One Key Axes Earning Rates on Vrbo for Low-Tier and No-Status Members

Updated: April 23, 2025, 3:02pm CDT

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Table of Contents

What Is Changing With One Key and Vrbo?
What Should You Do Going Forward?
Final Thoughts

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The One Key Rewards program is the rewards program from Expedia Group, allowing members to earn and redeem rewards plus receive perks during stays with Expedia brands like Hotels.com, Expedia, and Vrbo.

Next month, the One Key program will make some changes to decrease the rewards certain members earn for their stays at Vrbo properties.

Here are all of the details, along with some solutions to maximize your rewards on Vrbo stays in the future.

What Is Changing With One Key and Vrbo?

Effective May 22, 2025, One Key will be adjusting the rewards rate on Vrbo stays based on your tier status within the program.

Platinum and Gold members will continue to earn 2% OneKeyCash on Vrbo bookings
Silver members will earn 1% OneKeyCash on Vrbo bookings
Blue members will no longer earn OneKeyCash on Vrbo bookings

No changes are being made to the amount of OneKeyCash you’ll receive when booking with other brands and hotels within the Expedia Group, and you’ll still be able to redeem your OneKeyCash at Vrbo properties at the same rate.

Hot Tip:

If you’re currently booking hotel stays through Expedia and its affiliates, but you’re not enrolled in the One Key Rewards program, learn everything you need to know about the Expedia One Key Rewards program so that you can start getting more value out of all of your future bookings.

What Should You Do Going Forward?

If you book a lot of stays through Vrbo and want to make sure you’re earning as much OneKeyCash as possible, here is what you can do to make sure you are.

Usually, you’ll qualify for One Key Silver status after completing 5 trip elements and One Key Gold status after completing 15 trip elements. You’ll earn 1 trip element for the following qualifying activities:

Hotel room night
Vacation rental night
Flight ticket
Car rental day
Cruise cabin night
Activity ticket

Alternatively, the One Key program offers 2 credit cards that help you achieve elite status faster.

One Key Card Wells fargo — Image Credit: Wells Fargo

With the One Key™ Card, you’ll receive automatic One Key Silver status and the ability to upgrade to Gold status with $15,000 in card spend per calendar year. Plus, the card offers perks like 3% in OneKeyCash on Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, gas stations, grocery stores, and dining, along with cellular telephone protection, no foreign transaction fees, and a $0 annual fee.

The more premium One Key+™ Card comes with automatic One Key Gold status, plus the ability to upgrade to Platinum status with $30,000 in card spend per calendar year — ensuring you’ll maintain your 2% rewards rate on Vrbo stays with this status. You’ll also receive perks like 3% OneKeyCash on Expedia group bookings and gas stations, grocery stores and dining; a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit; $100 in OneKeyCash each year on your cardholder anniversary; cellular telephone protection’,’ rental car insurance; and more. The card has a $99 annual fee.

Hot Tip:

If you’re not sure which card is right for you, read our detailed comparison of the One Key card vs. the One Key+ card.

Final Thoughts

For those who frequently book Vrbo stays and have One Key Silver elite status or lower, the amount of OneKeyCash you’ll earn on these stays is decreasing on May 22, 2025.

If you want to continue maximizing the OneKeyCash you’ll earn on Vrbo stays going forward, you’ll need to take action to qualify for One Key Gold status or better. Alternatively, you could focus on other rewards from your Vrbo stays, earning JetBlue points or United Airlines miles, for example.