Expedia Australia has launched a new loyalty program offering in Australia. The “Expedia+” program offers rewards points for consumers purchasing travel products through the Expedia.com.au website. Modelled on the US version of the program it offers three different membership levels, with benefits increasing as you climb the membership levels.
Membership Levels
As mentioned, there are three memberships levels that go by the names of +blue, +silver, and +gold. At each level, more opportunities to to earn and redeem points are available. New members start at the +blue level, the base level of the program. From there, progression is through the +silver level, with +gold level being the highest level available. There are two ways to gain higher levels in the program. The first is based upon your total expenditure on Expedia (while logged into your account). The second method is based on a count of the number of hotel nights that have been booked and consumed through Expedia. The following table shows the requirements for the two levels:
| Level | By Number of nights | By Spend |
|---|---|---|
| +silver | 7 hotel room nights | AU$5,000 in eligible Expedia.com.au spend |
| +gold | 15 hotel room nights | AU$10,000 in eligible Expedia.com.au spend |
Other benefits
There are a number of benefits that Expedia provide, depending on the membership level. The full list of benefits for the three levels are shown in the following tables:
| Expedia+ Benefit | +gold | +silver | +blue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extended Hotel Price Guarantee and Price Match | Y | Y | Y |
| Get twice the value for your points when you redeem for a +VIP Access hotel | Y | Y | Y |
| Use your points to book award travel for others | Y | Y | Y |
| Free amenities like spa discounts and free drinks at select +VIP Access hotels | Y | Y |
| Expedia+ Benefit | +gold | +silver | +blue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earn 2 points per AU$1 spent on hotels, packages with a hotel, activities, and select car rentals. | Y | Y | Y |
| Double-up on flights by earning 1 point per AU$5 spent and airline frequent flyer points | Y | Y | Y |
| No blackout dates when you redeem for Expedia travel | Y | Y | Y |
| Redeem for a AU$25 off hotel coupon with as few as 3,500 points | Y | Y | Y |
| Bonus points accelerator on all eligible bookings (30% for +gold, 10% for +silver) | Y | Y | |
| 250 bonus points for +VIP Access hotel bookings | Y | Y | |
| Exclusive travel offers | Y | Y |
| Expedia+ Benefit | +gold | +silver | +blue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priority customer service | Y | Y | |
| Exclusive benefits from dedicated concierge service in Hawaii and Orlando via Expedia Local Experts | Y | Y | |
| Room upgrades and flexible check-in and check-out at +VIP Access hotels (subject to availability) | Y |
Earning Points
Points are gained for expenditure on the Expedia.com.au website, while logged in to your account. For non standalone fight expenditure, the points earning rate is 2 points per Australian dollar spent. This includes spend on hotels, packages with a hotel, activities, and select car rentals. For standalone flight bookings, the earn rate decreases to 1 point for each $5 (AUD). This likely reflects the lower commissions that are available for flights. In the case of flights, however, you will still typically earn frequent flyer points, assuming that the flight bookings are eligible for such points. As a further ‘triple’ dip, in this case, you may still earn points on any credit card spend. The downside with hotel bookings is that, in some cases, you forego any ability to take advantage of any hotel loyalty scheme that may be available by booking direct with the hotel.
Redeeming Points
Points redemptions are available for bookings that include a flight component. This can either be a standalone flight, or a package including flights and accommodation (or in Expedia terms a package booking). The normal redemption rate is that 3,500 points will get a $25 voucher. For package (flight+hotel) bookings, vouchers are available in $25 increments, up to a total of $300 (which would cost 42,000 points).
