Why Wyndham Rewards (Ramada and Days Inn) is now worth knowing about
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Wyndham – even though you may never have heard of it – is actually the largest hotel group in the world with over 7,000 properties. The majority of these are low-cost hotels in the USA, primarily outside major cities, and you are unlikely to stay in one unless you are doing a US road trip.
In the UK, Wyndham Rewards is the loyalty scheme for hotel chains Ramada and Days Inn. It also covers chains which you don’t find in the UK – Wyndham, Tryp, Wingate, Hawthorn, Microtel, Baymont, Super 8, Howard Johnson and the US (not UK) Travelodge.
There are 93 Wyndham Rewards hotels in the UK. This is more than I expected, to be honest. The Days Inn hotels are generally found on motorway service stations which is why you may have missed them! The Ramada properties are better spread. I stayed at the one in the Mailbox in Birmingham years ago and at the London Excel hotel during a £20 promotion three years ago.
If you are staying at Ramada and Days Inn hotels, you might as well join Wyndham Rewards. It is a simple scheme:
You earn 10 points per $1 spent (minimum 1,000 points) with a 3,000 point bonus on your first stay
You can also earn points by crediting Alamo, National, Avis or Budget car rentals or by completing e-rewards online market research surveys
There is no ability to earn points in the UK via a credit card or airline scheme transfer
That’s it. No tier levels, no benefits. It is all about the points.
This is why Wyndham Rewards has become interesting:
Following the recent relaunch, ALL hotels – every single Wyndham Rewards property on the planet – now costs a flat 15,000 points per night
Some hotels will also be available for ‘points and cash’ for 3,000 points per night plus a cash component
This is pretty radical stuff on the face of it. There are no charts, no peak or off peak dates. Wherever you want to stay, it will be 15,000 points.
In reality, it is not quite so radical:
By introducing flat pricing, Wyndham actually increased the cost of a lot of hotels. Far fewer came down in price. Whilst the old range was from 5,500 points to 50,000 points, there were very few hotels in the higher bands.
You still need to spend $1,500 to get a free night. Because Wyndham does not run a lot of bonus point promotions, you may still get free nights more quickly with other chains.
Wyndham has very few aspirational properties. The luxury London Wyndham Grand hotel – at Chelsea Harbour – has now changed hands and is part of Millennium & Copthorne. There is nothing in the UK that I would get excited about.
There are certainly some good aspirational places elsewhere. I liked the look of the Shelborne Wyndham Grand South Beach in Miami, picture above. There are also New York options which would be good value.
Assuming you were redeeming 15,000 points for rooms worth £150, you are getting 15% cashback on your Ramada and Days Inn spend. (10 points per $1, remember.) That is certainly not a bad deal.
The official website for Ramada in the UK is here. The Days Inn site is here. There are Wyndham Rewards sign-up links on both sites.
PS. Whilst this article is focussed on Wyndham points, you can take airline miles instead when you stay. Neither BA or Virgin Atlantic are partners but you can credit to American, Miles & More and others. You can also send your points to MeliaRewards which opens up new redemption options – including Avios transfers into Iberia Plus. Details of Wyndham airline partners are here.
Hotel offers update – April 2024:
Want to earn more hotel points? Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.
Want to buy hotel points?
- Hilton Honors is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points by 14th May 2024. Click here.
Chris 
Volker 
Andrew (@andrewseftel) 
Danny 
Armo 
Liz 
Luke 
Felix Flyer 
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