Expedia launches a loyalty scheme in Ireland – coming here soon?

Expedia has launched Expedia+ in Ireland – a dedicated loyalty scheme which rewards you for your bookings.

It is fair to say from the outset that Expedia Plus isn’t as generous as Hotels.com Rewards (the two companies share the same ownership) which I outlined here.  It is certainly better than nothing, though, and allows you to collect points on flights and car rentals as well as hotel stays.

Irish readers of Head for Points can find out more about Expedia+ here.

In a nutshell:

There are three tier levels:  +blue, +silver (€5,000 spend or 7 hotel nights) and +gold (€10,000 spend or 15 hotel nights)

You earn 2 points per €1 spent on hotels, flight and hotel packages, excursions and most car hire

You earn 1 point per €5 spend on flights

You earn 1 point per €1 on flight and car packages

+silver members get a 10% point bonus, +gold members get a 30% bonus.  Status members also get special benefits at selected hotels.  +gold members receive room upgrades at selected hotels and flexible check-in and check-out times.

You can earn points for ALL travel booked through your Expedia Ireland account, irrespective of whether you travel yourself

Points can be redeemed for Expedia gift vouchers.  The quoted example is a €25 hotel voucher for 3,500 points.

Based on the example at the end, this will not be anywhere near as generous as Hotels.com Rewards.  You would need to spend €1,750 on hotels to get €25 back which is a rebate of a little under 1.5%.

The most attractive part of the scheme may be the hotel benefits, but these are only valid at a selection of hotels branded +VIP.

Overall, there is no need to be jealous of our Irish neighbours.  That said, any loyalty scheme is more rewarding than no loyalty scheme and I would be surprised if Expedia had no plans to roll this out in the UK soon.

You can find out more about Expedia+ here.

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Hotel offers update – September 2024:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Want to buy hotel points?

• Hilton Honors is offering a 100% bonus (some may see less) when you buy points by 24th September. Click here.

• Marriott Bonvoy is offering a personalised bonus when you buy points by 23rd September 2024. Click here.

• World of Hyatt is offering a 20% discount when you buy points by 8th October 2024. Click here.