One Key Card: A one-stop shop for travel rewards (2024)

One Key Card Overview

From the IHG One Rewards Premier card to the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card, there are plenty of superb hotel rewards cards out there to help you score free nights, elevated status and more.

But the best of the bunch tend to have one major drawback in common: They anchor you to one specific hotel brand. What if you have the World of Hyatt card, but your upcoming conference is in a Hilton? What if you’re simply looking for the best deal on a nearby hotel and you don’t really care who owns it? Or what if you want to use your hotel rewards toward an airline ticket or car rental?

Enter the One Key Card. Launched in summer 2024, the One Key Card is the official rewards card for Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. If you’re new to those sites, here’s the skinny:

• Expedia is an online travel agency (OTA) like KAYAK that allows you to search for deals on flights, hotels, cruises, car rentals and more.
• Hotels.com is an OTA specializing in finding deals on hotel rates.
• Vrbo is a direct competitor to AirBnB that only offers full home rentals.

The trio joined forces in 2023 to launch One Key, a loyalty rewards program that allows you to rack up “OneKeyCash” (aka points) for bookings made through any of the three sites. That means you can earn OneKeyCash for booking a rental car on Expedia, then spend it on a hotel room or a Vrbo.

Naturally, the One Key Card takes your One Key membership benefits and amplifies them even further. First, you’ll get a welcome bonus of $400 in OneKeyCash after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months. Next, you’ll earn 5X in OneKeyCash on hotel bookings made through Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo (2X for being a free member and 3X for using the card), 3X on gas, groceries and dining and 1.5X on all other purchases.

Finally, and as the cherry on top, you’ll also get automatic Silver tier status with OneKey, which amplifies your membership savings from 10% to up to 15% on over 10,000 hotels worldwide.

Putting aside the potential savings, the One Key Card’s one clear advantage over competing hotel rewards cards is flexibility. You can book eligible properties with Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and even private vacation homes and start pooling one universal currency for all. Plus, you’ll even earn a trickle of extra OneKeyCash booking airfare, rental cars and more through Expedia.

But the card’s inescapable drawback is that it requires you to book and redeem your OneKeyCash through an online travel portal. For reasons I’ll explain, that may be a dealbreaker for some. So let’s dive into the pros, the cons, and who should (and shouldn’t) get the One Key Card.

Who is the One Key Card good for?

The One Key Card is best for someone who wants maximum rewards for booking through Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo – and is OK with the risks and caveats of booking travel through an online travel agency (OTA).

To elaborate, any time you book travel arrangements through a third-party like Expedia, Priceline or Chase Travel there are three major drawbacks to consider:

1. You may not get points or status benefits: Since you aren’t booking directly with them, some airlines and most hotels won’t grant you points (e.g. IHG One Rewards points) or status benefits (e.g. room upgrades) on your indirect booking.
2. You may not get the best rate: Now that travel brands like Delta and Marriott have begun offering aggressive Low Fare Commitments and Best Rate Guarantees to lure customers away from OTAs, the days of finding deals on indirect bookings are drying up. In fact, OTAs sometimes have rates that are 3% to 5% higher than booking direct under a member rate.
3. Customer support may be limited: Airlines, hotels and rental car agencies are often limited in their ability to help you with bookings made through third-party websites. So if you need to cancel, rebook or simply request a small modification to your existing reservation, you may have a more difficult time than if you had booked direct.

To summarize, booking through an OTA typically involves giving up your points, status benefits and customer support, and on top of all that, you may not even get the best rate.

But OTAs are still extremely flexible and convenient, so if you’re already comfortable using them—and are OK with the drawbacks—the One Key Card should be a strong consideration. You’ll get a $400 in OneKeyCash welcome bonus, amplify your existing rewards and the Silver tier’s 15% member savings may help tip the scales back in your favor in terms of finding the best rate.

If you are someone who wants to earn travel rewards but who does not spend enough money with one hotel chain to earn status, keeping your points in one basket, especially one that has no minimums for redemption, could make real sense. Even if you earn only $1 in rewards, you can apply them toward your next trip.

If you’re not a fan of OTAs like Expedia and Hotels.com but are already a frequent Vrbo user, the One Key Card is much more of a slam dunk. Since Vrbo is a direct-booking platform with its own customer support team, none of the three caveats listed above apply to Vrbo bookings made using your One Key Card.

That means you get to have your cake and eat it, too: You’ll score a $400 welcome bonus to help put a dent in your next vacation rental and 5% OneKeyCash back on every U.S. booking without having to sacrifice the best rate or customer support.

Who shouldn’t get the One Key card?

The first group that probably shouldn’t get the One Key Card is business travelers. Not only does the One Key Card prevent you from building status with any of the major hotel chains, it also forces you to book through an OTA for maximum rewards, which as we know, introduces several risks to your itinerary that probably aren’t worth it.

Instead, we’d recommend the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card card. While it does charge an annual fee, it offers a stratospheric welcome bonus to compensate.

The second group that shouldn’t get the One Key Card is anyone who values the option of redeeming points for cash back. OneKeyCash is only redeemable for select bookings on Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo and have no cash back value.

If you’d like to earn maximum travel rewards without losing the ability to redeem points for cash back in a pinch, we’d recommend either the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, or perhaps the Chase Freedom Unlimited® for a no-fee option.

One Key Card: How to earn rewards

For context, if you make a free OneKey account today, you’ll start earning the following base rewards on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo bookings:

• 2X OneKeyCash on eligible hotels, vacation rentals, activities, packages, car rentals and cruises
• 0.2X on eligible flights

If you get the One Key Card, your earnings rate on hotels rises and Vrbos rises from 2X to 5X, you’ll get a trio of new 3X categories and your base earnings on all purchases rises to 1.5X.

• 5X on eligible hotels and vacation rentals
• 3X on gas, grocery stores and dining
• 1.5X on all other purchases

As a small bonus, OneKeyCash tends to deposit a bit faster than your average travel rewards. According to Expedia, your OneKeyCash should arrive in your account balance within three days of your trip, so you can apply it sooner to your next travel outing.

OneKeyCash is also pretty easy to track. Unlike traditional travel rewards – which come in the form of amorphous “points” or “miles” – OneKeyCash is listed as USD. So if you have $120 OneKeyCash, that’s worth precisely $120 towards your next booking (no conversion or mental math required).

So all things considered, earning rewards with the One Key Card is pretty simple and straightforward. Redeeming them, on the other hand, is a bit more nuanced.

How to redeem One Key Card rewards

As mentioned, OneKeyCash is only redeemable for select bookings on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. It has no cash redemption value and cannot be transferred to any other travel rewards program.

There are also some restrictions within those sites, as well:

• Hotels, vacation rentals, rental cars, cruises and activities: You can redeem your OneKeyCash on any eligible listing that has a Pay Now option. OneKeyCash cannot be redeemed for the Pay Later option. You can use your OneKeyCash to make a full- or partial payment of your reservation. Note that the reservation can still have a free cancellation policy depending on the listing so you are not locked into a nonrefundable rate.
• Flights: You can only use OneKeyCash to cover a flight if you have enough OneKeyCash to cover the entire cost of the flight including taxes and fees. You cannot apply OneKeyCash to extras like checked bags or seat assignments, but can purchase those with real cash afterwards.

Finally, not all listings will be eligible for OneKeyCash payment, so you may want to check the hotel, flight or vacation rental on Expedia first before counting on using your OneKeyCash. You should be able to select an option to see properties where you can use your points when searching.

One Key Card rates and fees

• Annual fee: $0
• Foreign transaction fee: N/A
• Purchase APR: 20.24%–29.99% based on your creditworthiness

Additional benefits

• $0 annual fee
• $400 in OneKeyCash after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months
• 5X on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo (up to 9X on VIP Access listings with Platinum tier status)
• 3X on gas, grocery stores and dining
• 1.5X on all other eligible purchases
• Automatic Silver tier status (unlocking savings of up to 15% off select bookings)
• Unlock Gold tier status after spending $15,000 within one calendar year
• No foreign transaction fees
• Cell phone protection (up to $1,000 per claim with a $25 deductible)
• Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection
• Travel accident insurance
• Rental car insurance

Credit cards similar to One Key Card

As a card that offers rewards for OTA bookings and Vrbo, the One Key Card stands out as fairly unique. In fact, its only direct rival in the space is its own stablemate the One Key+ Card which we’ll discuss below.

But if we expand the scope to include hotel rewards cards in general, numerous competitors emerge. Here are two to consider.

One Key™ Card	One Key+™ Card	IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card
Annual fee	Annual fee	Annual fee
$0	$99	$0
Welcome bonus	Welcome bonus	Welcome bonus
$400 in OneKeyCash after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months	$600 in OneKeyCash after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first three months	80,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Rewards	Rewards	Rewards
3% in OneKeyCash at gas stations, grocery stores, and on dining 3% in OneKeyCash on Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo 1.5% in OneKeyCash on all other purchases	3% in OneKeyCash on Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo 3% in OneKeyCash at gas stations, grocery stores, and on dining 2% in OneKeyCash on all other purchases	up to 17X points when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts 3X points on dining, utilities, internet, cable, and phone services, select streaming services, and at gas stations
Our Take	Our Take	Our Take
The One Key Card is the $0 annual fee version of the One Key+ Card that offers a lower rewards rate.	The One Key+ Card features a simple rewards program with a robust rate of return.	The IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card is the Liam Hemsworth of hotel rewards cards.

One Key Card vs. One Key+ Card

If you’re a fan of what the One Key Card has to offer, you might be a great candidate for its premium stablemate, the One Key+ Card.

Like most mid-tier travel rewards cards, the One Key+ Card charges a $99 annual fee but offers plenty of value in return to compensate. The welcome bonus gets bumped from $400 to $600 (after spending $3,000 within three months), automatic Silver rises to automatic Gold (providing up to 20% off select bookings), and you’ll get $100 OneKeyCash on every account anniversary.

You’ll also get $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, and the base earnings rate for all eligible purchases rises from 1.5X to 2X.

Needless to say, there are numerous ways you can justify the card’s $99 annual fee as long as you keep booking through Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo several times a year, especially when you consider the anniversary OneKeyCash. If that’s you, and you are OK with the caveats of booking general travel through an OTA, then the One Key+ Card might be a great fit.

One Key Card vs. IHG One Rewards Traveler

When you compare the One Key Card to a top-rated, no-fee hotel rewards card like the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card, the card’s biggest advantages (and disadvantages) become even more apparent.

For context, the IHG One Rewards Traveler currently offers a 80,000 bonus points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening, up to 17X points when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts, 3X points on dining, utilities, internet, cable, and phone services, select streaming services, and at gas stations and automatic Silver Elite status (which unlocks 20% bonus, already factored into the 17X above).

It also offers a redeem-three-get-one night bonus, so you can stretch your welcome bonus into a free four-night stay at a nice IHG property like the Crowne Plaza. Plus, since you’ll be booking directly with IHG to maximize your benefits, none of the caveats of booking indirectly will apply.

All that said, the One Key Card definitely still trumps the IHG One Rewards Traveler card in terms of flexibility. You can apply your OneKeyCash towards hotels, flights, rental cars and more with dozens of individual travel providers, and you’re not joined at the hip with IHG.

But if you’re willing to show a little brand loyalty, the IHG One Rewards Traveler card has the superior welcome bonus, earnings rate and doesn’t ask you to forfeit status or customer support.

Is the One Key Card right for you?

The One Key Card might make sense if you like the flexibility and convenience of booking through Expedia or Hotels.com and don’t mind the drawbacks that come with indirect travel bookings. $400 is an above average welcome bonus for a no-fee travel rewards card, and we like how simple and straightforward the OneKeyCash system is.

The One Key Card might also make sense if you’re a fan of Vrbo, since a $400 welcome bonus and 5% OneKeyCash back on eligible bookings likely trumps what you’re getting with your existing rewards card.

But if you value cash-back redemption, the ability to earn status/benefits or simply the peace of mind that comes with booking direct, you may be better suited with a different no-fee travel rewards card.

FAQs

Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying.