The most underrated loyalty program

Good morning from Qinhuangdao, where the Great Wall of China meets the sea. 🌊

While I make my way through some of China’s least explored regions over the next couple of weeks, here are some super fun and relevant travel tips for any destination:

• 🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

• ✈️ The most underrated loyalty program

• 🏨 Save 40% on hotels, flights, and more

• 🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

🤓 Travel Trivia Tuesday

✈️ The most underrated loyalty program

We spend a lot of time talking about transferable points, elite status, and why you should almost always book direct.

And while that’s great advice for many travelers, let’s be honest… not everyone wants to treat booking a weekend trip like a game of 4D chess. ♟️

Many people just want the cheapest flight, the best hotel in the right location, and a simple way to earn something back.

So today, I want to tell you about OneKey - the points and loyalty program for online travel agencies like Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo.

Here’s the basic idea:

Instead of earning miles with one airline or points with one hotel chain, OneKey gives you OneKeyCash on eligible bookings made through Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo.

Think of it as travel credit that you can put toward future bookings across all three brands.

But the part I found most interesting wasn’t the rewards, it was how the program handles elite status (yes, they have elite status).

Rather than making you spend thousands of dollars or stay 40+ nights at the same hotel chain, OneKey uses something called “Trip Elements.”

Trip elements can be any of the following:

• Hotel nights

• Car rental days

• Flight booking

• Activities

• Cruise nights

If you book a five-night hotel stay, that’s five “trip elements,” already putting you at Silver status.

If you book flights to that city, a rental car for five days, and a couple of activities there, you’re probably already at Gold status from a single trip.

The benefits of status aren’t anything crazy, but they will get you some extra OneKeyCash, bigger discounts, and more.

Of course, like with everything in life, there’s a catch (and it’s a big one).

If you book a chain hotel (Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, etc) through Expedia, they generally won’t recognize it as a direct booking.

That means no hotel points, no elite night credits, and potentially no elite perks.

For those of us chasing elite status, that’s a dealbreaker. But if you’re not chasing elite status… should you really care?

Here’s how I look at it:

Many travelers are looking for cheap and convenient hotels, budget airlines that they can afford to fly their whole family on, and a way to earn at least something back for their spending.

Even if you DO care about elite status and other points programs, this could be a good backup option when those don’t work out.

Is it going to replace transferable points or hotel loyalty programs? Absolutely not.

But I think it’s more interesting and more relevant than you might realize… especially because Expedia offers interesting deals like the one I’m about to tell you about next. 👇

🏨 Save 40% on hotels, flights, and more

If all of that didn’t make Expedia appealing enough, they’re currently offering a Big Summer Sale with up to 40% off hotels and vacation rentals, plus other good deals on rental cars, flights, and travel packages.

To reiterate what I just told you earlier, this is more geared toward those of you who are looking for cheap and simple bookings.

But if you’re okay to forgo loyalty and points, there are some excellent deals.

Take this hotel in Cancun, with a $261 discount on a 3-night stay over the weekend.

I looked at other cities and countries in the Caribbean and Central America and found no shortage of excellent deals basically everywhere. Take this hotel in Belize with a hefty discount:

If you do take advantage of this deal, you’ll want to make sure you sign up for a One Key account with Expedia to earn OneKeyCash back on your stays (and pinch toward elite status).

You need to book by July 13, so you’ve still got two weeks before the sale ends.

The best part, however, is that travel can take place all the way through December 15, so you can basically lock in any travel plans for the rest of the year and reap the sale benefits.

Here’s the bottom line:

Sometimes, chain hotels and award flights aren’t available for the dates, locations, and price ranges you need.

When that’s the case, sites like Expedia can be a viable option. When you throw in a sale and a decent loyalty program, I’d say it’s pretty appealing.

🌎 Travel Trivia Reveal

A few minutes ago, we asked you where the best place to see fireworks in the US was…

If you guessed Chicago, Illinois, you were right!

In case you hadn’t heard, the U.S. has a big birthday coming up this weekend, turning the big 2-5-0.

And while fireworks weren’t invented here in the States, the big, booming, colorful displays have become an American pastime. For some, they’re a much-anticipated highlight of the year.

And nowhere in the U.S. is there a better display than at the Navy Pier in Chicago. 

As the USA Today 10Best award winner for 4 years running, the Navy Pier fireworks display is a must-see attraction during the summer, with shows on Wednesday and Saturday evenings from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The free 10-minute show, with extended displays on the 4^th of July and New Year’s Eve, is choreographed to music and visible from all around the lakefront.

Detroit rings in at number 2 on the list, with its Ford Fireworks show over the Detroit River, while New York City takes third place with the largest 4^th of July display in the nation, over the Hudson River.

See the full line-up of the top firework spots across the country on USA Today 10Best.

That’s it for this Tuesday, friends! Take care and see you first thing tomorrow.

Ciao ❤️

39.9354° N, 119.5996° E

With contributions by Sam Anthony and Katie Begnoche.