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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.

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Comments (101)

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

  • Alex Sm says:
    16 Mar16 March 07:59

    My partner and I are off to plane-spotting near Heathrow tomorrow. Perhaps, we’ll see some of the repaired aircraft landing or taking off

  • Jtz says:
    16 Mar16 March 08:01

    OT how long do Amex spg points take to move over, also should I pay the balance first for the points to move and then cancel or wait for them to move, call to cancel and pay balance?
    Thanks

    • Mark2 says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:04

      I always wait for the points to move, then cancel after first making sure that I owe more than the annual charge to be refunded.

      • Alex W says:
        16 Mar16 March 08:19

        I thought you had to have a zero balance before you could cancel. I’ve always had to go on chat and ask for a refund of the fee balance. Would be easier if you don’t need to do that!

        • Mark2 says:
          16 Mar16 March 08:22

          I have just paid c.£1750 balance on an account I closed a month ago.
          The balance of the account is irrelevant when you close it.

        • Mark2 says:
          16 Mar16 March 08:40

          I also change statement to post as they are no longer accessible when the account is closed.

        • BJ says:
          16 Mar16 March 09:05

          Thank Mark, I too was unaware this was possible. Good tips 🙂

        • Genghis says:
          16 Mar16 March 09:18

          @Mark2 even if an Amex account is closed, statements can be accessed on the app (not website).

        • Charlieface says:
          16 Mar16 March 20:42

          Under Consumer Credit Act I think you have to be able to cancel the card and still pay off the balance in the normal fashion. Useful if you carry a balance long-term on a low-rate card and they put up the interest rate.

      • Jtz says:
        16 Mar16 March 08:42

        When do the points move?
        I don’t really mind paying the balance now or later just whatever is quicker in getting the refund and points posted lol

        • BJ says:
          16 Mar16 March 09:19

          I’ve been churning for years but I think it is a bad idea to cancel cards soon after hitting a bonus target to maximise fee refund. The impression I get is that the most important factor for amex on approving a new card is personal history with them, and such behaviour likely reflects badly. For this reason I always give them 3-6 months with a card depending on my churn cycle, even when I have hit the target in the first month. Besides, there are other advantages such as supps, referrals and sometimes excellent amex offers.

        • Genghis says:
          16 Mar16 March 09:19

          They move about 4 days before your statement date

    • The Original Nick says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:46

      They will send you a cheque or transfer the refund to another of your Amex cards.

    • Mr Dee says:
      16 Mar16 March 09:45

      Leave at least £75 for the refund of the card fee on the account, cancel and a few days later the total will adjust that you can pay online.

      The points are going to transfer over regardless as they are not holding them for any reason.

      • Peter 64K says:
        16 Mar16 March 10:28

        It is best to let the points hit your BA/SPG etc account first before you cancel. Some horror stories here about not doing that and having to chase or never getting.

        • TGLoyalty says:
          16 Mar16 March 12:35

          With BA the link is broken but found SPG transferred over when I had a few left the last time I cancelled

          Ofcourse things could have changed with Marriott

  • AndyR says:
    16 Mar16 March 08:11

    OT looking to cancel my Amex Platinum but not sure where to transfer the MR’s yet. Can anyone please can confirm that if you get the Amex Rewards Credit Card it will ‘keep alive’ the Membership Rewards points after I cancel the Platinum card? Thanks.

    • KBuffett says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:21

      I think this is possible but it means that you can’t get a new card bonus in 6 months if you decide to get Platinum again

    • N says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:21

      But you will not “reset” your 6 months for a bonus

    • Olly says:
      16 Mar16 March 09:52

      The wife chose to get an Amazon gift card which arrived very promptly and the 6 month clock got reset.

  • Alex W says:
    16 Mar16 March 08:21

    OT has anyone managed to upgrade from Amex Green to Plat and got the 20k bonus yet? There must be someone on here who has tried it now!!

    • Mr Dee says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:37

      AFAIK there is no such offer

      • Shoestring says:
        16 Mar16 March 08:42

        Somebody here was able to use the Plat upgrade invitation page to upgrade Green—>Plat but so far has not confirmed they got the 20K bonus points for initial spend

        • BJ says:
          16 Mar16 March 09:22

          Don’t you think the silence maybe speaks for itself?

        • Grant says:
          16 Mar16 March 12:18

          Possibly, yes. But given that it comes up fairly regularly in discussion, it’d be nice if those that had reported they were trying it came back to confirm success or otherwise!

  • Si says:
    16 Mar16 March 08:32

    O/T Marriot Double Points Promotion

    I’m trying to register for the above promotion but every time i do it crashes. Rob said before a crash was likely but the the offer being applied appeared in the promotion section of his account. Mine – nothing.

    Any tips on how to successfully register?

    • Jtz says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:57

      Wait a couple days and try, worked for me

    • RussellH says:
      16 Mar16 March 10:26

      Have you checked the promaotions page to see if you are, in fact, registered, despite the crash?

      This is what happened to me, and IIRC, to Rob and others as well.

    • Si says:
      16 Mar16 March 11:08

      I’ve worked out the issue. My profile was set to earn airline miles rather than Marriot Points (making me ineligible to register).

      Swapped it, and now all registered for double points

  • Zoe says:
    16 Mar16 March 08:36

    OT we are planning to pay off a Morgage Works (the BTL part of Nationwide’s montage business) shortly it amounts to about 160k. I am not keen to do it without some mileage benefits any suggestions? It doesn’t all need to be paid at once – we are not selling the property. Thanks in advance

    • Zoe says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:37

      Fat fingers this morning! Mortgage!

    • Mr Dee says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:42

      If you mean the actual mortgage itself, I have no idea unless you already have a method for small amounts, but associated fees maybe possible. This is not considering the likes of Bill hop.

    • Dave says:
      16 Mar16 March 09:31

      You can pay a lump sum to some mortgages using a credit card. Not sure about Mortgage Works. Just call up and ask. You will get told about the risks of paying debt with debt.

      • The Savage Squirrel says:
        16 Mar16 March 11:53

        Payment on CC seems very likely to attract a hefty cash advance fee?

        However if they allow debit cards, would the Tesco one work well here?

    • ChrisC says:
      16 Mar16 March 11:23

      Some cards don’t give you points on a financial transaction such as this even if they allow the payment.

      So check the T&Cs of your card provider.

    • Chas says:
      16 Mar16 March 18:06

      If you can pay using a debit card, then Curve is the obvious card which springs to mind. With a Virgin Atlantic Rewards Plus card sitting behind it you’d earn 1.5 miles for every £ you pay off. I tend to find that Virgin give you double the credit limit than Amex do, so should be possible to put a decent chunk on there each month. You’ll be limited by Curve’s 30 day rolling limit which from friends and my own experience is £20k. If your partner gets a Curve card backed by Virgin + too, then you should be able to clear the whole lot in a bit over 4 months, maybe more depending on your credit limit on your Virgin cards.

      • Chas says:
        16 Mar16 March 18:08

        I should also have said that you might want to check it with a small test transaction first, just to double check that Virgin treat it as a purchase.

  • Peter 64K says:
    16 Mar16 March 08:37

    Maybe the hotels.com card will be a reward night on the card anniversary to the value of 0.5% of spend.

    • Mr Dee says:
      16 Mar16 March 08:40

      As its not cash and its credit towards their business with built in margins they can do better than that IMO

    • Genghis says:
      16 Mar16 March 09:21

      That wouldn’t appeal. I already find it hard to match the value of my free nights to the nights I need so as to minimise wastage.

      • Doug M says:
        16 Mar16 March 09:53

        That’s always a decision. I still find I like them more than the one group options.

  • Mr Dee says:
    16 Mar16 March 08:39

    The thing is it doesn’t have to be only 0.5% back as credit because hotels.com offers so many deals and promotions that they are probably able to offer a much better rate without it costing them that much.

    If they offered even 1% back as credit I would start to considering using it and to them an adjustment of 1% off their prices isn’t going to be anything of concern.

    • Rui N. says:
      16 Mar16 March 12:54

      Yeah, if they offer like 1% in hotels.com credit and don’t require a ludicrous amount of spending until you can use that credit (like £5k) I would be very interested in such a card.

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