Wyndham Rewards Launches Debit Rewards Program Powered by Galileo

Hotel rewards program Wyndham Rewards partnered with Galileo Financial Technologies, SoFi’s technology platform, to launch a debit card that lets users earn travel rewards and points on everyday spend.

The new Wyndham Rewards Debit Card is designed to cater to the many travelers, particularly younger ones, who prefer to use debit cards, Charmaine Taylor, senior vice president, strategic and financial partnership, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said in a Monday (March 17) press release emailed to PYMNTS.

With the new card, these travelers no longer have to miss out on travel rewards when they use their preferred method of payment, Taylor said.

“Now anyone and everyone can earn points on their day-to-day purchases and in turn, enjoy meaningful rewards,” Taylor said.

Together with earning points on everyday spend that can be redeemed for a wide range of rewards, cardholders also gain perks like complimentary Wyndham Rewards Gold level membership, hotel booking discounts and an annual point bonus, according to the release.

The Wyndham Rewards Debit Card is powered by Galileo Financial Technologies, issued by Sunrise Banks N.A. and backed by Mastercard as the payments network, the release said.

“People who use debit are often overlooked by traditional rewards programs, which is what makes this card — a first of its kind in the hospitality space — so special,” Galileo Financial Technologies CEO Derek White said in the release. “What’s more, with the help of Galileo, Wyndham was able to stand its offering up in just a few months.”

Galileo Financial Technologies said in February that it was launching a co-brand debit card program designed to let brands give debit users access to rewards normally reserved for credit card customers.

The company said at the time that more than 90% of American adults have a debit card, with 45 million adults either lacking a credit history, or have only minimal credit activity, keeping them from earning rewards.

“In the U.S. alone, people spend more than $4 trillion on their debit cards each year, but they aren’t getting rewarded for most of that spend,” White said in a Feb. 20 press release. “That’s why we built a program that helps brands launch debit rewards quickly to capture this unmet demand.”

The co-brand debit card program initially focused on the hospitality and travel sectors, but it is now available to brands in any industry, Galileo Financial Technologies Chief Product Officer David Feuer told PYMNTS in an interview posted March 6.

“We see broad-based demand across multiple sectors, and particularly retail,” Feuer said.