Update 4/2/19: Today is your last day to book properties at the flat 15,000 points per night. Keep in mind Wyndham is not providing a list of properties that will be in each category until after the price changes go into effect but if a property drops to 7,500 points they will provide an automatic refund. If you don’t quite have enough points for a free night you can reach out to [email protected] to try and work something out.
Wyndham has announced a number of changes to the program, these changes will go into effect April 3rd. Changes are as follows:
Contents
Tiered Award Nights
Previously all award nights cost a flat 15,000 points per night. This has changed and there will now be three tiers, price as follows:
- 7,500 points per night
- 15,000 points per night
- 30,000 points per night
There will also be three tiers on points + cash bookings:
- 1,500 points + cash
- 3,000 points + cash
- 6,000 points + cash
Points & cash bookings will also earn points. Wyndham is claiming that 3,000 properties will be moving to the 7,500 point bracket, 200 will move to the 30,000 point bracket and the rest will remain at 15,000 points.
La Quinta Properties Added
Wyndham acquired La Quinta for $1.95 billion some time ago and these properties will become bookable on April 3rd.
New Partnerships
Wyndham will be introducing new ways to earn points through new partnerships with DoorDash, Marathon gas and other unnamed partners. They will also add a new shopping portal.
Extra Points
Members will now receive the following bonuses:
- Gold: 10%
- Platinum: 15%
- Diamond: 20%
This replaces the point bonuses that Platinum & Diamond members received annually.
Our Verdict
Honestly I’m surprised it took Wyndham this long to make changes, the 15,000 flat redemption was introduced back in late 2016 and provided some incredible value. We shared a rumor that Wyndham would be moving to a tiered system back in October of last year and now we sadly have confirmation.
The flat properties cost a flat 15,000 points per night was really the only reason I had any interest in the Wyndham program if I’m completely honest (although the points + cash deals were good as well). Despite the fact only 200 properties are increasing in price this is a devaluation, I imagine those properties saw the vast majority of redemptions and that they were the nicer ones. I’m sure some good value will still be at the 15,000 point level but over time those will be bumped up to 30,000 points per night as well.
