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Is Hotels.com gearing up to launch a UK reward credit card?

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We have mentioned before that Hotels.com appears to be planning a UK credit card.

Plans seem to be progressing, with a job ad currently running for a Senior Marketing Manager to drive the project.  See here.

There is no clue about how the card may work.  I am not very enthusiastic because I struggle to see how you can integrate Hotels.com Rewards (a free night for every 10 nights you stay, based on the average price paid) and credit card spending.

It may end up as something very bland – perhaps 0.5% of total spend returned as Hotels.com credit, with a higher level of 2% or so for spending at Hotels.com itself.

That said, if the company felt it could offer something higher than 0.5% back – which is the current benchmark for rewards on free cashback and shopping voucher credit cards – I would get interested.

The job ad also says that the card “leverages a world-class rewards program” so perhaps there will be a way to earn free night credits from your spending.  Let’s see.


best travel rewards credit cards

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – October 2024 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 80,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer and FREE for a year Read our full review

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

10,000 points bonus – plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review

Comments (99)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Mark says:

    On the somewhat OT subject of Amex churn and referral, if I receive a link for an Amex gold, but sign up to the SPG/Bonvoy card, does a) the referrer get the referral bonus and b) do I get the extra 3,000 points for using a referral? (Referrer is Amex gold, not plat.)
    Thanks,

    • Rob says:

      Yes

    • Simon says:

      On the subject of Amex referrals, if I was referred for BAPP when already having BA free card (appreciate that BAPP bonus unavailable this time), does the referrer (from Plat) still get 18K if I get approved for this effective upgrade?

  • Alex D says:

    OT; Not sure if everyone would have been it but BA has realeased a few teaser pictures of the new BA Club World seat on social media. Instagram seems to have the most detail(which is still very little) but it looks like very good quality

    • Rob says:

      Might be, might not be …. 🙂

    • Dan says:

      Pics appear consistent with Rob’s theory that it will be the new Rockwell Collins ‘Elements’ seat — aka Super Diamond with a door on it.

  • Munch says:

    OT Looking to book a Hilton stay through a Tesco voucher. Do I still receive points for the stay, including the current 2000 points / stay bonus? Will the hotel recognise my status with free breakfast etc.

    • Rob says:

      Yes, my understanding is that they are treated as standard stays and you get status benefits (you are booking direct with Hilton after all).

  • Graham Walsh says:

    Should be fine, just another card from the list of available cards via the referral link

  • Graham Walsh says:

    OT Re the Virgin Money Life Insurance offer that I took out last summer, points still not awarded. Called them up today as its 2 weeks over since the 6 months + 60 days and they are going to contact the marketing dept to chase it up. He could see that I used the correct code when taking the policy out. I know others reported that the points appear back when you took the policy out. Nothing in my VS account.

    • Genghis says:

      And you’ve gone back to summer 18 to check for the backdating of points?

      • Shoestring says:

        got screenshots if you need them!

      • Graham Walsh says:

        Yep. Nothing there. Jumps from March 18 to September 18 with credit card and Virgin Trains points.

  • Benylin says:

    OT: If you trigger the 2-for-1 / upgrade via Virgin credit card spend (20k on free card), is this the line item I should see on my Flying Club Statement: “VIRGIN ATLANTIC REWARD CREDIT CARD – REWARD QUALIFICATION”?

    Also can you use th voucher online or over phone only?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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