Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card review: Full details
Overview of the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card
Even if you’re not a Wyndham loyalist, the Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card is worth considering. It comes with benefits like automatic elite, bonus anniversary points and a great salary level while having a low annual fee. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐½
*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
In the competitive hotel landscape, Wyndham may not be the first name that comes to mind, but they have an excellent hotel offering and a family of cobranded credit cards to match.
With an annual fee of $75, the Earner Plus card sits just above the Wyndham Rewards Earner card. Even if you don’t regularly stay at Wyndham properties, you can still benefit from the card’s automatic elite status and discounts on award redemptions.
The recommended score for this card is at least 670. However, you may be approved with a lower score.
Let’s examine whether the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card deserves a place in your wallet.
Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card information has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card information on this page has not been updated or provided by the card issuer.
Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card pros and cons
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Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card welcome offer
New Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus applicants can earn 45,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. These are enough points to get you to 6 nights.
Based on TPG estimates for January 2025, this bonus offer is worth $495. Considering how low the spend requirement is, this is an amazing amount of points to earn.
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We’ve seen an offer on this card for 75,000 points, so we may have to wait for a higher offer if you don’t have a Wyndham stay planned anytime soon.
It is important to note that Barclays can be very sensitive to the question, so I recommend that you be under 6/24 before applying for this card. In other words, you must have five or fewer bad inquiries on your credit report in the last 24 months before you can apply for Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus.
Related: Book budget or luxury hotels to get the best value for your points
Benefits of the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card
Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus comes with automatic Wyndham Platinum status. This status level offers benefits such as free Wi-Fi, early check-in and late check-out, preferred room selection, bonus points on accommodations and car rental upgrades at Avis and Budget.
Wyndham Rewards Platinum status alone can cost the cardholder a $75 annual fee. In addition to the default Platinum status, the card offers:
- Bonus points for one day anniversary: Earn 7,500 bonus points each year after paying the annual fee, which is worth $83 according to TPG statistics for January 2025
- Discount on fares and award stays: Earner Plus card members get access to a special card member rate on paid stays and a 10% discount on Go Free award stays
- There are no foreign transaction fees
Related: The ultimate guide to earning and redeeming Wyndham Rewards
Earning points with the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card
Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus earns:
- 6 points per dollar on Wyndham hotels and gas
- 4 points per dollar on food and grocery stores (except Walmart and Target)
- 1 point on all other purchases (except Wyndham Vacation Club discounts)
Based on TPG estimates for January 2025, 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 deals on Wyndham stays and gas; However, some cards benefit better in everyday categories, such as dining at restaurants and US supermarkets, such as American Express® Gold Card (subject to minimum spend).
Uses points on the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card
With the Wyndham Earner Plus Card, you can redeem your points for stays, gas, airline tickets, tickets and information, gift cards, merchandise, charitable donations, tours and activities and AARP memberships.
The most important way to use points is for Wyndham hotel stays.
Wyndham is one of the few hotel brands that still uses a fixed award chart and not variable rates, meaning you can still get the greatest value. There are no closing dates for Wyndham properties.
Wyndham offers two types of redemption: Go Fast and Go Free. Go Free uses points to book a room rate, and Go Fast uses a combination of points and cash. Cardholders will receive a 10% discount on all Wyndham Go Free hotel stays.
Go Free award nights are sold in three tiers: 7,500, 15,000, and 30,000 points per night. Superior properties and properties booked during peak travel season will typically cost 30,000 points per night.
Go Fast award nights are sold at three rates, starting at 1,500, 3,000 and 6,000 points per night plus cash.
TPG top points and miles writer Katie Genter says, “[I’ve] used Wyndham points for a 15,000-point night in Hawaii and a 7,500-point night in South Korea, including on the beautiful island of Jeju. I also found a very good value for the redemption of the Vacasa stay, although this is very difficult to do now with a low cap with a standard cost per bedroom night of 15,000 points.”
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 pay maintenance fees by converting them to Last Dollars. Caesar properties cost 15,000 to 30,000 Wyndham points per room per night. Certain blackout dates apply.
Vacasa rentals can only be booked with Wyndham points if the average nightly cost, including all fees, is less than $500. You will pay 15,000 points per bedroom per night for a nightly rental under $250 and 30,000 points per bedroom per night for a nightly rental between $250.01 and $500.
Transferring points to the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card
Wyndham has a strong list of flight transfer partners. However, you usually get a better value when you use your points for Wyndham stays than when you transfer them to a partner.
Wyndham has nine airline transfer partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan miles, Avianca LifeMiles, Frontier Airlines Frontier Miles, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles and United MileagePlus miles.
All points are transferred at a ratio of 5:1; you must transfer at least 6,000 points. This means that 6,000 Wyndham points equal 1,200 partner points. Given this transfer rate, I strongly recommend avoiding this as a rescue method.
Related: Should you transfer hotel points to our airline partners?
What cards compete with the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus card?
If you want additional Wyndham Rewards benefits or prefer a different type of reward, you may want to choose one of these cards instead:
- If you choose not to have an annual fee: The Wyndham Rewards Earner® Card is the little brother of the Earner Plus and has no annual fee. It offers benefits like automatic Wyndham Gold status and earns 5 points per dollar on Wyndham stays and gas. You’ll still get rewards discounts and cash stays. To learn more, check out our full review of the Wyndham Rewards Earner card.
- If you choose to earn a variable currency: I Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns at least 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, comes with Global Entry/TSA PreCheck payment credit and has an annual fee of $95 (see rates and fees). Capital One miles can be transferred to Wyndham. To learn more, check out our full Capital One Venture Rewards review.
- If you choose a business card with a premium 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 award discounts and cash stays. To learn more, check out our full Wyndham Business Earner review.
For more options, check out our full list of the best hotel credit cards.
Information for the Wyndham Rewards Earner card and the Wyndham Rewards Business Earner card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card information on this page has not been updated or provided by the card issuer.
Related: How to choose a hotel credit card
Is the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card worth it?
This card is easily justified and worth getting if you frequent Wyndham properties. It offers automatic Wyndham Platinum status, a great rate of return on Wyndham stays and gas and a 10% discount on all award redemptions. If you don’t stay often, you may be better suited to the Wyndham Rewards Earner card with no annual fees.
Bottom line
Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus is a solid offering that makes sense for many Wyndham travelers. With a high earning rate and default elite status, this card is definitely worth considering adding to your wallet.
Plus, a solid welcome bonus can help top up your Wyndham Rewards account balance.
Related: World’s best hotel rewards programs: Which one is right for you?
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