The easiest reward program? What to know about Expedia Group's new One Key loyalty program

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When Jon Gieselman started as president of Expedia Brands in 2021, his travel rewards cards went through onboarding with him. He and his assistant added them to the company’s system for work travel, but as he went through his wallet and read them off, he had a realization.

“‘This is the problem to solve,’” he recalled thinking in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY. “So many people have this same issue. They’ve got all these programs, all these cards. It’s impossible to keep track of it.”

Expedia Group is now rolling out a tool to help travelers simplify. One Key, which officially launched in the U.S. Monday, is a single loyalty program that brings together the company’s flagship brands Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. The company will bring the program to other countries in 2024.

Here’s what travelers should know.

How does Expedia Group’s One Key program work?

One Key is free to join, and members can reach various tiers by amassing trip elements, the various eligible parts of trips travelers can book through the three brands. Those include:

• Flights

• Nights at hotels, vacation rentals and on cruises

• One-day car rentals and more

They must be worth at least $25 to qualify, before taxes and fees, and travelers can see full eligibility requirements here.

Members start at the Blue tier when they sign up, and can advance to Silver if they collect five trips elements within a year. The program is designed to serve road warriors and casual travelers alike, and Gieselman said the company worked to make it easy to earn status.

“The example I always give is that if you book a round-trip ticket and three nights in a hotel with your wife, you’re good, you’re Silver,” he said. Those who hit 15 trip elements within a year will move up to Gold, and will reach Platinum at 30 trip elements.

When members spend money on any of the three platforms (Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo), they earn OneKeyCash, which they can apply to future bookings at any of the same platforms.

For every U.S. dollar spent – excluding taxes and fees – they will earn 2% in OneKeyCash on eligible hotels, car rentals, cruises and more. Travelers will earn 0.2% on flights, if booked a la carte. However, if they book flights as part of a package, the rate for the package – including the flights – is 2%.

What should I watch out for when using OneKeyCash to book?

There is some other fine print to keep in mind: Members who want to book a flight using OneKeyCash, for example, will also need to have enough accrued for the whole cost, including taxes and fees. They also can’t add extras such as seat assignments or checked bags, and will have to buy those after they purchase their ticket.

Users can access One Key on the Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo websites, or their mobile apps.

Will my existing Expedia and Hotels.com rewards transfer to One Key?

While One Key marks the first loyalty program for Vrbo, Expedia and Hotels.com already have rewards programs – but existing members don’t need to worry.

Expedia Rewards points earned on its U.S. site will be automatically transferred. Every 100 points is worth $1 in OneKeyCash. Points earned on international Expedia sites will stay in users’ non-U.S. Expedia Rewards accounts.

For users who made their account on the U.S. Hotels.com site, confirmed Hotels.com Rewards stamps or reward nights will also be automatically converted to OneKeyCash. That applies to bookings made on both the U.S. and international sites.

If you earned a $100 reward night, it will be converted into OneKeyCash at the same value, and 10% of the stamp value will also be converted.

From our partners: Vote for the best credit card rewards and travel loyalty programs on USA TODAY 10Best

Even if a user created their account on Hotels.com’s U.S. site, however, if they only have stamps or reward nights from bookings on its non-U.S. sites, those will not be converted and will stay in their Hotels.com Rewards account. Pending stamps earned for bookings on non-U.S. sites before One Key’s launch will not become OneKeyCash either.

“Your Expedia Rewards and Hotels.com Rewards tier status will not only be protected, but we will make sure any eligible activity in 2022 and 2023 (up to the date you become a One Key Member) across your Expedia and Hotels.com accounts counts toward your tier status,” Expedia said on its website.

Trip elements collected in 2023 – including eligible bookings before becoming a One Key member – count towards members’ status in 2024. Vrbo bookings made before the launch, however, do not count toward your 2024 status.

After that, status for a coming year will be determined by the trip elements a member has accrued as of Dec. 31, with the number resetting on Jan. 1.

What are the perks of being a One Key member?

Travelers using One Key can benefit from the program as soon as they join. Members, including Blue tier users, can save with member prices on select flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises and activities.

The perks get better with higher status. Silver members, for instance, receive priority travel support (the company will work to get them faster access to one of its agents, but all travelers can reach an agent within a minute 90% of the time, according to an Expedia spokesperson). At the highest tier, Platinum members get the most perks, including Platinum VIP support and as much as $100 off hotels to celebrate the launch of One Key.

Silver, Gold and Platinum members can also earn extra OneKeyCash when they book at VIP Access properties on Expedia and Hotels.com.

Travelers can earn OneKeyCash on top of some of their other travel rewards programs, too. With a large family of travel brands, Gieselman believes Expedia Group can put a “pretty big dent” in streamlining the sometimes confusing travel rewards process.

“If you could just make it easy to use, easy to earn, you know, it doesn't have to be Tuesday and sunny and the planets have to be in alignment for you to actually leverage the rewards, gosh, that would be kind of great,” he said.

Which travel reward program is your favorite? Why?

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is Expedia's One Key loyalty program? What travelers should know