This is where we stayed in July for $84/night via Wyndham.
I’ve reached my limit on the “new and improved” Wyndham credit card talk as I’ve been quietly hacking them for over 15 years. Endless Vacation Rentals (EVR) is owned by Wyndham, who also owns RCI timeshare. EVR rents out their inventory at often jaw-droppingly low prices. I’ve rented 2 bedroom apartments in Ireland for $500/week and the castle above, Schloss Grubhof, hosted us for a week in July for $84/night. This August we spent $279 for a WEEK in Hawaii in a 2 bedroom Wyndham condo.
Much of the talk you’re seeing now on the larger units now “only” 15,000 points a night I’ve been renting for as low as $35/night via EVR and SkyAuction. Using EVR is pretty straighforward: you just pick a week you like and buy it. Here’s a post detailing how I use Skyauction.
If you’re military or a vet, you’ve got an even better option: $349 weeks through AFV club. First responder? Try Heroes Vacation Club.
I’m having trouble visualizing how a Wyndham card makes sense, even for nightly rentals, when their weeks go so cheaply. With a few exceptions (TRYP for example) you’ll find Wyndham properties on EVR for much less. Even on a 4 night stay you might be better off buying the week, especially if you find it on Skyauction. The one downside? No cancellation. Only buy with trips you have committed.
PLEASE take a good look at EVR before you consider applying for the Wyndham credit card or buying Wyndham points. Once you do, you might agree with me that it’s a terrible value for a credit pull compared to so many other cards out there. (And if you’re a blogger, please add the EVR info to your post as you’re doing your readers a dis-service without it.)
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share in the comments.
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The card has good value for my Wife & I. We both got the card last week. The AF & MS cost for 94K points is $157.80. That’s 6 nights for $26.30 per night @ any Wyndham. We can MS nights for just under $60. Best options for hotel stays IMO since the demise of REDbird.
Hi David, glad it’s working for you. I still encourage you to look at EVR and SkyAuction as I’ve paid less than $420 many times for a week. I just can’t wonder if that MS is best done elsewhere.
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What is EVR?
Hi Jonathan,
EVR=Endless Vacation Rentals. Should have put that in parenthesis the first time I used it. Sorry!
Hey, Dia! I just had to chime in, couldn’t resist. First, I’m so glad you’ve mentioned EVR and SkyAuction. Not enough is said on alternatives to using hotel points, especially when it comes to family travel. Those sites can absolutely beat award redemptions 90% of the time, especially for 4+ night stays.
That said, I just got Wyndham cards for me and my husband. Here is why:
1. Barclay uses Transunion. Citi and Chase pull other agencies in my state, so I can afford an extra Transunion pull or two.
2. We live within close proximity of 3 (semi-nice) beachfront Wyndham hotels. Sure, they aren’t fancy, but are located right on the beach. So, just one card will give me 3 nights at one of those (well, for $69 fee). Of course, I plan to redeem the points during Spring Break or holidays to maximize value, plus that’s when my husband has extra days off that are not used up for our main vacations.
3. We like to do 2-night stays with an option to cancel, so EVR site isn’t useful in this case.
4. I figured we might as well apply now to start the clock on renewal certs. For $69 per night, a beachfront hotel is a good deal even in the off-season.
5. I’m running low on hotel points at the moment and have a ton of miles, so this seemed like a logical thing to do.
6. The spending to get the full bonus is $1,000, fairly low.
Anyway, that’s my situation, and I’m not saying that this card makes sense for everyone. It is more of a niche product, so I recommend everyone has an idea on where they will use the points SOON. I think for most folks, Arrival with 40K points bonus is far superior when it comes to Barclay offers. But it requires $3,000 minimum spend, hard for some families to manage. BTW I play to get it later on this year as well.
I also suspect some sort of correction will happen eventually with this new Wyndham scheme. I just don’t see how they can give away a 2-bedroom rental in Kauai for 15,000 points indefinitely. Talk about a super deal! I suspect the nicest properties will eventually add some sort of a surcharge when redeeming points or just stop participating altogether. In all likelihood, the program will be very different in a few years, and not in a good way. But right now, it’s pretty darn attractive.
Also, I don’t plan to use the card for ongoing spend, the math just doesn’t make sense to me. Of course, most of my spending goes to sign up bonuses anyway. Just my two cents.
Hi Leana,
Nice to see you! My headline was a bit click-baity, I admit, and in very selected situations the card may make sense. The transunion pull especially adds to the appeal. That said, I totally agree with you on not doing daily spend- so many better options.
Not sure I get why you don’t think its worth a pull.
reading the following , you could get anywhere between $1000 and $2000 of value for the three nights
http://www.doctorofcredit.com/best-wyndham-properties-to-use-15000-points-for-a-free-night/
The all inclusive resorts look fantastic for a long weekend away.
I’ve stayed (and paid for) enough Wyndhams to set the value at $150/night, tops. I think the all inclusive is a loophole that will close soon. So many cards out there provide better value.
Do you think all the other properties listed on the page will go away too?
Surely the point is its value now?
Your argument is that they “may” close the loophole.
Doesn’t Hyatt have essentially the same deal where you can get two nights at any property worldwide. They haven’t closed that loophole?
My counter argument is that you can currently get way more value than $150/night just looking at that list of properties.
Just too many HoJos and Ramadas for me to recommend it. Sure, you can cherry pick any program, but on a whole it’s a terrible card in my opinion. But like many other things, everyone has one😃
Surely the very essence of this website is about good “deals”
Deals by their very nature are “cherry picked” from the general population of things on offer. That’s what makes them deals.
You have mentioned Ramandas and HoJos which is the reverse of cherry picked.
Its picking the worst scenario/value for the points on offer.
Im sure anyone on here could go to any credit card offer and find a terrible way of spending the points on offer.
Maybe your blog headline/posts are just trying to stir the pot.
Well, I have been known to get my spoon in from time to time! My main goal, however, is to educate. Thanks for contributing to the discussion.
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We get the card for one reason….Koloa Landing in Kauai. I am on my second card and just received another 45K. I discovered this gem when I bought points a few years ago from Daily Getaways. These units are not like any other timeshare. These are million dollar condos. And even though a lot of times you book a one bedroom with points you get upgraded to a 2 or 3 bedroom.
These rooms go for $500 plus a night. In addition to being huge with high end furnishings, they have A/C (which not all condos have on Kauai). Not like any timeshare out there.
Personally I don’t think the 15k will last at all properties. Koloa Landing used to be 30K. Then they went to Wyndham and demanded more because they felt that they weren’t getting enough compensation. They then moved to 50K a night. Now they are at 15k? Not sure how long it will last.
We used to stay at the Grand Hyatt in Kauai…but after staying at Koloa Landing a few times we will make this our “place to stay” in Kauai. And with the card giving me 45K I will get 3 free nights. That is worth $1400 at least to me…
I have used Armed Forces Vacation Club to book condos in Florida…but because we have a school age child they just don’t seem to work out for us anymore.
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for sharing your specific property find- I’m sure it will be helpful to many.
(and I agree it’s a bit more challenging using EVR when you’re on a school calendar, but it can be done. It’s just more time consuming as you have to stalk the site.)