Best Western Rewards: Earn Free Nights and Elite Status Perks

Best Western is a global hotel chain with more than 70 years of experience serving hotel guests. Perhaps you’ve stayed in one of the brand’s approximately 4,300 locations in nearly 100 countries. I know Best Westerns have provided me with much-needed rest during road trips, which is why I joined the Best Western Rewards program.

The hotel's loyalty program, Best Western Rewards, was created to reward travelers staying at Best Western properties and spending with its partners. There are 19 unique brands under the umbrellas of Best Western, WorldHotels, and SureStay, with varying levels of luxury and value.

You can become a member of this hotel loyalty program for free and earn points simply for staying in Best Western hotels and resorts, and those points never expire. Let’s dive into how Best Western Rewards works.

The basics of the Best Western Rewards program

The Best Western Rewards program offers five levels of elite status to earn based on total qualifying stays or points earned. All members start out with Blue status, which includes benefits such as points that don't expire, no blackout dates on award bookings, and early check-in and late check-out when available.

As with many other hotel rewards programs, Best Western Rewards offers benefits the more you stay in their properties, moving up the tiers. Diamond Select is the highest tier and offers a 50% bonus points on stays, as well as other perks like room upgrades and a thank-you gift or points upon arrival.

Which brands participate in this program?

Nineteen brands participate in the Best Western Rewards hotel loyalty program, and each caters to a different type of traveler. You can earn points at the following properties, get discounted rates, and even stay at these hotels for free (with no blackout dates):

The perks as a Best Western Rewards member

When you're a member of the Best Western Rewards loyalty program, you can expect two types of benefits. All members who sign up for the hotel loyalty program receive a base level of benefits each time they book a reservation. Members also receive additional benefits as they build elite status.

Here are some elite benefits you will receive through this program:

• Points that never expire
• No blackout dates when booking award stays
• Exclusive member rates
• Free night redemptions count towards elite status
• Status match with other loyalty programs
• Pay with Points allows you to pay partial room fees
• Early check-in
• Late check-out

One caveat: Early check-in and late check-out are based on availability. If the hotel is full, it may not be able to offer this benefit.

Ways to earn Best Western Rewards points

If you want to maximize your earning of Best Western Rewards points, you have several options to build your balance. Here are the main ways to earn more points:

• Best Western credit cards
• Best Western stays
• Best Western Business Advantage
• Best Western Service Rewards
• Promotions
• Travel partners

Use the Best Western Rewards credit card (my personal method)

This earning method is my favorite! If you frequently stay at Best Western properties, the company's co-branded card might be a great hotel credit card for you. Let me tell you, my parents live in a small town with only one chain hotel, and guess which chain it is? You got it — Best Western.

Several years ago when I realized my folks’ house was always going to be super-crowded at Thanksgiving, I opened a Best Western Rewards credit card. It has earned me a number of free nights that I use primarily over that one holiday, though we also have booked stays with points on other occasions.

There are two versions of the card, and both offer a 10% discount when booking at BestWestern.com:

The Best Western Rewards Premium Visa Signature comes with a generous welcome bonus; new cardmembers can earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in first 3 billing cycles. Plus, there's an opportunity to receive one automatic Free Night Award each cardmember anniversary, and a second Free Night Award if you spend $10,000 or more that year.

With the Best Western Rewards Visa Signature, new cardholders can earn 40,000 bonus points for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. You can redeem those points for up to four free night certificates. You also earn 10,000 bonus points on your cardmember anniversary each year that you spend $5,000 or more.

Let me tell you, this Best Western credit card has made the holidays infinitely less stressful for my family. We help decrease the chaos at my parents’ over Thanksgiving by leaving more space for extended family members. For my family of four (plus a dog), it’s essential to have a peaceful place to go for a solid night’s sleep, and it’s all free because of this rewards card.

Earn points on Best Western stays

Best Western Rewards members earn points on their hotel stays based on how much they spend on their reservations. Base level Blue members earn 10x points for staying at a Best Western property. For example, if their hotel room was $300, they would earn 3,000 points for that stay.

As you move up the elite tiers, you will earn even more Best Western Rewards points. When members achieve Gold status, the first elite tier, they earn 10% more points than Blue level members. I’m currently at Platinum, so I earn 15% bonus points, but at Diamond it’s 30% and Diamond Select tier members earn 50% more points.

Sign up for Best Western Business Advantage

Best Western Business Advantage is a free rewards program that was created for small businesses and their employees. This additional program offers benefits like discounted rates, a 10% bonus on points earned from travel, automatic Diamond status for the account owner, and automatic Gold status for employees.

Sign up for Best Western Service Rewards

Best Western is supporting U.S. and Canadian active-duty military, veterans, and government employees with the Best Western Service Rewards Program. Get an automatic upgrade to Gold status and the ability to earn 10% additional points.

People who qualify for this program include:

• Federal and state government employees when showing government ID
• Active-duty military, veterans, and civilian-military personnel
• Tax-funded hospital and university personnel
• Cost reimbursable contractors

Earn through extra promotions

Like most hotel chains, Best Western Rewards offers promotions on a regular basis. With these promotions, you can earn extra points or award nights. To learn about these valuable promotions, sign up for the Best Western Rewards newsletter (I receive promotional emails and if I can take advantage of those offers, I sign up online).

These offers are typically for a limited time, with stipulations like “stay two consecutive nights by X date” to earn an extra 4,000 points. You do have to register for these offers, however. They’re not automatically added to your account as a rewards member.

Spend with Best Western Rewards travel partners

Spending money with Best Western rewards partners will also help you maximize your points. Best Western has partnered with rental car agencies, retailers, and airlines so that members can earn even more points through different credit cards and rewards programs.

Six rental car agencies offer discounts and hotel points for Best Western Rewards members. Depending on which rental car company you choose, you can often earn bonus points while also saving on the car rental.

The Best Western Rewards program also has a number of airline partners. Unfortunately, you won't earn Best Western Rewards points on your flights, but you can earn airline miles for your hotel stays with Best Western — a valuable perk if you’re a frequent flier.

Best Western Rewards tiers at a glance

Five elite status levels are available in the Best Western Rewards program. The Gold (2nd level) and Diamond Select (top tier) offer the same benefits, except for the bonus points you earn from each stay. And if you have elite status with another hotel loyalty program, Best Western will instantly match your status at no charge.

All tiers earn 10X points on Best Western hotel stays, points don’t expire, and there are no blackout dates. You also can access discounted member rates. It’s helpful that even if you don’t have a high point balance, you can use Pay with Points to redeem a minimum of 5,000 points for a discounted stay.

How to qualify for premium membership tiers faster

It can take a while to move up elite tiers by staying at Best Western properties. Fortunately, there are ways to climb the ladder more quickly that don't require a lot of money or time.

The first option is to get a Best Western Rewards credit card. The Best Western Rewards Visa Signature card comes with automatic Gold status, while the Premium card offers automatic Platinum status (though there is an annual fee for the Premium card).

If you’re a business owner, signing up for the Best Western Business Advantage program earns you automatic Diamond status. Plus, you get automatic Gold status for your employees. Military and government workers receive Gold status when they show their ID at check-in.

FAQs

The following are some frequently asked questions from new and existing members of Best Western's hotel loyalty program.

Bottom line

Best Western has over 4,300 hotels worldwide. Though you may already have a favorite loyalty program, such as Hilton Honors or World of Hyatt, it’s good to have a backup option such as Best Western.

The Best Western Rewards program comes with lots of perks including discounted or free hotel nights. You can join the rewards program for free or open up a Best Western Rewards Visa Signature card with no annual fee, or go to the top-tier Best Western Rewards Premium Visa Signature to maximize your benefits in the program.

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