3 Things to Know About the New PricePoints from Priceline

The Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card has an exciting new feature that could have you jetting off to your next vacation in no time. Now, cardholders have the option to earn 5x points for every dollar you spend when booking travel via Priceline, even when redeeming points. This means you could be racking up points with the online travel agency quickly.

What is PricePoints?

PricePoints is the name of the new program that allows cardholders to redeem their points directly on Priceline. Previously, cardholders would redeem their points for statement credits against any purchase made on the card, and points are worth a flat 1 cent apiece.

Now, cardholders don't have to go through Barclays to redeem points. They can do so directly on the Priceline website.

A flight that costs $100 would cost 10,000 PricePoints. When redeeming points, you’ll be charged the full amount in cash at booking (while earning 5x per dollar spent, even on the discount). Then, you’ll receive a statement credit for the dollar amount 3-5 business days later.

When you want to book with PricePoints, you select “Redeem Points” and then choose how many points you want to redeem. This feature is helpful because it means that you don’t need to wait until you have a certain number of points before redeeming a stash for a trip. You can simply use whatever amount you have to shave off a nice discount off of an upcoming trip. Your choice!

Earning points on the Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card

To earn points to redeem via PricePoints, cardholders have to spend on the card. The Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card earns:

• 5 points per dollar spent on eligible Priceline.com purchases.

• 2 points per dollar spent on gas and restaurant purchases.

• 1 point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.

New cardholders can also snag this bonus: Earn 10,000 bonus points if you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days after account opening.

The 5x earning, even on PricePoints redemptions, is unique because many other airlines and hotels don't let you earn the same rewards or elite night credits on award flights/stays.

When to book with Priceline

While booking with third parties isn't always recommended, there are certain times when it makes sense — even more so if you can earn or redeem your points directly via Priceline’s new PricePoints system rather than logging into the Barclay’s credit card account to make the redemption.

Occasionally, there are fares available through websites like Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline that may not be readily available on a single airline’s website because they combine multiple airlines into one itinerary to provide lower fare options. This makes it cheaper to get between far-flung cities.

Also, hotel and airline loyalty programs may have a limited number of award seats or nights. Priceline might have more availability to redeem points. This card allows you to redeem trips via Priceline using a combination of carriers — leaving you less vulnerable to award caps.

Hotel points work a little differently

There is one major caveat though. While you do earn PricePoints on every airline ticket you buy, as well as frequent flyer miles within that carrier’s program, it doesn’t work the same way with hotels. Airlines often let you still take advantage of elite status perks and upgrades even when booking via third parties. Hotels, on the other hand, are not as generous.

If you want to earn 5x points when booking hotels, be sure to consider the tradeoff in hotel perks that you might be passing up if you have elite status with any given hotel loyalty program.

With most of these programs, you’re not eligible to earn hotel points or elite status benefits (like upgrades or free breakfast) when booking via a third party like Priceline.

What is the value of PricePoints?

The points earned on the Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card are valued at 1 cent per point. Other popular credit card loyalty currencies have a slightly higher redemption value. For example, American Express Membership Rewards is valued at around 1.2 cents per point and Citi ThankYou Points is valued between 1 cent and 1.3 cents per point.

A new points option for loyalty-shy travelers

The Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card are worth a closer look for those who are not loyal to one particular airline or hotel, and who like to buy travel on a whim without waiting for award travel seats to be available.

While booking through a third party has its risks, the tradeoff is the opportunity to pair multiple airlines across alliances in one trip. It’s nice to have a bit of flexibility when earning and redeeming points, and the new PricePoints feature certainly offers that for travelers looking for a new travel credit card.