[ANALYSIS] Best Western Rewards
Best Western is quite prominent across the country so I believe it merits an analysis. Furthermore, Best Western Rewards points never expire (for members who reside in North, Central and South America, Asia and South Africa), which makes this program much more attractive.
You can earn Best Western Rewards points at a rate of 10 points for every $1 USD (or the equivalent for other currencies) excluding taxes.
The best bang for your buck is the redeem your points for a reward night for as low as 8,000 points. The rooms increase in increments of 4,000 (12,000, 16,000, etc.) all the way to 36,000 point rooms.
You can jump start your account with the MBNA Best Western Rewards Platinum Plus MasterCard. The highlights of the card are as follows:
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- No annual fee
- Earn 20,000 sign up bonus points after your first purchase
- Earn 20,000 additional bonus points when you spend $1,000 on the first 90 days
- Earn 50 points for every cash advance transaction over $50
- Earn 1.5 point for every $1 on all purchases
- Receive a 1 tier elite status upgrade within the Best Western Rewards program when you spend $6,000 on your card within 1 year
The no annual fee makes this card a no-brainer for Best Western fans. The 20,000 sign up bonus is quite generous considering there is no annual fee, but there have been promotions of 50,000 and 60,000 sign up bonuses with minimum spend requirements. So if you are not in a hurry, you can wait for the next promotion.
One amazing perk is the elite status upgrade for spending $6,000 a year on the credit card.
Comments to MBNA and Best Western: I am glad to see that we can earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, though I would have liked to see 3 points per dollar spent at Best Western Hotels. Otherwise, I think that this is a very good credit card to have and I hope that they continue to improve the product.
Overall, I am a big fan of Best Western, especially since their hotels are very affordable even if you paid in cash. I hope that they can continue to improve their products to ensure the continued loyalty of its members.
Here is a review at one of my Best Western stays.