Best Western hotels Best Western Rewards

Best Western Best Rate Guarantee $100 Travel Card

Best Western is the world’s largest hotel brand with over 4,000 hotels. This hotel chain offers a loyalty program for more hotels outside the USA of any global hotel chain, except Accor Hotels. And Best Western competes well with Accor for hotels in countries outside of France.

Best Western approved Best Rate Guarantee claim matches the lower rate found on a competing Online Travel Agency and offers a $100 Best Western Travel Card as an additional benefit.

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Best Western Best Rate Guarantee T&C

  • You have a confirmed reservation at a Best Western hotel made on a Best Western branded website.
  • The claim must be made through the Best Western Customer Care Department within twenty-four (24) hours of booking the reservation on www.bestwestern.comand must be accompanied by a valid confirmation number respecting a stay.
  • Reservations booked within forty-eight (48) hours of arrival are not eligible for the Program.
  • The difference between the rates when compared pursuant to these terms and conditions must be equal to or greater than U.S. $1.00.
  • Approved claims will receive the lower rate and a $100 Best Western Travel Card.
  • Limit one (1) Travel Card per household per claim for any stay and only one (1) Travel Card per household during any thirty (30) day period(lower rate will be honored regardless of eligibility of Travel Card due to limitations).
  • Must reside in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean Islands, and the booking must be for a Best Western branded hotel located in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean Islands.

 

When is BestWestern.com not www.BestWestern.com?

Best Western denied my Best Rate Guarantee claim yesterday stating I had not made my reservation at www.BestWestern.com.

The rate discrepancy is still there between the rate offered at www.bestwestern.comand the OTA site found on Kayak.com.

I actually did make my reservation on BestWestern.com, but I had linked to the Best Western site through Kayak.com and they invalidated my claim for that linking.

Choice Hotels approved my Best Rate Guarantee claim yesterday for one free night after I linked to QualityInn.com through Kayak.com to book the hotel room through hotel brand site in the same way I linked to BestWestern.com through Kayak.com to book the Best Western hotel.

Warning: Go directly to the www.BestWestern.combooking site and avoid linking to the hotel chain site through the hotel meta-search engine.

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According to Best Western BRG agent, Kayak did not send me to www.BestWestern.com.

It is kind of ridiculous that the linking to Best Western from Kayak.com invalidated my claim considering I was logged into my Best Western Rewards account when I booked the room on the Best Western site.

Question: When is BestWestern.com not www.BestWestern.com?

Answer:When you link to BestWestern.com through Kayak.com.

This is how the source page looked in my OneNote file.

“Kayak BWI Booking – Review & Reserve

https://dconnect.bestwestern.com/DirectConnectWeb/reviewAndReserve.doâ€

Pay Close Attention to Hotel Cancellation Policies

I canceled that Best Western reservation after receiving my Best Rate Guarantee rejection. That is why it is important to avoid prepaid, nonrefundable room rates when your hotel plans largely depend on getting an approved Best Rate Guarantee.

The rate discrepancies found on Kayak.com have not changed since yesterday for two hotels in Modesto, California.

I could make a new reservation at www.bestwestern.comand submit another Best Rate Guarantee again today, but I now think I will not be routing myself through Modesto on my road trip next week.

I booked a Best Western in Modesto, tried my luck for a $100 BW Travel Card, had my BRG claim rejected, and I canceled the Best Western hotel reservation. Low risk and not much time involved to book a room, file a BRG claim and cancel the reservation when my claim was rejected.

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Kayak.com rate search for Modesto, California

Best Western Town House Lodge: Booking.com = $69; Best Western = $73.

Best Western Plus Orchard Inn: Hotels.com = $67; Best Western = $71.

These are examples of hotels where you can have an $80 hotel night after tax and the potential to receive a $100 Best Western Travel card.

Update: July 17, 2012 – Best Western management read this article and I was notified they have updated their BRG policy. These are the little consumer effects that make writing Loyalty Traveler blog enjoyable.

As a result of your findings and research on this matter, we have provided our customer service team with an updated training memo to remind them that the rates found on meta searchsites where re-directed to Best Western.com must be honored with our Lowest Rate Guarantee.

 

Best Western Summer Promotion

Best Western Free Night after 3 stays June 17 – August 19, 2012

Best Western has a current promotion of one free night after three stays. A successful BRG claim or two makes it possible to reduce the expense of four hotel nights with one or two nights accompanied by a $100 Best Western Travel Card. You can only receive a $100 Travel Card every 30 days so you need a BRG claim this week to get a second one before the August 19 date.

You can stay three nights on three separate stays at Best Western Hotels for about $200 and potentially earn one free night and $200 in Best Western Travel Cards on two approved Best rate Guarantee claims this summer.

***** Earn a free night certificate after 3 stays – June 17 – August 19. Best Western MasterCard members earn 1,000 bonus points if used for payment on all three stays. Loyalty Traveler post June 11, 2012.

Best Western Rewards promotion registration is requiredprior to your stays.

a screenshot of a hotel registration

Facebook Fans: Best Western runs weekly promotions on its Facebook page. Any Best Western frequent guest should check out Best Western Facebook.

Related Loyalty Traveler posts:

Devilish Details of Best Rate Guarantee Claims(July 9)

Marriott Hotels Look No Further Best Rate Guarantee for 25% Discount(July 10)

Hilton Worldwide Best Rate Guarantee – Weaker than Marriott?(July 11)

InterContinental Hotels Group Best Rate Guarantee Get One Free Night(July 12)

Over 100 Hours for Carlson Best Rate Guarantee Reply(July 7)

Starwood Preferred Guest Best Rate Guarantee for 2,000 Points or 10% off(July 13)

Choice Hotels Best Rate Guarantee Free Night(July 14)

Loyalty Traveler original post link: http://loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2012/07/14/best-western-best-rate-guarantee-100-travel-card/

Ric Garrido, writer and content owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

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7 Comments

  • Cook July 14, 2012

    Like many promotions, they have so many self-protection holes in the thing that they can escape paying all claims if the so wish. As you have demonstrated, it is – for the most part just junk. And with Best Western, one must be especially careful about the specific house booked. They may be the largest, but means that they also include the broadest range of inns. Those under the Best Western coop brand can- and do – range from infested “one star” hotels up to and including a few that deserve to be in the 4+ star catagory. The marketing brand alone is NOT enough to assure the guest of anything. What membership standards to they impose upon their member hotels? Beyond paying the annual membership fee, proably not many. Thirty-five years ago, Best Western had real meaning: A respectable, clean and maintained hotel, at least adaquate service and probably a modest, mid-rage price. Today, they have exceeded themselves and on both ends of the scale. A few BW houses are exceptional treats, but the majority seem to be the same member houses from 35 years ago – and that have made zero improvements. While often a tad better than a typical “Motel 6,” most of them would not score much better than a “Motel 6.5.” While the brand may be large it does not have the meaning that it once did. Be careful!

  • Amanda July 16, 2012

    can you book the cheaper room thru’ other sites (like hotel.com) and send them the confirmation# for verification?
    that way best western can see the price comparison. Otherwise – by the time best western look into it, the rate may no longer be available.

  • Ric Garrido July 17, 2012

    @Cook – Sounds like you are going to some rough places.

    What I like about Best Western is their locations in some really rural places around the western states.

    The ones I have seen generally are looking fairly good for their market location. Where I find Best Western value is road tripping into the mountains of the California, Oregon and Washington and the Best Western is generally one of the better hotels in a location.

    I rarely visit Best Western hotels in big cities.

    @Amanda – You have to book the hotel room on the Best Western website to be eligible for a Low Rate Guarantee and earn hotel points.

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  • al613 October 25, 2012

    It seems they are no longer offering it. No mention at all on their new website.

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