Expedia for TD - All you need to know
TD Rewards is one of the most flexible travel points programs in Canada.
Not only can you book flights with any airline and pay using points, but you’ll have access to the world’s largest travel platform to save on anything and everything travel through the Expedia For TD website – an exclusive portal for TD credit card holders.
Here’s everything you need to know about how Expedia For TD works.
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About Expedia For TD
ExpediaForTD.com is a co-branded website that’s exclusive to certain TD cardholders, allowing you to leverage Expedia’s vast catalogue of vacations, flights, hotels, and rental cars while redeeming points. For instance, when using the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite – one of Canada’s best travel credit cards – you’ll get a staggering nine times the points for every dollar you spend on Expedia For TD.
Here’s a list of TD Travel Rewards cards that work with Expedia For TD:
- TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite
- TD Platinum Travel Visa
- TD Rewards Visa
- TD Business Travel Visa
Note, the Expedia For TD portal is only linked to credit cards that earn TD Rewards Points – not Aeroplan Miles or cash back. That rules out cards from TD like the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite and the TD CashBack Visa Infinite.
What's the difference between Expedia.ca and ExpediaforTD.com?
While both sites offer the same wide scope of discounted flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages, Expedia.ca is simply the Canadian arm of Expedia, a global company that helps users book travel arrangements.
ExpediaforTD, on the other hand, is a specific web portal only available to select TD customers. While users of the latter will get all the same options and deals available to Expedia.ca customers, they'll also be able to earn points (nine per dollar) when they make purchases.
What is a TD Rewards Point worth?
When redeeming TD Points on the Expedia For TD website, the value is fixed at one-half-cent or 0.05% per point. In other words, every 10,000 points you earn can be redeemed for $50 worth of travel rewards.
Point values remain consistent regardless of where or when you’re flying and you won’t have to work out what your points are worth against an elaborate redemption chart.
What can you redeem for on Expedia For TD?
The Expedia For TD website gives TD cardholders access to all the same products that are available on Expedia.ca including:
- Flights from hundreds of airlines across the world
- Hotels
- Rental cars
- Tourist experiences (i.e. museum tickets and guided tours)
- All-inclusive vacation packages and cruises
That means you can organize any kind of travel you want and pay with points using Expedia For TD. Whether you’re planning an adventure at an all-inclusive resort or a tour of Europe’s greatest museums, you can find exactly what you’re looking for and book it using points.
How to redeem TD Points on Expedia For TD
Redeeming TD Points on Expedia For TD is simple. You can browse the website just as you would Expedia.ca. When you’re ready to purchase travel, you can use any combination of cash and points you like.
You can redeem points for purchases on Expedia For TD in 200-point increments (equal to one dollar) so you can take advantage of your points any time without having to wait to save up enough to book travel entirely on points. Points can also be used to cover the cost of all airport and carrier fees as well as taxes.
Earning TD Points on Expedia For TD
Every time you make a purchase on Expedia For TD with a TD Travel Rewards credit card, you’ll earn bonus TD Points.
If you book travel on Expedia For TD using the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite, you’ll earn three times the points (9 points) for every dollar you spend. Considering each point is worth up to 0.5%, that’s like getting 4.5% back on your travel spending. By using the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite, you’ll also get access to the travel benefits included with the card like travel medical insurance, trip cancellation/delay insurance, delayed and lost baggage insurance, rental car collision insurance and a discount on Priority Pass airport lounges.
TD Platinum Travel Visa Card and TD Rewards Visa Card holders can also earn bonus points when booking through the Expedia For TD website at a rate of 5 and 3 points per dollar respectively.
Expedia For TD’s price match guarantee
If you find a cheaper flight or hotel elsewhere, Expedia For TD will match prices on standalone bookings.
There is some fine print, however. For flights, you need to submit a claim within 24 hours of the time you book. For hotels, you need to make a claim at least 48 hours before your check-in time. And there’s no guarantee available on package deals like all-inclusive vacations.
What to watch out for
As with all travel programs, there are some rules and regulations to be aware of. We won’t bore you with all the legal fine print, but there are a few things you’ll want to keep your eye on.
Phone bookings pay fewer points
When you book travel using Expedia For TD over the phone versus online, you’ll earn fewer points. For instance, the TD First Class Visa Infinite will earn you 9 TD Points per dollar on any purchase made online on the Expedia For TD website but just 6 TD Points per dollar when booking over the phone. It goes without saying – avoid booking over the phone and stick to the website at all costs. The silver lining is the Expedia For TD website is intuitive and straightforward to use, so there’s little advantage to picking up the phone and speaking with a customer service representative in the first place.
Redeeming TD Points without using Expedia For TD
You can technically redeem TD Points for travel without the Expedia For TD portal by using what TD calls “Book Any Way” – which lets you apply points against a travel purchase charged to your card from any travel agency or website to offset the cost. But there’s a caveat. You’ll get up to 25% less value from your points.
- When booking on Expedia For TD, 200 TD Points = $1 no matter what
- With the Book Any Way option, 250 TD Points = $1 on the initial $1,200 of the travel expense and will revert to 200 TD Points = $1 after on the remainder of the cost
That might seem like a small difference, but it can add up.
If you’re looking to redeem your points outside of Expedia For TD, do the math to make sure you’re really getting the best deal.
You can also redeem points for non-travel rewards at TDRewards.com (like gift cards or cash to pay off your balance), but these options will give you considerably less value out of your points.
Don’t confuse Expedia websites
If you use Expedia’s public website (Expedia.ca) instead of ExpediaForTD.com, you won’t earn bonus points on purchases and you won’t be able to redeem your points until after the purchase appears on your credit card statement (using the aforementioned “Book Any Way” redemption option).
How do I get access to Expedia For TD?
To gain access to Expedia For TD, you’ll need to have a TD Travel Rewards credit card and must register on the TD Rewards website.
Fortunately, there are credit card options for just about everyone.
If you earn at least $60,000 (or $100,000 as a household) and have good credit, the TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite is one of the best travel rewards credit cards in Canada and your best option for accessing Expedia For TD.
If you don’t meet the minimum income requirement, the TD Platinum Travel Visa Card offers many of the same benefits (albeit with fewer points and insurance benefits) and is available to everyone with good credit while the TD Rewards Visa Card is a decent no fee option (though admittedly there are better no fee credit cards out there).
Expedia for TD: Pros and Cons
Now that we've learned more about Expedia for TD, let's go over the basic pros and cons of the program:
Pros:
- Earn nine points per dollar on all travel purchases booked through the site
- Redeem your points for travel purchases
- Lots of travel options (flights, hotels, cars, cruises, etc.)
- Easy-to-use website
- Points can be redeemed in increments as small as 200 (cash value: one dollar) and can be used to cover fees and taxes
- Price-matching available on standalone bookings (conditions apply)
Cons:
- Only available to specific TD customers
- Phone bookings through ExpediaforTD earn less points than online
- You can technically book through any other travel provider - but you'll earn up to 25% less value from your points
The bottom line
Booking travel using points is often a frustrating experience that can obscure the value of your points and the true cost of the travel you’re booking. With Expedia For TD, the experience is just about the opposite. You’ll always know exactly the value of your points, and you can use Expedia’s search engine to find the best deals on travel from any airline or provider you want.
Also read:
Travel points vs. cash back: choose the best rewards credit card for you