I explain why the new Wyndham Business credit card with Barclays bank is a fantastic offer!

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Rough Transcript:

Surprise, surprise, it’s a new credit card and not just another personal credit card, but a business credit card with a great signup bonus of 45,000, you guessed it, Wyndham points for only $1000 in spending across three months. According to Wyndham’s website, if using only points for Wyndham stays, expect to spend either 7500, 15,000, or 30,000 points per night depending on the property. If staying at a property for 7500 points a night, that’s precisely six nights from the signup bonus!

A quick search of the Philadelphia area for a Friday night a month from now shows Wyndham properties’ cash rates ranging from around $75 to $125. For some math, because America loves math, 7500 points for $75 would be one cent per point assuming you’d otherwise pay $75 a night to stay.

A quick search for New York shows a more expensive Wyndham property with a price of $226 a night for 30,000 points. For this New York location at 30,000 points a night, that’s less about eight-tenths of a cent per point. Another location, Ramada by Wyndham Bronx, is $147 a night, but still 30,000 points, so the value per point is far lower. Howard Johnson by Wyndham Long Island City is a 15,000 point property with a cash rate of $100, so that’s about seven-tenths of a cent per point.

Now I’ll mention, after my other calculations, that you get a 10% discount on points redemptions for Wyndham hotel stays with this credit card, so really embrace the math here! It’s easier to first deal with amounts like 7,000, 15,000, and 30,000, so I won’t complicate this more than it needs to be complicated.

Hotel points rates may vary depending on the property, day of the week, location, and other factors, so your mileage may vary. Sadly, you may be on the hook for taxes on hotel stays. Wyndham’s website, anyway, says taxes may apply even if you use points to pay. Let’s say, then, on average, when staying at Wyndham properties, if you use points well, you get about eight-tenths of a cent per point. The goal should be using the fewest amount of points possible for the highest cash rate property if you’re looking to get the most value by taking a so-called budget stay. You can also use points plus cash for a stay, but I won’t delve much into this option because the value of points is even lower – avoid this when you can.

Rather than using Wyndham points for stays at Wyndham properties, I see much more value in transferring Wyndham points to Caesars Rewards for Reward Credits; that’s what I would do with this card. I have Diamond status with Caesars, find incredible rates for Caesars hotels, frequent Atlantic City and Las Vegas, and stretch Reward Credits a long way. Wyndham points transfer 1:1 to Caesars Rewards, so here we’re getting 45,000 Reward Credits or $450 in casino comps for transferring 45,000 Wyndham points.

Especially interesting with Caesars Rewards, for those with Caesars Diamond status, is access to Caesars’ Laurel Lounges, typically offering all-you-can-eat and all the alcohol you can drink. I say typically because the current pandemic puts a damper on availability, but at least in Atlantic City, I had a three-course meal and all you can drink for the low price of 1000 Reward Credits or $10 in comps. If you’d pay $10 to enter a Laurel Lounge, we’re getting one cent per point of value with transferred Wyndham points. If you’d pay $15 to enter a lounge, you get 1.5 cents per point since you’re using 1000 points or $10 in comps for $15 in value.

Better yet, having Caesars Diamond status will very likely reduce hotel rates for you. I’ll be staying at Bally’s and Flamingo in Las Vegas later this year for only $10 a night or 1000 transferred Wyndham points – there’s terrific value. Caesars Diamond members, too, pay no resort fees, get free parking, free valet when restrictions lessen, and many other benefits. 

You can use Reward Credits for purchases at restaurants, gift shops, outlets, and so much more. The value of points then fluctuates, especially if you buy overpriced food or items. Sadly, you can only transfer 30,000 Wyndham points to Caesars Rewards per year, but that’s not a low cap. In the second year, you’ll be able to transfer remaining points from the signup bonus, and maybe you’ll mix redemptions between stays at Wyndham hotels and transfers to Caesars.

Now that we have a grasp of what Wyndham points can be worth, we can see that a 45,000 point signup bonus can easily be worth $450, especially when used in conjunction with Caesars.

If you don’t already have Diamond status with Caesars, this Wyndham credit card automatically gives you Diamond status with Wyndham. At the recording time of this episode, Wyndham Diamond matches to Caesars Diamond status. You can then conga line your way to MGM Gold status and possibly other statuses with Hyatt and American Airlines. Also at the time I’m recording, Wyndham Diamond status is harder to get since Hilton Gold and above no longer guarantees Wyndham Diamond status.

Thanks for making it to near the halfway point of this episode. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe if you’re listening through YouTube. If you’re listening to this as a podcast episode, subscribe to my feed in your favorite podcast platform, leave a review, and share the episode found at hurdygurdytravel.com. Back to the show!

What are some other features of this Wyndham business card? You get 8x points per dollar spent on purchases at gas stations and Wyndham hotels. Frequent listeners of this show know that I don’t focus much on category return, but this 8x excites me because I see lots of potential at my favorite gas station Speedway with an effective $40 back of Caesars Rewards on $500 in spending, wow! 

You get 5x points on charges for utilities, marketing, and advertising services, and this is surprisingly a broad category. I’ll read from the terms, “Qualifying marketing and advertising service purchases include but are not limited to purchases from Google Ad Words, Facebook, and other digital advertising platforms; merchants that prepare and place advertising in various media (newspapers, radio, television); coupon and/or sample distribution; and other marketing and advertising purchases as identified by the merchant category codes. Qualifying utility purchases are defined as telecommunications services, cable, satellite, electric, gas, heating oil and water, as identified by the merchant category code.”

…and you get 1x points on all other spending. This card, then, likely won’t be used much for spending outside a bonus category, but that’s okay. Of course, having multiple credit cards is great, so this 1x isn’t a dealbreaker considering the other great perks and earnings from this card.

This Wyndham credit card has a $95 annual fee not waived in the first year, but that’s no problem because we have fantastic value in year one. In years two and beyond, you get an anniversary bonus of 15,000 points which is really generous especially compared to other so-called hotel credit cards that offer nothing or limiting free night certificates. Here, with the anniversary bonus, you can stay two nights at many Wyndham hotels and still enjoy a 10% point rebate or just transfer to Caesars for 15,000 Reward Credits likely worth more than $150. What a keeper card! The Caesars Rewards Visa credit card has nothing on this!

You also have other benefits with this Wyndham credit card: waived foreign transaction fees, reduced cash rates at Wyndham hotels, and options to transfer Wyndham points for gift cards, online shopping purchases, and tours and activities. Redeeming points outside stays with Wyndham and transfers to Caesars Rewards will probably give low value, but maybe future promotions will offer good value. Options are useful even if you don’t prioritize them.

Overall, we have a big winner here with the Wyndham Rewards Earner business credit card, especially for gamblers and people who will stay at both Wyndham and Caesars properties. I don’t aim for luxury when I travel, so stays at Las Vegas properties like Bally’s and Flamingo are fine for me. Who knows, maybe I’d even stay at a Ramada, Super 8, or Days Inn with Wyndham, although I’d likely just transfer everything to Caesars. Again, the options are nice to have. 

In year one, we have $450 just from the signup bonus. Subtract a $95 annual fee, add points earned from 8x on gas spending, some 2x on the utility and more category, some 1x on other spend, and 10% points rebate on points stays at Wyndham hotels. We’re well ahead in year one and have tons of ongoing value in years two and beyond – this absolutely won’t be a sock-drawered card once getting the signup bonus. There’s also more value in my eyes because this is a business credit card!

Suppose I had a choice between a good offer for a personal credit card and a business credit card both with high chances of approval. In that case, I’ll almost always favor the business credit card because this isn’t an opened account on one’s personal credit report and high usage doesn’t tank personal credit scores. 

Those still yearning for Chase credit cards can also stay under Chase’s infamous 5/24 rule when getting this card. New listeners should know that five or more opened credit cards on one’s personal credit report will almost always disqualify one from getting Chase credit cards. For more advantages of business credit cards, listen to episode 51 of this show: Advantages of Business Credit Cards. For more on Chase’s 5/24 rule, listen to episode 35.

As I mentioned earlier in this episode, Barclays bank issues the Wyndham business card. Barclays also issues the great Jet Blue Business and American Airlines Aviator Business cards, two cards I have, so you might have difficult choices to make if you have no Barclay’s cards. Usually, you can only get one Barclays card every six months. 

Since this Wyndham card is new, I’d lean towards getting this card while the 45k signup bonus is still available. Bonuses on the Aviator and Jet Blue cards have remained high, but I’d rather not tempt fate and see the Wyndham offer drop. One can also get American Airlines miles through Citi credit cards. JetBlue miles can come from American Express especially when using the Business Platinum 35% rebate on points when booking JetBlue points through the Amex travel portal if JetBlue is your selected preferred airline.

Wyndham and Caesars Reward Credits are harder to come by, so maybe that’s another argument for preferring the Wyndham business card with Barclays before getting other business cards with Barclays.

Approval with Barclays may not be super easy, but for me, it required answering some questions about my business during a phone call and then mailing documents to verify my identity – well worth the effort. You should have a business, though, before applying, and you can do this by establishing an LLC through IncFile.com, that’s I-N-C-F-I-L-E.com. 

For more on business credit, listen to episode 12 of my podcast with business coach Cakeologi. In this credit card space, it’s well worth it to establish a business. At the very least, you get more credit cards and bank account bonuses. You don’t need a multi-million dollar brick-and-mortar operation either. My new business and several reporting tradelines or accounts helped me get the Barclays Aviator card weeks ago, and I’m now at 72,000 miles with American Airlines.

Barclays can be strict with approvals, sometimes enforcing a 6/24 rule similar to Chase’s 5/24 rule and sometimes frowning on multiple credit card inquiries in the last six months, so time your applications accordingly. Here in Pennsylvania, Barclay’s pulled the Transunion credit bureau. I’d say it can be worth waiting if you have many inquiries in recent months on the bureau Barclay’s pulls. I combined a US Bank inquiry (a bank also usually sensitive when it comes to inquiries) with my Barclays inquiry and was successful in getting Altitude Reserve and Aviator!

Hopefully, like me, you’ll find excellent value in the new Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card. I hope to apply in 2021 — six months after my Barclays Aviator approval — if the signup bonus remains strong. I’m not interested in the personal Wyndham cards with Barclays because the business offer is much, much, much stronger, but maybe they can be okay options in later 2021. I may review the other cards in a later episode rather than turning this episode into two episodes.

What are your thoughts? Have any questions? Feel free to leave them below in the comment sections or on my website!

Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more content!

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Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with Cakeologi to formally establish your business, build business credit, and get premium business credit cards. When you select from various paid services after the free consultation, I will receive credit for referring you. Listen to Cakeologi on episode twelve of my podcast. Visit his websites at cakeologi.com – that’s c-a-k-e-o-l-o-g-i and burstbiz.com – b-u-r-s-t-b-i-z and tell him I sent you. E-mail him youtube@cakeologi.com