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Wyndham’s Award Chart Changes September 15—Why Booking Now Is a Free Hedge

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Quick Take: Wyndham Rewards changes its fixed award chart on September 15, 2026. Free nights will cost 5,000, 15,000, 30,000 or 45,000 points per bedroom per night, replacing today’s 7,500-, 15,000- and 30,000-point levels. Wyndham hasn’t released the hotel-by-hotel changes, so members can’t know which properties will rise or fall. The safest move for a real trip is to book by 11:59 p.m. ET on September 14: Wyndham will honor the old price if the hotel becomes more expensive and automatically refund the difference if it becomes cheaper. Don’t buy or transfer points speculatively—secure a refundable reservation you can actually use.

Wyndham Rewards is about to make its award chart cheaper at the bottom, more expensive at the top and uncertain almost everywhere in between.

Beginning September 15, free nights will start at 5,000 points instead of 7,500. That sounds great. The other side of the change is a new 45,000-point tier—50% above today’s 30,000-point ceiling—and Wyndham is redistributing hotels across all four levels.

The company still hasn’t published the property list. Fortunately, it has given members a booking rule that removes much of the guesswork.

The Old and New Wyndham Award Charts

Free Night Pricing:

  • Through September 14: 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points per bedroom per night.
  • Starting September 15: 5,000, 15,000, 30,000 or 45,000 points per bedroom per night.
  • Lowest-tier change: Down 2,500 points, or about 33%.
  • New highest tier: Up to 45,000 points, 50% above the current maximum.
  • Pricing model: Fixed tiers remain; Wyndham says it isn’t introducing dynamic or seasonal award pricing.

The two middle levels don’t change as numbers, but that doesn’t mean every 15,000- or 30,000-point hotel will stay put. Wyndham says many properties will remain at their current level while others will move up or down.

The “vast majority” will fall into the 5,000-, 15,000- and 30,000-point tiers. Only a small number of Wyndham’s most elevated hotels are expected to use the new 45,000-point price.

Wyndham Still Hasn’t Published the Hotel List

This is the frustrating part. Wyndham’s own FAQ says it can’t share which hotels will move at this time.

That means nobody can reliably tell you which current 30,000-point properties will become 45,000-point awards. It also means we don’t know which 7,500-point hotels will fall to 5,000 or whether a particular 15,000-point favorite could move to 30,000.

Lists circulating before September 15 should be treated as predictions unless Wyndham confirms them. A luxury brand name, high cash rate or all-inclusive label may make an increase look plausible, but it isn’t proof.

The Change Isn’t Automatically a Devaluation for Everyone

A traveler who regularly uses Wyndham points at higher-end resorts faces meaningful downside. A 30,000-point night moving to 45,000 costs 15,000 more points each night. A four-night stay would jump from 120,000 to 180,000 points.

Someone who uses inexpensive Wyndham properties could come out ahead. A hotel dropping from 7,500 to 5,000 saves 2,500 points per night; four nights would fall from 30,000 points to 20,000.

The right conclusion isn’t “good” or “bad” for the entire program. It’s “check the hotels you actually use.”

Booking Before the Deadline Is a Free Hedge

Wyndham will accept reservations under the current award chart through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 14.

If a booked hotel moves up on September 15, Wyndham will honor the original award price. If it moves down, Wyndham says it will automatically return the points difference.

That makes a pre-deadline reservation unusually one-sided in the member’s favor:

  • The hotel increases: keep the lower locked-in price.
  • The hotel decreases: receive the lower price through an automatic refund.
  • The hotel stays the same: nothing changes.

The protection belongs to the reservation, not to points sitting in an account. If you wait without booking, the entire balance becomes subject to the new chart.

Don’t book a trip you can’t safely cancel: Wyndham says points can be redeposited when a reservation is canceled according to the hotel’s policy. That doesn’t make every award booking risk-free. Check the property’s cancellation deadline, deposit rules and any non-points charges before confirming. Save the original price and cancellation terms in case they aren’t displayed the same way later.

What Happens to Existing Reservations?

An award reservation made before September 15 remains at its original price even when the stay takes place after the change.

Wyndham’s FAQ also says Member Services can modify the dates of an existing reservation. It can’t change the number of nights or switch the booking to a different hotel as a simple modification.

That distinction matters. Canceling and creating a new reservation after September 15 could expose the stay to the new tier and current availability. If you need only a date change, contact Wyndham before canceling anything and ask what price will apply.

If you need a different hotel or number of nights, price the new reservation first. Don’t assume the original award can be reshaped while preserving every protected term.

The New Rules Extend Beyond Ordinary Hotels

Wyndham says the tier changes apply to every property participating in Wyndham Rewards. That can include participating club resorts, vacation rentals and other non-hotel properties—not only familiar Days Inn, La Quinta, Ramada and Wyndham-branded hotels.

Free Night pricing remains per bedroom, per night. That wording is especially important for vacation rentals and multi-bedroom accommodations, where the required points can multiply with the number of bedrooms.

Check the complete price for the specific accommodation rather than taking a tier number and assuming it covers the entire unit.

Points + Cash Is Changing Too

Wyndham’s Discounted Nights option, often called Points + Cash or Go Fast, remains available under the four-tier structure.

Starting September 15, the points component will begin at:

  • 5,000-point tier: From 500 points plus cash.
  • 15,000-point tier: From 1,500 points plus cash.
  • 30,000-point tier: From 3,000 points plus cash.
  • 45,000-point tier: From 4,500 points plus cash.

“Starting at” is doing real work there. Wyndham’s FAQ shows multiple points-and-cash combinations within each tier, so the smallest points amount won’t necessarily pair with an attractive cash price.

Compare the full cash payment, taxes and points used against both a regular paid rate and a Free Night award. A tiny points requirement doesn’t automatically make a mixed payment a good redemption.

Should You Buy Wyndham Points Before September 15?

Only if you’ve found a specific reservation, confirmed the award availability and calculated the savings.

Wyndham is currently selling points with targeted bonuses of up to 90% through October 21, according to One Mile at a Time. The strongest version can bring the price to about 0.68 cents per point, but members may see a smaller 70% or 80% bonus.

The timing creates an obvious temptation: buy points now and hope to use them after the chart changes. That transfers all the risk to you. Wyndham hasn’t published the hotel movements, and purchased points don’t carry the price protection that a completed award reservation does.

Run this calculation before buying:

(Comparable cash price − unavoidable award fees) ÷ points required × 100 = cents of value per point.

Then compare that value with the actual purchase cost. ThePointsPage’s points valuation guide explains why the trip in front of you matters more than a generic published value.

Don’t Transfer Flexible Points Until the Room Is Ready

If your rewards program can transfer to Wyndham, don’t move points solely because the chart deadline is approaching. Transfers are generally one-way, while hotel availability and account processing can change.

First find the exact dates, confirm the live Wyndham award price and review the cancellation policy. Transfer only the amount needed, then complete the booking while the room remains available.

The Transfer Bonus Master List can help identify active promotions, and the Points & Miles Bonus Calculator can work backward from the Wyndham balance required. Always confirm the current transfer ratio and timing directly with the sending program.

A Five-Day Wyndham Checklist

  1. Search real travel: Start with trips you expect to take within Wyndham’s available booking window.
  2. Record today’s price: Save the hotel, room type, dates, points total and cash charges.
  3. Read the property policy: Note the local cancellation deadline and any deposit or resort fee.
  4. Check the points balance: Confirm the points are available before relying on a transfer or purchase.
  5. Book by 11:59 p.m. ET September 14: Earlier is safer if the reservation matters.
  6. Save the confirmation: Keep screenshots showing the award cost and cancellation terms.
  7. Recheck after September 15: Look for the new public price and any automatic points refund.
  8. Contact Wyndham if needed: Missing refunds or date-only changes may require Member Services.

The free Award Trip Planning Checklist can keep hotel comparisons, points balances and cancellation deadlines together. The Tools of the Trade guide is useful for monitoring the Wyndham balance and reservation after the chart changes.

Getting to the Point(s)

Wyndham’s new chart isn’t a simple across-the-board increase. The cheapest Free Night falls from 7,500 to 5,000 points, while the most expensive rises from 30,000 to 45,000. Fixed pricing remains, which is better than watching the same hotel bounce around with every cash-rate change.

The uncertainty is the problem. Wyndham hasn’t identified which hotels are moving, so members can’t make a property-by-property comparison before the deadline.

Fortunately, the booking protection solves most of that problem for a trip you genuinely want. Reserve by September 14, keep the old price if the hotel rises and receive the difference if it falls. Just don’t confuse a smart refundable reservation with permission to buy a pile of points and hope the math works later.

Lock In the Trip—Then Track the Details

Use the free planning checklist to compare Wyndham’s cash and points prices, record the cancellation deadline and save the award details before September 15. For a more complicated points trip, thePointsPage can help review the hotel and transportation pieces before you commit.

Sources & Further Reading

This article reflects information available on September 10, 2026. Wyndham Rewards has not published the hotel-by-hotel tier changes, so specific increases and decreases remain unknown until Wyndham provides them or the new pricing appears. Award availability, cancellation policies, Points + Cash amounts, transfer ratios, point-purchase offers and participating properties can change. Verify the live price and terms in your Wyndham account before buying or transferring points or changing a reservation.

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