Guide to Best Western Rewards (2021)
Hotel Strategies, Hotel Loyalty Program Reference Guide
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Quick Guide
- Best Western, along with Accor, has the largest number of international locations of any hotel chain, with over 4,200 hotels in more than 100 countries and territories. Don’t just think of them as roadside hotels, they have a many more interesting options, and can be the only award option in many locations.
- Best Western points are worth about .6 cents per point.
- The entry levels of Best Western’s loyalty program don’t offer much in the way of benefits. However, with their “Status Match, No Catch” program, you can easily convert elite status with another program into elite status from Best Western. This may get you to Platinum level (or higher), which entitles you to a room upgrade (upon availability).
Best Western Hotel Brands
Award Chart
Award nights are not always available. However, if you have Diamond level status, you can book an award night for any available room at Best Western hotels in the US and Canada.
| Category | Best Western Points | Diners Club Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8,000 | 3,000 |
| 2 | 12,000 | 4,500 |
| 3 | 16,000 | 6,000 |
| 4 | 20,000 | 7,500 |
| 5 | 24,000 | 9,000 |
| 6 | 28,000 | 10,500 |
| 7 | 32,000 | 12,000 |
| 8 | 36,000 | 13,500 |
During peak times, award prices go up over the normal levels. More expensive hotels can be priced at 40,000, 56,000, or even 70,000 points per night.
If you have difficulty using any points, you can redeem them for cash off your room rate at a rate of .5 cents per point (in 1,000 point increments, 5,000 point minimum). This is a little less than our expected value per point.
Here’s an old article about some places to stay: Aspirational Best Western Properties for a using a Free Night
Acquiring Points
Acquiring last minute points
If you see a great redemption deal at Best Western hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire additional points.
| Purchasing points |
You can purchase points up to 100,000 points per year, in 1,000-point increments, for 1 cent per point. Sometimes promotions are available, which allow you purchase points for less money per point (and enable you to purchase more points per year). Get a Discounted Room Rate by Buying the Points for an Award Night. |
| Transferring between accounts |
You can transfer points freely between multiple accounts at the same address. |
| Transferring credit card points |
You can transfer Diners Club Reward points (1250:3300) to Best Western. |
Earning points from your stays
Members earn 10 points for every dollar spent at Best Western. Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Diamond Select members earn bonuses of 10%, 15%, 30% or 50% on stays.
If you use your Best Western credit card, you can earn an additional 10 points per dollar. 10x Best Western points are worth about 7 cents per dollar. This is a better return than you can generally get from any other card (assuming you are able to get good use of Best Western points). Best Credit Cards for Travel Spending.
Other ways to earn points
The best way to quickly earn a bunch of points is by signing up for the Best Western Credit Card. The normal signup bonus is 70,000 points. But it is really 50,000 points (with a $1,000 initial spending requirement) plus a 20,000-point bonus every year you spend $5,000 with the card. If you have any kind of business, you can get the business version of the card as well. It has a 48,000 point signup bonus ($1,000 initial spending requirement) and earns an additional 32,000 points each year you spend $25,000. You can also get a 5,000 point bonus from their secured credit card, but that probably isn’t worth the trouble. Receive Hundreds of Thousands of Points by Signing Up for Credit Cards.
Other earning partners. Best Western has a bunch of other point earning partners such as FTD and Teleflora. View earning partners.
Keeping your Points from Expiring
Best Western Rewards points don’t expire for anyone who live in North, Central or South America, Asia, or South Africa.
Member Benefits
Award nights count for elite status. “Qualifying points” refers only to points earned from hotel stays, not from credit cards, and other programs.
Member (entry level)
|
| Gold (7 stays, 10 nights, or 10,000 points) 10% bonus points on stays plus the following benefits:
|
| Platinum (10 stays, 15 nights, or 15,000 points) 15% bonus points on stays.
|
| Diamond (20 stays, 30 nights, or 30,000 points) 30% bonus points on stays plus the following benefits:
|
| Diamond Select (40 stays, 50 nights, or 50,000 points) Increases bonus points to 50%. |
Shortcuts to Best Western Status
- Best Western is quite happy to match your status from other programs through their “Status Match…No Catch” program. The downside is that even their high-level Diamond status doesn't offer much in the way of valuable benefits. Best Western status match.
- The Best Western Credit Card gives you automatic Platinum status, which entitles you to a 15% bonus on points from stays and some possibility of a minor room upgrade. $59 annual fee. Like the Choice card, the Best Western card does't provide a free night certificate or a large signup bonus. Best Western Status Benefits.
The no-annual-fee version gives you Gold status, which entitles you to a 10% bonus on points from stays.
The Best Western Credit Card
The Best Western Card’s normal signup bonus is stated as 70,000 points. But it is really 50,000 points with a $1,000 initial spending requirement. The extra 20,000 points refers to the annual spending bonus, which you can earn each year by using the card for $5,000 of spending. Provides automatic Platinum status, plus a 10% discount on room rates. $59 annual fee, waived the first year.
The 20,000-point annual bonus isn’t worth the annual fee plus the opportunity cost of putting $5,000 of spending on the card, and the elite status isn’t worth very much (especially because of the ease of getting a status match), so we can’t recommend that you hold onto this card after the initial year.
The business version of the card typically has a 48,000-point signup bonus, earns an extra 32,000 points every year you spend $25,000 with the card, gives you automatic Platinum status and the 10% room rate discount, but only gives you 3x points on spending at Best Western (rather than 10x points). No annual fee.
