Funny thing is my 2 express deal hotels in 2 days. Both have MERCHANT CATEGORY = TRAVEL AGENCIES. Both have MERCHANT NAME = PRICELINE.COM (ON-LINE)
But 1 got 2X points. 1 got 5X. Who can understand these?
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Thatâs funny (and interesting). I wonder what accounts for the difference?
Earned 2x. It does allow redemption at 2/3rds of the normal cost of the transaction (e.g. $50 for only 3,333 points).
Iâm officially done with this card and will keep it as a backup in case other programs get nerfed. Iâd much rather be earning UR at 2x on CSP for a Priceline purchase than dealing with the unknowns on this card.
So no 10% bonus either?
I still miss the Marukai JCB. It was such a weird card and uncapped 3% rewards after you hit a minimum spending threshold. Iâm guessing they lost so much money that they decided to pull the plug on the US market complete. (Well, that or it was a ploy to improve JCB acceptance in the US)
Had success with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic award fees posting for 1.5x and 10% back, tremendous. Repeated ordinary Southwest fares qualifying. Overall a keeper.
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Iâm wondering whether Priceline VIP Gold Status is another perk this legacy card was given once the newer card got it.
Details are at https://www.priceline.com/next-profile/vip#benefits-table .
I have Gold status, and can vouch for some significant price drops on hotels and rental cars once I log in.
What Iâm not certain of is whether this status is from the Visa card alone, or from past years when I had enough qualifying trips to earn Gold.
Also, I donât see any way to confirm the VIP qualifying trip count. Mine says 4, but it doesnât break out which trips were completed vs. canceled vs. non-counting.
Could I get a virtual show of hands of those who are completing priceline trips? Am wondering how useful a priceline optimization thread might be.
I have gold VIP status from the legacy card despite only making a single Priceline purchase in the last year.
Generally, I have found that logging in does decrease pricing, but you can snag equivalent or better deals if you book directly with the hotel. There are, of course, exceptions - Iâve found Vegas hotels to use Priceline as a way to dump excess inventory. Same-day airport hotels are another category that tend to be cheaper on Priceline.
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Thanks sullim4,
And that lack of trips => 5 has been true in past years too?
If so, then I think youâre the confirming data point Iâve been looking for.
Yes. We havenât used Priceline much at all in recent years.
We have exciting news. Your Priceline Rewards⢠VisaŽ Card is changing to a Priceline VIP Rewards⢠VisaŽ Card. That means your points-earning potential just got bigger.
Beginning on 7/2/2025, you will now:
⢠Earn 5X points on all Priceline bookings instead of 5X points on Name Your Own Price bookings and 2X points on all other Priceline bookings.
⢠Earn 2X points on gas and restaurant purchases including delivery services instead of 2X points on Choose Your Own Rewards.
⢠Earn 1X point on all other purchases.
⢠Be eligible for up to a $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit each anniversary year if you spend $10,000 or more on purchases*.
⢠Automatically receive VIP Gold status at Priceline.com that gives you more access to great deals and priority customer service.
Weâre also making a few changes when you redeem points beginning on 7/2/2025:
⢠You will now redeem points for statement credits at a 1% value. For example, 2,500 points can be redeemed for a $25 statement credit toward a Priceline purchase or reservation.
⢠(To ensure youâll have time to redeem points on eligible Priceline purchases of $25 or more posted within the last 120 days at the 1.5% value, we will honor the 1.5% redemption value through September 2, 2025.)
⢠And the 10% Redemption Bonus on eligible priceline.com or travel purchases will no longer apply.
All other existing terms as defined in your Cardmember Agreement and subsequent amendments will remain unchanged.
Looks like the days of using this as a 3.3% card are numbered. Was good while it lasted.
Edit: @billatq beat me to the punch by a few seconds 
. Guess there were quite a few of us still with this card. Regardless⌠we havenât used it much at all in recent years so itâs a good opportunity to close it, I suppose.
Well, for me at least, the end of an era has arrived. 
Just received an email titled, âYour Priceline Rewards⢠VisaÂŽ Card benefits are changingâ. And itâs exactly what youâd expect, but worse, lol.
They are force-converting the awesome OG priceline card to the new, 1% earning âPriceline VIPâ card. Date of change is July 2. And, theyâre nuking both the 50% uplift on priceline/travel, AND the 10% redemption credit.
Beginning on 7/2/2025, you will now:
⢠Earn 5X points on all Priceline bookings instead of 5X points on Name Your Own Price bookings and 2X points on all other Priceline bookings.
⢠Earn 2X points on gas and restaurant purchases including delivery services instead of 2X points on Choose Your Own Rewards.
⢠Earn 1X point on all other purchases.
⢠Be eligible for up to a $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit each anniversary year if you spend $10,000 or more on purchases*.
⢠Automatically receive VIP Gold status at Priceline.com that gives you more access to great deals and priority customer service.
Weâre also making a few changes when you redeem points beginning on 7/2/2025:
⢠You will now redeem points for statement credits at a 1% value. For example, 2,500 points can be redeemed for a $25 statement credit toward a Priceline purchase or reservation.
⢠(To ensure youâll have time to redeem points on eligible Priceline purchases of $25 or more posted within the last 120 days at the 1.5% value, we will honor the 1.5% redemption value through September 2, 2025.)
⢠And the 10% Redemption Bonus on eligible priceline.com or travel purchases will no longer apply.
All other existing terms as defined in your Cardmember Agreement and subsequent amendments will remain unchanged.
I just paid a tax bill with it, so it went out with a boom at least.
YepâŚsaw that. Hanging it up too. Been a good run.
Me too. But I donât have any expense to redeem 1.5X 
In theory, a refundable airfare booked with an airline would trigger the 1.5X redemption option. You could probably redeem all your points and then refund the ticket. Careful not to redeem the 10% rebate and points earned on the purchase since those will get reversed on the cancellation. Seemed like a risky move to get shut down before when this was such a great card but who cares post nerf.
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Good one! Why would the 10% rebate be reversed? That has nothing to do with the ticket purchase.
The same tricks that work for the Amex airline credits work here, albeit without the weird $100 caps.