Orbitz has released a new rewards credit card which offers you 2% on all purchases and up to 10% on Orbitz purchases. At first I thought this was a straight cash back card and immediately thought it would replace the AmEx Fidelity cards (which also offer a straight 2% cash back) as Visa has wider acceptance than American Express.
Unfortunately you don’t get cash back at all, instead of you get Orbucks which can be redeemed for Orbitz purchases. This new card is underwritten and issued by Comenity Bank, which is known for issuing a lot of store based credit cards.
Key Features Of New Card
- 10% back in Orbucks when you book eligible hotels on our mobile app, or 8% on desktop/web
- 7% back in Orbucks on flights on our mobile app, or 6% on flights and packages on desktop/web
- 2% in Orbucks on all other purchases
- Orbitz star status (may include free WiFi, breakfast & upgrades at select hotels)
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fee
- $50 Orbucks activation bonus  when you spend $200 within the first 90 days
Our Verdict
How good this offer is will really depend on how often you travel and how much you spend on those expenses. Because the cash back is only received as Orbucks you really need to make sure you are travelling often enough to redeem your Orbucks (Orbucks can only be used for hotel bookings using Orbitz.com). On the plus side Orbitz does have a price match guarantee, they’ll pay 100% of any difference you’re able to find in Orbucks.
To make matters worse, not all hotels are eligible. You can only use your Orbucks on hotels which have the O symbol next to them.
Personally I won’t be bothering with this card, I like the freedom of being able to use whatever hotel or flight search engine I like without having to worry about dealing with a price match guarantee. American Express is accepted at enough locations that having the Visa version isn’t particularly appealing. If you book directly with a hotel’s website and have a co-branded credit card you’ll also often get 10% or more back anyway. The sign up bonus is also tiny when compared to others on the market.
It’s also weird that Orbitz & Comenity bank haven’t released a proper fee & APR disclosure, which is required by law.
[Read: Our full review on the Orbitz Visa Rewards Credit Card]
Do you have any interest in this card? Will you be applying for it? Let us know in the comments.
Hat tip to  simplecookie from reddit.com/r/churning
