• by Tanya Gazdik , October 5, 2007

Citi and Expedia.com are expanding their partnership with the launch of a new credit card, the Citi PremierPass/Expedia.com card.

New York-based Citi and Expedia.com, the Bellevue, Wash.-based online travel agency, first coupled a year ago with the introduction of the ThankYou Rewards Network on Expedia, which more than one million Expedia customers have joined. Now, with the new card, consumers earn ThankYou Points for everyday purchases made with the card, additional points for eligible travel booked on Expedia.com, and points for the miles they fly on any airline. This combination of ways to earn points is unique in the industry, says Paul Brown, president of Expedia North America.

"We heard from our customers that they want a way to earn points for all of their travel and across travel brands. They also want the ability to redeem their points for travel when they want, without blackout dates," Brown says in a release. "This card does all of that, and we believe it significantly enhances the value of ThankYou Network on Expedia."

Cardmembers have the choice of redeeming their ThankYou Points for rewards, including any flight available on Expedia--any time, any seat, with no black-out dates--or they can also redeem points for merchandise, gift certificates to many favorite stores and restaurants, electronics, golf passes and movie certificates.

Therese R. Revesz, a principal at New York-based Kentera Associates LLC, who is the author of the Packaged Facts-published "Co-branded and Affinity Credit Cards in the U.S.," says it appears that Citi is hoping the new card will become popular and be used frequently by cardholders because of the combination of ways to earn points (via regular purchases and also travel) as well as the variety of reward options.

With new credit cards launching daily, marketers must carefully evaluate how their card fills an unmet need, she says. "There is a market if the perceived value of the rewards is significantly different and if it meets a market need," Revesz tells Marketing Daily. "Whether it's a 'front-of-the-wallet' card remains to be seen. It's not uncommon for consumers to have six or seven credit cards, but not all are front-of-the-wallet cards."

Revesz, who is authoring a new report focusing on financial services targeted at small businesses to be published by Packaged Facts at year's end, says this card--although not specifically a small business card--might be popular with that market since travel is usually a large expense.

With both the no-annual fee Citi PremierPass/Expedia.com Card and the $75 annual fee Elite card, cardmembers will earn up to three points for every $1 spent on Expedia transactions: two points for eligible travel purchased on Expedia.com and one additional point for hotel, air plus hotel, cruises or activities over $50 booked at Expedia.com, when the customer's ThankYou Member Account number has been registered at Expedia. Both cards also earn one point for every three miles flown on any airline.

Regular cardmembers earn one point for every $1 spent on all purchases and a $50 statement credit after the first eligible purchase on Expedia--while Elite members earn two points for dollars spent at supermarkets, drug stores, gas stations, and commuting and parking merchants, and a $100 statement credit after the first eligible purchase on Expedia.