The Points Tool You've Always Wanted

One of the biggest negative changes to Wyndham Rewards over the past year was the end of its partnership with Vacasa in 2025. Being able to book vacation rentals with Wyndham points at favorable rates was a major plus for the program, especially since rentals followed a fixed award chart. Wyndham is trying to fill that gap by launching Homes & Havens, a new vacation rental platform with nearly 800 homes and villas across the U.S., Caribbean, Mexico, and Europe. Wyndham expects to add hundreds more properties in the coming months. Members can earn 5 Wyndham points per $1 spent on eligible paid stays or redeem points at rates of 15,000, 30,000, or 45,000 points per bedroom, per night, so the same fixed redemption method will carry over from Vacasa. That means a three-bedroom rental would cost anywhere from 45,000 to 135,000 points per night. A lower 5,000-point tier is expected to be introduced as the collection expands. There are some significant restrictions, though. Even though this is 2026, award stays must be booked by phone at least 60 days in advance. When booking with points, they only cover the base rental rate, so you'll still have to pay taxes, cleaning fees, and other mandatory charges in cash. Homes & Havens could offer good value for certain properties, but the tiered pricing and booking restrictions make it less straightforward than Wyndham's former Vacasa partnership, at least at first glance.

American Express has introduced a new redemption option for Reward Dollars earned on three of its cards: the Blue Cash Everyday, Blue Cash Preferred, and Graphite Business Cash Unlimited. But to take advantage of this, you'll also need an Amex bank account. Previously, these rewards could only be redeemed for statement credits or used at Amazon checkout. Now, Blue Cash Everyday and Preferred cardholders can deposit their rewards directly into an American Express High-Yield Savings Account, while Graphite Business cardholders can deposit them into an Amex Business Checking account. The redemption ratio is 1:1, so there's no additional value compared to a statement credit. The feature is currently available only through Amex's website, with the ability to redeem through the app "coming soon." Amex also plans to introduce automatic monthly deposits sometime in 2027.

Chase is targeting certain customers with an elevated 300,000-point welcome offer on the Sapphire Reserve for Business card. This is a massive offer, with 100,000 more points than the highest public offer. It comes with the same $30,000 spending requirement as the 200,000-point offer, but you must meet it within 4 months instead of 6 months. This is a substantial bonus, but the shorter spending window makes it less accessible for businesses without significant expenses. There's no public application link for this offer, but you can check your Chase account for a green-star "You're Already Approved" offer to see if you're targeted.

DoorDash has announced plans to acquire Instacart in a $17 billion deal, with the transaction expected to close in late 2027 or the first half of 2028. The companies plan to maintain separate brands and apps while combining their delivery infrastructure and technology. For points and miles enthusiasts, the interesting aspect of the deal is that customers would eventually pay a single DashPass membership fee to receive the benefits of both DashPass and Instacart+. This makes us wonder about the future of the various credit card benefits associated with each, particularly on Chase cards that offer complimentary memberships and statement credits for DoorDash, Instacart, or both. Neither company has announced any changes to those benefits, but it will be interesting to see how the acquisition affects them once the deal closes.