I redeemed Wyndham Rewards points I bought at 2011 Daily Getaways last week for the conference I am attending in L.A.

Sure, I would rather be at the Westin Bonaventure or JW Marriott LA for the U.S. Travel Association International PowWow 2012 conference, but my hotel stay only cost me $227 for four nights in hotels using Wyndham Rewards points I bought last year rather than the $1,000+ needed for the negotiated conference hotel rates.

And Wyndham Rewards points can also be transferred into airline frequent flyer miles. Wyndham Rewards has the best hotel points to airline miles exchange rate of any hotel loyalty program (1,000 points = 400 miles), unless you have six figure balances to exchange Marriott Rewards or Club Carlson points at slightly better rates.

Two times in the past year I used Wyndham Rewards points on road trips to book a Wyndham brand hotel while sitting in the lobby of the hotel and then walked over to the desk and picked up my room key.

My point being that Wyndham Rewards points are easy to redeem. With over 7,000 hotels globally, mostly in the USA, there is usually a Wyndham brand property around wherever you go in the 50 states and many other places. There are so many Wyndham hotel brands (14).

Wyndham Hotel Brands

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, TRYP by Wyndham^®, Wingate by Wyndham^®, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham^®, Dream, Night, Ramada^®, Days Inn^®, Super 8^®, Baymont Inn & Suites^®, Microtel Inns & Suites^®, Howard Johnson^®, Travelodge^®, and Knights Inn^®.

Wyndham Rewards Points Daily Getaways Deal

Monday April 23, 2012

• Pre-Sale 12 noon Eastern
• Main Sale 1 pm Eastern

16,000 Wyndham Rewards points (Super 8 page)

• 750 sets available.
• 150 sets available during pre-sale.
• cost without Amex card = $55 ($3.44 per 1,000 points)
• cost with Amex card = $49.50 ($3.10 per 1,000 points)
• maximum quantity per purchase = 2

28,000 Wyndham Rewards points (Days Inn page)

• 350 available
• 75 available during pre-sale
• cost without Amex card = $76 ($2.71 per 1,000 points)
• cost with Amex card = $68.40 ($2.44 per 1,000 points)
• maximum quantity per purchase = 1

32,000 Wyndham Rewards points (Ramada page)

• 350 available
• 70 available during pre-sale
• cost without Amex card = $110 ($3.44 per 1,000 points)
• cost with Amex card = $99 ($3.10 per 1,000 points)
• maximum quantity per purchase = 1

50,000 Wyndham Rewards points (Wyndham page)

• 300 available
• 60 available during pre-sale
• cost without Amex card = $143 ($2.86 per 1,000 points)
• cost with Amex card = $128.70 ($2.58 per 1,000 points)
• maximum quantity per purchase = 1

48,000 Wyndham Rewards points (Wingate page)

• 250 available
• 50 available during pre-sale
• cost without Amex card = $165 ($3.44 per 1,000 points)
• cost with Amex card: $148.50 ($3.10 per 1,000 points)
• maximum quantity per purchase = 1

As with all the hotel points offers on Daily Getaways, the sale promotes a specific hotel brand, however, you are buying Wyndham Rewards points and the use of these points is not tied to any specific hotel brand. The page says “1 Night at Super 8 for $55”, but you are buying 16,000 Wyndham Rewards points that can be used for hotel stays at any Wyndham brand or redeemed for airline miles and other things through Wyndham Rewards.

Wyndham Rewards promotion for members who do not reside in US, Canada or Mexico offers 10,000 bonus points for every two stays from March 29 through July 12. This offer is valid for 6 stays and a maximum 30,000 bonus points. Booking period is March 29-July 8 and stay must be completed by July 12, 2012 to qualify for this offer.

Promotion registration required. Register at wyndhamrewards.com/cinema, wyndhamrewards.com/suitcase or wyndhamrewards.de/suitcase OR phone 00-800 367-87477

This offer is valid for Wyndham brand hotel stays worldwide, except Travelodge in Canada and Super 8 in China do not participate in Wyndham Rewards.

“Participating Hotel Brands” are:

• Ramada®,
• Days Inn®,
• Baymont Inn & Suites®,
• Hawthorn Suites®,
• Howard Johnson®,
• Dream®,
• Night®,
• Knights Inn®,
• Microtel®,
• Travelodge® (U.S. hotels only),
• Wingate® by Wyndham branded hotels and
• Super8
• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts® properties located in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and China also participate in this promotion. (LT note: This knocks out about six hotels in Australia, India, Libya, and Qatar.)

No free movie for you

The US, Canada, Mexico promotion version is double points or miles and includes free movie tickets. The terms of the international promotion state members can exchange points for movie tickets which is not a good deal compared to the value of Wyndham Rewards points.

I think this offer by Wyndham Rewards is better than the double points promotion for US members. This is a good offer for international visitors to the US who desire lower priced midscale and economy lodging. This is the best bonus currently being offered by the midscale chains.

30,000 Wyndham Rewards points can be two hotel nights at most Wyndham brands or one night at a Wyndham Hotel in a place like New York or London. There are also Ramada Hotels in many international city centers.

30,000 points exchange into 12,000 miles with the following airlines:

• Aeromexico
• Air Berlin
• Aeroplan
• Air China
• American Airlines
• China Eastern
• Czech Airlines
• Delta Airlines
• Hainan Airlines
• Frontier Airlines
• US Airways
• United Airlines
• Amtrak Guest Rewards

Wyndham Rewards members in the US, Canada and Mexico can register to earn Double Points or Double Miles and movie tickets for stays from March 29 through July 8, 2012.

Double points or miles begins with first stay and applies for up to four hotel stays during promotion period.

Movie Tickets.

A certificate for two movie tickets is earned after the 2nd and 4th stays. The tickets are a promotion for The Avengers movie (opening May 4 and the comic book version, not the British intelligence service version that still needs to be done decently after the Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman debacle). Terms read like other movie choices are an option. The value of the movie certificate for two is US$24 or 24CAD or $288 Mexican Pesos. Hollywood Movie Money certificate is valid for 30 days after completing online code activation process.

Members also receive a comic book after the second stay.

Wyndham Rewards promotion registration is required.

To qualify for the “Double starting with 1st stay” component and earn double Wyndham Rewards® points, airline miles or rail points, the member must:

• register at wyndhamrewards.com/movie or 1-866-996-7937,
• book a stay on wyndhamrewards.com, daysinn.com, ramada.com, wyndham.com, wingatehotels.com, hawthorn.com, super8.com, baymontinns.com, microtelinn.com, hojo.com, travelodge.com, knightsinn.com, dreamintl.com, or nighthotelny.com, at a qualifying rate with arrival dates from March 29 to July 8, 2012 and
• complete the stay by July 12, 2012.
• Registered members can receive double points or miles for four (4) separate qualified stays within the Promotion Period (for the first, second, third and fourth qualified stays) with a maximum of 3 rooms per stay.
• Members should allow six to eight weeks after completion of registration and stay for the bonus points, airline miles or rail points to be credited to their account.
• Airline mile bonus valid at US airline carriers, Air Canada and AeroMexico only.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Choose double points over double miles.

Wyndham Rewards has 14 hotel brands and all brands earn 10 points/$1, except Hawthorn Suites stays earn 5 points/$1.

Double points means $400 in hotel spend earns 8,000 points. Most Wyndham Rewards brands earn 2 miles per $1. Double miles is 4 miles per $1.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Hawthorn Suites earn 500 miles per stay. Double miles is 1,000 miles per stay at these brands.

Wyndham Rewards points-to-miles exchange rate with 8,000 points = 3,200 miles in most programs is near the top of hotel loyalty programs.

$400 in hotel spend with double miles earns 1,600 miles, whereas, earning double points is 8,000 points that can be converted into 3,200 miles.

4 Stays limit – the common problem of midscale loyalty offers.

The main problem with the midscale chain loyalty promotions like Wyndham Rewards, Best Western Rewards and Choice Privileges is the low earning limit placed on promotions. These brands tend to have a limit that is reached quickly after 2 to 6 hotel stays during a promotion.

The difference with Wyndham Rewards is the ability to earn a bonus on more than one room per stay. The offers are not generally good enough to go out and book unnecessary extra rooms, but if your situation requires two or three rooms, then you can earn double points on up to 12 room nights in four stays.

Non-participating properties

Travelodge in Canada does not participate in Wyndham Rewards and neither does Super 8 in China. All other 7,000 or so Wyndham brand hotels worldwide are participating properties.

International Wyndham Rewards promotion is better.

A better promotion is available to Wyndham Rewards members who are not residents of US, Canada or Mexico. I’ll discuss that offer for 10,000 points every two stays in a separate post.

Wyndham Rewards Gift Me Promotion offers residents of the USA, Canada and Mexico the opportunity to earn over 20,000 bonus points with six hotel stays from November 17 through March 12, 2012. There is another promotion for European Wyndham Rewards members to earn up to 30,000 bonus points after six stays. Both of these promotions were extended to March 12 from their original ending date of February 1. Bookings must be made by March 5 and stays completed by March 12, 2012 for these bonus offers.

The basic offer is 6,500 bonus points after the 2nd, 4th and 6th stays during the promotion period for a potential 19,500 bonus points. There is also the option to earn 1,000 airline miles instead of 6,500 bonus points, however, the excellent exchange rate for Wyndham Rewards points-to-miles means members who desire miles will earn more miles by choosing the points bonus and then converting points to miles at a later date (6,500 points = 2,600 miles in most programs).

There is also an online booking bonus of 1,000 points for your first three bookings after promotion registration. And if you have a Wyndham Rewards VISA card there is an additional 500 points bonus on your first three bookings for a maximum 1,500 bonus points with VISA payment.

Wyndham Rewards Hotel Brands:

• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®,
• Ramada®,
• Days Inn®,
• Super 8®,
• Wingate by Wyndham®,
• Baymont Inn & Suites®,
• Microtel Inns & Suites®,
• Hawthorn Suites® by Wyndham,
• TRYP by Wyndham™,
  Howard Johnson®,
• Travelodge®
• Knights Inn®

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Assume you book six one-night hotel stays online and do not pay with Wyndham Rewards Visa during the promotion period. Wyndham has some of the lowest rates around with its economy brand hotel chains. Assume you choose hotels with an average nightly rate of $60. All Wyndham brands earn 10 points per dollar with the exception of Hawthorn Suites at 5 points/$1.

• Stay 1 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points = 1,600 points.
• Stay 2 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 8,100 points.
• Stay 3 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points = 1,600 points.
• Stay 4 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 7,100 points.
• Stay 5 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) = 600 points.
• Stay 6 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 7,100 points.

Total Points earned = 26,100 points for $360.

26,100 points can be converted into 10,000 airline miles or one to four hotel nights depending on where you choose to stay with your Wyndham Rewards points. I rank this offer as a good value 50% rebate potential if you plan your stays to maximize the promotion value of this offer. There are over 7,000 hotels in Wyndham Rewards and many hotels will offer savings over $100 on a 10,000 or 14,000 points reward night.

Redeeming Wyndham Rewards points

Most hotel rewards in Wyndham brands in the US and Canadaare divided into four tiers:

• Tier 1 = 6,000 points
• Tier 2 = 10,000 points
• Tier 3 = 14,000 points
• Tier 4 = 16,000 points

These reward tiers cover most of the hotel brands except Wyndham Hotels and Resorts rewardswhich are as low as 10,000 points per night for Wyndham Oklahoma City up to 45,000 points per night for one of the two Wyndham Hotels in New York City (the other is only 25,000 points). Most Wyndham Hotels in the US are 15,000 or 20,000 points per night.

Wyndham Rewards Gift Me Promotion offers members in U.S., Canada and Mexico the opportunity to earn over 20,000 bonus points with six hotel stays from November 17 through February 1, 2012. There is another promotion for European Wyndham Rewards members to earn up to 30,000 bonus points after six stays that I will discuss in a separate post.

The basic offer is 6,500 bonus points after the 2nd, 4th and 6th stays during the promotion period for a potential 19,500 bonus points. There is also the option to earn 1,000 airline miles instead of 6,500 bonus points, however, the excellent exchange rate for Wyndham Rewards points-to-miles means members who desire miles will earn more miles by choosing the points bonus and then converting points to miles at a later date (6,500 points = 2,600 miles in most programs).

There is also an online booking bonus of 1,000 points for your first three bookings after promotion registration. And if you have a Wyndham Rewards VISA card there is an additional 500 points bonus on your first three bookings for a maximum 1,500 bonus points with VISA payment.

Wyndham Rewards Hotel Brands:

• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts®,
• Ramada®,
• Days Inn®,
• Super 8®,
• Wingate by Wyndham®,
• Baymont Inn & Suites®,
• Microtel Inns & Suites®,
• Hawthorn Suites® by Wyndham,
• TRYP by Wyndham™,
  Howard Johnson®,
• Travelodge®
• Knights Inn®

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Assume you book six one-night hotel stays online and do not pay with Wyndham Rewards Visa during the promotion period. Wyndham has some of the lowest rates around with its economy brand hotel chains. Assume you choose hotels with an average nightly rate of $60. All Wyndham brands earn 10 points per dollar with the exception of Hawthorn Suites at 5 points/$1.

• Stay 1 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points = 1,600 points.
• Stay 2 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 8,100 points.
• Stay 3 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 1,000 online booking bonus points = 1,600 points.
• Stay 4 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 7,100 points.
• Stay 5 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) = 600 points.
• Stay 6 = 600 points ($60 x 10 points/$1) + 6,500 Gift Me bonus points = 7,100 points.

Total Points earned = 26,100 points for $360.

26,100 points can be converted into 10,000 airline miles or one to four hotel nights depending on where you choose to stay with your Wyndham Rewards points. I rank this offer as a good value 50% rebate potential if you plan your stays to maximize the promotion value of this offer. There are over 7,000 hotels in Wyndham Rewards and many hotels will offer savings over $100 on a 10,000 or 14,000 points reward night.

Redeeming Wyndham Rewards points

Most hotel rewards in Wyndham brands in the US and Canada are divided into four tiers:

• Tier 1 = 6,000 points
• Tier 2 = 10,000 points
• Tier 3 = 14,000 points
• Tier 4 = 16,000 points

These reward tiers cover most of the hotel brands except Wyndham Hotels and Resorts rewards which are as low as 10,000 points per night for Wyndham Oklahoma City up to 45,000 points per night for one of the two Wyndham Hotels in New York City (the other is only 25,000 points). Most Wyndham Hotels in the US are 15,000 or 20,000 points per night.

Wyndham Rewards Gift Me Promotion is a high value hotel stay rebate.

Wyndham Rewards fall promotion offers double points or double miles and up to $60 cash back on hotel stays from September 15 to November 18, 2011. The double points or miles offer is limited to first three stays.

The “Cash Back every Two Stays” component of the promotion provides a $20 Visa gift card for every two stays during the promotion, up to $60 cash back after six stays.

Wyndham Rewards $20 Cash back with every two stays terms:

• Wyndham Rewards members must register for promotion at wyndhamrewards.com/cash or call 1-866-996-7937 to register.
• Complete two separate stays between September 15 and November 18, 2011.
• Earn a US$20 VISA gift card after the second (2nd), fourth (4th) and sixth (6th) stays.
• Member will receive an email after each qualifying stay with instructions to complete an online redemption form for $20 VISA gift card.
• VISA card online redemption form must be completed within 60 days of email.
• Maximum $60 in VISA gift cards per member.
• Checkout date after November 22, 2011 will not count for this offer.
• Double points or miles can be earned for up to three rooms for each of first three stays.
• Only residents of the U.S., Canada and Mexico are eligible for this offer. See below for a separate European residents promotion.
• Super 8 China properties are not participating in this offer.
• Double miles are only available with select airlines: American, Aeroplan, Aeromexico, Amtrak, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country, United, US Airways.

Wyndham fall 2011 US-Canada-Mexico promotion for Double Points or Miles and Cash Back.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

Wyndham Rewards has more hotel members than any other hotel loyalty program with over 6,500 hotels in the following brands:

• Wyndham Resorts
• Wyndham Garden
• Wingate
• Days Inn
• Ramada
• Super 8
• Baymont Inn & Suites
• Microtel Inn & Suites
• Howard Johnson
• Travelodge (Hotels in Canada do not participate in Wyndham Rewards)
• Knights Inn
• Hawthorn Suites

Too bad this offer is limited to double points or miles for only three stays and a cash back rebate for six stays. The ability to earn double points for up to three rooms on the first three stays is probably the most valuable feature of this promotion.

The high exchange rate of points-to-miles transfers with Wyndham Rewards generally makes earning points the better value during promotions.

Earning Double Miles vs. Double Points Comparison

Assume you spend $400 for three stays during this promotion. Wyndham Rewards members earn 10 points/$1 at all Wyndham hotel brands, except Hawthorn Suites at 5 points/$1.

• $400 in hotel spend with double points earns 8,000 points = 3,200 miles.
• $400 in hotel spend with double miles earns 1,600 miles.
• Choosing double points and exchanging points-to-miles earns miles at twice the rate of double miles.

Wyndham Rewards points to miles exchange rate is static meaning the rate is the same regardless of the number of points transferred to miles. 10 points = 4 miles in most programs. Points-to-Miles transfers must be made in 8,000 or 17,500 or 30,000 blocks of points. Wyndham Rewards has the best exchange rate for points-to-miles transfers of any hotel loyalty program for smaller points transfers.

17,500 Wyndham Rewards points = 7,000 miles for American, Continental, Delta, United, US Airways.

European Version of this offer

European residents of Wyndham Rewards have a slightly different offer during the same promotion period of September 15 – November 18 for 8,800 bonus points after every two stays and bonus may be earned three times. The promotion advertises this as bonus points that may be exchanged for a 20GBP or 30EUR VISA gift card.

As shown above the points have better value for points-to-miles exchange or hotel stays. A European member in the states can get six stays at inexpensive Wyndham hotel brands for under $500 and earn over 30,000 points. Wyndham brands in New York City like Wingate and Ramada often have rates over $300 per night and the points can be redeemed for one or two nights at these locations.

Register at wyndhamrewards.com/freegift or wyndhamrewards.de/freegift.

Wyndham Fall 2011 European member promotion for 8,800 bonus points every two stays.

Wyndham Rewards has a summer promotion for residents of Europe offering 15,000 bonus points after two stays at any of ten Wyndham hotel brands from 1 July-30 September 2011. This bonus may be earned up to four times (8 stays) for 60,000 bonus points.  There are probably 4,000+ hotels globally eligible for this offer.

Participating Wyndham Rewards hotel brands for this promotion.

• Ramada
• Days Inn
• Baymont Inn & Suites
• Hawthorn Suites
• Howard Johnson
• Knights Inn
• Super 8   (China excluded)
• Travelodge   (U.S. only)
• Wingate by Wyndham
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts  (Europe, North America, Caribbean, Latin America and China only)

Wyndham Rewards ‘Stay Twice and Earn a Free night” Promotion.

1. Promotion for residents of Europe (LT Note: T&C do not define Europe by country.)
2. Register at WyndhamRewards.com/freenight or wyndhamrewards.de/freenight using a valid email address.
3. New members enrolled at property locations are automatically enrolled in promotion.
4. Booking period 1 July – 31 August, 2011.
5. Stay period from 1 July – 30 September, 2011.
6. Stay must be completed by 30 September to qualify for promotion bonus of 15,000 points after two stays at any participating hotels.
7. Members earning miles instead of Wyndham Rewards points are still eligible for 15,000 bonus points after two stays.
8. 15,000 points bonus may be earned four times (8 total stays) during promotion period for 60,000 total bonus points.

Loyalty Traveler analysis:

This is a good deal for Europeans coming to the U.S. where many of these Wyndham brand hotels have rates under $60 per night. The cost of eight hotel stays is feasibly under $500USD all in for travel in the Super 8, Knights Inn, Howard Johnson and Travelodge brands. Baymont Inn, Ramada and Hawthorn Suites will run $60 to $120 in most places around the U.S.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts have some nice properties. Many of the other Wyndham Rewards brands are budget and midscale hotel segments. Baymont Inn and Ramada are the upper midscale segments for Wyndham brands. Hawthorn Suites extended stay hotels were formerly part of a Hyatt Hotels purchase, then sold to Wyndham.  

Wyndham Rewards hotel brand descriptions.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts room rates range from $100 to $300 per night, depending on location.

The high value of this promotion is the ability to earn 60,000 bonus points for as little as $500USD and have sufficient points to redeem four to eight free nights at hotels all over the U.S.

Wyndham Rewards U.S. and Canada Hotel Rewards link.

Wyndham brands in the U.S., aside from Wyndham Resorts, are categorized in four tiers:

Wyndham Reward Nights for Howard Johnson, Super 8, Days Inn, Knights Inn, Travelodge, Ramada, Baymont Inn

• Tier 1 = 6,000 Points 
• Tier 2 = 10,000 Points 
• Tier 3 = 14,000 Points
• Tier 4 = 16,000 Points    

Wyndham Rewards Global Hotel Rewards link.

Germany has several Ramada brand hotels ranging in reward cost from 6,000 points with most being 10,000 points and rising up to 20,000 and 30,000 points for locations like Berlin.

Ramada Hotels in Köln, Germany are 50 to 60EUR for weekend nights in July depending on rate type.

Wyndham Hotel Rewards property by State and Country link.

This promotion offers the possibility to earn at least two to three free nights at most Wyndham properties in the 20,000 or 25,000 points range.  Some Wyndham Hotels and Resorts in a city like New York, Amsterdam and St. Petersburg are 45,000 points for a free night.

This is a 5-key offer for European residents with the potential to earn a full rebate on hotel spend  in the next three months after 8 hotel stays. 60,000 bonus points is good for three to ten nights in free future Wyndham Rewards hotel stays.  

P.S.

Personally I found Wyndham Rewards free nights very easy to redeem at last minute during my 2,200 mile road trip last month through the Pacific Northwest of the USA.

Wyndham Rewards European promotion for 15,000 points after 2 stays 1 Jul-30 Sep.

Update July 6: [Note from Ric Garrido- This paragraph was written as a result of incorrect information posted on Wyndham Rewards sites for UK, Ireland, Germany which apparently caught the attention of Wyndham Rewards. See July 7 update].  Wyndham Rewards reduced the earn rate for hotels December 22, 2010. I just realized the earn rate for most Wyndham Rewards hotel brands dropped from 10 points/US$1 to 5 points/US$1 in December 2010 for all hotel brands except Wyndham and Hawthorn Suites remain at 10 points/US$1.

Interesting point is while European members still earn 10 points/US$1 for Hawthorn Suites, US/Canada members earn only 5 points/US$1 for stays at Hawthorn Suites as of December 2010.

Update July 7: Received an email from Wyndham Rewards today. Turns out their European website information is incorrect and the earning rates are the same for Europeans and Americans at 10 points/$1 for every Wyndham brand, except Hawthorn Suites at 5 points/$1. All you Europeans can thank me with a complimentary beer when you are visiting Monterey.

Or maybe Wyndham Rewards should give me complimentary top elite status. (That’s a hotel loyalty program joke some readers may get.)

Earn 1,000 bonus points per stay at Wyndham Rewards brand hotels in U.S. and Canada from June 1 – September 5, 2011. No registration required. All Wyndham Rewards brands regularly earn 10 points per $1, except Hawthorn Suites at 5 points/$1.

Members with earning preference of miles are also eligible for the 1,000 bonus points per stay. The good points-to-miles exchange rate of 10 points = 4 miles for most frequent flier programs means points are generally the better earning choice for Wyndham Rewards members who want miles, unless there is a miles bonus. The normal miles earn rate is only 2 miles per $1 when earning preference is set to miles rather than points.

Wyndham is a necessary choice sometimes when traveling rural America. There are many places where Best Western, Choice Hotels and Wyndham will be the only hotel loyalty program options and this 1,000 points bonus promotion provides some kind of hotel stay rebate.

Free nights with Wyndham Rewards for most hotel brands in U.S. are assigned to four tiers at 6,000 points, 10,000 points, 14,000 points and 16,000 points. Four $50 hotel stays during this promotion can be sufficient for a free 6,000 points award night. 

Also, keep in mind this summer that Best Western has three stays for one free night from June 19-August 14. I’ll write up this offer once the details are online, probably next week. The link gives the Best Western promotion details from FlyerTalk and Best Western representatives have confirmed details of this offer to me. 

Choice Hotels is offering 8,000 bonus points for two stays from May 19-August 11. Loyalty Traveler post May 16.

The last sentence of the Wyndham Rewards 1,000 bonus points per stay promotion terms raises concern for me: 

“Each individual hotel must elect to participate in the Promotion.”

That is way too vague for my comfort level when making hotel stay plans.

Do I need to call each hotel and ask?

There are too numerous to count brands in Wyndham Rewards. They seem to create new brands in their dreams at night. No wait…they actually added Dream and Night as two new hotel brands in Wyndham this year. 

Wyndham Hotel Group brands

Wyndham Hotel Group

• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts
• Wyndham Grand Collection
• Wyndham Garden
• Wingate by Wyndham
• Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham
• Ramada Worldwide
• Days Inn
• Super 8
• Baymont Inn & Suites
• Microtel Inn & Suites
• Howard Johnson
• Travelodge
• Knights Inn
• Planet Hollywood
• Dream
• Night
• Tryp

You can buy up to 190,000 Wyndham Rewards points at 12 noon ET Wednesday, May 4 through DiscoverAmerica.com Daily Getaways offers. These are great discounts on Wyndham Rewards points for hotel nights or points-to-miles exchange.

$117 for two nights at a Wyndham Hotel is a deal you’d be hard to match with Priceline or Hotwire hotel buys.

Wyndham Rewards is one of the best hotel loyalty programs for low level points-to-miles exchanges with airlines. Wyndham Rewards has a fixed rate of exchange at 8,000 points = 3,200 miles with most major US airlines.

Buy 48,000 points for $135 (AmEx) or even $150 and convert to 19,200 miles in American, Air Canada Aeroplan, Continental, Delta, Frontier, United and US Airways and a few others.

Hotel Rewards in U.S. for most Wyndham Rewards brands like Ramada, Super 8, Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn, Microtel Hawthorn Suites and Baymont are assigned to four tiers.

Wyndham Rewards for one hotel free night at most Wyndham brands:

• Tier 1 = 6,000 points
• Tier 2 = 10,000 points
• Tier 3 = 14,000 points
• Tier 4 = 16,000 points

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts are a separate category of rewards at 15,000 to 45,000 for properties around the world. In the U.S. most Wyndham hotels are in the 15,000 to 25,000 points range.

Wyndham Rewards points on Discover America Daily Getaway Wednesday May 4, 2011

16,000 points = $50 ($45.00 if payment with American Express). 725 sets available. Maximum purchase is two per member.

28,000 points = $69 ($62.10 if payment with American Express). 125 sets available. Maximum purchase is one per member.

32,000 points = $100 ($90.00 if payment with American Express). 400 sets available. Maximum purchase is one per member.

48,000 points = $150 ($135.00 if payment with American Express). 150 sets available. Maximum purchase is one per member.

50,000 points = $130 ($117.00 if payment with American Express). 298 sets available. Maximum purchase is one per member.

Oddly the price is not the same rate for these Wyndham Points packages. 28,000 points and 50,000 points are best buys with a rate around $2.50 for 1,000 points compared to $3.12 per 1,000 for the other three sets.

A member may purchase a maximum of six sets of Wyndham Rewards points from these five offers for a total of 190,000 points for $494.10.

This is really an excellent deal. 190,000 points can be converted to 76,000 airline miles (plus any bonuses like US Airways) or buy a whole lot of hotel nights or even a one week Wyndham Resort beach vacation. This deal certainly beats Starpoints at 20% off or $28 per 1,000 points for someone wanting frequent flyer miles.

Loyalty Traveler surveys world’s Top 20 Hotel Brands for loyalty program affiliation and hotel benefits.

The hotel industry generally ranks the world’s biggest hotel brands by different criteria than Loyalty Traveler. The hotel industry ranks hotel brands by the total number of rooms worldwide. That is the hotelier’s viewpoint since more rooms creates the potential for more money.

My viewpoint as a traveler is whether I will be able to find a hotel in a particular hotel brand in the location I am visiting.  I generally only need one or two rooms for my hotel stay. As a traveler I care less about whether a hotel has 100 rooms or 1,000 rooms and more about the number of hotels in my preferred brand for geographic coverage.

Therefore, Loyalty Traveler ranks hotel brand size by the number of hotels rather than the number of rooms. This results in a different hotel brand ranking order than will be found for most hotel chain size surveys.

When it comes to the number of hotels in a hotel brand you can forget about your upscale Hyatt’s and Hilton’s and Marriott’s being the leaders. There are no upscale market segment brands in the top 20 global hotel brands when ranked by number of hotels.

Marriott Hotels (550 hotels) and Hilton Hotels (540 hotels) just miss the Top 20 cut coming in at #21 and #22 respectively with the distinction of being the highest ranking upscale brands worldwide.

The Benefits of Economy and Mid-scale Hotels

Free internet and complimentary breakfast are the two most desired benefits for upscale hotel travelers. In recent years there has been a move among loyalty programs to add these benefits for elite members of Marriott Rewards, Hilton HHonors, Starwood Preferred Guest and Hyatt Gold Passport.

Travel in the economy hotel market segment pretty much guarantees you will have access to free internet and most of the top brands also offer a free breakfast as a benefit for all hotel guests. Downsizing your hotel brand may upsize your savings in more ways than room rate.

Family-Friendly Hotel Brands  

One of the biggest value benefits of the major economy/mid-scale hotel brands is a policy at six of the Top 20 Hotel Brands to let kids stay free in the room with an adult family member. This policy is extended to a high age limit of 19 years old for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express which offers some interesting possibilities for taking Mom, Dad or Uncle Bob on spring break.

Children Stay Free Policies can be big savings for big families. Bring the sleeping bags.

Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express = Children 19 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

La Quinta Inn = Children 18 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Super 8 = Children 17 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Motel 6 = Children 17 and under stay free in same room with adult guest.

Premier Inn (U.K.) = Children 15 and under stay free.

“Honey, I Just Fed the Kids!”

Some hotel brands even offer free restaurant meals to kids when an adult orders off the regular menu. The age limit is a bit lower than 19 for this benefit.

Holiday Inn (U.S. and Canada only) – ‘Kids Eat Free’ policy allows up to four children age 12 and under to eat free from kids menu any time of day when adult guest pays for meal from regular menu.

Premier Inn (U.K.) – free breakfast for up to two children (15 or under).

Loyalty traveler note on hotel numbers and Choice International hotel brands count:

The source of hotel numbers is primarily hotel brand website checks February 8-10, 2011 and data from the most recent financial reports. Choice Privileges only reported domestic properties in its Sep 30, 2010 financial statement. There were 1,140 international Choice Hotels Sep 30, 2010. This is the only detail on international franchised Choice Hotels properties I located without making a hand count by country.

My website checks indicate these 1,140 international hotels are primarily Comfort Inn & Suites and Quality Inn & Suites properties with about 150 Clarion and a handful of EconoLodge and Sleep Inn properties. Australia and New Zealand have more than 200 Choice Hotels.

Choice Hotels total hotel numbers for Days Inn and Quality Inn are from TopHotelChains.com Sep 2010. Hotel numbers for U.S. properties are taken from Choice International financial statements for Sep 30, 2010.

Loyalty Traveler Survey of the Top 20 Hotel Brands in the World

Loyalty Traveler Top 20 Hotel Brands by Number of Hotels Feb 11, 2011

Tip: Click on the spreadsheet picture to open in a new window and see in full size. (You may need to click on picture again in new window to magnify size).

Please add a comment if there are other noteworthy features and benefits for these 20 brands; particularly some first-hand knowledge of Mercure and Ibis would be appreciated for these non-U.S. hotel brands.

Wyndham Rewards launches a new promotion today running February 3 through April 30, 2011.

• Earn 2x points or miles on 2^nd stay.
• Earn 3x points or miles on 3^rd stay.
• Earn 4x points or miles on 4^th stay.

Promotion registration is required.

Hotel stays must be completed by May 7^th to qualify for this promotion.

There are no additional bonus points or miles for more than 4 stays during the promotion period. You do not earn 4x points for every stay after the 4th stay.

Earn 1,000 additional bonus points for hotel stays paid with Wyndham Visa card on 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th stays. Maximum credit card additional bonus is 3,000 points.

Wyndham Rewards hotel brands include over 6,500 hotels in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Wyndham Grand Collection, Wyndham Garden, Wingate, Hawthorn Suites, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Baymont Inn & Suites, Microtel Inns & Suites, Howard Johnson, Travelodge and Knights Inn.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

This promotion only offers a bonus on the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th stays during the promotion period. Unlike recent promotions from other hotel loyalty programs, this offer does not apply 4x points to all previous stays.

Basically the best strategy is maximize the dollar spend on the 4^th hotel stay. An expensive vacation or business stay or an extended stay could make this a high value points bonus.

My analysis below shows the best choice for members wanting to maximize miles is choosing bonus points. Wyndham Rewards points will likely result in more miles through points-to-miles exchange rather than choosing bonus miles for this promotion. Wyndham Rewards has the highest static exchange rate for points-to-miles of any hotel loyalty program. Static exchange rate means the rate is the same (2.5 Wyndham Rewards points = 1 mile) regardless of the number of points converted to miles.

High-end Wyndham Rewards hotels run 25,000 points to 45,000 points per night.

Assume $200 per stay for four stays.

• Stay 1 = 2,000 points ($200 x 10 points/$1)
• Stay 2 = 4,000 points ($200 x 20 points/$1)
• Stay 3 = 6,000 points ($200 x 30 points/$1)
• Stay 4 = 8,000 points ($200 x 40 points/$1)

$800 hotel spend over 4 hotel stays earns 20,000 points. You will have sufficient points for a Tier 4 award (16,000 points) or a low tier Wyndham Hotel (15,000), but you will have insufficient points for a high end Wyndham Hotel or Resort in locations like downtown  Chicago (25,000 to 45,000), New York (25,000 to 45,000) or Sugar Bay Resort, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (45,000).

Earning Miles

Wyndham Rewards earns miles with 20 different airlines and Amtrak. Wyndham Rewards has one of the highest point-to-miles exchange rates among hotel loyalty programs. Programs like Marriott and goldpoints plus have higher exchange rates in their dynamic points-to-miles system, but that requires large numbers of points (100,000+) to get a better exchange rate than Wyndham Rewards.

Most airlines earn at the rate of 2 miles per $1 or 500 miles per stay at Wyndham Hotels and Hawthorn Suites. You will need to analyze earn rates to determine if more miles are earned choosing 2x, 3x and 4x miles or choosing points and making a points-to-miles exchange with a static exchange rate of 8,000 points = 3,200 miles or 2.5 points = 1 mile with most frequent flyer programs.

Here is a sample earning table:

Assume $200 per stay for four stays and United Mileage Plus.

• Stay 1 (Microtel) = 2,000 points or 400 miles (base earning rate).
•      ($200 x 2 miles/$1) Points are better = 800 miles.
• Stay 2 (Hawthorn Suites) = 2,000 points ($200 x 10 points/$1) or 1,000 miles (double miles 2 x 500)
•      (Miles are better choice since Hawthorn Suites has low 5 points/$1 earn rate. 2000 points = 800 miles).
• Stay 3 (Super 8 ) = 6,000 points or 1,200 miles (triple miles)
•      ($200 x 30 points/$1 or 6 miles/$1 = 1,200 miles) 6,000 points are better = 2,400 miles.
• Stay 4 (Wyndham) = 8,000 points or  2,000 miles (4x miles).
•      ($200 x 40 points/$1 or 500 miles per stay x 4). 8,000 points are better = 3,200 miles.

Bottom line: This promotion favors earning points rather than miles as long as you accrue 8,000 total points for a minimum points-to-miles exchange. The only time miles are the better choice is for Hawthorn Suites stays where points is based on 5 points/$1 earn rate. The earn rate for Hawthorn Suites quietly changed from 10 points/$1 to only 5 points/$1 in December 2010. This change does not even appear to have been mentioned by anyone on FlyerTalk to date.

Wyndham Rewards up to 4x points or miles Feb 3-April 30, 2011