There is a very short term (Black Friday inspired) limited time offer that is now available that I think any traveler should be aware of. It is the Expedia credit card issued by Citibank that is now offering a 70,000 point bonus!
I actually have always been a fan of this card. A couple of years ago I wrote an article talking about how this card was underrated and that was back when it had a 25,000 point bonus. Now it has a 70,000 bonus that can be worth up to $1,000 and so I think it should be on everyone’s radar. Offer ends December 2, 2019.
By the way, I don’t receive any commission for this card it is just a great offer.
Card features
- 70,000 point bonus after $2,000 in purchases within
3 months of account opening - 4X on Expedia purchases
- 2X on dining and entertainment
- 1X on all other purchases
- Automatic gold status
- $100 annual air travel fee credit
- 5000 anniversary bonus points when you spent $10,000
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- Link
Tip: Use WalletFlo for all your credit card needs. It’s free and will help you optimize your rewards and savings!
Credit card application rules
This card is subject to all of the Citibank credit card application rules like the 1/8 and the 2/65 rule. In addition there is a 24 month rule attached to the Expedia card for this bonus.
By the way, this card will count toward your Chase 5/24 rule status so I would probably not jump on this card if you are under 5/24. Although this is a great offer, it’s not quite “pre 5/24” great in my opinion.
If these credit card application rules are confusing to you, don’t worry in the future you will simply be able to select a card like this in WalletFlo and you will instantly see if you are eligible and when the rules will lose effect. Basically, you won’t have to do any work.
70,000 Bonus points
Expedia points are usually worth .7 cents per point which means that the baseline value for this bonus is $490. But when you redeem your points for “VIP properties” you can get a little over 1.4 cents per point and that is how you get around $1,000 worth of value.
That is a tremendous amount of value and you can search Expedia to locate the VIP properties around your area or around your desired travel locations. I have stayed at some VIP hotels in the past and you can get things like upgrades and special welcome gifts when you stay there.
VIP properties are also nice because sometimes when you book through an online travel agency, the hotel will give you the shaft. But that is not the case when staying at VIP properties.
Bonus categories
- 4X on Expedia purchases
- 2X on dining and entertainment
- 1X on all other purchases
The standard value for Expedia points means that you will be earning 2.8% back on Expedia purchases and 1.4% back on dining and entertainment purchases.
These are not great earning rates but if you redeem your points for VIP properties the value proposition is much better because you are earning 5.6% back on Expedia purchases and 2.8% back on dining and entertainment. That 5.6% back on Expedia purchases is very competitive.
By the way, one more shameless WalletFlo plug –– WalletFlo will give you valuations for the points for all cards so you will also be able to quickly see how valuable certain cards in terms of cash back % value and bonuses.
Better earning opportunities
You can obviously do much better with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve which both offer stronger earning opportunities on dining and travel purchases (and once again these cards are subject to the 5/24 rule so you want to jump on them first).
Automatic Gold status
As a Gold status member you can get perks like free perks at VIP hotels, 250 extra points for booking a VIP hotel, 30% more points when you book, free room upgrades when available at VIP hotels, and 24/7 customer service.
$100 airline credit
You can receive up to $100 in statement credit per calendar year toward airline incidental fees on eight qualifying airlines and two wireless hotspot providers. You can also use this credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check.
Airline incidental fees must be separate charges from airline ticket charges and include purchases such as checked bags, in-flight entertainment or refreshments, in-flight Wi-Fi, or other qualifying purchases that meet the eligibility requirements.
Qualified airlines include: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines.
Considering the annual fee for this card is $95, getting a $100 airline credit is a big deal because you can essentially turn a very small profit just by holding this card. That also means that this is a keeper card that you won’t need to downgrade or cancel in the future if you can utilize the credit.
5,000 anniversary bonus points
You can get 5,000 bonus points if you spent $10,000 in a membership year. This amounts to $35 worth of value or double that if you use your points for VIP hotels. I would much rather put that spend on a card like a Hilton card that earns a free night so I would not consider this to be a great perk.
Final word
This is actually a pretty great opportunity for someone looking to cover travel expenses. Remember, your Expedia points can cover things like airfare, hotel, and travel packages. The best value here will be with VIP hotels though and if you are eyeing VIP hotels, that $1,000 in value is quite lucrative. You can find the card here.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
I have a question about Chase Bank and others that use the 5/24 rule. Do they look at the number of inquiries on you credit to determin your eligibility, or do they look at the number of cards you have opened in 24 months?
They will look at the number of revolving (credit card) accounts opened on your personal credit report. Inquiries don’t matter. 👍
Forgot to address the most important thing other than the bonus — whether people over 5/24 can qualify. If so, how far over? I’m at 8/24 with 2 more accounts that haven’t shown up yet, but will eventually.
On a side note, what a silly thing the 5/24 rule is. For people who are credit challenged, 2/24 might be a wise limit. For a world traveller with a business, 12/24 might make sense. It should be a sliding scale with other factors considered.
The 5/24 rule only applies to Chase cards so you should be able to qualify even at 8/24 or beyond. If you have six or more inquiries in the last 6 months though you *may* want to hold off though YMMV with that. Hope that helps!
OK, now we’re getting somewhere. So Citi is more inquiry-sensitive, cool. For me, they pull EQ+EX. Which I’m only at 3 or less the L6mon on those.
Since I’m primarily doing local travel at this point, I see value in the card. More value than the Citi Premier for example (on a return on spend basis).
Applied…
For the record, the process is a bit confusing. You have to register for Expedia Rewards. But it never takes you back to an application. I had to access my browser history in Firefox and reload the application page.
“We have received your application and further processing is required. We will contact you in approximately 7-10 days regarding our decision. If approved, be sure to visit citicards.com to register and manage your account online. Thank you for requesting a Expedia® Rewards Voyager Card from Citi.”
Late in the game, at least for this cycle, any approval is like a cherry on top. Not much to lose. Then a long hibernation until I’m back at 6/24 or under. Cards I’m most excited about for the future are oddly Barclay cards. Time for “player 2” to take their turn. :o)
Nice, it’s always nice when P2 can get active and give you a rest. Are you going to try to recon with Citi or just wait it out until they hand down a decision.
Since it’s the middle of the night, I’ll probably wait until mid-day tomorrow before I start another battle. I literally have the Executive Office numbers of Amex & Chase saved on my phone. lol Between my wife and I, after closing ~15 accounts, there are still 47 active cards, so there’s always some sort of issue or retention opportunity. Win some, lose some. You’re right though that sometimes a simple phone call to verify a new cell# or whatever can speed the process along. For example, Barclay recently snail mailed a request for some basic ID verification for my wife’s application. She called, and had the stuff sent to them before she even got their letter in the mail. Apparently they don’t have access to modern tools like email/fax.
The ID checks can be the worst. I’ve had to get documents notarized by banks and faxed in before just to get a decision. Such a pia sometimes.
Called Citi reconsideration. Smoothest process of any creditor I can think of. They ask for the application#. Confirm your name. Brief hold. Said they had all the data they need. Just way backed up as far as the workload.
I wonder if that Expedia card got them extra overwhelmed.
Still pending 7 days later. Finally got to the bottom of things. They are snail-mailing a letter. Need to verify some sort of info. Cannot do over the phone they said.
Sounds easy enough, but the postal carrier has strangely decided on his own that our house is “vacant” and refuses to deliver mail. Local post office refuses to help. The national headquarters instructed them to deliver the mail. They closed the case on them without fixing anything. Now it’s escalated to the Inspector General. Never seen anything like this in my 40+ years. Doesn’t quite compare to your ordeal across the pond. Always something tho…
Wow, that’s a headache for sure. Keep us posted on the outcome.
After a long battle, the Post Office finally resumed mail delivery. Got the Citi letter. Called. Approved for the 70k offer. Silly. All they wanted was me to verbally state my address — which I did MANY times before this point even to a credit underwriting supervisor. smh I don’t run a major corportation, but I do run a small business. Don’t see how these big companies can survive with so much internal confusion.
Congrats on the approval and long, hard fought battle haha! Citibank has a lonnnng track record of very questionable IT.