How Expedia One Key Is Using AI Tools To Help Customers Plan and Book Travel

Expedia’s loyalty program, One Key Rewards, allows travelers to earn and use rewards across 3 major platforms in the Expedia Group family: Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo. 

The program has historically offered travelers rewards, access to member discounts and status, and even a few One Key credit cards. The program’s last major changes took effect earlier this year and included tier-based earning rates, plus the removal of flight earnings and the hotel price guarantee. 

Now, One Key is updating its benefits again, this time focusing on AI-powered tools to streamline a more personal customer experience. The program is also featuring free lounge access, a discounted trusted traveler program, price drops, and more member discounts. Here’s what you need to know. 

A More Personal Planning Experience

Expedia is essentially aiming to be your new best friend for travel planning. Its new homepage features recommendations and deals based on your activity, acting as an algorithm. Based on these personal tips, One Key will compile packages that include car rentals, accommodations, and even flight bundles to help you build your ideal trip. 

On the more practical side, One Key is launching a property expert, which lets you ask about bookings before or during your trip, access reviews, find reservations, and even adjust plans. In addition, One Key now offers multi-room bookings for groups and families, along with family-friendly maps for those traveling with kids. 

With the activity planner features, you can add bookings to your itinerary, including restaurants and experiences, and either book them or save for later. Again, all of these planning features are backed by AI tools that tailor suggestions based on your lifestyle and trip goals. 

New One Key Benefits

The One Key program’s updated benefits include free lounge access for members on delayed flights, discounted CLEAR+ services, fare differences in OneKeyCash, and the ability to earn 1% to 3% back in OneKeyCash for future travel. 

• Lounge Access: Eligible U.S. One Key Gold and Platinum members (and up to 9 people on the same reservation) receive free airport lounge access or OneKeyCash when an eligible flight is delayed by at least 90 minutes. Eligible for travel booked from September 30, 2026 to December 31, 2027. Terms apply.
• CLEAR+ discounts: All One Key members receive a CLEAR+ discount after booking a flight (pricing varies based on membership tier). 
• Fare Price Payouts: If your fare price drops before departure, Expedia automatically pays the difference in OneKeyCash for its Gold and Platinum members (for qualifying flights booked through Expedia by December 31, 2027). Terms apply.

CLEAR+ Benefits

One of the more exciting benefits is the addition of a CLEAR partnership, which will allow One Key members to receive better pricing and services for security lines.

Pricing is based on your membership, as follows:

• Platinum members: CLEAR+ annual membership for $129 (plus 2 CLEAR Concierge Departure Service bookings for $199).
• Gold and Silver members: CLEAR+ annual membership for $179 (plus 2 CLEAR Concierge Departure Service bookings for $249).
• Blue members: CLEAR+ annual membership for $209. 
• Silver, Gold, and Platinum members: 20% off additional CLEAR Concierge Departure Services.

Hotels.com Updates 

As with Expedia’s new AI tools, Hotels.com is also enhancing its booking systems to include hotel comparisons based on your location, price, and other personal preferences.

Similar to Airbnb’s “Guest Favorite” and “Superhost” tags, Hotels.com will feature experiences such as Natural Language Search, Loved by Guests, Business Shopping Experience, and Property Expert. The new app will allow travelers to make specific requests when searching for properties, including pet rules, on-site parking, nearby restaurants, and more.

Vrbo Updates

Vrbo is focused on helping larger groups plan trips. Its new tools use keywords to offer more specific search capabilities. Soon, it will offer a Reserve Now, Pay Later option that lets you reserve a stay with $0 due at booking. It will have early-booking discounts, member discounts, and the ability to stack offers.

Vrbo is also promising a better overall arrival experience with all the important information in one place, including check-in and check-out times, door codes, directions, house rules, and more. All 3 programs hope that the use of AI will aid smoother customer support, enabling it to handle simple requests and connect to a human agent when needed. 

A new weather promise benefit is also underway, which means a full refund when weather disrupts a trip. This will be in addition to Vrbo’s existing travel protections and 24/7 support.

One Key Rewards and Status

Earlier this year, Expedia’s One Key program updated its earning rates to a tier-based system. Keep in mind, this only applies to Expedia, not Hotels.com or Vrbo. What used to be a flat 2% rate is now:

• Blue: 10% or more in instant discounts, plus 1% back in OneKeyCash 
• Silver: 15% or more in instant discounts, plus 2% back in OneKeyCash 
• Gold: 20% or more in instant discounts, plus 2% back in OneKeyCash 
• Platinum: 20% or more in instant discounts, plus 3% back in OneKeyCash 

As for rewards, OneKeyCash remains the same, meaning every $1 in OneKeyCash is worth $1 toward eligible bookings across hotels, car rentals, vacation homes, and activities.

Final Thoughts 

Expedia’s One Key loyalty program is using AI tools to create a more well-rounded and personalized travel experience for its customers. These updates affect Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo, and all of these features should streamline trip planning for both individuals and groups.

According to a spokesperson for Expedia Group, new benefits should officially launch on all platforms within the next few weeks.