Guide to Travel Booking Site Reward Programs (2020)

Advanced Strategies to Earn Extra Rewards on Hotel Stays, Maximize Your Rewards When Purchasing Airline Tickets

Several third-party travel booking sites, like Expedia.com, have their own reward programs. When you book a hotel at one of these sites, you generally won’t be eligible for points in the hotel’s own loyalty program (if any), but you will earn points from the booking site itself. These booking site reward points can then be used to get discounts off a future reservation.

When you book hotel rooms through an online travel site, you should take advantage of their loyalty program. Hotels.com offers the best reward program of all the major travel sites.

Travel website loyalty programs don’t cost anything to join and their points are usually easy to redeem. It makes no sense to shop at these sites, without taking a few moments to join the rewards program first. Since prices tend to be the same across different third-party travel sites, you might as well book your hotel on the site with the best loyalty program. That is usually Hotels.com.

Once you've stayed 10 nights, you can use your credit whenever you are booking a hotel reservation. If the hotel room you are booking is more expensive than the credit value, you will pay the difference. But if it is less expensive, you won’t get a refund. You can only redeem a single free night credit for each night of your new reservation, you can't use multiple credits to pay for a more expensive room night, and you can't use a large credit to pay for part of the cost of a 2-night reservation.
You always pay any taxes or fees. The credit just covers the base hotel rate.
If you book online, you'll need to pay a $5 "reservation fee". This is waived if you book in the app.
If you cancel a reservation made with a free night (after a 72-hour grace period), you lose your free night credit and the reservation fee, even if you are within the hotel’s normal cancellation window.
Free Night credits will expire if there is no activity in your account during a 12-month period.

Along with the 10% return from the Hotels.com reward program, you can usually earn up to an extra 5% back through online shopping portals like BeFrugal and Top Cashback. Note that these portals advertise a higher cashback rate that you would only earn if you don't participate in Hotels.com's reward program. You'll still get some extra rewards; you'll just get a lower rate than what is displayed (you can see it in the fine print).

If you are ambitious, you can save money by using discounted Hotels.com gift cards. Hotels.com gift cards are widely available, often discounted to 15%, and more flexible than gift cards for any specific hotel program. If you can buy gift cards for 15% off, you are getting the equivalent of 25% off your hotel reservation, plus whatever you can earn from a cashback portal.

Orbitz Rewards

Earn 3% for hotel reservations booked on the website or 5% if booked through the mobile app. Earn 1% on packages.

Use can use your “Orbucks” instantly to pay for all or part of any new hotel reservation.
The Orbitz credit card will give you an extra 5% back. This is better than you’d get from a general-purpose rewards card and comparable to what you can earn from credit cards with the highest reward rates on travel purchases.
If you stay 4 or more nights per year, you have access to special benefits at a selected group of hotels. Stay 12 or more nights, and get reimbursement for your TSA enrollment fees and up to two checked bags (up to $25 per bag) per year when booking airline tickets through Orbitz, plus potential upgrades at selected hotels.
Orbucks expire after 12 months of inactivity.
Along with the base 3-5% return from the reward program, and whatever you get from your credit card, you can earn up to an additional 3-7% through online shopping portals, depending on the type of hotel reservation.

Expedia Rewards

Earns 2 points per dollar spent on hotels and most other travel purchases but only 1 point per every 5 dollars spent on airfare.

You can redeem your points at a rate of around .7 cents each for hotel bookings, but you need to use a minimum of 3,500 points ($25). Redemptions for flights and packages are worth less than for hotels.
If you spend more than $5,000 or stay more than 7 nights each year, you are eligible for free amenities when you stay at VIP Access hotels, as well as a bonus on points earned.
Expedia points expire if there is no account activity during an 18-month period.
Along with the 1.4% return, you should be able to earn an extra 3-8% by visiting Expedia through an online shopping portal.