Be warned fellow consumer, this former Wyndham employee is done with WyndhamRewards, and Wyndham for good.
My former employer runs a rewards program, that like most, let you earn points based on your purchases, or in this case, your hotel stays. I was there when the program launched, and I’ve seen it go through a name change, website updates and integration into the property management software used at over 6,000 hotels worldwide. I left that company last summer (2011) on good terms, I gave notice (unlike most), I worked 2 weeks(again, unlike most) and I shared as much of my knowledge as I could in that time, so that I could move on to something that challenged my mind more.
During my tenure there, I earned a few of the reward points, thanks to having to travel around for work, and it was also used as an employee recognition system, awarding points to people who do a good job or win contests. I never won any contests, but I was nominated as a good employee a few times, and I think I set the company record for the longest period worked without taking any sick time, yeah, I remember that… 2 years, 10 months and 17 days, and I even capped out my bankable sick time, 144 hours worth of it, which I lost when I left.
Next year, I want to go away to celebrate my wedding anniversary and figured it might be worth converting my unused point to another rewards program to use to discount my flights. So, I go and log into the website to check my balance and convert the points… guess what, they have been removed due to in-activity after 18 months. Yup, I am not overly amused, but I get it, it was in the terms of service, but you could have warned me, it’s not like sending an email costs you anything.
So to make my long sob story short, and put what I should have written near the top to make this article more interesting…
I lost 52,400 WyndhamRewards points, which would have turned into around 20,960 Aeroplan miles, which would have saved me an extra $250 on my vacation next year.
Wyndham Worldwide, Wyndham Hotels, Wyndham branded hotels and any other brand of hotel or other service now, or in the future that falls under Wyndham’s umbrella of control will not get any of my business, nor my family’s business, or any other people that I can convince to go elsewhere. I used to speak highly of my former employer, but that ends today.
/endrant