Many of the best Chase credit cards are a bit more useful with the addition of Wyndham Rewards as a transfer partner. The question is, how much more useful?
Having more options is always better. But Wyndham Rewards redemptions are often less valuable than cashing out your Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points for 1 cent each and booking the same Wyndham hotel. In other words, transferring Chase points to Wyndham doesn't always make sense.
Let's take a brief look at what you can do with the Wyndham Rewards program and how to earn Wyndham points.
What are Wyndham points good for?
Wyndham is the fourth Chase Ultimate Rewards® hotel partner and 14th overall. It has a simple redemption structure: Award nights cost 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points. You can also pay with points and cash, but be sure to do the math; it may not be a better value per point than paying entirely with points.
There's a lot of potential value in the simplicity of this program. At 7,500 points per night, it's possible to turn the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's (see rates and fees) 75,000-point welcome bonus (earned after spending $5,000 in the first three months) into a 10-night stay.
When comparing Wyndham to other Chase hotel partners, World of Hyatt is more lucrative — but its program is more complicated (and growing more complex soon). Wyndham, on the other hand, has more than 5X the number of locations, and there are situations where Wyndham redemptions are worth more than 1 cent each.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase's travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- $50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase TravelSM
- 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Wyndham hotels include budget options, like Days Inn and AmericInn, as well as luxury resorts, such as Wyndham Grand and Dolce Hotels and Resorts. Wyndham also has a partnership with Caesars Rewards that allows you to use Wyndham points to book stays at Caesars' properties.
Whenever you're considering booking a Wyndham hotel, compare the points and cash price to ensure you're getting 1 cent per point or more in value. Since Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points can be redeemed at a fixed 1 cent per point for statement credits or through Chase Travel℠, transferring to Wyndham only makes sense if you're getting 1 cent (or more) per point.
Credit cards that earn Wyndham points
There are three co-branded Wyndham cards worth applying for if you like staying at Wyndham properties, as you'll get perks like automatic elite status and a 10% discount on award stays:
- Wyndham Rewards Earner® Card
- Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card
- Wyndham Rewards Earner® Business Card
In addition to Chase Ultimate Rewards®, you can also transfer Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou® Points to Wyndham Rewards.
Cards like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Citi Strata Premier® Card both transfer to Wyndham at a 1:1 ratio. But transferring to Wyndham can be a low-value option, as noted, and both of these cards offer other ways to book Wyndham hotels for 1 cent per point/mile. Do the math to ensure you're not losing value by taking advantage of Wyndham transfers.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a reasonable annual fee and earns flexible travel rewards, which makes it a great travel card for beginners or heavy travelers.
- Valuable welcome offer worth at least $750 in travel
- You can transfer miles to over 15 Capital One partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- No foreign transaction fees
- Lacks ongoing travel benefits such as statement credits or lounge access
- Limited bonus spending category that only applies to certain Capital One Travel bookings
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app
Balance transfer fee
$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
Foreign transaction fee
None
The Citi Strata Premier® Card has competitive rewards rates and unlocks access to all of the Citi ThankYou® transfer partners, which boosts the value of your points.
- Unlocks point transfers to all of the Citi ThankYou® partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges, Flying Blue and more
- Generous bonus spending categories include dining, supermarkets, hotels and flights
- Valuable welcome bonus
- Has an annual fee
- Car rental coverage is secondary, not primary
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
- Earn 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com.
- Earn 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- $100 Annual Hotel Benefit: Once per calendar year, enjoy $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when booked through CitiTravel.com. Benefit applied instantly at time of booking.
- No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card
- No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases
Balance transfer fee
Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
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