Expedia®+ Voyager Card from Citi

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Editor’s note: some of the offers on this page are no longer available. 

For those who enjoy a challenge, the Expedia+ Voyager Card from Citi offers some of the best points values available from a travel rewards credit card. But this isn’t a card that allows minimum effort, as calculating your redemption options can be complicated.

Review

Juicing the most value out of the Expedia+ Voyager Card from Citi requires a lot of legwork. It’s best if you travel at least a few times a year and book those trips through Expedia. With the Voyager card, you’ll earn 4 Expedia+ bonus points for every $1 spent on eligible Expedia purchases. Restaurants and entertainment will net you 2 Expedia+ bonus points per $1 and all other spending earns 1 Expedia+ point per $1. The card also comes with Expedia+ gold status, which gives you an additional 30% points bonus on Expedia bookings.

That bonus could really boost your rewards.

But — and here’s the tricky part — the value of Expedia+ points depends on how you use them. The best value comes from using the points toward a +VIP Access hotel stay, where 3,500 Expedia+ points are worth a $50 credit toward the hotel. Expedia says your points are worth twice as much when booking a +VIP Access Hotel, and you’ll get 250 bonus points for booking a hotel with this designation.

If you prefer a hotel that’s not labeled +VIP Access, those 3,500 points are worth a $25 credit toward that hotel.

The lowest value use of Expedia+ points would be to book a flight, where it takes 8,000 Expedia+ points to receive up to $50 worth of credit toward a flight. You also have to have enough points to redeem for the entire cost of the flight; you can’t use a combination of points and cash.

If you’re using your earnings toward hotels or flight and hotel packages,  you’ll have to redeem your points for a coupon first and then book your travel and apply the coupon to your trip. So, if you have a $500 coupon, and the cost of your hotel stay is $491, you lose the remaining $9 of value. And, the coupons can only be used on one room per booking. This means if you’re a family who needs two rooms, you can only pay for one room with your earnings.

The card comes with an $100 annual air incidental travel credit, and if you spend $2,000 within 3 months of account opening, a 25,000 Expedia+ point bonus. The sign-up bonus could be worth as much as $350 if you use it for a + VIP Access hotel, or as little as $150 if you use it toward a flight booking.

Who should get this card

Only those who are up for the challenge of making the most of a complicated rewards structure should consider this card.

Fees and APR

• Annual fee is $95.
• This card has a variable APR of 15.74% – 23.74% for purchases and balance transfers.
• There are no foreign transaction fees for purchases made outside the U.S.

Extras, perks and using points

Cardholders get Expedia+ gold status, which gives a 30% point bonus on all Expedia.com travel bookings.

If you spend $10,000 on the card in the prior card membership year, get a 5,000-anniversary points bonus.

To redeem your points, log in to your Expedia account and select which type of redemption you’d like.