Wyndham 2024 Award Category Changes

Wyndham 2024 Award Category Changes

Wyndham Rewards will undergo its annual award pricing adjustment on March 26, 2024. During this update, three percent of hotels are slated to transition to a higher tier, while four percent will move to a lower one. On top of that there’s another Vacasa devaluation that makes these properties even more expensive to book with Wyndham Rewards points.

Hotel Category Changes

Wyndham Rewards hotel category changes are set to take effect on Tuesday, March 26. The majority of Wyndham’s portfolio, consisting of approximately 9,200 hotels, will remain unchanged in tiers. Only 3% of hotels will ascend to a higher tier, while 4% will transition to a lower tier.

You don’t have to rush and book those properties that will change categories. For members who book a hotel with points before the refresh and encounter a subsequent shift to a higher tier, the original booking rate will be honored. Additionally, if a member books a hotel with points before the refresh, and the hotel subsequently moves to a lower tier, Wyndham will proactively adjust the booking to reflect the lower rate.

Vacasa Devaluation

The real bad news in this announcement the new pricing for Vacasa award bookings.  There’s another devaluation coming later in March, just months after the devaluation back in October 2023.

Beginning March 26, Wyndham will make it “easy for members to figure out how many points they need for a rental”.

Here’s how it will work:

• Vacasa bookings will be available at both 15,000 pts/bedroom/night and 30,000 pts/bedroom/night.

Which tier a rental falls into will be determined by the rental’s average cost of a bedroom per night, inclusive of all taxes and fees.

• Rentals with an average cost of $250/night will be 15,000 pts/bedroom/night.
• Rentals with an average cost of $500/night will be 30,000 pts/bedroom/night.

With the previous devaluation, the value you could get for your Wyndham Rewards points was capped to about 2.6 cents. Now you can get up to 1.8 cents per point, which is a far cry from the early days when you could get between 3-4cpp.

Members can browse rentals and availability directly on Vacasa’s website, here. In order to book, members need to call 800-441-1034 with the details of their preferred rental and the dates they want to stay. Member Services will then complete the booking and provide confirmation details.

HT: Loyalty Lobby