Booking Vacasa Vacation Rentals can be an excellent use for Wyndham points. For those interested in booking vacation rentals, this post has everything you need to know…
Intro to booking Vacasa rentals with Wyndham points
In 2019, Vacasa (a vacation rental management company) bought Wyndham Vacation Rentals. And in February 2021, Wyndham Rewards made it possible to redeem points for any of Vacasa’s more than 15,000 vacation rental properties.
Wyndham prices vacation rental free nights at 15,000 or 30,000 points per bedroom per night depending upon the cash rate of the stay. It’s possible to get up to 1.67 cents per point value when redeeming points this way. Actually, if you have one of the three Wyndham Earner cards which offer 10% award discounts, you could get up to 1.85 cents per point value. Either way, if you consider that Wyndham often sells their points for around 1 cent each, it’s clear that this can be a very good opportunity.
Point Price
Vacasa Vacation Rentals cost either 15,000 or 30,000 points per bedroom per night. The number of points required for your stay depends upon the average cost per bedroom per night for your stay, inclusive of fees:
- Up to $250 per bedroom per night: Pay 15,000 points per bedroom per night
- $250.01 to $500 per bedroom per night: Pay 30,000 points per bedroom per night
- Over $500 per bedroom per night: You cannot book these with Wyndham points.
- In most cases, there are no other taxes or fees to pay (but in certain situations you may be charged a pet fee or resort fee).
Wyndham Earner 10% Discount
If you have a Wyndham Earner card, you’ll automatically get a 10% discount on all award stays, including when booking Vacasa Vacation Rentals. With a card, therefore, the cost goes down to either 13,500 or 27,000 points per bedroom per night. You can read about Wyndham Earner cards here. My favorite Wyndham card is the $95 per year Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card. It offers 15,000 points each year when you renew (which more than offsets the annual fee), plus Wyndham Diamond status, plus the ability to earn 8 points per dollar at gas stations and at Wyndham properties (and 5x for marketing, advertising, and utilities).
Price Example 1A: 1 Bedroom, 6 Nights, $1,560 Cash Rate
Suppose you find a 1 bedroom unit that costs $1,560 after fees, for 6 Nights:
- Total cost: $1,560
- Cost per bedroom per night = $1,560 / 1 bedroom / 6 nights = $260 per bedroom per night.
- Since the cost per bedroom per night is over $250, you would pay 30,000 points per bedroom per night (boo!).
- Total point cost = 30,000 x 1 bedrooms x 6 nights = 180,000 points
- If you have any of the three Wyndham Earner cards, you’ll get a 10% discount and so the total price will be 180,000 x .9 = 162,000 points
- Your per point value for this stay would be $1,560.00 / 162,000 = less than 1 cent per point. That’s not good.
Price Example 1B: 1 Bedroom, 10 Nights, $2,450 Cash Rate
Longer stays usually result in lower average per night costs. So, lets suppose that’s true with the same unit from the first example above. Let’s say that a 10 night stay costs a total of $2,450 for this 1 bedroom unit:
- Total cost: $2,450
- Cost per bedroom per night = $2,450 / 1 bedroom / 10 nights = $245 per bedroom per night.
- Since the cost per bedroom per night is under $250, you would pay 15,000 points per bedroom per night.
- Total point cost = 15,000 x 1 bedrooms x 10 nights = 150,000 points
- If you have any of the three Wyndham Earner cards, you’ll get a 10% discount and so the total price will be 150,000 x .9 = 135,000 points
- Your per point value for this stay would be $2,450.00 / 135,000 points = 1.8 cents per point. That’s excellent.
Price Example 2: 2 Bedroom, 5 Nights, $2,300 cash rate
Suppose you find a 2 bedroom unit that costs $2,300 after fees, for 5 Nights:
- Total cost: $2,300
- Cost per bedroom per night = $2300 / 2 bedrooms / 5 nights = $230 per bedroom per night
- Since the cost per bedroom per night is under $250, you would pay 15,000 points per bedroom per night.
- Total point cost = 15,000 x 2 bedrooms x 5 nights = 150,000 points
- If you have any of the three Wyndham Earner cards, you’ll get a 10% discount and so the total price will be 150,000 x .9 = 135,000 points
- Your per point value for this stay would be $2,300.00 / 135,000 points = 1.7 cents per point. That’s very good.
Price Example 3: 3 Bedroom, 7 Nights, $5,460 cash rate
Suppose you find a 3 bedroom unit that costs $5,460 after fees, for 7 Nights:
- Total cost: $5,460
- Cost per bedroom per night = $5,460 / 3 bedrooms / 7 nights = $260 per bedroom per night
- Since the cost per bedroom per night is over $250, you would pay 30,000 points per bedroom per night (boo!).
- Total point cost = 30,000 x 3 bedrooms x 7 nights = 630,000 points
- If you have any of the three Wyndham Earner cards, you’ll get a 10% discount and so the total price will be 630,000 x .9 = 567,000 points
- Your per point value for this stay would be $5,460.00 / 567,000 points = less than 1 cent per point. That’s not good.
Booking Vacasa Vacation Rentals
Finding Rentals
You can use Vacasa’s website to find available rentals. Start your search here: www.vacasa.com/search?maxbeds=1&place=/usa/. This link filters to rentals in the U.S. with a maximum of 1 bedroom. If you want more than 1 bedroom, change the filter, but keep in mind that 2 bedroom units cost twice as many points. And, of course, change the location and dates to where you want to go and when you want to travel.
A trick for finding big units that are listed as 1 bedroom is to set the following filters:
- Max Bedrooms: 1
- Min Bathrooms: 2 (or whatever number you think you’ll need)
- Number of guests: 6 (put in a number slightly larger than the number of people in your party). This is the key to weeding out small units.
Which rentals are bookable with points?
Vacation rentals are bookable with points as long as they cost $500 per bedroom per night, or less. Once you find a rental of interest, input your desired dates and view the total cost of the stay. Divide that number by the number of bedrooms and also by the number of days. If the final number is less than $500, then it should be possible to book that unit with points.
For example, take a look at the four night stay shown above for $2,700. If this is a one bedroom unit, then you wouldn’t be able to use points to book it since $2,700 / 1 bedroom / 4 nights = $675. That’s more than $500 per bedroom per night. However, if its a 2 bedroom unit, it would be bookable with points since it comes to $337.50 per bedroom per night.
Call to book
Call: 1-800-441-1034.
Wyndham has a dedicated phone line for Vacasa reservations and no longer accepts reservations by email. In my experience it is very easy to book over the phone: a friendly agent picked up the phone immediately when I called.
Cancellation Policy
Cancel 30 or more days before your stay for a full refund of points. Within 30 days all of your points are forfeit.
Wyndham Vacasa booking process: step by step
Here’s the step by step process that I recommend:
- Start your search here: www.vacasa.com/search?maxbeds=1&place=/usa/
This link filters to a maximum of 1 bedroom. If you want more than 1 bedroom, change the filter, but keep in mind that 2 bedroom units cost twice as many points. - Use the Vacasa website to find properties that are available for cash rates for your dates of interest.
- Make sure that the average cost for your stay of interest is less than $500 per bedroom per night inclusive of taxes and fees.
- Call 1-800-441-1034 to book the stay (they no longer accept bookings via email)
- Put a reminder on your calendar 31 days or more before your stay to remind you to cancel if it doesn’t look like the stay will work out. Bookings are non-refundable within 30 days.
Wyndham Vacasa FAQ
Where are Vacasa Vacation Rentals located?
Vacasa offers rentals in the United States (including Hawaii and Alaska), Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica.
Is it possible to put an award stay on hold?
No.
Do I have to pay any taxes or fees when paying with points?
In most cases, no. All of those annoying fees, including cleaning fees, are included when you pay with points. That said, some readers have reported being charged resort fees or pet fees in some situations.
Is it possible to use points from multiple guests for a single stay?
No. In the past it has been possible but recent reader reports suggest otherwise.
How can I get points quickly to cover a stay?
There are a couple of ways to add points to your Wyndham account quickly:
- Buy points. Wyndham usually charges 1.3 cents per point, but they frequently put points on sale for just under 1 cent per point. There is usually a cap to the number of points you can buy and so it may make sense for more than one person in your party to buy points to cover a stay. If you go that route, make sure that each point-buyer has enough points to cover 1 or more nights.
- Transfer points 1 to 1 from Citi ThankYou Rewards, Capital One Miles, or Caesars Rewards (but this last option can take many weeks to complete).
If you have more time you can wait for a sale on points, or sign up for credit cards that offer big welcome bonuses. Wyndham cards that sometimes have big bonuses are: Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card, and Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card. Cards where points can be transferred to Wyndham and which often have big bonuses are: Citi Premier, Capital One Venture Rewards, Capital One Venture X, Capital One Spark Miles for Business, Capital One Venture X Business.
Do Wyndham Earner cardholders get a 10% discount?
Yes! Wyndham Earner cardholders get a 10% discount on award stays, including Vacasa Vacation Rentals. As a result, they pay 13,500 points per bedroom per night. See: New Wyndham Earner credit cards review – Surprisingly strong.
Can I book a stay for someone else?
Yes, when booking the stay let the reservation agent know who’s name the stay should be in.
What is the cancellation policy for award bookings?
Cancel 30 or more days before your stay for a full refund of points. Within 30 days all of your points are forfeit.
How far in advance can I book a Vacasa stay with Wyndham points?
Stays booked with points can be booked up to 12 months in advance. H/T Brian.
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Just got off a reservation booking and the agent gave me the “current” guidelines for point usage. They now divide properties into “Tier 1″ and Tier 2” properties. A Tier 1 property is defined as a price of $250/night and under (with all costs included) and Tier 2 is anything $251 or over per night. A Tier 1 property will be 15,000 points per night. A Tier 2 property uses 15,000 points per bedroom per night.
Do you mean:
” A Tier 2 property uses 30,000 points per bedroom per night.
I just called the reservation line and was told a $500 a night property with two bedrooms would be 60,000 points a night.
Looks like the new price is exactly as Greg described. Not sure we should use Wyndham points to book vacasa anymore. It seems we can’t get much value out of it.
new pricing is in force
have you called
Yes
does the earner business card also give the 10% bonus?
Yes (all earner cards get a 10% discount on Wyndham award bookings)
Anyone able to get to the page to buy points? I’m not able to.
I find it odd that only the business Wyndham card is now showing on the Barclays credit card page.
Does anyone know if the 10% discount for holding the Wyndham Earner card is applied before or after the points are debited? For example, if I have 29,500 and want to book 2 nights at a 1-bedroom, would that transaction work? Or would I need 30,000 or more and then would get the 3,000 back afterwards?
In my experience you can book it as soon as you have 27,000 available points.
The Loyalty Lobby post says (bolding mine):
“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.
By a literal reading, a 2-bedroom unit that is $499/night would cost 60,000 points/night.
For those wanting to book a unit with 2 bedrooms or more, I hope your interpretation, Greg, is correct, and what Wyndham meant is “$250/bedroom/night” and “$500/bedroom/night.” (Or maybe you have additional information.) That interpretation does make sense to me; it’s just not what is written.
Brian – yes, I agree, the wording is unclear. Any clarification here would be helpful especially with the new card bonuses that just launched.
Wyndham Member Month is off to a hot start
So Wyndham will go back to being….Wyndam I guess.
Capital One on life support. With Turkish and now Wyndham devaluations, they’re quickly losing all comparative advantages over the card issuers with far more frequent and generous welcome offers.
So if I have a 3 bedroom at $1,300 per night that averages at $433.33 per bedroom per night and that would be 30,000 points per night?
No, that would cost 30,000 points per bedroom per night = 90,000 points per night
Ok, thanks for clarifying
If I were feeling optimistic, I’d hope for $250 before taxes. That would mostly align with how things have been the past few months, right? Also, they say they want it to be easy to determine – it’s a lot easier to see the official “price” than to figure out the actual cost after factoring fees – esp since those fees might differ depending on how many nights you’re staying.
I don’t think so… Loyalty Lobby clearly states $250 inclusive of taxes and fees.
We’ve been told that it is inclusive of fees
Just to be clear… since the initial post, Wyndham reached out to confirm it’s inclusive of fees? You wrote earlier “My interpretation is that this means that the 15K price is only for rentals averaging less than or equal to $250 per night per bedroom after taxes & fees” – which makes it sound a bit more equivocal. Loyalty Lobby didn’t sound any clearer. (And it’s Wyndham, so who really knows anyway.)
No, past few months it was $350 including all taxes/fees.
Not understanding. Is this newest update good or bad?
Mostly bad. Previously prices were capped at 15K per bedroom per night, but now it will sometimes cost 30K per bedroom per night. The one upside is that for a while now it was impossible to book with points a rental that cost more than $350 per bedroom per night, but now you can up to a max of $500 per bedroom per night (at 30K per bedroom per night)
It’s good for Hawaii, imo, because it was very hard to find anything under 350, so to pay more for a nicer place is still better than nothing on points.
They should just drop the whole bedroom pretense and just go to a an award chart based upon price range. Any rental up to $250/15K $250-500/30K $500-750K/45K etc. It would establish min/max redemption values and stop the confusion
Confusion helps the prepared!
Confusion helps the house…only the house is always prepared and never confused (even if they are actually confused and wrong). its how a company makes millions and billions of $$$$ revenue.