Effective April 1, 2009, Wyndham Rewards no longer gives out free nights as part of their Best Rate Guarantee. Before April 1, after booking a stay at a participating Wyndham Rewards hotel via wyndhamrewards.com or through customer service, guests could submit an online claim form within 24 hours of booking and at least 48 hours before check-in if they found a lower rate through another Web site, for the same hotel on the same night. After the submission was approved by a customer service agent, the guest would receive the first night of their booked stay free. Members could submit one claim per Wyndham Rewards hotel brand per month–a total of up to 10 free nights per month.

FlyerTalk members frequently posted hotel properties that could be found at lower rates on other Web sites and an entire blog is dedicated to the topic at bestrateguarantee.blogspot.com. While members enjoyed the free nights while they lasted, no one seemed surprised by the change in policy. As FlyerTalk member satori explains, “Wyndham had a rather generous BRG policy that does not stand competitively with the industry. The new policy seems in line with other offers for lowest rates among hotel programs.” After April 1, members who find a lower publicly available rate on a competing Web site can receive the lower rate plus an additional 10 percent discount.