A Comprehensive Guide to Earning Trip.com Coins
Welcome to your ultimate guide to earning Trip Coins. Whether you're new to Trip.com or an experienced traveller seeking to optimise your rewards, this guide will take you through all the ways to earn and use these coins.
What is Trip.com?
Trip.com is a leading global online travel agency that offers an expansive selection of travel products encompassing over 1.4 million hotels in 200 countries and flights to over 5,000 cities. The original Trip.com was started and is still headquartered in Singapore but is now owned by a Chinese parent company with headquarters in Shanghai, originally known as CTrip.
Since its inception, Trip.com has made it its mission to simplify travel planning and make travelling a more enjoyable experience. With 24/7 customer service and a commitment to quality, they provide travellers with easy access to the best deals and offers and a seamless booking experience.
Whether you are planning a family holiday, a business trip, or a last-minute getaway, Trip.com can be a one-stop solution for booking travel.
What are Trip Coins?
Trip Coins are part of the loyalty programme offered by Trip.com. These coins are a form of virtual currency that you can earn through various activities on the platform and then redeem for great rewards, including discounts on future pre-paid bookings.
How to Earn Trip Coins from Bookings on Trip.com
There are several ways you can earn Trip Coins:
Earning Trip Coins Through Different Booking Types
Trip Coins are earned based on the type of booking, the amount spent, the member tier, and the platform used for booking. Here's the breakdown:
Flights: For every US$100 spent (or its equivalent), you'll earn 25 Trip Coins.
Hotels: For every US$100 spent (or its equivalent), you'll earn 80 Trip Coins.
Gift Cards: For every US$100 spent (or its equivalent), you'll earn 50 Trip Coins.
South Korea Trains (app only): For every US$100 spent (or its equivalent), you'll earn 25 Trip Coins.
The exact number of Trip Coins rewarded for each booking will be shown after payment when the booking is completed.
The number of Trip Coins you earn also depends on your membership tier:
Gold tier members earn 10% more Trip Coins.
Platinum members earn 30% more Trip Coins.
Diamond members earn 40% more Trip Coins.
Booking with the Trip.com App
By booking through the Trip.com app, you stand to gain 30% more Trip Coins compared to using desktop or mobile websites. This approach motivates people to download the app and subscribe to regular push notifications. It also enables Trip.com to minimise payouts to affiliate partners.
Write Hotel Reviews
As a Trip.com member, you can earn coins by writing reviews on hotels you've stayed at. The number of coins you earn is determined by several factors including the popularity of the hotel, when the review was written, and the completeness of your review.
Each approved review earns you Trip Coins on a sliding scale:
10 coins for less than 20 characters
20 coins for 20-50 characters
50 coins for over 50 characters.
Bonuses are also available. Uploading images or videos earns an extra 10 coins, as does leaving a review within three days of your stay. Writing your first review, or reviewing a hotel with fewer than 15 reviews, bags an additional 50 coins.
You can't cheat the system though, and there are some guidelines. Reviews will be screened for inappropriate content and may not be posted if they're found to be falsified, nonsensical, plagiarised, offensive, aggressive, or promotional. In such cases, or if a review is deleted, any Trip Coins earned will be withdrawn.
So, keep your reviews honest, insightful, and respectful!
Write Attraction Reviews
Registered users have the opportunity to earn coins by writing reviews for attractions. By posting a photo of any attraction along with a review of at least 15 characters, you can earn 10 Trip Coins, up to a monthly limit of 200. Once your submitted content successfully passes the verification process, the coins will be automatically added to your account.
Remember to keep your reviews original and honest to avoid any deduction of coins.
Trip Moments
The Trip Moments community grants registered users ways to gain Trip Coins by engaging with posts and fellow users. Everyday tasks like liking posts reap daily rewards, and membership-level upgrades unlock further benefits.
Opportunities span from viewing and liking posts to adjusting your profile and creating high-quality content.
Here are the task details:
Daily tasks such as liking a post earn 1 Trip Coin (up to 3 times).
New membership level tasks reward 2-5 Trip Coins for activities like viewing posts, liking items, following users, writing reviews, and editing your profile.
Higher levels (4-6) yield up to 300 Trip Coins for posting and creating high-quality content.
Monthly tasks offer 500 Trip Coins for five high-quality posts post-level 6, totalling up to 1000 Trip Coins.
There are some community rules you must adhere to:
All contributions must be original, and contain legitimate and proper content.
Unlawful, unrelated, malicious or plagiarised posts/comments won't be published.
For clarity and user experience, posts must have sufficient details and quality.
Participate in Promotions
Trip.com regularly runs promotions and contests that offer coins as prizes. Keep an eye on their website and emails for these opportunities.
How to Use Trip Coins
You can use Trip Coins when paying to save instantly on pre-paid bookings.
For example, 100 Trip Coins can be used to save approximately US$1 on a booking.
Effective Cashback Rates with Trip Coins on Trip.com
Understanding how much you effectively earn back in value with Trip Coins can help you make the most of this rewards programme. Below, we’ve broken down the effective cashback rates based on different booking types, status tiers, and platforms:
1. Effective Cashback Rate for Each Form of Booking with No Status:
Flights: 25 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$0.25 (0.25% cashback).
Hotels: 80 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$0.80 (0.8% cashback).
Gift Cards: 50 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$0.50 (0.5% cashback).
South Korea Trains (app only): 25 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$0.25 (0.25% cashback).
2. Effective Cashback Rate for Bookings Made on the App (No Status):
Flights (app): 32.5 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$0.325 (0.325% cashback).
Hotels (app): 104 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$1.04 (1.04% cashback).
Gift Cards (app): 65 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$0.65 (0.65% cashback).
South Korea Trains (app only): 32.5 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$0.325 (0.325% cashback).
3. Effective Cashback Rate for Hotel Bookings Made with the App for Each Status Tier:
Gold Tier (10% more Trip Coins):
Hotels (app): 114.4 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$1.144 (1.144% cashback).Platinum Tier (30% more Trip Coins):
Hotels (app): 135.2 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$1.352 (1.352% cashback).Diamond Tier (40% more Trip Coins):
Hotels (app): 145.6 Trip Coins for every US$100 spent, equivalent to US$1.456 (1.456% cashback).
As you can see, taking advantage of status tier benefits and booking through the Trip.com app will help you maximise the number of Trip Coins you earn, thus increasing your effective cashback.
The best value Trip Coins earn is for a Diamond member booking hotels through the app, where they would earn an effective cashback of approximately 1.456%.
Cashback Comparison with Other OTA Loyalty Programmes
It's important to put the Trip.com rewards programme into perspective by comparing it to other loyalty programmes in the travel industry.
For example, Hotels.com has a renowned rewards programme where members earn a free night's stay after booking 10 nights.
This essentially equates to a 10% cashback in value, which is significantly higher than what you can earn with Trip.com.
Even by maximising Trip.com rewards with status and app bookings, the effective cashback is approximately 1.456%.
This highlights that, while Trip Coins can offer some savings, savvy travellers looking for more substantial rewards might find better value in alternative programmes such as the one offered by Hotels.com.
Of course, if the price of a stay with Trip.com is substantially cheaper than booking with Hotels.com, or another online travel agency (OTA), then this needs to be taken into account also.
When will Trip Coins be added to my account?
For flight bookings, your Trip Coins are added to your account 3 days after your departure. If your booking includes multiple flights, then your coins will be credited 3 days after the departure of the final flight in your booking.
For hotel bookings, Trip Coins may take between 2 to 6 weeks following confirmation of check-in to appear in your account. This timeline can extend if Trip.com experience any delay in receiving confirmation from the hotel.
Do Trip Coins Expire?
Yes, Trip Coins do expire. The expiry timeline depends on how they are earned. Coins earned by booking hotels or flights expire 18 months after they reach your account, while those earned by writing hotel reviews expire 6 months after they reach your account.
For coins earned through other promotions, the expiry date varies, so it's best to refer to the information on the specific promotion page.
Thankfully, for members with a Gold or higher tier, beginning from March 1, 2022, it is possible to extend the validity period of Trip Coins that are set to expire within 30 days.
Trip.com charge an 'extension fee' for this benefit, which is deducted from your Trip Coin balance. This is typical of many Asian-based frequent traveller programmes. The extension fee is calculated based on the amount of Trip Coins about to expire.
The amount of the fee and the number of extensions allowed is based on your status level:
For Gold members, you're allowed one extension, and 10% of your Trip Coins will be charged for this service. This extension prolongs your coins' validity by 2 months.
For Platinum members, two extensions are permitted, with the same fee and duration.
Diamond members are entitled to three extensions, and the fee is lowered to 5%, with each extension also lasting 2 months.
Regardless of status, you must have a minimum balance of 10 Trip Coins.
The number of extensions you can utilise resets yearly. If your membership tier changes, the number of available extensions adjusts accordingly, but it doesn't exceed the number you've already used if you're downgraded. If you've upgraded and haven't used up the number of extensions available at your previous tier, you may continue to use them.
Note that you can only extend the validity of Trip Coins earned through bookings. Trip Coins obtained through other methods, such as writing reviews or participating in promotions, cannot have their validity period extended.
Overall, pretty complicated, and we think for Gold or above they should just not expire the Trip Coins at all. This would make for a more rewarding loyalty programme overall.
Tips for Maximising Your Coin Earnings
Book Frequently: The more you book, the more coins you earn. If you travel regularly, consider making all your bookings through Trip.com to maximise your coin earnings.
Write Detailed Reviews: The more helpful your review is, the more likely it is to be approved and earn you coins.
Refer Friends: If you have friends who travel, refer them to Trip.com. You'll both benefit when they make their first booking.
Summing Up
Earning and using Trip Coins is an okay way to stretch your travel budget and make it go further.
By fully understanding the ins and outs of the system and taking advantage of all the opportunities to earn coins, you'll save money and work your way towards increased savings with status.
However, as we've analysed above, there are potentially better OTA reward programmes around by way of the effective value you get back.
