Difference between revisions of "Wyndham rewards"
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*[[#Booking Vacation Houses and Condos|Booking Vacation Houses and Condos]] | *[[#Booking Vacation Houses and Condos|Booking Vacation Houses and Condos]] | ||
*[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]] | *[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]] | ||
Revision as of 19:10, 20 February 2019
Hotel Strategies, Hotel Loyalty Program Reference Guide
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Quick Guide
- Wyndham had a brief experiment with eliminating award categories. For a couple of years, every hotel in the program required the same 15,000 points for a free night. They reintroduced hotel categories in early 2019, but still only have three different levels: 7,500, 15,000, and 30,000 points.
- We value Wyndham points at .8 cents each. How Much are Hotel Points Worth?
- Wyndham’s cash and points option are often the best option. You pay only 20% of the points cost for 35% off the room rate. Most of the time the discount is worth it.
- It can be hard to acquire Wyndham points. You are unlikely to accrue very many points through paid stays at their hotels, it isn't usually worthwhile to spend on their credit card, and purchasing points is limited to 10,000 points per year. The main options are their credit card signup bonus, and an annual opportunity to purchase larger quantities of points through the “Daily Getaway” program.
- Wyndham has a partnership with Total Rewards (the loyalty program of the Caesars and Harrah’s family of casinos). You can earn and redeem Wyndham points at their casinos hotels, and your Platinum or Diamond status in each program is automatically matched by the other. By linking your accounts, anyone who has the Wyndham credit card automatically has Total Rewards Platinum status, and can book a free trip to the Atlantis Resort (in the Bahamas) every year.
- You can use your Wyndham points to book a large set of vacation homes and condos, rather than hotels. At these locations, you’ll pay 15,000 points per bedroom. So, a 1-bedroom condo would be 15,000 points per night, and a 4-bedroom house would require 60,000 points.
- Wyndham offers an unusual loyalty program benefit. When you book an award stay, you get a small discount on a limited set of tours and attractions in about two dozen different cities. However, if you reach their highest elite level (Diamond), you’ll get 2 free tickets for a tour or attraction, rather than the discount.
Wyndham Brands
You can also earn and redeem points at the Caesar / Harrah’s family of hotels, and for thousands of vacation homes and condos.
Award Chart
Wyndham has a simple award chart.
| Cat | Free Night | 35% off |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7,500 | 1,500 |
| 2 | 15,000 | 3,000 |
| 3 | 30,000 | 6,000 |
Only about 200 of their 9,000 hotels require 30,000 points, but the vast majority of their other hotels are very inexpensive members of chains like Day's Inn.
Cash and Points Rewards
The other option is to pay 20% of the required number of points, to book the hotel room at 65% of the daily room rate.
- You are not really getting a full 35% discount. The required cash portion is calculated based on the regular non-discounted rate. Cheaper rates, such as "member rates" and AAA rates, are almost always available. So, using points will save you less than 35%. For example, if the regular room rate is $100, the Cash portion of the Cash and Points award will be $65. But, a discounted room rate might only be $90. So, using some points will drop the rate an additional $25, or 28%.
- If room rates are high, you are better off using the entire award. For example, if a category 2 room has a $150 room rate, you can either use 15,000 points, or you can use 3,000 points plus $97.50. Using the extra 12,000 points gives you an incremental value of more than .8 cents per point, which is a good deal.
- If room rates are very low, you are better off with a cash reservation. For example, if the same Category 2 hotel only costs $50 per night, you'd only be getting .33 cents per point if you used the full 15,000 points to book the room, and you'd be getting less than .6 cents per point if you used 3,000 points to get a 35% ($17.50) discount.
- When rates are in the middle, the cash and points reservation is the better option. At a value of .8 cents per point, Cash and Points reservations make sense for room rates in the following ranges.
- You need to adjust the bottom end of this range based on your true discount. At a value of .8 cents per point, you need to receive a true discount of $10, $20, or $50 for Category 1, 2, and 3 hotels.
| Cat | Range |
|---|---|
| 1 | $25-55 |
| 2 | $50-110 |
| 3 | $100-220 |
At room rates higher than this range, use the full amount of points if you have them. At room rates lower than this range, don't use any of your points.
Booking Vacation Houses and Condos
Wyndham operates many different vacation clubs, and has also partnered with a number of other vacation home and condo rental companies. You can you your Wyndham points to book thousands of different vacation homes and condos. When you do, you pay by the bedroom.
For example, a Go Free award for a 2-bedroom condo would be 30,000 points per night, a Go Fast award at 4-bedroom vacation house requires 12,000 points plus a cash payment, and a roomy 1-bedroom condo doesn’t cost any more points than a normal hotel room.
Acquiring Points
Acquiring last minute points
If you see a great redemption deal at Wyndham hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire a few additional points. Get a Discounted Room Rate by Buying the Points for an Award Night.
| Purchasing points |
You can only purchase up to 10,000 points per year, in 1,000-point increments, for 1.3 cents per point. Unfortunately, this is less than you need for even one “Go Free” redemption. Sometimes promotions are available, which allow you purchase points for less money per point and enable you to purchase more points per year. Acquiring More Hotel Points When They are On Sale. |
| Daily Getaway promotion |
Every Spring, the US Travel Association runs a promotion called “Daily Getaways”. Each day, they offer a specific travel “offer” for sale, in limited numbers. In previous years, they offered packages of 15,000 Wyndham points for about $150. While this is only a little cheaper than the normal purchase rate of 1.1 cents per point, it bypasses the normal limit of only 10,000 points per year. Each buyer could purchase two packages, for a total of 30,000 points. We expect these to be available next year as well, and are the only way to purchase more significant quantities of Wyndham points. |
Earning Points from Your Stays
You can earn 10 points for every dollar spent at Wyndham. The minimum reward is 1,000 points per stay, so you earn at a slightly higher rate at less expensive hotels. Note that any elite status bonus points are factored in first. If you are still under the 1,000 point minimum, you don't receive additional bonus points.
Other Ways to Earn Points
The best way to quickly earn a bunch of points is by signing up for the Wyndham credit card. The annual-fee-based card has a normal signup bonus of 30,000 points ($1,000 initial spending requirement)’ and the no-annual-fee card has a normal signup bonus of 15,000 points (on first purchase). The cards are issued by Barclays, and you should be able to periodically cancel and re-apply to earn the signup bonus again. Credit Cards 101.
A couple other options are available and can be viewed here.
Keeping your Points from Expiring
You will lose your points four years after you’ve earned them. This happens, even if you are actively earning points. You need to make sure to use them.
Member Benefits
The Wyndham credit card gives you automatic Platinum status, and the no-annual-fee version gives you automatic Gold status. Boost Your Hotel Status.
Blue (entry level)
|
| Gold (5 nights) 10% bonus points plus the following benefits:
|
| Platinum (15 nights) 15% bonus points plus the following benefits:
|
| Diamond (40 nights) 20% bonus points plus the following benefits:
|
Total Rewards Benefits
Wyndham has a partnership with “Total Rewards”, the loyalty program of the Caesars and Harrah’s family of casinos. Platinum and Diamond status in either program is matched at the other. Cardholders of the Wyndham credit card wind up with Platinum status with Total Rewards.
You can also get Total Rewards Diamond status via the Founders Card program. If you do, you’ll get Wyndham Diamond status for free, and access to automatic suite upgrades and the free attraction benefit.
| Platinum Includes the following benefits:
|
| Diamond Adds the following benefits:
|
The Wyndham Credit Cards
The Wyndham credit card has a normal signup bonus of 30,000 points ($1,000 initial spending requirement). It gives you automatic Wyndham Platinum elite status, as well as matching status at Total Rewards. You get 9,000 free Wyndham points every year, 6,000 from the credit card anniversary bonus, and 3,000 from the Platinum elite status yearly bonus. $75 annual fee.
There is a no-annual-fee version that has a normal signup bonus of 15,000 points (after first purchase), gives you Gold status, and doesn’t provide bonus points every year.
When staying at Wyndham, you can get better rewards from a card that earns good rewards on all travel, rather than Wyndham's own card. 5x Wyndham points are only worth about 4 cents. Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
The Wyndham card's bonus rewards on gas, utility, and grocery store purchases are not useful. 2x Wyndham points are worth around 1.6 cents per dollar. This is lower than the base earning rate on a decent general purpose credit card.
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