With a footprint of 4,700 hotels spanning more than 100 countries, Best Western has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Its loyalty program, Best Western Rewards, is your ticket to points and perks across the globe.
If you’re new to Best Western and have a hotel stay coming up, get things started by requesting a free status match. From there, make the most of the program by unlocking free nights or airline frequent flyer points – the choice is yours.
Read on to learn more about the Best Western Rewards program.
How do I join Best Western Rewards?
Joining Best Western Rewards is free and easy. If you’re not already a member, follow these simple steps:
- Head to the ‘Join Best Western Rewards’ page and enter the required personal contact details.
- On the same page, choose between earning Best Western Rewards Points or airline miles.
- Click ‘Join’ and your enrolment is complete. Take note of your new Best Western Rewards membership number.
- When it comes time to book a Best Western stay, log in to your account first. This will get you access to exclusive member rates, and helps make sure you earn the rewards you deserve with every stay.
What are the Best Western brands?
The Best Western group currently has a range of different hotel brands within its portfolio. You can earn and redeem points on stays at GLō, Vīb, Best Western Plus, BW Premier Collection, Best Western Premier, Sadie by Best Western, Best Western, BW Signature Collection, Executive Residency by Best Western and Aiden by Best Western.
Best Western also now offers WorldHotels Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Distinctive and WorldHotels Crafted Collections among its suite of brands. Competing that list is SureStay Hotel by Best Western, SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western, SureStay Collection by Best Western and SureStay Studio.
How do I earn reward points at Best Western?
Earning Best Western Rewards Points on stays
You’ll earn 10 Best Western Rewards Points for every eligible US dollar spent on your room. You can also earn points on eligible folio charges, including room service. If you’re an elite status member, you’ll get a 10-50% bonus, depending on your status tier.
In a move that’s great for less frequent travellers, Best Western Points never expire. It’s also possible to pool your family’s points into a single account, provided you live at the same address.
If you need a few extra points, you can also buy Best Western Rewards Points. This costs US$10 (AU$13.95) per 1,000 Points, up to a maximum of 20,000 Points per transaction. Best Western doesn’t normally run discounted ‘buying points’ deals, so expect to pay US$200 (AU$278.70) for a full serve of 20,000.
Earning airline miles on stays
Rather than earning points in Best Western’s own loyalty program, you might prefer to earn airline frequent flyer points instead. This can be a good option for travellers who mightn’t stay with Best Western regularly.
For Australian travellers, you won’t find Qantas Frequent Flyer or Velocity Frequent Flyer as worldwide earning partners. But you can earn miles with other major programs such as Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or British Airways Executive Club.
Here is the full list of Best Western’s airline earning partners, as of February 2022:
| Frequent flyer program | Miles earned per stay |
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 500 Avios |
| Aeroflot Bonus | 500 miles |
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 800 km |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 250 miles |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 250 miles |
| Alaska Mileage Plan | 250 miles |
| Asiana Airlines’ Asiana Club | 250 miles |
| Avianca Life Miles | 250 miles |
| British Airways Executive Club | 500 Avios |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 250 miles |
| China Southern Sky Pearl Club | 250 miles |
| Czech Airlines OK Plus | 500 miles |
| Hainan Airlines’ Fortune Wings Club | 250 miles |
| Iberia Plus | 500 Avios |
| Lufthansa Miles & More | 500 miles |
| Millemiglia (formerly of Alitalia) | 500 miles |
| Payback Germany | 250 points |
| South African Airways’ Voyager | 500 miles |
| SAS Euro Bonus | 600 points |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | 600 points |
| Turkish Airlines’ Miles & Smiles | 250 miles |
| United MileagePlus | 250 miles |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 500 points |
| Vueling Club | 500 Avios |
Speaking of Qantas though, you may be able to collect Qantas Points across Australia and New Zealand. But because that tie-up isn’t global, you’d need to specify your earning preference on a hotel-by-hotel basis. If you’re unable to do this online, ask at the front desk to swap your earning preference to Qantas Points.
How do I use points at Best Western?
Using Best Western Rewards Points for stays
Best Western Rewards Points can be used for a free night at most properties, without any blackout dates. Not only can you redeem a free night for yourself, but you could also gift a free night to family and friends!
The number of points needed depends on each property and ranges from 5,000 to 70,000 points per night.
Using points at the Redemption Mall
Alternatively, use your Best Western Rewards points at the Redemption Mall to make donations, get gift cards, or swap for airline miles.
The best value option is Best Western virtual gift cards, which cost 2,000 points per US$10.
If you’d rather pocket frequent flyer points, 5,000 points swaps for 1,000 partner airline miles in most cases.
Should I select Best Western Points or airline miles?
The choice of earning Best Western Rewards Points or airline miles comes down to personal preference and how much you’d usually pay for a stay. So let’s take a look at a few different scenarios.
If you pay US$100 for a stay, you’d normally earn at least 1,000 Best Western Rewards Points. These would transfer to roughly 200 frequent flyer miles. Alternatively, earning airline miles directly would net you 250 to 600 miles for a stay, so this would be the better option overall.
But if you spent US$500 for a stay, you’d earn 5,000 Best Western Rewards points. That generally transfers into 1,000 airline miles. However, when earning airline miles directly, you’d still only get 250-600 miles overall, as the earning rates are per stay. In this case, earning the Best Western Points may be better.
It’s a good idea to run the numbers for your particular stay to see whether the points or airline miles earned is the best fit for you. If you have Best Western Rewards status, the balance may also swing more towards earning Best Western Rewards Points first.
What are the Best Western elite status levels?
Best Western Rewards has five status tiers, which are:
- Blue
- Gold
- Platinum
- Diamond
- Diamond Select
Unlike most other hotel status programs, Best Western Rewards introduces most of its perks at the Gold level. Subsequent higher levels only see a boost in the points-earning rate.
Best Western Blue
Requirement: just enrolment in the program
- Exclusive reservations line
- No blackout dates for free nights
- Points never expire
- Earn 10 points per US$1 spent
Best Western Gold
2022 requirement: 3 stays, 5 nights, or 5,000 base points
In addition to Blue benefits, you’ll get:
- Room upgrade (not suites or specialty rooms)
- A thank you gift or points on arrival
- 10% bonus points per stay
Best Western Platinum
2022 requirement: 5 stays, 7 nights, or 7,500 base points
In addition to Gold benefits, you’ll get:
- 15% bonus points per stay
Best Western Diamond
2022 requirement: 10 stays, 15 nights, or 15,000 base points
In addition to Platinum benefits, you’ll get:
- 30% bonus points per stay
Best Western Diamond Select
2022 requirement: 20 stays, 25 nights, or 25,000 base points
In addition to Diamond benefits, you’ll get:
- 50% bonus points per stay
How do I get free Best Western Rewards status?
Best Western Rewards offers the ‘Status Match, No Catch’ program. This means if you hold loyalty status with any other hotel program, Best Western will match it free of charge, and with no other conditions.
While you won’t get more much in terms of perks, having a higher Best Western tier means you could be earning more points for your next free night or points redemption.
How do I contact Best Western Rewards?
From Australia, call 1800 222 422 to speak to Best Western. From overseas, check the contacts page link for a list of local numbers.
Alternatively, complete the online customer service form to lodge an enquiry.
Summing up
Best Western Rewards is an underdog loyalty program of sorts, offering a simplified ‘earn and burn’ proposition. It’s easy enough to earn points and use them for free nights, or eschew that completely and earn frequent flyer miles with a participating airline partner.
Best Western’s status levels aren’t that different (after all, this is a ‘value-based’ hotel chain). But given most people with existing hotel status will be able to get a status match without fuss, there’s no harm in doing so.
Additional reporting by Chris Chamberlin.
Frequently asked questions
You will need between 5,000 to 70,000 points for a free night, depending on the individual property type and dates.
The value of the Points depends on what you use them for. For example, 1,000 Points are worth US$5 if you redeem them for Best Western gift cards on the Redemption Store. If you wanted to buy points to top-up your account, then it would cost you US$10 per 1,000 points.
The best use of Best Western Rewards Points is generally for free nights at hotels, or for Best Western virtual gift cards on the redemption store. Both options net about US$5 per 1,000 points.
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