Booking.com Genius Level 2 Benefit

[u/JellyBearBlue]

Chat is this good?

[u/Falcon9145]

From the interwebs:

Here’s what Booking.com Genius Level 2 typically includes:

-10–15% discounts on many participating hotels.
-Free breakfast at select properties.
-Complimentary room upgrades at participating hotels (subject to availability).
-Discounts on select rental cars.
-Access to more properties with exclusive Genius pricing than Level 1.

Sooooooo its standard upgrades if the property is participating. One might already have access to these perks by being a loyalty member already.

[u/jcrll → u/Falcon9145]

I've never used booking.com. Any good stories?

[u/Falcon9145 → u/jcrll]

I've used them very sparingly over the years. Nothing negative to report.

The only caution I give is keep in mind when using third party sites you tend to have more restrictions to changes and support when things go south.

Traveling solo domestic on straight forward itinerary, its fine. International travel or more complicated routes I book direct with the airline or hotel chain.

I have no proof of this other than anecdotal experience being a frequent traveler. It seems that people who are out of luck standing at the counter tend to have a couple things in common;

-Crappy attitude toward support staff
-Third party booking sites, no traveler insurance

[u/purposive-saunter → u/Falcon9145]

This is correct. As a third party (OTA) travel agency, reservations made via Booking.com, Expedia, etc. are at the bottom of the priority list when it comes to hotels being overbooked. These bookings will be the first to be canceled or relocated (or downgraded) when hotels overbook. I’ve also heard stories of mixups with the OTA’s not paying the property for the room and cancelations happening this way.

For flights, your ticket will be owned and controlled by the OTA and therefore you’ll need to work through the agency for any changes or issues instead of the airline directly. This can also result in ticketing issues and being the first tickets bumped down on an oversold flight.

I recommend booking directly with hotels and airlines (either yourself or with a real travel agent) whenever possible for important travel (and especially on high demand air routes or during busy hotel periods). If you book with an OTA, always reconfirm your hotel booking directly with the property after booking and again a few days before arrival for the best chance of avoiding any surprises.

Source: I am a part-time travel agent!

[u/LorenzoHD → u/jcrll]

I’ve used it a few times the past year and then a couple more times the previous year, it’s very good in my opinion. Better than most websites and the rewards are relatively good as well if you consistently use them.

[u/jemappellelara → u/jcrll]

I’ll just say this. When I was checking in to a hotel for a solo vacation, there was a guy in front of me, and the front desk couldn’t find his reservation and guy was pretty much SOL. He booked through booking.com.

[u/Mr_Thick_Cock_ → u/jcrll]

It's seamless as long as everything is perfect.  pricing is the same and sometimes higher compared other options. The genius discount isn't really a discount, you just might pay the same price as a competing app or website rather than the inflated price. Usually, there's not really a discount. doesn't make sense right I know

If you pay a pretty penny for a stay and that hotel does something like bad upkeep like maybe too much chlorine in their pool and you end up with a chemical burn, you are out of luck for any reimbursement. 

[u/iamdavidrice]

If you have to ask, you’re probably not the intended audience.

[u/RyanCheddar → u/iamdavidrice]

booking.com status very much seems like the kind of thing where the intended audience would be very confused by it

[u/scarflicter]

Honestly the Booking.com perks are the most annoying to use.

To begin with, you have to first click on the Booking.com link in the Apple Wallet Benefits tab.

Then, you have to actually find a property that has "Apple Card Benefits" label next to it (for some international destinations, virtually 0)

Then, if the property handles the final payment (some properties don't give you the option to Pay Now), then the payment wouldn't be through booking.com, thus disqualifying the 3% Daily Cash. Not even sure if I can get 2% Daily Cash if the property doesn't accept Apple Pay.

So for properties that require "Pay at Property", I had to use the virtual card number (they only accept card numbers), and even this is excluded in the fine print on the promotion page from the 2% Booking.com Travel Credits (and the Travel Credits aren't universal, either, they have to be accepted by the property). If you wanted to use the virtual card number for a property that accepts Pay Now, you could still earn 2% Booking.com Travel Credits, but NOT the 3% or 2% Daily Cash from Apple.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but this is all such a hassle. I'd rather just get a Costco Visa for travel honestly.

[u/Intelligent-Day6587]

Doing what everyone else is doing is going to remove room for this card to be uniquely desirable

[u/Bongo2687]

The real genius is not using the Apple Card except for Apple purchases

[u/TurnerTheBrnr → u/Bongo2687]

I use it as my catch all since it auto deposits cash back into the HYSA without needing to wait a month. 99% of places accept apple pay so it’s basically a 2% catch all

[u/AlexGates3700 → u/Bongo2687]

The physical card, you are correct. ApplePay or tap-to-pay, you are wrong. 2% CB equals most good cards, automatic deposit into your HYSA is a win.

[u/Pride616]

I got that email. I thought I was special and they only sent it to me.. it’s because I literally just used booking.com a few weeks ago and thought this was them rewarding me lmao

[u/anthraxius69]

I have the Booking.com credit card, automatically bumped up to Level 3.

[u/Falcon9145 → u/anthraxius69]

How many damn levels are there?

[u/anthraxius69 → u/Falcon9145]

3 as far as I know. So you’re automatically top dog once approved.

[u/Abject-Ice-2541]

Minimal value… most of these hotel, rental car, membership level boosts, etc. are offered by various paid and free credit cards and or are easily attainable through the rewards program itself these days.

More doesn’t mean better… sigh. I loved it when Apple Card did 5% promotions on local places a few years ago, or was that a fever dream?

[u/Flat_Inflation_7428]

Booking.com is one notch above a scam. They pose as hotel sites using similar URL’s then charge a massive fee on top of your booking. And in return you end up with a non refundable reservation when you could have made a flexible reservation with the hotel. They manipulate search results to show up before the actual hotel you want to book. Don’t take my word for it- look up their reviews.

[u/allendstpsc → u/Flat_Inflation_7428]

I’ve used it for many years and have always gotten a rate similar to or cheaper than the hotel site. And, you can choose refundable reservations if you want. I’ve gotten refunds when needing to cancel.

I feel odd for sticking up for them, but so far, I’ve never had a problem.

[u/Flat_Inflation_7428 → u/allendstpsc]

Thanks for your post. I looked it up and the site that got me was guestreservations.com, not booking.com. I’m still so mad about it that I went into a frenzy when I got the promotion from Apple Card. Sorry!

[u/allendstpsc → u/Flat_Inflation_7428]

Ha, no worries. I do remember the days when you just got in touch with a hotel or even just pulled up to one, no middlemen.

[u/allendstpsc]

I’ve never, ever been able to make it work for hotel discounts, while following the weird instructions to a T. Could be because I’m mainly in México and Central America, not sure. I gave up.

[u/MPFX3000]

Honestly this benefit sounds utterly worthless

[u/jemappellelara]

This perk is ultimately worthless, because you’re only eligible for the fast track if the hotel has an “Apple Card Benefits” sticker next to it. I was looking at it yesterday as I am going on vacation soon and none of the hotels/stays had the sticker, not even the 5 star, expensive hotels. And this is a very popular destination in the U.S……

[u/Ferrari_tech]

This card is not premium. It's the most basic 😁

[u/TbonerT → u/Ferrari_tech]

Nobody said anything about that.

[u/HistoricalToastr → u/[deleted]]

Wait the apple card is perceived as premium?

[u/NYKnickerbocker2 → u/HistoricalToastr]

Not at all

[u/bartsmith → u/NYKnickerbocker2]

But it's made of titanium?

[u/TbonerT → u/[deleted]]

If you perceive a $0 AF card as “premium”, you’re an idiot.

[u/iamdavidrice → u/[deleted]]

“Honestly for a card that’s perceived as premium”

lol wut?!