News
Ryan Smith
Contributor
Ryan is a former TPG credit cards writer who has been around points and miles for several years and has published content at Miles to Memories, AwardWallet and The Points Guy. His wife joins him on many of his trips, and they enjoy snowboarding, diving, and seeing animals in the wild. When not traveling, Ryan is probably answering questions from his family about how he travels so much and whether this points & miles stuff is illegal.
Sept. 15, 2022
•
4 min read
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Barclays is doing something novel with its Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card. Going forward, cardholders will earn points even when redeeming points for a booking.
This is an interesting new feature for those who are earning and redeeming PricePoints for bookings on Priceline.com. Here's how this change will affect cardholders.
Background on the Priceline VIP card
Spending on the Priceline VIP card earns 5 points per dollar spent on Priceline bookings, 2 points per dollar on gas and restaurant purchases (including delivery services) and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. The card has no annual fee.
Cardholders also receive VIP Gold status with Priceline, which offers savings of up to 50% on hotels and up to 20% on car rentals, along with special deals and coupons not available to the public.
The card includes free access to your FICO score, no foreign transaction fees and the ability to earn a reimbursem*nt credit for your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee if you spend $10,000 on your card during your cardmember year. You can earn this reimbursem*nt credit each year.
The information for the Priceline VIP card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
New applicants can enjoy a sign-up bonus of 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days after account opening. Points can be redeemed at 1 cent apiece, making the bonus worth $100. New applicants can also enjoy a 0% introductory annual percentage rate for 15 months on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, a variable APR will of 18.24% to 28.24% will apply. There is a fee for balance transfers.
Related: Credit card sign-up bonuses you can earn with $1,000 or less in spending
PricePoints: Earn points even when redeeming
Starting Sep. 15, Priceline will use PricePoints with the Priceline VIP card. This new feature will allow cardholders to earn points even when redeeming points. Cardholders will still earn 5 points per dollar spent on Priceline bookings, but this will now include the portion of your booking where you redeem points.
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So imagine you book a flight for $350 and redeem 10,000 points to cover $100 of your purchase. In the past, you would earn 5 points per dollar only on the remaining $250 of what you paid. Going forward, you will earn 5 points per dollar on the full amount — $350 in this instance, so 1,750 points.
To use PricePoints, cardholders can choose "Redeem Points" during the booking process and choose the number of points to redeem (at a rate of 1 cent apiece, so 100 points are worth $1). Cardmembers will be charged the full "Pay Now" amount at the time of booking and earn 5 points per dollar on the full purchase price. Within three to five days, cardholders will receive a statement credit for the value of the points redeemed.
There are many points and miles programs that TPG values higher than just 1 cent per point. However, the ability to redeem your points easily or use your points to offset travel purchases on which you can't redeem points in advance is a useful feature. You can use this feature with points programs like Capital One miles, Bank of America Premium Rewards and U.S. Bank FlexPerks.
What value does this provide? You'll receive a 5% return on spending on Priceline bookings using your Priceline VIP card — even when redeeming points. Earning points and then redeeming those again can provide a 5.25% return on your original purchase. Each subsequent cycle of earning points, redeeming them and then earning 5% back (via points) will provide an additional 5% in value to the previous number.
Related: Ranking the best online travel agency rewards programs
Bottom line
Earning points when you redeem points is not common and may change how you value the Priceline VIP Rewards Visa Card, Priceline's rewards system and whether you use an online travel agency like Priceline for upcoming travel.
Beyond the typical 5 points per dollar earned on Priceline bookings, you'll now earn points even when redeeming points, which is a unique feature.
Having said that, this card is geared toward those who are loyal to Priceline. Travelers wanting a more diversified points and miles strategy should use a card that earns flexible rewards points instead.
Featured image by
@CRIENE VIA TWENTY20
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
