While everyone's attention has been on Chase and AMEX, Barclays quietly changed the benefits of its Wyndham hotel group co-branded card.
Let's take a look at the changes. The 30,000-point sign-up bonus and the annual 6,000 are still unchanged, which is pretty standard. The card’s sign-up bonus is 45,000, and it gives 15,000 each year. 45,000 is common, while 15,000 has not been seen for a long time.
The 5X part is fine. The issue is in the 2X and 1X structure. In the past, all spending was 2X, which meant $7,500 in spend could get you a free stay. Now 2X is only limited to groceries, gas, and similar categories. As is Visa’s style, Walmart and Target are still excluded. All other spend earns 1X. On the annual fee side, it increased from $69 to $75, with one added Platinum-member benefit.
At this point, I will hold off on commenting on this change for now.
Let's take a look at Wyndham's newly introduced loyalty program.
Platinum is the third tier. The highlight? The only thing I see is that it gives 3,000 points per year, equal to 1/5 of an FN. Still, the spirit of keeping up with the times is commendable.
Wyndham Group's loyalty program is already clear in the image above, so there's no need to go into more detail.
This change by Barclays is an adjustment aligned with Wyndham's loyalty program. The 5-2-1 earning structure does not mean the card has become weaker at earning points; it just means this card is becoming more like a hotel co-branded card, and closer to the loyalty program. Unlike before, its purpose was simply to spend $7,500 to get one free stay.
If you're a Wyndham Group fan, you deserve to have it!!