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.

Tryp Hotels are a Spanish brand in a joint venture with Wyndham Hotel Group. The brand has 92 properties with 78 hotels in Europe and 14 hotels in the Americas. Tryp San Jose Sabana is the most recent hotel to open and the first property to open in Central America.

Tryp New York City Times Square South is currently taking online reservations for January 1, 2012, but not accepting dates in December 2011.

The hotel loyalty program situation with Tryp is a bit confusing as older properties are part of MAS Rewards affiliated with the parent chain Sol Melia Resorts, yet Tryp properties opening since 2011 are part of Wyndham Rewards. The website simply says ask at the Tryp Hotel for loyalty points and the staff will get you signed up for the correct program for that hotel. Tryp Hotels has a page of special offers and an email sign-up for weekly discount rates posted on Wednesdays.

Tryp Hotels Get a Free Night promotion (must book by today, November 13)

Today is actually the last day to book a special rate offer for a free night when staying 3 or more nights at a Tryp Hotel for stays through February 15, 2012. These are prepaid, nonrefundable rates based on Best Available Rate.

I checked this offer and found it to be a straight 3 nights for the price of 2 nights rate at Tryp Leon Spain where the 60EUR per night rate drops to 40EUR per night on a prepaid, nonrefundable 3-night stay.

Remember Sunday, November 13 is the last day to book this special free night rate offer.

Tryp Hotel, Leon Spain - 3rd Night free rate drops rate to 40EUR from 60EUR.

Tryp is a brand to know for travel in Spain and South America. The hotel brand is classified as Upper Midscale in STR Global Chain Scale Directory.

Tryp Hotel Locations (link)

• Argentina (1)
• Brazil (9)
• Colombia (1)
• Uruguay (1)
• Costa Rica (1)
• USA (1)
• Spain (57)
• Portugal (7)
• France (3)
• Germany (11)

Tryp by Wyndham New York City Times Square South