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Ebates has been running increased cash back this week, with 15% or more offered at 400+ retailers. Lost in the noise, I had previously missed a couple of good travel-related deals (especially if you are earning Membership Rewards points): 15% / 15x on car rentals at Orbitz, Travelocity, or CheapTickets; 15% / 15x on cruises at Priceline, or 10% / 10x on hotels at Priceline. If you’re looking to book travel, these could make for some very good deals.
The Deal
- Great payout rates on car rentals, cruises, and hotels at several online travel agencies via Ebates
- If you are new to Ebates and want to earn Membership Rewards, you’ll want to sign up via this link: www.ebates.com/american-express. (not an affiliate link)
- If you are new to Ebates and prefer to earn cash back, you can sign up with our affiliate link with our thanks.
Key Details
- See the terms of each merchant at Ebates — increased rates vary based on which OTA you choose
Quick Thoughts
I had missed this the other day and wish I had seen it on Monday as I booked a rental car through Priceline that I probably could have booked through Ortbitz / Travelocity / CheapTickets for the same price (unfortunately, rates have since increased substantially for my rental needs).
The cruise deal might be especially interesting if it could stack with the current Amex Offer for Princess Cruises. I’m not sure it would work — the terms of that offer indicate that you must book directly through Princess Cruises. On the other hand, I know that cruise bookings through travel agents are often actually charged by the cruise line itself and have triggered some past offers. If you try a stack there, accept that it’s a gamble — but if you’re the gambling sort, maybe it’s worth a shot.
The 10x on hotels doesn’t excite me as much as it does when offered directly with a hotel chain since bookings through Priceline (or other third-party OTAs) do not typically earn any hotel points or receive any elite benefits. On the other hand, if you’re booking a hotel with which you do not have elite status and/or staying at a property with no loyalty program, this might be a fine deal for you.
Overall, it’s a good idea to take a look at the travel agencies on Ebates as you might be able to grab a pretty solid return this week.
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I need to book another cruise, so I hope there is another deal soon. We are also wondering which credit cards allow us to use the rewards for cruises and what rate. We are doing more cruises these days and some rewards programs don’t mention cruises, such as Flexperks, but I think realtime rewards might work. I use Arrival the most to pay for cruises.
Pricing is same for my one month car rental between Travelocity, Orbitz , and cheaptickets. Any advantage you can think of in choosing one of these over the other?
Thanks Nick. I need to get a 1 month car rental in a couple of weeks. 15x Amex makes me very happy.
Nick, if I’m reading this correctly, I’m better off booking a hotel with Priceline through Ebates for 10xMR, rather than prepaying through the Amex Travel portal with an Amex Platinum for 5xMR?
Only 3$ for flights…meh..
There is never significant cash back on flights. The only thing I’ve ever seen that’s more than a couple of dollars was 2% on Qatar Airways.