Orbitz Relaunches Its Visa with Capital One and Sweetens the Deal
The online travel site Orbitz recently severed its longstanding relationship with Barclays/Juniper to relaunch its credit card with Capital One, in hopes of revitalizing its business.
In addition to the increased marketing clout that Orbitz hopes that Cap One can bring to the table, the new iteration of the Orbitz Visa offers a potentially more compelling value proposition for consumers.
A Comparison of Old vs. New
In particular, card holders will earn 3 points for each dollar spent booking travel on Orbitz.com, compared to the 2 points per dollar earned on flights purchased on Orbitz.com with the Juniper card. It should be noted, however, that Cap One No Hassle Rewards points are not exactly equivalent to Juniper points. Cap One points do have the advantage of being more flexible, as they can be redeemed for any type of travel, as well as merchandise, gift cards, cash or charity. In contrast, Juniper points could only be spent on air travel. Juniper points did, however, have the advantage of being slightly more valuable, as 10,000 points were redeemable for $100 off a ticket (1 cent value per point), whereas Cap One points have a more complicated redemption schedule:
| Cost of travel | Number of Capital One No Hassle Rewards Points needed |
|---|---|
| Up to $150 | 15,000 points |
| $150.01 to $350 | 35,000 points |
| $350.01 to $600 | 60,000 points |
| $600.01 and greater | the cost of travel x 100 |
As you can see, with Cap One points, your travel costs will have to be near either $150, $350, or over $600 in order to approach the value of 1 cent per point.
One other important difference is that the new Cap One card has no annual fee, while the Juniper card waived the fee for only the first year.
Other benefits
The Cap One card also offers:
- 2,000 point bonus per vacation package* booked on Orbitz.com
- 1,000 point bonus per hotel booked on Orbitz.com
- 500 point bonus per flight booked on Orbitz.com
- 250 point “refueling” bonus when you redeem points for awards
The “refueling” bonus in particular is innovative and noteworthy, as it actively encourages card holders to frequently redeem their points.
For more information or to apply, see orbitzvisacard.orbitz.com.