The Points Tool You've Always Wanted

Wyndham's new award pricing is now live, and thanks to an analysis by Upgraded Points, we have a much better idea of how the changes affect its 8,000+ hotels. About 34% of Wyndham properties increased in price, 22% got cheaper, and 44% stayed the same. The biggest increase came to the old 15,000-point tier, with more than 2,000 hotels doubling in price to 30,000 points. Another 62 hotels increased from 30,000 to the new 45,000-point tier, and two jumped directly from 15,000 to 45,000 points. While this is certainly still a devaluation, there is some good news as well. A total of 1,337 hotels dropped from 7,500 to the new low 5,000-point tier, another 440 dropped from 15,000 to 5,000, and 58 former 30,000-point properties dropped to either 15,000 or 5,000 points. Existing reservations are protected from increases, while Wyndham says members with existing reservations at properties that became cheaper will automatically receive a refund of the points difference. If you hold a Wyndham credit card, you receive discounts ranging from 10%-25% off the points price. The Wyndham Rewards Earner Premier card offers the full 25% discount, reducing award nights to as little as 3,750 points at the low end and 33,750 points at the new 45,000-point tier.

We have seen multiple reports of Amex Membership Rewards transfers to ANA not arriving at all, even well beyond the normal 2-4 day processing time. Amex and ANA representatives have not always been able to resolve the issue, and there is conflicting information about when the problem began, with some reports pointing to early September while Amex has reportedly said issues were occurring throughout August. Some transfers are still posting normally, so this does not appear to be a systemwide failure, but there is enough evidence that we would be cautious about transferring points to ANA right now for a time-sensitive award. If you do transfer, take screenshots throughout the process and keep records of the transaction in case you need to escalate with Amex or ANA. We'll update this story as more information becomes available.

Southwest is offering up to 40% off select flights when you book by September 17, 2026, for travel between October 5, 2026 and March 3, 2027. The discount is applied automatically to both cash and points fares, with no promo code required. There are no clear parameters around which flights are on sale and which aren't, so you'll just have to search the route you're interested in. If you're planning a trip and may fly Southwest, it's certainly worth checking to see if your route is discounted. More importantly, if you already have an eligible Southwest flight booked, it's definitely worth checking the current price to see if it's cheaper than what you originally booked. If you booked Choice or above, those fares can be changed without a fee. Even if you booked a Basic fare, which cannot be changed, you can cancel and rebook if the new fare is cheaper.

Qatar Airways has removed its qualifying-activity requirement for creating My List and Family & Friends groups, making it easier to redeem Avios for other travelers again. Privilege Club members now only need to have had their account created and opened for at least 30 days before adding other travelers. Qatar introduced the restriction just a few months ago in June 2026, requiring Burgundy and Silver members to earn Avios from a Qatar Airways or partner flight or an eligible Qatar co-branded credit card before they could add other travelers. Transfers from credit card reward programs weren't enough to satisfy the requirement. The language has been changed on Qatar's website for My List, but the Family & Friends terms have not yet been updated to reflect the changes. But we have seen multiple data points of people being able to add family members to both My List and Family & Friends since the reversal was made, and Qatar confirmed to Miles Talk that the restriction was removed effective September 14.