Loyalty Traveler checks-in to check-out Best Western brands

Best Western Rewards launched its 65-days of giveaways promotion this week. “Stay 3 times and earn a Free Night†spring promotion runs Sunday, February 6 through Monday, April 11, 2011. This 2011 calendar year marks the 65^th birthday of Best Western Hotels in 1946. The birthday accounts for a variety of promotion offers awarding bonus points in multiples of 65.

Best Western launches 3 Hotel Brand Types (we call them adjectives in elementary school)

• Best Western,
• Best Western Plus  
• Best Western Premier

You earn 6,500 bonus points, in addition to the free night offer, by staying in two of the three types of Best Western Hotels. The free night and the 6,500 bonus points can be earned only once during the 65-day promotion period.

650,000 Points for 10 members

An even more impressive offer is a bonus of 650,000 points to the first ten members to stay in all three types of Best Western Hotels. The catch is this promotion is only open to members in U.S., Canada, U.S. Virgin islands and the Bahamas and only hotel stays in U.S. Canada or Caribbean qualify.  The limiting factor is there are only four Premier hotels in North America.

You must include a stay in one of the following hotels as your Premier entry into this big bonus offer:

• Napa, California wine country, Best Western Premier Ivy Hotel
• or the Dallas suburb of Denton, Texas, Best Western Premier Crown Chase Inn & Suites
• or a fly-by at the Miami Airport, Best Western Premier Miami International Airport
• or go Dutch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Best Western Premier Eden Resort  

Europe has dozens of Best Western Premier hotels, but they aren’t playing this game.

 

Loyalty Traveler in Napa, California  – Hit Me with your Best Shot Wine Cowboy

I gave Best Western my loyalty traveler best try as I arrived in Napa, California on Superbowl Sunday for my attempt to be one of the first ten people in the U.S. to stay in all three Best Western brands.  Napa, California is a 150 miles from Monterey. Napa had February summer weather with record temperatures over much of central coast California on Sunday, February 6. Downtown Napa was over 80 on Sunday Superbowl afternoon and in the mid-70s on Monday. Between overdoses of sunshine, I squirreled away in Best Western hotel rooms for the evenings and typed away with HBO movies playing in the background. 

I stayed at the Best Western Plus ‘Inn at the Vines’ in a good-size comfortably furnished room on Sunday night, February 6.

On Monday, February 7, I kicked back in a nicely decorated room at Best Western Premier ‘Ivy Hotel’ and the stay included breakfast.

My third stay on Tuesday night Feb 8 was at Best Western Park Crest Inn, Monterey, California. I had a second floor ocean view. Looked like my room had one of the best views on the property. I call that a complimentary upgrade.

250 Points for Guest Feedback

Best Western Rewards currently offers 250 bonus points for sharing comments about your hotel stay at www.bwfeedback.com.

660,000 Best Western Rewards points is what I call a 5-key loyalty traveler promotion incentive.

The 650,000 points question?

Now I have to wait 10 weeks for the end of April to learn if I was one of the first 10 loyalty program members to stay in all three Best Western brands during the current promotion.

Regardless of the April outcome, I have earned one free night at any Best Western in U.S., Canada or Caribbean to be used by June 30, 2011. And I earned the 6,500 bonus points for staying in two brands. And I earned about 2,500 points for hotel stays, 30% bonus as Diamond member (750 points), and Diamond amenity bonuses (750 points) and hotel stay feedback bonus points (750 points).

Best  Western offers a status match from your current elite level in another program. 

Free nights at Best Western start at 8,000 points and rise in 4,000 points increments, up to 36,000 points for top tier hotel rewards.

 

Best Western Rewards 65^th Birthday Celebration

In 2006 Best Western members who spent 60 nights in Best Western hotels earned Diamond elite membership for life. I did a cost-benefit analysis and it came out favorable, but I couldn’t afford the cost at the time as I was launching Loyalty Traveler as my new business.

In 2011 Best Western is offering daily prizes for 65 days of the Best Western Birthday promotion:

• Days 1-32: 6,500 Best Western Rewards points (eligible to redeem for a $25 gift card)
• Days 33-48: 13,000 Best Western Rewards points (eligible to redeem for a $50 gift card)
• Days 49- 60: 26,000 Best Western Rewards points (eligible to redeem for a $100 gift card)
• Days 61-62: Lifetime Diamond Elite Status (normally requires 30 hotel nights in a calendar year) 
• Days 63-65: 260,000 Best Western Rewards points (eligible to redeem for a $1000 gift card)

 

Here is my quick assessment of Best Western Rewards as a loyalty program:

• Points are earned at an average rate with 10 points/$1 for hotel spend and up to 30% bonus points as a Best Western Diamond elite (30 nights in calendar year).
• The current loyalty promotion for a free night at any Best Western after three stays is a good value promotion. I rated it 4-keys of 5 in my Loyalty Traveler review on January 9, 2011. In general, my observation has been promotions in Best Western Rewards are slightly below average, primarily due to earning limits imposed on points bonuses and free nights.
• Best Western has a competitive advantage for a U.S. based hotel loyalty program with the number of hotels located outside the U.S. at nearly 2,000 properties. Only French-based Accor hotels has a comparable number of hotels globally outside the U.S.
• Best Western with about 2,200 hotels in the USA is slightly smaller in size to Hilton Hotels, Marriott, and IHG hotels with its many brands including Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza .

Hotel Reviews and photos of Napa, California Best Western hotels will come in a later post.

Related Links: Best Western Spring 2011 Promotion Terms and Conditions

Best Western Rewards Free Night With Three Separate Stays Feb 6 – April 11, 2011

Loyalty Traveler January 9, 2011 – http://loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2011/01/09/best-western-rewards-free-night-after-3-stays-feb-6-%e2%80%93-april-11-2011/