Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card evaluation: Full particulars

*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

In the competitive hotel landscape, Wyndham may not be the first name you think of, but they have some excellent hotel offerings and a family of cobranded credit cards to match.

With an annual fee of $75, the Earner Plus card lands just above the entry-level Wyndham Rewards Earner card. Even if you don’t frequently stay at Wyndham properties, you can still benefit from the card’s generous welcome offer, automatic elite status and award redemption discounts.

The recommended credit score for this card is at least 670. However, it is possible to get approved with a lower score.

Let’s examine whether the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card deserves a spot in your wallet.

The information for the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card welcome offer

New applicants for the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus can earn 45,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. This is enough points for up to six nights.

Based on TPG’s August 2024 valuations, this bonus offer is worth $495. Given how low the spending requirement is, this is a fantastic value for the number of points you’ll earn.

Daily Newsletter

Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter

Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts

It’s important to note that Barclays can be inquiry-sensitive, so I recommend being under 6/24 before applying for this card. In other words, you should have five or fewer hard inquiries on your credit report in the past 24 months before applying for the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus.

Related: Book low-end or luxury hotels to get the best value from your points

The Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus comes with automatic Wyndham Platinum status. This status level grants perks like free Wi-Fi, early check-in and late checkout, preferred room selection, 15% bonus points on stays, a status match to Caesars Rewards and car rental upgrades at Avis and Budget.

Wyndham Rewards Platinum status alone could easily be worth the $75 annual fee the card holds. In addition to the automatic Platinum status, the card offers:

• Anniversary bonus points: Earn 7,500 bonus points each anniversary after you pay the annual fee, worth $83 according to TPG’s August 2024 valuations
• Discount on paid and award stays: Earner Plus cardmembers receive access to a special cardmember rate on stays paid with cash and a 10% discount on Go Free award stays
• No foreign transaction fees

Related: The ultimate guide to earning and redeeming Wyndham Rewards

• 6 points per dollar on Wyndham hotels and gas
• 4 points per dollar on dining and at grocery stores (excludes Walmart and Target)
• 1 point on all other purchases

Based on TPG’s August 2024 valuations, these rates equate to a 6.6% return on Wyndham and gas purchases, 4.4% on dining and grocery purchases and 1.1% on all other purchases.

These are great earnings for Wyndham stays and gas; however, there are cards that earn better in everyday categories like dining and U.S. supermarkets, like the American Express® Gold Card.

With the Wyndham Earner Plus card, there are many ways to redeem your points, including for stays, gas, airline tickets, tickets and experiences, gift cards, merchandise, charitable donations, tours and activities and AARP membership.

The most valuable way to redeem points is for Wyndham hotel stays.

Wyndham is one of the few hotel brands that still utilizes a fixed award chart and not dynamic pricing, meaning you can still get outsize value. There are no blackout dates for Wyndham properties.

Wyndham offers two types of redemptions: Go Fast and Go Free. Go Free uses points to book the total cost of the room, and Go Fast uses a combination of points and cash. Cardholders will receive a 10% discount on all Wyndham Go Free hotel redemptions.

Go Free award nights are priced in three tiers: 7,500, 15,000 and 30,000 points per night. Higher-end properties and properties booked during peak-season travel will typically cost 30,000 points per night.

Go Fast award nights are priced in three tiers, starting at 1,500, 3,000 and 6,000 points per night plus cash.

TPG senior points and miles writer Katie Genter says, “[I’ve] used Wyndham points for 15,000-point nights in Hawaii and 7,500-point nights in South Korea, including on the beautiful island of Jeju. I’ve also gotten excellent value redeeming for Vacasa stays, although this is more difficult to do now with the lower cap on the average cost per bedroom for 15,000-point nights.”

You can also use your points to book a Wyndham Vacation Club stay starting at 7,500 points per bedroom per night. As a cardholder, your points can also be used to book Caesars Rewards properties, Vacasa vacation rentals, Landal GreenParks and reservations on Cottages.com.

Wyndham timeshare owners can use points to cover maintenance fees by converting them to Maintenance Dollars. Caesars properties cost 15,000 to 30,000 Wyndham points per bedroom per night. Certain blackout dates apply.

Vacasa vacation rentals can only be booked with Wyndham points if the average nightly cost, inclusive of all fees, is under $500. You’ll pay 15,000 points per bedroom per night for rentals with an average nightly rate under $250 and 30,000 points per bedroom per night for rentals with an average nightly rate between $250.01 and $500.

Wyndham has a solid list of airline transfer partners. However, you generally receive better value when you redeem your points for Wyndham stays than when you transfer them to partners.

Wyndham has nine total airline transfer partners, including AeroMexico Club Premier miles, Air Canada Aeroplan points, American Airlines AAdvantage miles, Avianca LifeMiles, Frontier Airlines Frontier Miles, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles and United MileagePlus miles.

All points are transferred at a 5:1 ratio, and you must transfer at least 6,000 points. This means 6,000 Wyndham points are equivalent to 1,200 partner points. Given this transfer ratio, I strongly recommend avoiding this as a redemption method.

Related: Should you transfer hotel points to airline partners?

• If you prefer no annual fee: The Wyndham Rewards Earner® Card is the little brother of the Earner Plus and has no annual fee. It offers perks like automatic Wyndham Gold status and earns 5 points per dollar on Wyndham stays and gas. You’ll still receive discounts on award and cash stays.
• If you prefer to earn flexible currency: The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns 2 miles per dollar on all purchases, comes with a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee credit and has a $95 annual fee (see rates and fees). Capital One miles can be transferred to Wyndham. To learn more, check out our full review of the Venture Rewards.
• If you prefer a business card and higher status: The Wyndham Rewards Business Earner® Card comes with complimentary Wyndham Diamond status. The card also earns 15,000 bonus points after each cardmember anniversary and comes with discounts for award and cash stays.

For additional options, check out our full list of the best hotel credit cards.

The information for the Wyndham Rewards Earner card and Wyndham Rewards Business Earner card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Related: How to choose a hotel credit card

Related: Best hotel rewards programs in the world: Which one is right for you?