How Much Are Best Western Rewards Points Worth?

Best Western runs the Best Western Rewards program for people who wish to make the most of their stays at its properties. This group comprises 18 brands and has hotels and resorts spread across more than 100 countries and territories worldwide.

You can earn points when you stay at Best Western properties, shop through partner merchants and use co-branded Best Western credit cards. You may also choose to earn airline loyalty miles through this rewards program.

Depending on how you redeem Best Western points, you may get a value of under 0.5 cents to over 1 cent per point. When getting a free night, you will need anywhere from 5,000 to 70,000 points based on the location and the property type you select.

This rewards program is ideal for people who stay at Best Western properties frequently, given that you stand to enjoy multiple benefits as you move up the membership ladder. The Best Western Rewards program offers its members fairly average value compared to other hotel loyalty programs.

How much Best Western points are worth depends on how you redeem them. When using them for free nights, you may get 1 cent per point in some cases, although this is only with a handful of properties. Usually, they are valued at around 0.6 cents to 0.8 cents per point. While this is on par with what you can expect from most hotel loyalty programs, a few, such as the World of Hyatt and Wyndham Rewards, offer better value.

Compared to rewards programs run by other hotels, the value you get for your Best Western points is about average. While Best Western doesn’t have too many luxury properties to boast of, it’s fairly easy to get to its top membership tier, through which you can earn bonus points. You also get access to various benefits.

If you're wondering how to earn Best Western points, know that there are several ways to do so in addition to staying at Best Western properties. For example, you can earn points using co-branded Best Western credit cards, flying with its airline partners and shopping through any partner merchants.

Best Western runs its rewards program so that people who frequently stay at its properties can capitalize on their spending. Joining this program is free, and you can submit an online application. You’ll need to provide details such as your complete name, home or business address, phone number and email address.

Members have access to exclusive rates across Best Western properties. There are no blackout dates to worry about. Your points don’t expire as long as your account is active. Depending on your membership tier, you get access to different benefits. These include earning bonus points for eligible stays.

Once you become a Best Western Rewards member, you’ll earn rewards points when staying at Best Western properties. Depending on your membership tier, you may get up to a 50% bonus each time.

You can earn reward points on stays across all the brands that are part of the Best Western portfolio. Best Western Hotels & Resorts include Best Western, GLō, Vīb, Best Western Plus, BW Premier Collection, Best Western Premier, Sadie Best Western, BW Signature Collection, Executive Residency by Best Western and Aiden by Best Western. You also earn points when you stay at properties that are part of the WorldHotels Collection and the SureStay Hotel Group.

The First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) issues two co-branded Best Western credit cards that you may use to earn reward points faster. Both cards offer points that can be redeemed for free nights at Best Western properties, airline miles, gift cards, merchandise, and charitable donations. The value of points can vary based on the redemption option chosen.

It's important to note that these cards are most beneficial for frequent guests of Best Western hotels, as they offer higher rewards for purchases made at Best Western properties. With its higher annual fee, the Premium Mastercard provides greater rewards and benefits, particularly suited for those who regularly stay at Best Western properties. The no-annual-fee Mastercard is a more budget-friendly option, still offering valuable rewards for Best Western customers.

It’s possible to purchase Best Western points by logging in to your Best Western Rewards account. You may buy up to 20,000 points in a day, in increments of 1,000, by paying $10 per 1,000 points. At this rate, you pay 1 cent per point, which is less than the average value you may expect to receive when redeeming them.

Buying points might be a good idea only if you’re falling a little short of claiming a great award. Bear in mind that you can also pay using cash and points. In this case, you’ll receive $25 per 5,000 points, or 0.5 cents per point. Consequently, you might want to compare both options to determine which works better for you in any given scenario.

Another way to earn Best Western points is by spending through its airline, car rental and shopping partners. For example, you may earn 12,500 Best Western points if you join Vinesse Wine Club. Each order over $29.99 placed through Teleflora comes with 1,000 points. You stand to earn up to 2,000 points each time you use the program’s car/limo rental partners.

The program’s shopping partners include:

• Teleflora
• Vinesse Wines

Its car rental partners include:

• Enterprise
• Alamo
• Sixt
• Avis
• Budget
• National

Its list of airline partners includes:

• American Airlines
• AeroMexico
• Thai Airways
• Air France / KLM
• Lufthansa
• Alitalia
• Cathay Pacific
• Air Canada
• Virgin Atlantic
• United Airlines
• South African Airways
• Aer Lingus
• Southwest Airlines

Transferring points from popular credit card rewards programs such as American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards to your Best Western Rewards account is not possible. However, you may transfer your Diners Club rewards points to your Best Western Rewards account. In this case, you need to transfer at least 7,576 Diners Club points, which convert to 20,000 Best Western points.

Using your points for free Best Western rewards nights is relatively straightforward. While there is no official Best Western Rewards chart to refer to, you can determine how many points you need for a free night at the property of your choice by using the Best Western website. If you don't have enough points to pay for a free night, you may use your points to cover part of your stay's cost. It’s also possible to gift free nights to family members.

Depending on the property, type of room and the dates you select, you may require anywhere from 5,000 to 70,000 points for a free night.

There are a few other ways to redeem Best Western points. Transferring your points to various airline partners is an option. You may also use them to get travel gift cards or donate them to charity.

It’s possible to transfer Best Western points to various airline partners. In most cases, you get 1,000 miles/points/kilometers for 5,000 Best Western points. Exceptions include Flying Blue miles and MilleMiglia miles. In both these cases, you get 1,000 miles for 6,000 Best Western points. The program's other transfer partners include:

• Aeroplan
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
• Asia Miles
• Asiana Club
• LifeMiles
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• AeroMexico Club Premier
• AerClub
• British Airways Executive Club
• Iberia Plus
• Vueling Club

Since the best value you get by transferring your points to airline partners is 0.6 cents per point, and 0.5 cents per point in most cases, you may benefit more by redeeming them in some other way.

You may use the Best Western Redemption Mall to donate to organizations such as American Red Cross, Best Western Better World Fund, Best Western Scholarship Program, Make-A-Wish, Best Friends Animal Society and Hotels for Heroes. This redemption method gives you 500 points per $2, or a value of 0.4 cents per point.

Redeeming your points for a one-year CAA New Basic membership is possible. You may use your points to get e-vouchers from Amazon.com. Using your points to get Best Western virtual travel cards is also an option. In this case, you get a $10 card for 2,000 points and a $100 card for 20,000 points. This translates to 0.5 cents per point.

The Best Western Rewards program comprises five elite statuses. Benefits you receive through all statuses after Gold remain largely the same. The main difference lies in the number of bonus points you may earn. Moving from one level to the next requires that you meet minimum qualifying nights, stays or points requirements each year.

For 2023, Best Western lowered their qualifying nights requirement, making users reach higher tiers more easily. Also, BW offers status match for free - BW will match your elite status in any other hotel program. You just need to email StatusMatch@bestwestern.com and submit the required documentation.

Blue

• Qualifying Nights or Points: Not applicable
• Bonus Points: Not applicable
• Expiration of Member Status: Not applicable
• Rollover Nights: Not applicable

Gold

• Qualifying Nights or Points: 10 qualifying nights or 7 qualifying stays or 10,000 points (5, 3 or 5,000, respectively, for 2022)
• Bonus Points: 10%
• Expiration of Member Status: Members who achieve their tier level in 2022 will maintain it until March 31, 2024 (one calendar year, otherwise)
• Rollover Nights: Not applicable

Platinum

• Qualifying Nights or Points: 15 qualifying nights or 10 qualifying stays or 15,000 points (7, 5 or 7,500, respectively, for 2022)
• Bonus Points: 15%
• Expiration of Member Status: Members who achieve their tier level in 2022 will maintain it until March 31, 2024 (one calendar year, otherwise)
• Rollover Nights: Not applicable

Diamond

• Qualifying Nights or Points: 30 qualifying nights or 20 qualifying stays or 30,000 points (15, 10 or 15,000, respectively, for 2022)
• Bonus Points: 30%
• Expiration of Member Status: Members who achieve their tier level in 2022 will maintain it until March 31, 2024 (one calendar year, otherwise)
• Rollover Nights: Not applicable

Diamond Select

• Qualifying Nights or Points: 50 qualifying nights or 40 qualifying stays or 50,000 points (25, 20 or 25,000, respectively, for 2022)
• Bonus Points: 50%
• Expiration of Member Status: Members who achieve their tier level in 2022 will maintain it until March 31, 2024 (one calendar year, otherwise)
• Rollover Nights: Not applicable

You might want to move up the Best Western Rewards ladder mainly because of the bonus points you stand to earn. Some of the benefits you may expect with every level include no blackout dates, early check-in, late check-out and exclusive member rates. The other benefits after the Gold level include complimentary points and water upon arrival.

Going through other questions about how to maximize Best Western points' value is ideal if you wish to make the most of the points you earn