The Wyndham Rewards® Earner Credit Card, provided by Barclays, is a convincing argument for travelers who love Wyndham hotels and resorts but don’t want to spend an annual fee on a credit card. You’ll get an excellent sign-up incentive as well as good recurring discounts for spending with the hotel chain. Daily items like petrol, food, and eating also earn you points. With over 9,000 hotels across 20 brands, you’re sure to find lots of places where you can use your points to get free or reduced stays. You’ll also be given instant elite status. The opportunity to win a free night every year if you spend enough is included.

Compared to certain other top hotel credit cards, the card’s welcome deal falls short. So keep that in mind if a sizeable welcome bonus is vital to you. Also, keep in mind that you’ll need decent credit or better to qualify. However, depending on how much you stay, the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Plus Credit Card could be a better option. It has a $75 subscription charge, but it also comes with more benefits and incentives. (You can read our complete analysis of the card here.)

But what are the benefits of the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Credit Card

Wyndham immediately upgrades you to Gold status as an appreciated cardholder. Usually, you’d have to stay five nights in a year to win Gold status. This comes with perks, including complimentary Wi-Fi, late checkout, and more space options depending on your tastes. When you renew your account, you’ll get 7,500 bonus points, which is suitable for one rewards night at some Wyndham properties. If you spend $15,000 on the card in a year, you’ll get 7,500 bonus points on your card anniversary.

That could be possible if you use the card for all orders. 7,500 points would get you a free night at one of Wyndham’s lower-tier hotels. Again, not a bad perk for a $0 annual fee bill. The Wyndham Rewards® Earner Credit Card earns bonus points on petrol transactions and supermarket and restaurant sales. This makes it a viable daily choice for those who choose to make all of their purchases with a single card. In addition, automated petrol dispensers and service stations are a part of gas sales. Unfortunately, though, Target, Walmart, wholesale clubs, drugstores, and dollar stores are not grocery stores, according to Wyndham.

Also, anytime you buy money at Wyndham properties, you get 5 points for every $1 you spend. This is on top of the 10 points you get just for joining the Wyndham Rewards loyalty scheme. You’ll get Platinum status for Wyndham’s rewards scheme for as long as your account is open—typically, you’ll need to stay nine or more nights in a year to achieve that. Early check-in, late checkout, car rental updates, and point incentives are also a part of the Platinum status. For balance payments made within the first 45 days, you won’t be charged interest for 15 months. This benefit is only available on a few hotel loyalty cards.

New cardholders get a bonus.

If you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days as a new cardholder, you’ll get 45,000 bonus points. Wyndham Rewards points are worth an average of 0.98 cents for booking free hotel stays. So your welcome deal is worth $441 if you can get the average cost. The incentive can be used to get up to six free nights at Wyndham hotels. If you’re not sure you’ll be able to spend $1,000 a month as needed by other hotel cards for a welcome bonus, this card’s low spending threshold may be a good fit.

Redeeming rewards with the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Credit Card

You can put your Wyndham Rewards points to good use in various ways. The easiest way is to use them to book free hotel stays at Wyndham hotels. Again, the points are worth 0.98 cents on average, but you might get more or less depending on how you redeem them. Divide the cash price of the stay by the number of points needed to book it to determine how much the points are worth on that stay.

If you don’t have enough points or wish to save them for a long break, it is not a problem. You can book a stay with a combination of points and cash. This choice starts at 1,500, 3,000, or 6,000 points per night, with the rest paid in cash. Many hotel chains have complicated award charts with a long list of property types and varying prices based on whether you fly at peak or off-peak season. Wyndham, on the other hand, has just three levels with over 9,000 properties around the world. Award stays cost 7,500, 15,000, or 30,000 points a night.

So, how can you make the most out of it?

Build a schedule to fulfill the minimum spending threshold to get the welcome deal (roughly $333 per month) as soon as you open your account, and use the card to buy gas or food or when you go out to dinner. Non-bonus shopping, is a vital use of a new wallet, as the Wyndham card will only collect 1 point per dollar for such transactions. Then, when it’s time to spend your points, book a hotel room because they have the best deal per point.

Conclusion about the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Credit Card

If you always stay at Wyndham hotels, the Wyndham Rewards® Earner Credit Card can help you accumulate points to pay for future stays without costing you anything. However, specific hotel passes with monthly fees will have much more benefit — and if you often go at other chains than Wyndham, consider a general travel loyalty pass. If you are still wondering about what credit card is right for you, make sure to check out our reviews of other cards.

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