Pop quiz: What is the largest hotel group in the world? Did you guess Marriott Bonvoy? Or Hilton? The winner, with over 9,000 properties in its portfolio, is Wyndham. Despite its size and the value of its rewards program, Wyndham remains a lesser-known brand among travel rewards enthusiasts.

Wyndham is best known for its eponymous hotel brand, as well as budget options like Days Inn and La Quinta. However, its brand list includes a few boutique and luxury options:

In this article, we’ll explain how to get started with the Wyndham Rewards program, how to earn and manage your reward points, and how to choose between your two branded credit cards. The program uses a host of confusing, similar sounding terms, such as “go free”, “go fast” and “go get them”, which you can generally ignore (as we will do throughout this article).

Based on our most recent analysis, NerdWallet values ​​Wyndham Rewards points at 0.9 cent a piece. To determine the value of the reward points, we compared the cash prices and redemptions of rewards for hotel stays at multiple destinations and dates. We divided the cash cost by the point cost to determine a “cent per point” value for each flight, and then averaged this value over several searches. Learn more about how we arrived at these numbers.

It is therefore a Baseline value of Wyndham Points, based on actual data collected from hundreds of hotel stays, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for premium bookings that offer 0.9 cent or more in the value of your Wyndham Points.

To determine the value of your points for specific reservations, divide the cash value (less any fees associated with the reward reservation) by the number of points required. So if a hotel room costs $ 100, or 15,000 points + $ 10 resort fee, the calculation would be as follows:

($ 100 – $ 10) / 15,000 = 0.006, or 0.6 cents per point.

Earning points is relatively easy. You will earn 10 points for every dollar spent on qualifying nights, or 1,000 points, whichever is greater. So if you stay one night at a property that costs $ 75, you will earn 1,000 points (because 75 x 10 = 750, which is less than 1,000). Note that “Qualifying Nights” are paid nights (not award nights) with an average nightly rate of $ 25 or more per night.

Elite status members (see below) will also receive bonus points: additional 10% for Gold members, 15% for Platinum members and 20% for Diamond members.

Points can also be earned using Wyndham credit cards (see below), through limited time offers and promotions including DoorDash orders, Avis car rentals and more. here. Points can also be purchased directly, although this is rarely good value for money unless you top up the points for a specific redemption.

Compared to other programs, Wyndham offers a simple and refreshing reward redemption structure. Each room belongs to one of three levels which cost 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points per night. No dynamic pricing, no high season rewards – just three price points.

Wyndham also offers a payment option with a combination of points and miles (called “go fast” for some reason). These are also divided into three levels based on the number of points: 1,500, 3,000 or 6,000 plus cash. It suffices to multiply the number of points used in this case by 0.9 cent and add it to the spot cost to see if it’s a good deal compared to the spot rate.

In addition to hotel rooms, you can also redeem points for gift cards, gasoline, and other purchases. But in general, it’s not a good use of points unless they’re part of a promotion or offer (or if you absolutely need to burn points).

Wyndham offers an elite status program which, like most hotel loyalty programs, offers benefits to loyal customers, such as room upgrades and additional points. True to Wyndham’s economic roots, however, this program is not as valuable as other high-end programs like Hyatt.

The program includes three elite levels: Gold, Platinum and Diamond. Status can be achieved either by staying sufficient nights at Wyndham properties in a calendar year or by carrying one of the Wyndham branded credit cards.

Note the huge leap between Platinum and Diamond status, and the fact that Diamond status cannot be obtained with a credit card. You’d think Diamond Status would therefore offer some premium perks (free breakfast, anyone?) – but as you can see in the table below, that’s not really this much better.

This list of perks may sound overwhelming, but it is quite disappointing compared to other hotel loyalty programs. For example, Hilton offers a 20% points bonus for its the lowest level (Silver) and a 100% bonus for its highest level (Diamond).

Thinking of switching to Wyndham Rewards from another program, but don’t want to start from scratch? Wyndham will match your status from another hotel program. Find out all the details, including tiers from other programs mapped to Wyndham tiers, by visiting their status match page.

These cards are good options for those looking to spend a lot on Wyndham purchases or score extra points with little or no annual fees. However, the low earning rate on regular purchases (and even gas and grocery stores) is lackluster compared to many others. travel credit cards.

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our choices for the best travel credit cards of 2021, including those that are best suited: