Booking.com Genius Rewards Visa Credit Card – What Properties Need to Know Now

RoomStay

Hotel Marketing

September 11, 2025

5 mins read

Booking.com just launched its first U.S. credit card. On paper, it looks like a simple travel rewards card. In reality? It’s another move in Booking’s long game to cut accommodation providers out of the customer relationship and take even more of your revenue along the way.

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Booking.com launches its first credit card

Booking.com has teamed up with First National Bank of Omaha to launch the Booking.com Genius Rewards Visa Signature® Credit Card. ¹ The pitch? Travel perks, cashback, and bigger discounts when you book through Booking. Forbes reports that Genius members, already incentivised with exclusive rates, will now have a shiny piece of plastic keeping them loyal to Booking’s ecosystem. ² This isn’t just about rewarding travellers. It’s about tightening the screws. By controlling the payment card itself, Booking can lock in customer loyalty directly at the checkout, capture spend that extends beyond just hotel bookings, and funnel more transactions through their system, leaving hotels and holiday parks with fewer direct booking opportunities.

Why is Booking.com doing this?

The numbers tell the story. According to PYMNTS, around 60 to 65% of U.S. consumers already book through Booking.com directly. ³ That’s a massive customer base to monetise, and now they’re adding payments to the mix. This ties neatly into Booking Holdings’ “Connected Trip” strategy. ⁴

The vision? One seamless ecosystem where flights, accommodation, car rentals, payments, and loyalty all sit under the Booking umbrella.

Translation: the more touchpoints they own, the less chance a customer has of ever booking directly with you.

Booking has been steadily moving toward this model for years. First, they pushed Genius as a loyalty program. Next, they layered in AI-driven personalisation to keep guests hooked. Now, they’ve entered financial services. Every move pulls travellers deeper into their orbit, and every step makes it harder for providers to win back those bookings.

What does this mean for accommodation providers?

The accommodation industry is already haemorrhaging profits to OTAs. Over $53 billion a year in commissions, climbing to $81 billion depending on whose report you read. And now Booking wants to own not just the booking, but the wallet too. If you think OTA fees hurt now, imagine competing against an OTA that’s rewarding your guests every time they bypass your website.

That’s what this card represents. It’s a Trojan horse dressed up as a perk. And once travellers get used to earning rewards directly through Booking, your brand has even less room to compete on value.

The real kicker? Hotels and holiday parks are paying to feed the system that’s working against them. Every commission dollar strengthens the OTA’s ability to roll out new schemes like this one. You’re not just losing margin, you’re funding the very machine that’s eroding your direct business.

If you’re not clear on just how much Booking’s fees add up, we’ve broken it down in detail in our Booking.com Fees Guide. Understanding the true cost of those commissions is the first step in taking back control of your direct channel.

Industry reaction so far

The hospitality conversation on LinkedIn and across the industry has been buzzing. Many are questioning what happens when OTAs start controlling both bookings and payments. The general consensus is that direct revenue management just got harder and accommodation providers are being asked to fight with one hand tied behind their backs, often without even realising it.

Industry voices went further, asking: what if Booking.com became a bank? The Genius Rewards Visa offers up to 6% back in travel credits, instant Genius Level 3 perks, no annual or foreign fees, and rewards locked into Booking.com credits. It keeps customers locked in, and if the model expands to regions like Brazil, the impact could be even bigger. Airbnb and Decolar already offer installments, so this is not far-fetched.

Booking.com itself has been loud about the launch. Their own survey ¹ shows just how much people crave rewards:

97% of Americans would delete a social media account for free travel
72% would skip their birthday for a hotel upgrade
and more than half would give up alcohol for a year.

Consumers are obsessed with rewards. 82% check them more than their 401k and 63% say co-branded cards are easier to use than everyday cards. Gen Z and Millennials are even more attached, with nearly three quarters using credit card rewards to fund travel.

The punchline? Booking knows loyalty is sticky when it’s tied to payments.

How accommodation providers can fight back

So, what’s the move? You can’t stop Booking from launching a card. But you can stop handing them your customers on a silver platter. Here’s what smart hotels and holiday parks are doing:

Connect to more payment gateways

Don’t let Booking own the card rails. Offer credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, and more straight from your website. The more flexibility you provide, the fewer reasons guests have to go elsewhere. Add Afterpay. Travellers love flexibility, and “buy now, pay later” is a proven conversion booster. Adding Afterpay to your checkout gives you an edge OTAs don’t want you to have. Younger travellers in particular are conditioned to expect BNPL options, and providers that offer them gain a direct advantage.

Build loyalty your way

Rewards don’t have to be flashy. Early check-in, room upgrades, or simple repeat-booking member only deals to keep guests coming back. Don’t rely on OTAs to “own” your loyalty program. Even small perks tied directly to booking on your site make a difference.

Fix your checkout

If your booking engine takes too long, requires too many clicks, or makes payments clunky, you’re bleeding conversions. Seamless checkout is table stakes. Don’t give customers an excuse to bounce back to an OTA because your UX lags behind.

Where RoomStay fits in

This is exactly why RoomStay exists. We boost direct bookings by up to 96%. We plug you into every major payment gateway, including BNPL like Afterpay. Our seamless checkout means fewer abandoned bookings, more revenue in your pocket. And we don’t sugar-coat it: OTAs are robbing you blind.

RoomStay was built to stop that. Hotels and holiday parks pay billions to OTAs every year. With RoomStay, you take that margin back. We arm you with the tools Booking doesn’t want you to have, the ability to meet guests where they are, offer them the payment methods they prefer, and close the booking without friction.

That’s how you win.

By matching the convenience of OTAs without sacrificing your brand. By turning your website into a conversion machine. By cutting off the oxygen supply OTAs thrive on: your money.

The bottom line for the accommodation industry

Hotels,holiday parks…wake up. The OTAs aren’t just middlemen anymore. They’re building entire ecosystems designed to lock you out. Today it’s loyalty programs. Tomorrow it’s payment cards. Next year? Who knows. What’s certain is this: the longer you wait, the more control you lose.

Tell the OTAs to GTFO. Take back your bookings. Put your payments back where they belong, in your hands.

Book a free Roomstay demo and start turning browsers into bookings today.