Wyndham Is Auctioning Austin Food & Wine Festival Packages

Wyndham Rewards is auctioning two packages for Austin Food & Wine, November 6 to 8, and you bid in Wyndham points. Both close Thursday, October 22 at 8:00 PM EDT.

The Richard Blais package starts at 75,000 points and the Andrew Zimmern package starts at 35,000 points, and as of October 17 neither had a bid. Each covers two people.

Blais gets you VIP admission, a meet and greet with Chef Blais on Sunday, November 8, and a sommelier wine tasting on Saturday, November 7. Zimmern gets you Saturday and Sunday daytime entry, tastings from participating restaurants and drink makers, and a meet and greet with Chef Zimmern. Here is the Zimmern auction.

Each auction is for a single package, and bids go up 2,500 points at a time. A bid in the last five minutes extends the auction five minutes from that bid, and it closes once bidding has been quiet for five minutes. You must be a Wyndham Rewards member in good standing and 18 or older to bid, and Quebec residents are not eligible. You must be 21 or older to attend. Check the auction page for any other eligibility limits. Points are only taken if you win, and the winner should allow 48 hours after the close to hear from Wyndham.

The catch is the rest of the trip: travel, a hotel and parking are not included, taxes are on the winner, and a won package cannot be refunded, canceled or transferred. Bids can rise, so those two starting bids are where bidding stood on October 17, not a price to count on.

This suits a food lover who can get to Austin that weekend and already has the points.