One Key Credit Cards (VRBO, Expedia, Hotels.com) – Earn $400/$600 OneKeyCash Bonus (Limited-Time)

The One Key and One Key+ credit cards from Expedia Group, issued by Wells Fargo, let travelers earn rewards as OneKeyCash, redeemable exclusively for bookings on Expedia, Hotels.com, and VRBO. These cards are designed for frequent travelers who want to maximize travel savings while booking accommodations online.

For families like mine, VRBO stands out, since booking a single larger home often beats reserving multiple hotel rooms. Currently, there’s a limited-time bonus offer, with potential rewards of $400 or $600 OneKeyCash depending on the card and spending requirements. This makes it an ideal choice for planning vacations and offsetting travel costs efficiently.

One Key Card

• New cardholder bonus: $400 in OneKeyCash after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• 3% back in OneKeyCash on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.
• 3% back in OneKeyCash at gas stations, grocery stores and on dining.
• 1.5% back in OneKeyCash on all other purchases.
• Automatic Silver One Key status. Supposedly, this includes “savings of 15% or more on over 10,000 hotels worldwide.” Unlock Gold when you spend $15,000 per calendar year.
• Other benefits include no foreign transaction fees, cell phone protection, and travel protections like travel accident insurance and trip cancellation insurance.
• No annual fee.

One Key+ Card (note the plus sign!)

• New cardholder bonus: $600 in OneKeyCash after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
• 3% back in OneKeyCash on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo.
• 3% back in OneKeyCash at gas stations, grocery stores and on dining.
• 2% back in OneKeyCash on all other purchases.
• Automatic Gold One Key status. Supposedly, this includes “savings of 20% or more on over 10,000 hotels worldwide.” Unlock Platinum when you spend $30,000 per calendar year.
• $100 in OneKeyCash each year on your Cardholder anniversary.
• $120 Global Entry/TSA credit. Receive one statement credit up to $120 for a Trusted Traveler Program, such as Global Entry® or TSA PreCheck®.
• Other benefits include no foreign transaction fees, cell phone protection, and travel protections like travel accident insurance and trip cancellation insurance.
• $99 annual fee.

The credit card rewards stack on top of the standard OneKeyCash earned for booking on Expedia, Hotels.com, and VRBO. However, it’s often cheaper to book a hotel directly at their own website, so I usually don’t use Expedia or Hotels.com. With VRBO, often the same house is also listed on Airbnb and on a small independent management site. Sometimes VRBO is the cheapest (after all their fees and taxes) or offers the best refund policy, so I still use VRBO in those cases.

Limitations on Expedia flight bookings. You can use OneKeyCash for a flight, but note the following limitations:

To use OneKeyCash on a flight, you will need enough OneKeyCash to cover the entire cost of your eligible flight, including taxes and fees, and may not add any optional extras like checked bags or seat assignments. You can purchase those extras after booking your ticket. OneKeyCash may only be used on selected flights.

In contrast, you can use OneKeyCash to partially offset a VRBO rental, down to the penny. Note that not all VRBO properties are eligible for OneKeyCash redemption (VRBO must be their payment processor) and you must use the “Pay Now” option.

I personally don’t usually use Expedia or Hotels.com on a regular basis, but I do book on VRBO regularly enough to expect to use up the OneKeyCash bonus. For those that have done most of the other big credit card bonuses, this card still offers some good potential value, even if it is in a more restricted rewards system.