Priceline.com is a leading Online Travel Agency (OTA) known for its deeply discounted hotel rooms, rental cars, and flights, particularly through its “Name Your Own Price” and “Express Deals” programs.
The Priceline VIP Rewards™ Visa® Card
Priceline offers a co-branded Visa card issued by Barclays. Key features often include:
- High multipliers (e.g., 5x points) on eligible Priceline bookings.
- Points that can be redeemed for statement credits against eligible travel purchases.
- Automatic Priceline VIP Gold status, which unlocks exclusive hotel discounts.
How Priceline Codes for Travel Rewards
When you book through Priceline, the transaction generally codes as a Travel Agency or generic Travel expense, rather than directly with the hotel or airline.
This is a critical distinction for credit card rewards:
- Cards with broad travel categories (like the A strong travel rewards card® or Capital One Venture Rewards) will usually grant you bonus points for Priceline bookings.
- Cards that require booking directly with airlines or hotels (like the A premium travel card Card®, which earns 5x on flights booked directly with airlines) will NOT give you the 5x multiplier on a Priceline booking.
- Co-branded hotel cards (like a Marriott or Hilton card) will not earn their massive 10x-15x multipliers when booking through Priceline, and you generally will not earn elite night credits or receive elite status perks for OTA bookings.
[!TIP] If you hold elite status with a hotel chain, always compare the Priceline price against the direct booking price. Most hotel chains will not honor your elite status perks (free breakfast, upgrades) if you book through an OTA like Priceline.