Friday, August 2, 2019

Why the Orbitz Rewards Visa Is Worthwhile for Orbitz Loyalists

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Whether you travel once or twice a year for vacation or you’re on the road frequently for business, if you’re booking your travel through the Orbitz website or app, you should seriously consider signing up for the Orbitz Rewards Visa Card.

» Learn more: Orbitz Rewards Visa Card review: Stellar rates, complex terms

This no-annual-fee card can get you up to 10% back on hotels booked through Orbitz. Cardholders earn 6% back in Orbucks on flights and 2% on all other purchases. The card also includes the following offer after opening the account: Get $100 statement credit after you spend $1500 in the first 90 days. Cardholders get instant gold elite status and pay foreign transaction fees when using the card abroad.

Another plus for travelers is that the Orbitz Rewards Visa Card offers up to $3,000 for lost or stolen baggage, in addition to accident coverage and collision and theft coverage on rental cars.

The rewards earned with this credit card can be greater than those offered by other travel cards. You don’t have to worry about being loyal to an airline or hotel chain to earn big rewards. When combined with the site’s loyalty program, this card can offer a better earning rate than many cash back credit cards and even popular flexible points-earning travel credit cards.

» Learn more: The best cash back credit cards

The rewards you earn with the Orbitz Rewards Visa Card come in the form of Orbucks, which is the currency of the Orbitz Rewards program. But if you’re booking all or even some of your travel through the Orbitz site, you can earn Orbucks rewards that can be redeemed for future hotel bookings. Every Orbuck is worth one dollar towards travel.

How the program works

Once you join the Orbitz Rewards loyalty program, you earn at least 1% back in Orbucks for every dollar spent on travel bookings, redeemable toward future hotel bookings. You don’t have to wait for rewards to become available. They are earned instantly upon booking. And if you’re booking a flight, you can double dip by earning Orbucks and frequent flyer miles.

Through the Orbitz Rewards loyalty program, members earn 1% back in Orbucks on flights and packages, 3% on hotels booked online and 5% on eligible hotel bookings through the Orbitz app.

If you pay for these bookings with the Orbitz Rewards Visa Card, you earn a 5% bonus, which means hotel bookings made through the app will earn 10% back in Orbucks. If you book hotels online through your desktop, you earn 8%. Airline bookings earn 6% if you use the card to pay. Make sure you’re logged into your Orbitz Rewards account when booking. The bonus rewards can take up to two billing cycles to appear in your account.

All other purchases beyond travel get 2% back in Orbucks through the Orbitz Rewards Visa Card. The travel booking site also participates in a dining rewards program that lets users earn 7% back at qualifying restaurants when they use the Orbitz credit card.

» Learn more: 6 things to do when you get the Orbitz Rewards Visa card

The bottom line

If you use Orbitz to book for some or all of your travel and you want to earn the maximum Orbucks rewards, this card would be a great addition to your wallet. It’s an easy way to boost your rewards without having to pay an annual credit card fee. And if you use the card at least once every 12 months, your Orbucks won’t expire. You will need an excellent credit score over 720 to get approved, so keep that in mind when applying.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2019 , including those best for:

Planning a trip? Check out these articles for more inspiration and advice:
Find the best travel credit card for you
5 reasons to get the Orbitz Rewards Visa card
Orbitz gets more rewarding for Platinum members

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