Walmart partners with Expedia on travel benefits for Walmart+ members
Walmart is adding more perks to its paid membership program, Walmart+.
The discount giant is launching WalmartPlusTravel.com, an online site for travel-related bookings. Beginning Wednesday, July 26, Walmart+ members will receive 5% Walmart Cash (previously Walmart Rewards points) back for hotels, vacation rentals, car rentals and activities bookings. They will also receive 2% Walmart Cash back for all flights and and a blended rate of Walmart Cash back for vacation packages.
Travel booking on WalmartPlusTravel.com is enabled by Expedia Group White Label Template technology, providing access to more than 900,000 properties, 500 airlines, 100 car rental companies and thousands of activities around the world.
Walmart+ members can gain access to travel services through their member benefits hub in the Walmart app or at WalmartPlusTravel.com. After a booking is confirmed, any Walmart Cash received will appear in the member’s Walmart wallet. Walmart Cash will become available 30 days after travel is completed and can be used on future Walmart purchases or cashed out in-store.
Over time, some of the components of the recently relaunched Walmart Cash rewards program (with its new cash out in-store feature) will expand to all customers, while additional ways to get Walmart Cash will remain exclusive to subscription program members, like Walmart+ Travel.
Walmart+ members will also have access to Expedia Group’s end-to-end customer service offerings, including live agents as well as self-serve capabilities such as the artificial intelligence (AI)-based Virtual Agent tool.
"We're bringing together the ultimate savings membership and vacation booking site to deliver a first-ever travel-focused benefit for Walmart+ members," said Venessa Yates, senior VP and GM of Walmart+.
“We’re delighted to launch this collaboration with Walmart, America’s largest retailer, making planning, shopping and booking travel a new and seamless part of Walmart’s shopping experience. Together, we’re connecting Walmart’s massive customer base with Expedia Group’s extensive array of travel supply partners from all around the world," said Ariane Gorin, president of Expedia for Business.
Walmart adds perks to Walmart+
Initially introduced in in September 2020, Walmart+ offers unlimited free delivery on orders of $35 or more, gasoline discounts of up to five cents a gallon and access to the chain’s Scan & Go app, which allows shoppers to avoid checkout lines by scanning items in the store and checkout using Walmart Pay.
Walmart has been bulking up Walmart+ with several different promotions in the past 18 months. In March 2022, Walmart made the program available free to all full- and part-time Walmart U.S. associates working in the company’s stores, distribution centers and fulfillment centers. This added nearly 1.6 million members to the offering.
At that time, the company also began also collaborating with the Spotify music streaming platform to offer a special promotion for Walmart+ members. New and existing Walmart+ members can receive six months of the Spotify Premium content streaming service for free.
In another example, the discount giant makes its InHome delivery service, which delivers groceries straight to a customer’s kitchen or garage fridge, available as an optional add-on within the Walmart+ program for $10 less than previous annual pricing when Walmart+ and InHome were separate memberships.
Headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. operates more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites under 46 banners in 24 countries.