings. So, essentially, it’s like getting a return of 1%, 3% or 5% on all Ortbitz bookings, which is great.
The Bottom Line
Most of the time, we’d still recommend booking directly through major hotel chains and using programs like Accor Live Limitless, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt or Wyndham Rewards. However, there are times when being familiar with the Booking.com Genius loyalty program (or one of the other similar third-party online booking rewards programs) could end up saving you a solid chunk of money.
These programs allow you to receive savings and special perks at hotels that don’t participate in any major hotel loyalty program. You can also work towards earning elite status in these programs by staying at hostels, homestays, bed and breakfasts and more.
So, regardless of whether or not you’re a member of a major hotel loyalty program, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with the Booking.com Genius program or another online travel agency rewards program. If you play your cards right, these programs can make a great supplement to major hotel loyalty programs and can help you maximize your savings on many different kinds of bookings.
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Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
10xTravel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All values of Membership Rewards are assigned based on the assumption, experience and opinions of the 10xTravel team and represent an estimate and not an actual value of points. Estimated value is not a fixed value and may not be the typical value enjoyed by card members.
Editors Note: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
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