Trip.com Rewards loyalty program review

Trip.com's loyalty program offers some of the best returns if you spend at least $10K per year on travel (flights, hotels, car rentals, tours, etc.) when paired with credit card promo codes. You will also save hours of vacation/holiday planning time when compared with other apps/services.

Also see my post on Black Diamond tier hidden benefits which was launched late 2025.

Rewards valuation

I'll start off by disclosing I'm a Diamond+ tier member, which I value at $141 based on my last 12 months.

My valuation is based on what I got out of the Perks offered as a Diamond+ member after spending over US$9K and earning $80 in coins, which is <0.9% cash back. As with other loyalty programs, Services and Deals are harder to quantify.

Details, details, details

This program (see latest details here) is different from others you may have seen before, which might be a good thing?

While writing this article it looks like Trip.com removed the 2 Deals below:

So how is Trip.com Rewards really different?

1. There are 6 tiers. That's a lot ... or is it? I think it's really only 3, starting with Diamond.
   1. Silver - similar to almost all loyalty programs, sign up and get the basic tier
   2. Gold - 1 booking. This level is for life; no expiration.
   3. Platinum - 3 bookings. You can separately 1 flight, 1-night hotel and 1 car rental and that should count as 3 bookings. 2 1-way flights + 1 night hotel also works as long as you have separate checkouts. This is basically the same as Gold; your first time booking on Trip.com and you're "working" to get a free lounge pass.
   4. Diamond - 8 bookings (min $1k). You can creatively achieve 8 bookings with just 1 or 2 holidays using separate checkouts to earn 2 lounge passes.
   5. Diamond+ - $10K spend. You didn't get here by gaming the number of bookings, so you likely didn't care about the lower tier benefits before and got here because Trip.com is easy to use. Now that you hit that level, it seems like a waste to not use the benefits you earned, so you do.
   6. Black Diamond - By invitation only. Lots of free stuff, but if you spend $20K/year, you probably already have access to (fancier) lounges via airline status, airline ticket or credit card. Trip Coins are good, and you don't bother with a few dollars worth of eSIMs as you already have a global data plan. You might remember to redeem the free attraction ticket.
2. A lot of perks - The perks are different from what Agoda and Hotels.com offers: breakfast and room upgrades on select stays (i.e. almost never). Keep reading to learn more about Trip.com perks.
3. Deals are listed last - there's not specific discount listed, unlike other programs which convince you better pricing is number one.

Let's break it down section by section.

Perks

Earn Trip Coins - it's based on your spend on Trip.com, rewarding you with cash you can only spend on Trip.com

• 0.5% for hotels
• 0.2% for flights
• 0.35% for flight+hotel
• 0.2% for tours
• Many other categories that I won't list.

You will always earn Trip Coins on Trip.com spend, unlike Agoda which does not offer AgodaCash on all spend.

Keep in mind the Trip Coins are in addition to whatever credit/debit card miles/points/cash you may be earning.

In 2025, I've earned about $80 worth of Trip coins, which is <0.9% money back based on my $9K+ of spending. Majority of my booking were flight and tours which only earn 0.2%. I typically stay with major hotel chains such as Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton unless they're not available or have outrageous prices beyond other operators in the same city.

No Admin Fee for Train Refunds - well, the Refund Fee Waiver is only available within the app and for refundable point-to-point train tickets for railways operated in the UK and Europe. No refunds on a non-refundable ticket. This is of no value in Asia.

Free Airport VIP Lounge Access - this is typically a Priority Pass lounge. Useful for those without airline status or a credit card offering such a benefit. Let's face it though, the food and drink in these lounges aren't that great, but you have a quieter place to sit down and try to get your money's worth on food and drink. It's perhaps worth $20 per pass depending on which country you redeem it in and if you manage to down a few coffees or beers and some (low) quality food.

Free Global eSIM Data Package - This is only of interest if you have an eSIM phone. It's not an incentive to move to a higher tier, but this is useful, even though it's only worth less than US$1 per 1GB. You can also buy eSIMs from Trip.com regardless of tier at very low prices. No need to download another eSIM provider's app and create another account. Learn why you don't need to bother selecting eSIM providers in Asia.

This benefit is worth $1 to $24, depending on your tier and which country you're redeeming this benefit in. The eSIM is applicable to 60 countries, not any country in the world.

Airport Transfer Model Upgrade - Where I live, I can use a car hailing app and it'd be cheaper. In other places, I either find cheaper transport options in local car hailing apps or I use public transportation. I think this benefit is only for those that care about exactly what brand car they get.

Free attraction ticket - Useful! I redeemed a ticket while buying tickets for my family and saved myself $25.

Services

Flight-Hotel Cancellation Guarantee - When you book your flights and hotels together, if you are unable to arrive at the hotel on your check-in date because a flight you booked on Trip.com was canceled or delayed due to a force majeure event, Trip.com will cover your cancellation fees.

I haven't experienced this yet, but the likelihood of it being simpler than dealing with other travel insurance policies by other companies or offered via your credit is high. Keep reading this section to learn why.

Flight price alerts - self-explanatory what this is. This feature however, is not available on Agoda.com. Sure, you're thinking Google flights offers this, so it's not that big a deal, but this is in the same app. Stop switching between multiple apps to plan a trip. Future post on this.

Priority One-stop support - Many of you will likely not care about priority support or a dedicated relations management team, but I will say Trip.com support is top notch.

In the one rare event that I did need their support 4 hours before my flight departure, instead of calling a number and being put on hold forever, I submitted the request in the Trip.com app and support called me within 15 minutes to confirm the request I had and even called me back a second time when it was completed in under 90 mins. They contacted the airline on my behalf. It would have been longer hold and completion times, plus more frustration if I tried to call the airline directly. A super stressful situation avoided and problem solved.

In most cases, the app is so well designed I can self-service my requests easily, whether it is canceling my booking or changing the flight. The Trip.com Air Flexibility add-on is fantastic. For a reasonable amount, and usually less than what you pay for a more flexible ticket offered directly by the airline you can change or cancel your flight for free. In some cases, it's $30 cheaper than if I booked directly via the airline. I've even used that option to cancel my flight and rebook the same flight if I find a better last-minute price. If I'm super certain I don't need the flexibility, and I don't think my flights will get cancelled, then usually I buy direct from the airline. Trip.com is ~1% more expensive than buying direct on a $250 ticket, so an extra 1%, after deducting the Trip Coins you get as a Diamond+ member. What you get as I mentioned earlier, is better customer service than the airline, AND Trip.com handles it for you. If you ask me if 1% more is worth it, I'd probably say yes in most cases based on how much I think my time is worth. The end-to-end browsing, selection and shopping experience is faster on Trip.com app than most airlines' apps.

Dedicated Relations Management Team - I have not qualified for that tier yet, but if the Priority One experience was indicative, I feel like I'm in good hands.

Deals

I've occasionally found better flight deals on Trip.com than even going directly to the airline's site. I've also found better hotel deals for the same date and hotel vs going to Agoda.com or Expedia.com. Recall in my Agoda loyalty program review I'm in their top tier.

While it's not a specific percent-off discount offered, what I believe is happening is only offering certain inventory and prices to members of a particular tier.

Conclusion

Compared with Agoda's loyalty program where I received roughly $300 of (AgodaCash) benefits per year with $12K spend, my Trip.com benefits are only valued at $141, which is less than half of Agoda. Despite the difference, I would still choose Trip.com. The loyalty program is only part of the experience. As I have the Mox credit card (use my Referral Code TJGQ47 to receive additional benefits), I get an additional 2% cash back, before other discount codes. That is $240 on $12K spend.

$381 in benefits ($141 + $240) is a good number to choose Trip.com over Agoda's $300.

What's more, Trip.com offers a much better trip planning experience end to end. You can read more about that in a future post on how my trip planning takes hours with a single app instead of days with multiple apps or sites from multiple parties.