Once you've earned points through the Wyndham Rewards program, it's time to put them to use. But not all redemption options are created equal, and some ways to redeem Wyndham points are better than others for maximizing Wyndham point value.

In general, redeeming Wyndham points for hotel stays will be your best value. Redeeming them for physical items, like merchandise through the Wyndham online points catalog, will likely be the worst. Transferring them to other Wyndham travel partners, like United MileagePlus, sits somewhere in the middle.

NerdWallet currently values Wyndham points at 1.2 cents each, which is helpful to know when comparing different ways to redeem them. Ideally, you should be getting at least that much value, if not more, every time you redeem points.

If you've accumulated a decent chunk of Wyndham points and you're ready to use them, here are our best tips for making the most of them.

Hotel stays and vacation rentals

While there are lots of ways to use your Wyndham points, the best way to maximize value is perhaps the most obvious: hotel stays. Points can be redeemed at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals worldwide. That includes the 30+ Caesars Entertainment hotels in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and other locations.

Unique redemption options include stays with Landal GreenParks, which offers vacation rentals with a nature focus, such as the Landal Water Resort Blocksyl near Weerribben-Wieden National Park in the Netherlands. (Photo courtesy of Landal GreenParks)

Wyndham has more than 8,900 hotels worldwide across 22 brands to redeem points at. You can also use points at Club Wyndham resorts, including Wyndham Vacation Club, WorldMark by Wyndham, Margaritaville and Shell Vacation Clubs.

Plus, you can use points to book vacation homes, cottages, bungalows and other unique lodging options. As of 2021, Wyndham lets you rent stays through vacation rental site Vacasa. For trips to the United Kingdom, you can use them to book stays via U.K.-based Cottages.com. And for stays elsewhere in Europe, you can use your points to book through Landal GreenParks, which lists rentals for bungalows and apartments surrounded by nature.

In the Wyndham Rewards program, you have two options to redeem for award nights:

Go Free: This enables you to exchange points for a free night. Wyndham breaks its hotels into a simple, three-tiered award chart. Redemption rates per tier are 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points per bedroom.

Go Fast: If you don't have enough points for a completely free night, you can also hand over partial points — and pay the difference in cash. Fork over 1,500, 3,000 or 6,000 points (tied to the hotel tiers), and you'll pay a reduced cash rate to cover the difference.

Keep in mind that blackout dates may apply when redeeming rewards for stays at Caesars Entertainment properties, cottages, bungalows or other vacation rentals.

Points can be used for stays at Caesars properties, including The Linq Hotel in Las Vegas. (Photo courtesy of Caesars Entertainment)

Go Free

Redeem your Wyndham points for a completely free night (including tax) at participating hotels, Caesars Rewards properties, or properties through Vacasa, Cottages.com or Landal GreenParks.

The number of points required for a free night varies by property (7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points per bedroom). You can combine multiple night awards for longer stays — assuming you have a sufficient points balance.

Plus, if you hold certain Wyndham credit cards (the Wyndham Rewards Earner® Card, Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card or Wyndham Rewards® Earner℠ Business Credit Card), you’re eligible for a 10% discount on the redemption amount.

One note: Resort fees apply at Caesars hotels and cannot be paid with points.

To book a Wyndham stay for free on points, you must book online through the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts website, or by calling Wyndham Rewards Member Services at 866-996-7937.

Within Wyndham, some reward nights offer better redemptions than others. Because Wyndham doesn’t change award pricing based on demand, you can get especially good redemptions when booking hotel stays during busy travel times. Other Wyndham sweet spots include trips to resort properties like the Club Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Resort on Hawaii’s Big Island, and the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort Area in Florida.

Go Fast

Go Fast is the term for booking rooms through a combination of cash and points. When going this route, you’ll also have to pay for taxes and applicable fees (like resort fees) in cash.

What’s nice is that you can still continue to earn more Wyndham points for the cash difference spent on your room.

One challenge when using Go Fast redemptions: You can’t combine them with any other coupon, offer or promotion for the stay. Given how relatively easy promotions are to come by, you might forgo savings just to use your points — in which case you’d likely be better off saving your points for an entirely free night through the Go Free redemption route.

When might Go Fast make sense? You might opt for it if you don’t frequently stay with Wyndham and want to use up the existing points balance you have. And even if you frequently stay at Wyndham, sometimes these redemptions shake out to be an even better value overall.

A single-night stay at one property may cost 30,000 points, which equates to about $270 in value (using our figure of 1.2 cents per point).

The same room might also cost $200 cash, plus 6,000 points (worth about $54) when going with the Go Fast option. In that scenario, you’re “saving” by getting a better overall value (handing over $254 in combined currencies versus $270 in points). It really depends how big the savings is and how much that savings impacts your overall travel budget.

Other travel and entertainment

Wyndham points can be used to book travel and entertainment, including tickets to Cirque du Soleil shows. (Photo courtesy of Cirque du Soleil)

Airlines and lodging aren’t the only types of travel bookings you can use your Wyndham points for. You can also redeem them for tours and activities, booked through Wyndham’s Tours and Activities booking site, powered by Viator.

Activities vary by location and time of year, but include tickets to Cirque du Soleil shows in Las Vegas, wine tours in California’s Napa Valley and more.

Redemption values vary, but they tend to be mediocre. For example, tickets to Cirque’s Mystere show start at 24,282 points, worth about $220. Meanwhile, the same ticket paid for in cash would cost just about $85.

Reference NerdWallet’s Wyndham points calculator to figure out if your redemption is a good value. In general, though, unless you get lucky with a tour or ticket that has a great points-to-redemption ratio, or you have a bunch of Wyndham points but no plans to ever stay in a Wyndham hotel before your points expire (Wyndham Rewards points expire four years after the checkout date of the stay for which those points were posted)​​, then skip this redemption.

Gift cards, merchandise or donations

To round out the list of ways to redeem Wyndham Rewards, you can also redeem points for:

Merchandise purchased through Wyndham’s online points catalog. Items available for purchase include everything from electronics to handbags.

Charitable organizations, which include Save the Children and Hotels for Heroes.

Gift cards for major merchants including Amazon, Best Buy, Starbucks and more.

Again, calculate the value of your Wyndham points against the cash value of those items. In general, you’ll find these to be paltry redemptions. Then again, if you never intend to stay in a Wyndham, but you regularly patronize Starbucks, then that Starbucks gift card might be worth it — even if it’s a poor redemption value.

Transfer points to travel partners

If you're planning to book a flight as part of your travel plans and you have extra points, you could transfer them to a Wyndham Rewards travel partner. You can redeem points for flights through these frequent flyer programs, starting at 6,000 points per redemption:

Aeromexico Club Premier.

Air Canada Aeroplan.

American Airlines AAdvantage.

Avianca LifeMiles.

Fortune Wings Club.

Frontier Airlines Frontier Miles.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

United Airlines MileagePlus.

Points also transfer to Payback Points, where you can use them for flights or online shopping.

Redeem your Wyndham points

You've got the best chance of coming out ahead with points value when sticking with travel redemptions. Just do the math on cash value first to make sure a redemption is worth your time (and points).