One Key Rewards Program: Is it Worth it?

If you’re a fan of online travel agencies such as Expedia, Vrbo and Hotels.com, you’ll be happy to know that you can earn rewards on all of your bookings through the One Key Rewards program.

While there’s no longer an Expedia rewards card, the One Key Rewards program enables you to earn and redeem OneKeyCash Rewards across all three websites, as well as earn elite status, enabling you to save on out-of-pocket costs on your next vacation.

However, while the rewards program has its perks, One Key Rewards struggles to compete with transferable rewards points offered by travel credit cards as well as credit card issuer travel portals.

Here’s a rundown of how the One Key Rewards program works, its perks, drawbacks and a verdict on whether it’s worth it or not.

Breaking Down the One Key Rewards Program

Previously, the three Expedia Group websites — Expedia, Vrbo and Hotels.com — operated separate loyalty rewards programs. That meant loyalty rewards earned with one of these programs could be redeemed with the program through which you earned them only.

That all changed in 2023, when Expedia created a unified loyalty rewards program — One Key Rewards — enabling you to earn and redeem loyalty rewards with all three Expedia group websites. Members earn OneKeyCash rewards, a specific form of cashback credits redeemable for bookings with Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.

Members also have the opportunity to earn elite status with One Key Rewards through accumulating “trip elements.”

This earning structure makes it easier for the infrequent traveler to earn status because status tiers have relatively low earning requirements and you can earn trip elements on all aspects of your booking from flight tickets and hotel rooms, to airport transfers and pre-booked activities.

One Key Rewards is particularly valuable for earning a return on vacation rentals through Vrbo, as well as for cutting cash costs on vacations for infrequent travelers.

How to Sign Up for One Key Rewards

Getting started with One Key Rewards is easy.

Those with existing Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo accounts can already log into One Key Rewards without needing to create new account details.

Otherwise, you can simply head on over to any Expedia Group website — Expedia. Hotels.com or Vrbo — and create an account. Once you’ve got an account with one of these websites, your account details will automatically migrate to One Key Rewards.

One Key Rewards Tiers and Benefits

Most loyalty programs reward their members by giving them the opportunity to earn elite status. One Key Rewards is no different, offering you the chance to earn elite status on your bookings with Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.

In addition to your OneKeyCash earnings, One Key Rewards enables you to earn “trip elements” for every booking you make, which count toward your elite status.

A trip element is any aspect of your travel itinerary that’s worth at least $25. You’ll earn one trip element for every one of the following types of activities included in your itinerary:

• One day’s car rental
• One night in a hotel
• One airfare (one-way or return)
• One night in a holiday rental
• One return trip airport transfer
• One activity ticket
• One night on a cruise

To earn status, you’ll need to earn the following number of trip elements:

• One Key Blue: 0-4 trip elements
• One Key Silver: 5-14 trip elements
• One Key Gold: 15-29 trip elements
• One Key Platinum: 30+ trip elements

The difference between One Key Rewards and other loyalty programs is that you can earn elite status relatively quickly. If you play your cards right, you could even earn it in a single trip.

For instance, let’s say you book a family holiday through Expedia, with 10 nights in a hotel and 10 days of car hire, four activities, five return flights, plus a return trip airport transfer. That trip would earn you a total of 30 trip elements, giving you One Key Platinum status in a single vacation.

Even a couples weekend getaway with two nights in a hotel, two days of car hire and return flights would score you One Key Silver status.

Each One Key status tier unlocks benefits that can earn you discounts, more OneKeyCash rewards and VIP support. Even One Key Blue members enjoy limited discounts on certain properties. As you climb your way up the One Key status ladder, you’ll unlock more rewards while retaining the benefits of the previous elite membership tier.

Here’s an overview of the rewards and perks you’ll enjoy with each One Key Rewards status tier:

* OneKeyCash earnings exclude money spent on taxes and fees.

** Any price difference is issued in OneKeyCash rewards.

Overall, the rewards program offers some notable perks, such as up to 6% OneKeyCash on stays at VIP Access properties, as well as up to 20% in savings at more than 10,000 hotels worldwide. Price drop protection also comes in handy, allowing you to book flights in Expedia without worrying about cheaper deals undercutting the value of your spending.

Extra perks such as VIP support, complimentary room upgrades (subject to availability) and food and beverage perks at select hotels make One Key Rewards elite status a valuable asset.

Earning and Redeeming One Key Rewards Points

Let’s now look at how to earn OneKeyCash. We’ll also check out how to use OneKeyCash on Expedia as well as how to use One Key rewards in general.

How to Earn One Key Points

One Key Rewards members earn points in the form of OneKeyCash, a type of cashback credit that can be redeemed with Expedia Group partners.

One Key Rewards members earn 0.2% in OneKeyCash per dollar spent on eligible flights and up to 2% on hotels, vacation rentals, activities, cruises, packages and rental cars, booked through Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo.

One Key Silver tier members also earn an elevated rate of 3% in OneKeyCash on stays at VIP Access properties on Expedia, while Gold tier members earn 4% and Platinum tier members earn 6%.

One benefit of the One Key Rewards program is that the person who books is the person who earns the rewards. So instead of each of your travel companions earning OneKeyCash on their flights, hotels and other eligible activities, you’ll be the sole earner of OneKeyCash if you’re the one who booked.

This means it’s easier and quicker to accumulate OneKeyCash compared to other rewards currencies.

Boosting Your Rewards with the Wells Fargo One Key Credit Card

In partnership with Wells Fargo, One Key Rewards offers two credit cards that enable you to earn One Key Rewards points directly on your everyday spending: the One Key™ Card and One Key+™ Card.

The One Key Card has a $0 annual fee while the One Key+ Card comes with a $99 annual fee, in exchange for a marginally greater selection of card perks.

The One Key Card offers the following bonus spending categories that you can utilize to earn One Key Rewards on your everyday spending:

• 3% OneKeyCash on spending with Vrbo, Expedia and Hotels.com
• 3% OneKeyCash on spending at restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores
• 1.5% on all other purchases

As a One Key Card holder, you’ll enjoy complimentary One Key Silver elite status, unlocking 15% savings at 10,000 hotels worldwide. If you charge $15,000 to your card within a calendar year, you’ll get an automatic upgrade to Gold elite status, unlocking 20% savings at 10,000 hotels worldwide.

If you’re open to paying an annual fee of $99 and you book through Expedia Group websites often enough to offset the annual fee, the One Key+ Card offers slightly greater benefits.

As a One Key+ Card holder, you’ll earn a rate of 2% OneKeyCash on all non-bonus category spending, in addition to the 3% categories offered on the One Key Card. You’ll also benefit from complimentary Gold elite status, unlocking 20% savings at 10,000 hotels worldwide.

One Key+ Card holders also enjoy a complimentary boost of $100 in OneKeyCash credits every account anniversary year, as well as a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® statement credit every four years.

The standout One Key card benefits offered by both cards are their insurance perks. Both the One Key Card and One Key+ Card offer the following complimentary insurance perks to their cardholders:

• Cell phone protection of up to $1,000 in the event of damage to, theft of, or involuntary and accidental parting of a cell phone, with a maximum of two claims per 12-month period ($25 deductible applies to each claim).
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance of up to $5,000 in the event that your common carrier travel is canceled or interrupted by a covered reason (insurance is secondary).
• Auto rental collision damage waiver of up to $50,000 in the event of covered damage or theft to your rental car.
• Travel accident insurance protection of up to $1,000,000

This robust set of travel protections ups the value proposition of both cards.

Additionally, both cards have welcome offers to be earned, with a typical welcome offer of $300 in OneKeyCash credits for the One Key Card and a higher welcome offer of around $400 in OneKeyCash credits for the One Key+ Card.

However, the One Key Card has a typical minimum spend of $1,000 within the first three months of card membership, while the One Key+ Card has a minimum spend of around $3,000.

Given that the difference in welcome offers isn’t usually much more than $100 worth of OneKeyCash credits, you’ll typically get greater bang for your buck with the One Key Card’s welcome offer than the One Key+ Card’s welcome offer, as the former has an effective points multiplier of 30% OneKeyCash while the latter earns around 13% in OneKeyCash.

Similarly, you’ll need to put at least $3,300 in spending on the One Key+ Card’s 3% categories or $6,600 in its 1.5% category to break even on its annual fee. That’s unless you utilize its annual anniversary boost of $100 in OneKeyCash, in which case you can break even on the annual fee from the get-go.

Altogether, you’re likely better off with the One Key Card as you’ll benefit from similar points multipliers and perks with zero annual fees.

How to Redeem One Key Points

When redeeming your OneKeyCash, 1 OneKeyCash credit is equal to $1. Your OneKeyCash earnings can be combined with your credit card at the time of booking, giving you a discounted price.

For instance, if your hotel stay costs $500, you could redeem 200 OneKeyCash credits, reducing the overall cost to just $300.

OneKeyCash redemptions are typically best for covering hotels, packages, activities, car rentals and cruises. This is because you can combine your OneKeyCash earnings with your actual cash at the time of booking. However, when redeeming your OneKeyCash for flights, this isn’t possible — you’ll need to have the full amount in your OneKeyCash balance to cover the entire cost of your flight.

One Key Rewards is also unique as there aren’t many loyalty rewards programs out there that allow you to redeem your points for vacation rentals. This is a plus-point for One Key Rewards, particularly for avid Vrbo users.

Benefits and Perks of One Key Rewards

Hotel and Travel Perks

Booking hotels through Expedia and Hotels.com, or vacation rentals through Vrbo, can sometimes be cheaper than booking directly with the hotel or vacation rental property.

And depending on your elite status with One Key Rewards, you can potentially save between 10 and 20% when booking eligible hotels through Expedia or Hotels.com.

One Key Blue members can save up to 10% at 100,000 hotels worldwide while One Key Silver members can save up to 15% at 10,000 hotels worldwide. Similarly, both One Key Gold and One Key Platinum members can save up to 20% at 10,000 hotels worldwide.

If you manage to score a booking with one of these properties, you could potentially save a few hundred dollars.

Likewise, One Key Silver members can receive an extra perk at participating properties, such as a food and beverage credit, while One Key Gold and Platinum members can receive upgrades at VIP Access hotels (subject to availability).

Pros and Cons of One Key Rewards

Strengths of One Key Rewards

For those who stay in vacation rental properties frequently, as well as those who travel infrequently, the One Key Rewards program has its strengths.

The ability to earn up to 2% in OneKeyCash on vacation rentals booked through Vrbo, as well as on other eligible travel purchases through Expedia and Hotels.com, is a major draw of the program.

Likewise, with its trip element-based earning structure, you can quickly climb the status ranks, even as an infrequent traveler, unlocking the best of what One Key Rewards has to offer.

The opportunity to earn rewards when booking through an online travel agency, where you can benefit from discounted deals and packages, is a great opportunity for the financially savvy traveler.

Drawbacks and Limitations

Despite its strengths, the One Key Rewards program isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

One of the main drawbacks of One Key Rewards is that it’s a step backward for those who previously used the Hotels.com rewards program. Hotels.com rewards members earn one “stamp” for every night stayed in a hotel, with 10 stamps giving you a free night certificate equal to the average value of the previous 10 nights stayed. This effectively gave you 10% back on your spending, which has now been reduced to just 2% with the introduction of the One Key Rewards program.

Similarly, the rewards rate on flights booked through Expedia is a measly 0.2%, meaning you’d earn 1 OneKeyCash credit on a $500 flight booking.

Considering you can get rewards rates of up to 5X points per dollar spent on flights through American Express, Capital One and Chase, booking flights through One Key Rewards gives you a suboptimal return on your spending. Even if you can find deals and discounts on flights and packages, you’d likely get a greater return on your spending, saving you more money in the long run, by booking flights directly with the airline using a travel rewards credit card.

Likewise, when booking hotels through Expedia or Hotels.com, you typically won’t be able to earn hotel loyalty points with the specific chain you’re staying with. So if you’re trying to earn points and build status with Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors or IHG One Rewards, for example, you’d be better off booking your stay directly with these programs rather than through Expedia Group.

That also brings us to the last drawback of the One Key Rewards program. As an online travel agency, it’s often much harder to make changes to your bookings, such as flight tickets and hotel stays, compared to when you book directly with an airline or hotel, respectively. While you will receive customer support, having a middleman to go through often complicates things more than it simplifies them, so keep this in mind when booking through any online travel agency, including Expedia Group.

One Key vs. Competitors

Alternative Travel Rewards Programs

If you book flights through Expedia, you’ll earn 0.2% in OneKeyCash credits and for all other eligible bookings, you’ll earn 2%.

What rates could you earn instead by booking through other travel rewards programs?

If you hold American Express Platinum Card^® (see rates and fees), you could earn the following:

• 5X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with airlines or through American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 per calendar year (1X points thereafter).
• 5X points on prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com.

That means a $500 flight booked through American Express Travel or directly with the airline would earn you 2,500 Membership Rewards points, compared to just 1 OneKeyCash credit.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to pay an annual fee of $895, you could use the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to pay for your flights, hotels and other travel purchases, earning you:

• 5X Ultimate Rewards points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit).

You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for 1.25 cents apiece through Chase Travel℠, increasing the baseline value of your rewards.

Likewise, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card holders can earn the following rates on flight and hotel bookings:

• 10X Miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One’s travel booking site.
• 5X Miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One’s travel booking site.
• Not only do these rewards programs offer far higher rates of return on your spending, but they also offer a wider range of redemption options.

You can either redeem your points through the card issuer’s travel portal for 1 cent apiece (1.25 cents to 1.5 cents apiece with Chase) or transfer them to any of your card issuer’s hotel and airline partners for elevated value.

For more inspiration and One Key Rewards alternatives, check out some of these credit cards with the best travel rewards.

Even the infrequent traveler will likely still get more value out of a transferable credit card rewards program, compared to One Key Rewards. By opening a solid beginner card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and earning its welcome offer, you’ll be set to save far more cash than you would by accumulating OneKeyCash credits.

Likewise, some of the best hotel cards and airline cards offer better rewards rates and more lucrative cardholder perks, including complimentary elite status, than the One Key Rewards program offers, despite earning non-transferable points.

So in most cases, you’ll be better off sticking to a travel rewards card if you’re looking to boost your point-earning and redemption potential.

Final Verdict: Is One Key Rewards Worth It?

For those who are familiar with Expedia Group’s websites and feel most comfortable booking travel through them, One Key Rewards has something to offer.

It’s easy to get elite status, its earning and redemption structure is straightforward, and you can even get perks such as complimentary food and beverage credits and room upgrades at VIP Access properties. One Key Rewards is also an excellent way to earn a return on vacation rental spending through Vrbo.

However, if the choice is between One Key Rewards vs. a transferable credit card rewards program, such as American Express, Chase Ultimate Rewards or Capital One Miles, you’ll get far more value by going with one of the latter.

To learn how to leverage your everyday spending to allow you to travel more for less, sign up for our free 10xTravel course today.