Wyndham Rewards Visa Checkout Bonus
Wyndham Rewards is partnering with Visa Checkout to offer 5,000 bonus points for stays booked through their mobile app. Let’s take a look at the offer and why this is potentially a great deal.
How to Get the Bonus
To get the bonus according to Wyndham, here is what you need to do:
- BOOK with the Wyndham Rewards mobile app – Enjoy anytime booking at the touch of your fingertips, local eats and more.
- PAY using Visa Checkout – Choose Visa Checkout when you’re ready to pay and speed through checkout with one single sign-in.
- EARN 5,000 bonus points – After you complete your qualified stay, we’ll add 5,000 bonus points to your Wyndham Rewards account. Book by July 31, 2016 and complete your qualified stay by Aug 1, 2016.
You can find the full details and terms here.
Analysis
Now that we have that out of the way, there are a couple of more things to look at:
- All Wyndham Rewards free nights cost 15,000 points no matter which property.
- There is a limit of two 5,000 mile bonuses per account.
This means that you could earn more than two-thirds of the number of points needed for a night at any Wyndham property. The great thing is that Wyndham has a ton of low end properties at which you could generate a cheap stay.
Sample Stay & Math
I live in Las Vegas which happens to have a ton of cheap hotels, especially midweek. For example, here is what I found for a stay on May 11, 2016.
This is the Wild Wild West Days Inn. If the “tax” looks high that is because it is. Apparently even a crappy hotel like this feels the need to charge a “Service Fee”. Anyway, $36 is still very cheap for a promotion like this. In addition to the bonus points, Wyndham pays 10 points per dollar OR 1,000 points whichever is more. This means that even a cheap booking like this gives 1,000 points.
This makes the math simple. This stay would earn 6,000 total points for a cost per point of .6 cents. Multiply by two and I would have 80% of the points needed for a free night at any property from $72 and my time checking into this place. I’m sure the math at your local Travelodge will probably be similar.
Conclusion
I wouldn’t advocate mattress running for this promotion unless you have a specific redemption in mind, but I can say that several beach properties including the all-inclusives are definitely worth taking a look at. Time is of course a factor here, but this could be a great way to top off your balance or to simply begin building towards a free night.
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With the new Wyndham Rewards rules effective yesterday, looks like the example of the Wild Wild West wouldn’t count as a “qualified stay”, as it’s less than $25.00:
A “Qualified Stay” occurs when: (A) a Member stays one or more consecutive nights at the same Participating Hotel; (B) the nightly rate(s) for such Member’s room over the course of such Member’s stay, added together (but excluding taxes, surcharges and any other charges or fees), total at least US $25.00 (the “Minimum Total Rate”); and (C) such Member pays all amounts payable for such stay in accordance with the Participating Hotel’s then applicable payment policies. If a Member checks out and then checks back in to the same Participating Hotel on the same day, it will count as a single stay for purposes of calculating a Qualified Stay.
Nice post, thanks Shawn. Do you or others here have any insight on what counts as a Qualifying Stay? Would one of the GoFast stays, for example, count as “Qualifying?”
(The GoFast rates can also be terrific savers too. Happens I’m putting up family at a property in Hoo’ville tonight during a popular weekend, where the normal cash rate now is over $200/night — but GoFast got me rooms for $35 plus 3,000 points. Tip, you need to log in to your wyndhamrewards account to see GoFast availability)
PS: funny thing, I too spent a night at that Days Inn in Vegas — block off the strip. (Tolerable…. compared to the Vegas resorts that soak you for everything… included breakfast last year, via in-house Denny’s)
“Go free and go fast award nights will not earn Wyndham Rewards points or travel partner currency, and cannot be combined with any other coupon, offer or special promotion for the stay, but they will count toward obtaining Gold Status Membership and Gold Status Point Bonuses.”
I doubt a Go Fast award would count since it doesn’t earn points.
Do you think it would work with a points plus $ rate?
No it doesn’t unfortunately since those don’t earn points.
Checked rates at the Super 8 at Ellis Island Casino on Koval Lane on 5/22, rate there is $17.00 + tax/service. Looks like a nicer hotel with a free breakfast buffet, complimentary airport shuttle, close to cheap eats at the Ellis Island Casino, and in a better part of town than Wild Wild West.
Never mind. Just found the fine print. “One stay includes all consecutive nights at the same hotel, regardless of check-ins or check-outs.”
Weekend stays only get an additional 500 points (rather than 1000), but may still be worth a mattress run. Any idea if two back-to-back stays (check out and then back in at the same hotel) will count as two stays? I know it doesn’t work for IHG, but I couldn’t find anything in the rules about this.
Wait. Two 5,000 mile bonuses per account? Or Points?
2 X 5,000.
Haha! That Wild West days Inn is where I stayed for Travel Con Two! Didn’t have enough points for any decent hotels yet then! It’s only a tad skeevy!
Might as well also register for the “Stay 2x, get $100 in Wyndham Rewards gift cards” promotion if you’re staying 2 times with the Visa Checkout promotion. You’d just pay service fees at the Wild Wild West for each of the four stays, or get $25 off each stay at other properties.