How we got approved the Barclays Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card for Casino Status Match
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It’s quite sad when you look at the situation this way. It was easier to get tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Concert than getting approved the Wyndham Earner Business Card by Barclays.
Yes, that’s how it felt. I‘ve been told that I have the patience of a saint. But Barclays took my patience. But first, let’s dig in.
In this post, you will see:
– two examples of painful review process that eventually led to approvals
– an example of not-so-painful approval
Why I wanted to get the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card
First of all, it’s a business credit card. Applying for this business credit card means it will NOT add to my 5/24 count. If you need a refresher on the 5/24 rule, here you go.
Next, by getting the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card, having this card gives me automatic Wyndham Diamond status. By having that status, it opens up a lot of opportunities in getting status matches in Las Vegas. By having Wyndham Diamond status, you could match to Caesars Diamond. Once you become Caesars Diamond, these are the benefits you get. According to Caesars website.
- $100 Celebration Dinner
- to enjoy at one of our many acclaimed restaurants
- Priority lines at hotel check-in, restaurants, casino cashiers, and Caesars Rewards Centers
- No resort fees Paid access to the Laurel Lounge (where available)
- 20% discount at casino gift shops
- Complimentary Stay at Atlantis, Paradise Island in The Bahamas
- Up to 20% off Norwegian Cruise Line vacations
With the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card’s $95 annual fee, the $100 celebration dinner alone makes this worth it, but I have other plans to use this for other benefits such as the cruise.
The Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card
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Earn up to 75,000 bonus points, enough for up to 10 free nights. Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days and earn 25,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 within the first 12 months.
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Free nights can require up to 30,000 points per bedroom at participating properties and are subject to availability. Resort fees may apply and cannot be paid with points.
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$95 annual fee
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Card earns8x points at Wyndham properties and on qualifying gas purchases
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5x points on marketing, advertising and utilities
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1x points on all other purchases
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Annual fee of $95, not waived first year
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Automatic Wyndham Diamond status
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10% discount on go free awards
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Anniversary bonus of 15,00 points
- No foreign transaction fees
I don’t have a referral link but here’s the public offer link.
So, what happened?
Now that I shared why I wanted to get that card, here’s what happened
- Friday, July 21 (two weeks before we left for Europe). I wanted this card BEFORE we left for Europe. I figured, I could use this new card since it has no foreign transaction fees
- Saturday, July 22 – I received a phone call from Barclays, basic questions about me and my application.
- Date of birthday
- # of years in Business
- What do I do for work ?
- Personal income
- What is the nature of the business?
- # of years in business
It was a quick question and answer. The rep approved me, but he said there was another level of approval, and to wait on Monday.
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- He sent it off for approval
- Final review with their KYC -Know Your Customer Department
I was optimistic that I’d this all cared for by that Monday.
- Monday, July 24 – I was given an application # for reference, and I had to be transferred to Security/Fraud department, and I was advised they needed copies of my:
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Driver License (front and back)
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Social Security card (front and back)
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Recent utility bill
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FAX or snail mail
How to do I submit the documentation? Via FAX or mailing my docs. Those were my 2 options. No option to upload my docs. I had to check with my travel buddies and searched online to see if others had a similar or different experience.
Of course, I wanted to do this expeditiously. And all roads led to FAX. What is this? 1980s? Once faxed, I called the fraud department to confirm receipt and I was told it could take 2-3 days for the system to update my application with docs I sent.
Trust me. I asked if there was a way I could upload these documents using a secured website. But no. The only options were to send by FAX or by snail mail.
Circus of issues
After sending my documents, I had to follow-up two to three days later if they had received my fax. FAXing does not truly mean that document is immediately filed or processed on Barclays end. According to the Barclays rep, allow two to three days before following.
So I followed up. I was given a reason that they acknowledged the pages that were fine. But there were pages that had issues.
- The FAX’d document was too dark
- The numbers were unclear,
- Resend the front of this doc
- Resend the back of this doc, etc., etc. etc.
If you knew me well, I acted upon these needed corrections immediately. And within two to three days of resending the docs, I followed up again and was given another reason that was very similar to the bulleted reasons I listed above. Guess what, I re-sent the documents 3-4 more times.
Why bother? I was already doing a lot of the legwork and I wanted to see this through completion. I learned that others have reported similar issues, and with patience, and follow up, they were approved.
Step away from the vehicle
I sent my last correction – where I had to enlarge my driver license (magnified), this was on the morning we were leaving for Europe (August 4), and I said to myself. “that’s it…that’s the only thing missing. And they better approve me now.” I had no intention of following up while in Europe.
Sometimes you just gotta be forceful
Fast forward nearly 25 days later, on August 16th I called to follow-up (while I was still in Paris). There was no follow-up from Barclays. So I called, and AGAIN, I was told I needed to resend my Social Security Card again. I was about to blow my gasket. I had to step on the brakes because I didn’t how else to re-send these documents, how else to make my information come out clearer. And yes, I did use two different fax machines for variation.
I said, “Look, I have sent the documents over and over again, and someone needs to review EVERY SINGLE DOCUMENT that I’ve sent. During my last call with Barclays I was told my Social Security Card was fine, and that you needed a clearer pic of Driver’s License. I need you to please review ALL THE DOCUMENTS and NOTES.
After all that
After being placed on hold again, she reviewed my entire submitted docs with her supervisor, and came back with the good news – APPROVED. There was relief, yet I was still frustrated after getting approved.
Another example of painful approval
Thanks to Vebs D. from Daddy Travels Miles & Points on Facebook. Here’s here experience.
I had to fax them my ID twice but after that it got approved.
Here’s my timeline:
3/3/23 – Application WE Biz card
3/7/23 – They asked for my IDs and SSN. Submitted requirements via UPS fax
3/8/23 – Ffup with Barclays Security Team if they received it, nothing yet
3/10/23 – Called Barclays again and they confirmed they received my docs BUT my birthday on my drivers license can’t be confirmed
3/10/23 – Mailed Drivers license via USPS regular mail
3/11/23 – 6:00 PM FAXED again drivers license via Fax.Plus (you can send fax online, 10 pages is free)
3/11/23 – 8:45 PM EVENING- just tried again to call Barclays SECURITY Team and I GOT APPROVED. Woohoo! Card arrived 7-10 business days
This card saved us worth $2,000 from our recent Las Vegas trip. We did the AC status match back in July. Got 4 comp nights Conrad Resorts World Las Vegas from Ocean Prime
- $100 freeplay each for me and P2 of $200 at RWLV
- $100 dining credit for me and P2 total of $200 at RWLV
We also got two 10-night cruise from Ocean Prime.
A sample of painless approval
Nancy and I decided that she should also apply for a Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card. I already knew what to expect. I was prepared to go through the whole circus of sending documents. And between me and Nancy, I told her that if she does not get automatically approved, we decided not to submit any documents by FAX. Instead, we were prepared to mail the copies of any required documents if ever she was asked.
Her timeline:
- Saturday – August 26 – applied for the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card online. She was not automatically approved. Breathe. This happened to me, too.
- Monday – August 27 – I checked her application status online. She was not approved. Again, I’ve seen this before and I knew that a follow-up call was needed.
- Tuesday – August 28 – I would not call it a reconsideration calls. I saved this phone #866-710-2688 from my personal experience. Nancy called and was asked very basic questions
- Full name
- Date of birth
- Last 4 of Social Security Number
- Address
She was then advised that the next step is for her to be transferred to the Fraud Department. Again, I knew this would happen. So she was prepared. I expected for them to let her know that she will need to provide document proof (such as copy of social security front and back, utilitly statement, and driver license front and back.
They loved Nancy more than they loved me
- A fraud security rep came back on the phone. Asked Nancy to re-verifiy her basic information. There was NO question about the income, revenue, or the business itself.
- The rep asked for the phone number that was listed on the application
- The rep called that #, it’s a good thing Nancy used our landline to call Wyndham, so her cell phone # was free for Wyndham to call and verify her
- After calling her on her cell phone, the rep asked if there was a unit # or apartment # tied to the business address, and there was not
- She was placed on hold one more time, and after 3-5 minutes….APPROVED.
- She was given her credit limit and was advised the card will be mailed within 7-10 days.
Takeaways
To those who will apply and go through document checking, all I can say is to make sure you have the patience to follow up. If you are not immediately approved, make sure you are prepared to battle. Make sure to give them what they are looking for. One could easily give up. I didn’t and in the end….nearly 30 days later, I got approved.
Remember, do not take one’s bad experience as the blueprint of what will happen to you. Learn from it and you never know what to expect. You could be one phone call away from getting approved.
For more travel deals and tips, follow me on my travel page on Daddy Travels on Facebook Group or Instagram or YouTube or Twitter
Editorial Disclosure – The editorial content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuers, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuers.