Pop quiz: What’s the largest hotel group in the world in terms of overall properties? 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.

In this article we’ll explain how to get started with the Wyndham Rewards program, how to earn and manage its reward points, and how to pick between its two branded credit cards. The program uses a bevy of confusing, similar-sounding terms like “go free,” “go fast,” and “go get ‘em,” which you can mostly ignore (as we will throughout this article).

About Wyndham

Wyndham is best known for its namesake hotel brand, as well as budget-friendly options like Days Inn and La Quinta. However, its brand roster does include a few boutique and luxury options:

AmericInn.

Baymont.

Days Inn.

Dazzler.

Dolce.

Esplendor.

Hawthorn Suites.

Howard Johnson.

La Quinta.

Microtel.

Ramada.

Super 8.

Trademark.

Travelodge.

Tryp.

Wingate.

Wyndham.

Wyndham Garden.

Wyndham Grand.

The Wyndham Alltra Riviera Nayarit is a property within the company's all-inclusive Wyndham Alltra brand. Photo courtesy of Wyndham.

How much are Wyndham points worth?

Based on our most recent analysis, NerdWallet values Wyndham Rewards points at 1.2 cents apiece. To determine the value of reward points, we compared cash prices and reward redemptions for hotel stays across several destinations and dates.

We divided the cost in cash by the cost in points to determine a “cent per point” value for each flight, then averaged this value across several searches. Read more about how we arrived at these figures.

This is therefore a baseline value for Wyndham points, based on real-world data collected from hundreds of hotel stays, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award bookings that offer 1.2 cents or more in value from your Wyndham points.

To determine the value of your points for specific bookings, divide the cash value (minus any fees associated with the reward booking) by the number of points required. So if a hotel room would cost either $100, or 15,000 points + $10 in resort fees, the math would be as follows:

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

Historical Wyndham Rewards point values

Wyndham Rewards points are above their 2019 valuation after a slight dip during the pandemic.

Wyndham Rewards vs. competitors: How it stacks up in 2023

Wyndham is a budget-conscious hotel brand — and the company generally doesn’t try to be anything else.

That said, the lack of amenities and benefits mean that — when comparing Wyndham Rewards to the loyalty programs of other hotel brands — it tends to pale in comparison.

In NerdWallet’s annual rankings of best hotel loyalty programs, it tied for last place with another budget hotel brand, Best Western.

For what it’s worth, NerdWallet’s analysis didn’t actually consider price to book, meaning Wydnham was pretty-much evenly pitted off the notoriously pricey hotels like Hyatt. If money is no object, you generally shouldn’t choose a Wyndham property if you want that perfect hotel stay.

Out of six hotel brands analyzed, here's a closer look at how Wyndham competed across categories:

Second in Effective Rewards Rate.

Second to last in terms of Elite Status Program.

Fourth in terms of Fewest Fees.

Tied for last in terms of Pet-Friendly Policies.

Earning Wyndham points

Earning points is relatively straightforward. You’ll earn 10 points for each dollar spent on qualifying nights, or 1,000 points — whichever is higher. So if you stay one night at a property that costs $75, you’ll earn 1,000 points (since 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: 10% extra for Gold, 15% for Platinum and 20% for Diamond members.

Points can also be earned by using the Wyndham credit cards (see below), through limited-time offers, and promotions including DoorDash orders, Avis car rentals and others here. Points can also be purchased directly, though this is rarely a good value unless you’re topping off points for a specific redemption.

Earn points through Wyndham credit cards

There are a couple consumer-focused Wyndham credit cards that can help you on your quest to earn more Wyndham points.

TheWyndham Rewards Earner® Card has an annual fee of $0 , so it might be hard to pass up if you're looking for a Wyndham-branded credit card. But if you're willing to pay more for better benefits, you might consider theWyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card, which has an annual fee of $75 . Wyndham also offers a business version of its credit card called the Wyndham Rewards® Earner℠ Business Credit Card .

The former offers some degree of elite status as well as a path to a free stay each year, for no annual fee. The latter offers a higher earnings rate, and a higher degree of elite status. While there's no outright 'free night award,' as is common with some other hotel credit cards, you do earn anniversary points that can help with that.

Both also offer decent introductory offers that can get you set with a free night — or a few, if you book at the lower-priced properties — right off the bat (free nights cost either 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points per night, depending on the hotel class).

Here's how the two Wyndham consumer cards compare:

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

Other travel credit cards that can help you earn Wyndham points

NerdWallet rating

NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula incorporates coverage options, customer experience, customizability, cost and more.

Read Review

Speaking of other travel credit cards, some credit cards that are tied to a bank, rather than Wyndham, can still help you accrue Wyndham points. They won't earn Wyndham points outright, but instead earn points in their own currency, which you can then transfer to Wyndham.

Wyndham currently partners with Capital One, which issues Venture miles as rewards for some of its credit cards, including the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. With that card, you might take advantage of the recently improved transfer ratio and move miles to Wyndham at a 1:1 ratio.

NerdWallet values Capital One Venture miles earned through that card at 1.4 cents, while it values Wyndham Rewards at just 1.2 cents. Thus, this is not the greatest redemption of all time, but it's not bad either, especially if you're booking a hotel that fits in the Wyndham sweet spot when booked on points.

Redeeming Wyndham points

Compared to other programs, Wyndham offers a refreshingly simple rewards redemption structure. Each room falls into one of three tiers that cost 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points per night. No dynamic pricing, no peak season rewards — just three price points.

Wyndham also provides an option to pay with a combination of points and miles (called “go fast” for some reason). These are also broken into three tiers based on the number of points: 1,500, 3,000, or 6,000 plus cash. Simply multiply the number of points used in this case by 1.2 cents and add it to the cash cost to see if it’s a good deal compared to the all-cash rate.

In addition to hotel rooms, you can redeem points for gift cards, gas and other purchases too. But in general, these are not a good use of points unless part of a promotion or offer (or if you absolutely need to burn some points).

The La Quinta Inn & Suites Santa Cruz in California. Photo courtesy of Wyndham.

Wyndham Rewards elite status

The Wyndham elite status program offers benefits to brand-loyal guests, like room upgrades and extra points-earning. True to Wyndham’s budget-friendly roots, however, this program isn’t as valuable as other higher-end programs like Hyatt.

Earning elite status

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

Note the huge jump between Platinum and Diamond status, and the fact that Diamond status cannot be earned from a credit card. You’d think Diamond status would therefore offer high-end perks (free breakfast, anyone?) — but as you can see in the table below, it’s not really that much better.

Elite status benefits

This list of benefits might look impressive, but it’s pretty underwhelming compared to other hotel loyalty programs. For example, Hilton offers a 20% points bonus for its lowest tier (Silver) and a 100% bonus for its highest tier (Diamond).

Status matching

Considering switching to Wyndham Rewards from another program but don’t want to start from scratch? Wyndham may match your status from another hotel program.