How to Maximize Wyndham Points with Vacation Rentals

One hotel loyalty program that seems to get overlooked is Wyndham. With a wide range of properties, Wyndham Rewards has a lot to offer, particularly for those looking to book vacation rentals on points.

In early 2021, Wyndham greatly expanded its portfolio by making points bookings available for Vacasa properties. Vacasa is a vacation rental site, much like Airbnb and VRBO, that allows members to rent entire homes for days at a time. Its operations are in North America, Costa Rica and Belize.

Here's a look at how to maximize Wyndham points with vacation rentals.

What you need to know

Expect to pay 15,000 points per bedroom

You’ll pay 15,000 points per bedroom, per night when you redeem Wyndham points for Vacasa rentals.

What does this mean in practice? It means that you can find entire homes in highly desirable vacation markets for just 15,000 points a night. It also means — since these are full-sized properties — that you can take advantage of different layouts to find homes that’ll sleep as many as eight people for those same 15,000 points per night. (Some people in your group might have to sleep on a sofa bed or in a loft.)

Compare that with Wyndham’s fixed award chart for stays at hotels, which require from 7,500 to 30,000 points per night. Most hotel rooms can fit only four people max, so the Vacasa option is a great way to maximize the value of your points for groups.

Find one-bedroom sweet spots for large groups

You can truly maximize Wyndham points with vacation rentals. How? To limit your search to properties that’ll run 15,000 points per night, first set a filter to one-bedroom properties only.

Now that the filter is in place, what comes up? Here’s a ski-in property in Vail, Colorado, that features a community hot tub and sleeps up to eight:

As you can see, rates can range from $225 to $2,504 per night. It has one king bed in a bedroom and two queen beds in a loft — making the cost for this a one-bedroom property just 15,000 points per night. Even at its cheapest rate, you’re redeeming Wyndham points at a rate of 1.5 cents each, well above NerdWallet's Wyndham points valuation of 1.2 cents each.

Here’s a one-bedroom property in San Diego. It sleeps up to four and is located just blocks from the Pacific Ocean:

As you can see, rates vary from $146 to $579 each night, but will cost you 15,000 Wyndham points.

Here’s a property, located on Kauai, Hawaii, which sleeps up to eight people and goes for as much as $888 per night:

Tips for booking with Wyndham Rewards

This all sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. While this is an excellent value proposition for your points, there are some hurdles you’ll need to jump over to make these bookings. To make this easier, here are some tips:

• Keep your dates and properties flexible. Since we aren’t able to see blackout dates online, having flexible dates can give you a higher chance of success when booking.

• Call Wyndham’s specific number to book: 866-996-7937. As this is a newer option, some representatives may be unfamiliar with the system. If this is the case, don’t be afraid to hang up and call back later.

• Remember that Wyndham points expire. If you’re transferring points to Wyndham, be sure to do so with a specific redemption in mind. Otherwise, points could go to waste if you don’t use them within 18 months.

How to redeem your Wyndham points with Vacasa

To search for rentals, head to Vacasa’s website:

Then, enter your information, including location and dates of travel.

Vacasa’s website will bring up all available rentals meeting your requirements:

Depending on your filters, you’ll likely have many different options available. Take note of which properties you’d like to book.

From there, call 866-996-7937 and give your dates and preferred rentals to a customer service representative. Unfortunately, Vacasa rentals aren't available to book online.

Since blackout dates are a real possibility, it’s a good idea to identify several properties before contacting Wyndham’s customer service. During the call, they’ll let you know available properties and book them for you.

How to earn Wyndham points

To book these 15,000-point vacation rentals, you’ll need to earn Wyndham points. Here are some of your options.

Earn by staying

As would seem obvious, you can earn Wyndham points by staying at Wyndham properties. The number of points you’ll earn depends on your elite status level with Wyndham:

» Learn more: The complete guide to Wyndham Rewards elite status

Earn by transferring points

If you have any Capital One cards that earn transferable Capital One miles, such as the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you can choose to transfer those miles to Wyndham at a 1:1 ratio.

Also, due to a reciprocal relationship with Caesars Entertainment, you can choose to transfer Caesars Rewards credits to Wyndham at a 1:1 ratio. It’s a slow process, though, and it may take six to eight weeks.

» Learn more: Benefits of the Wyndham loyalty program

Earn by spending on credit cards

Wyndham has several credit cards available, and each of them allows you to earn Wyndham points when making purchases:

• Wyndham Rewards Earner® Card (annual fee: $0): Earn 30,000 bonus points, enough for up to 4 free nights after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. Plus earn 5x points per dollar on Wyndham hotels and gas, and 2x points per dollar on restaurants, grocery stores and eligible timeshares.

• Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card (annual fee: $75): Earn 45,000 bonus points, enough for up to 6 free nights after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days. Plus, earn 6x points on Wyndham hotels and gas, and 4x points on restaurants and grocery stores.

• Wyndham Rewards® Earner℠ Business Credit Card (annual fee: $95): Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 90 days and earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on purchases within the first 12 months. Free nights can require up to 30,000 points per bedroom at participating properties and are subject to availability. Resort fees may apply and cannot be paid with points. Plus, earn 8x points per dollar on Wyndham hotels and gas and 5x points per dollar on marketing, advertising and utilities.

» Learn more: The best hotel credit cards right now

Wyndham’s vacation rental sweet spot