Walmart adds a travel perk for rewards members

Walmart on Wednesday debuted a new enticement to lure shoppers to its membership program.

The retail giant added a Walmart travel benefit, powered by Expedia, that gives shoppers store credit for booking hotels, rental cars, flights and more.

Walmart members can access the new benefits through the app or via WalmartPlusTravel.com, where they’ll have the option to book flights on more than 500 airlines, rooms at more than 900,000 properties, rental cars with more than 100 companies, and thousands of vacation activities around the world.

Walmart members will receive 5% Walmart Cash (formerly Walmart Rewards) on hotels, activity bookings, and vacation and car rentals. They will also get 2% Walmart Cash on all flights and a “blended rate” of Walmart Cash on vacation packages, based on the trip’s components.

“We’re bringing together the ultimate savings membership and vacation booking site to deliver a first-ever travel-focused benefit for Walmart members,” Venessa Yates, SVP and general manager of Walmart , said in a statement.

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart launched its Walmart membership program in September 2020, charging $98 a year or $12.95 a month for unlimited free delivery, fuel discounts, and in-store scan & go functionality.

The retailer has beefed up the program since its debut, adding Walmart Rewards about a year ago. Now known as Walmart Cash, the program allows shoppers to accumulate savings over time.

In August, Walmart added a Paramount streaming perk to its membership offering. And It added its InHome Delivery Service as an optional add-on for Walmart members.

Walmart’s move echoes one made by Amazon during Prime Day earlier this month. The e-commerce giant partnered with Priceline during its mega-sale to offer an additional 20% off Priceline’s express hotel deals. It’s the first time Amazon joined forces with a travel company during its Prime Day sale.

Walmart members spend more money with the retailer and visit more frequently, the retailer has said, giving it much incentive to add to the program’s ranks.

“The customer lifetime value of a Walmart member, it is appreciably higher than someone that doesn’t engage with us in this way or is not availing themselves of that membership,” CFO John David Rainey said last month at the Evercore ISI Annual Consumer & Retail Conference, according to a transcript from financial services site Sentieo. “And so, it’s something clearly we want to have more of our customers take advantage of because of the benefits that we see to Walmart.”