Last updated: August 2026. Sign-up bonuses and fees change often — confirm the current offer on the issuer's page before you apply.
The Wyndham Rewards Earner® Plus Card (Barclays) is the road-tripper's hotel card. Wyndham runs the budget end of American lodging — La Quinta, Days Inn, Super 8, Microtel, Ramada, Baymont and more, roughly 9,000 hotels — on a flat award chart where most properties cost the same modest number of points. This card discounts that chart 10%, hands you 15,000 points every anniversary, and starts you at Diamond status. It suits anyone whose travel is highways, not resorts. (Wyndham has no wider card-family guide on KritDeals — this card is the one to know.)
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At a glance
| Annual fee | $95 (raised from $75 in the June 2026 refresh — verify) |
| Sign-up bonus | Up to 100,000 points: 45,000 after $1,000 in 90 days + 55,000 after $500 at Wyndham in 180 days (verify current offer) |
| Bonus value | ~$900 at our 0.9¢ valuation |
| Best for | Road-trippers and budget-stay travelers |
| Points earned | Wyndham Rewards |
| Foreign transaction fee | None |
| Card network | Visa |
Apply Now → see the current offer · View card details →
What the points are worth
We value Wyndham points at 0.9¢ each, and the reason is the thing that makes this programme likable: flat pricing. A standard "go free" award night costs 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points — that's the whole chart — and as an Earner Plus cardholder you redeem 10% fewer points: 6,750 / 13,500 / 27,000.
CPP formula: (cash − taxes) ÷ points × 100 = ¢ per point.
Worked example: a La Quinta pricing at $135/night for 13,500 points with the card discount: (135 − 0) ÷ 13,500 × 100 = 1.0¢ — above baseline, at exactly the kind of interstate-exit hotel you'd actually book. Flat pricing means the play is simple: redeem where cash rates are high, pay cash where they're low.
Where your points can go
Points book any of Wyndham's ~9,000 hotels worldwide, plus Caesars Rewards destinations (the two programmes share earning and redemption). One honest warning: the famous Vacasa vacation-rental redemption is gone — Wyndham's partnership with Vacasa ended December 1, 2025 (final checkouts by January 31, 2026), and no replacement vacation-rental partner has been announced. Older articles still selling this card on Vacasa are out of date.
Earning rates
| Rate | Category |
|---|---|
| 6x | Hotels by Wyndham (and Wyndham vacation club purchases) |
| 4x | Travel, dining, and groceries (excluding Target and Walmart) |
| 1x | Everything else |
The June 2026 refresh reshuffled this: gas was dropped from the bonus categories and travel was added — a downgrade for the literal road-tripper's fuel spend, an upgrade for everything else. At 0.9¢/point, 4x on groceries is an effective 3.6% back in Wyndham value, which quietly beats most grocery earning anywhere.
Benefits & credits
- 15,000 anniversary points every year (doubled from 7,500 in the refresh) — worth ~$135 at our valuation, more than the $95 fee, and exactly one discounted mid-tier award night.
- Diamond status for your first year, Platinum thereafter — Diamond adds suite upgrades when available, early check-in and late checkout, and the ability to gift Gold to someone once a year.
- 10% off all go free award redemptions — 6,750 / 13,500 / 27,000 instead of 7,500 / 15,000 / 30,000.
- A free night (up to 15,000 points value) after 5 qualifying nights in a calendar year — new in the refresh; verify the qualifying-night terms.
- $50 annual meal-delivery credit ($25 per six-month period — verify merchants).
- Cardmember rate discount on paid Wyndham bookings.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Best uses (sweet spots), with examples
1. The anniversary-points annuity. 15,000 points a year covers a 13,500-point discounted award night outright. Hold the card, pay the fee, get a ~$120–150 hotel night annually — the card is net-positive before you spend a dollar on it.
2. High-season road trips. Flat pricing shines when cash rates spike: a $180 event-weekend or national-park-gateway night at 13,500 points is 1.33¢/point, nearly 50% above baseline. Same points as a $70 Tuesday — so spend them on the expensive nights.
3. The welcome bonus as a week of stays. 100,000 points at the discounted 6,750–13,500 rates is 7–14 award nights at budget properties — arguably more free travel volume than any similarly-fee'd hotel card bonus.
4. Grocery spend as hotel nights. 4x on groceries means an ordinary $500/month grocery bill throws off 24,000 points a year — nearly two more mid-tier nights.
Fine print worth knowing
- Wyndham points expire two ways: after 18 months of inactivity, and — unusually — a hard 4-year expiry from when they were earned regardless of activity. Don't stockpile; this is a currency to earn and burn.
- The Caesars status-match loophole closed: since February 1, 2025, Wyndham Platinum/Diamond obtained solely from holding this card is no longer eligible to match into Caesars Rewards. Older guides still advertise that play — it's gone for cardholders.
- The June 2026 refresh split terms: existing cardholders may keep different fees/benefits than new applicants for a time — verify what applies to you.
- Resort and premium properties price at the 30,000 tier (27,000 with the card), and some high-demand properties restrict award availability.
- Barclays applies its own approval and bonus-eligibility rules; the bonus typically isn't available if you currently hold or recently held the card — verify offer terms.
Who should get it
Get the Earner Plus if your travel map is interstates, small towns and event weekends — places where a clean $130 La Quinta is the market — and you'll bank the anniversary points every year. It's also a great points-volume bonus for anyone starting out.
Skip it if your taste runs to aspirational hotels (a World of Hyatt card earns a far richer currency) or if you want European city redemptions — the Choice Privileges Select covers that ground better. See where budget-hotel points fit your plan in your Points Path.
Bottom line
The Wyndham Earner Plus is the best card in points for what it actually is: cheap, predictable hotel nights at flat prices, a 10% member discount on all of them, and an anniversary deposit that out-earns the fee on its own. The Vacasa era is over — but the core road-trip math never depended on it. Track your balance and expiry clocks in your Rewards Wallet.
Apply Now → see the current offer
Related: Choice Privileges Select guide · World of Hyatt card guide · How much are your points worth?
