(EXPIRED) Best Western: Earn Up To $60 In “Gift Cards” After 3 Stays By February 2, 2020

Best Western has launched its new quarterly promotion which is running until February 2, 2020. You’ll earn Best Western gift cards of increasing amounts on your first three stays during the promotion period, but note that there’s a very important restriction with the cards.

The Deal

• Best Western is running the following promotion:
  • Stay once & get $10 Best Western gift card.
  • Get $20 Best Western gift card after your second stay.
  • Get $30 Best Western gift card after your third stay.
• Direct link to registration.

Key Terms

• Offer valid on stays from December 2, 2019 to February 2, 2020.
• Members will earn one (1) 10 USD/CAD/EUR/GBP** Gift Card following the completion of the first eligible stay, one (1) 20 USD/CAD/EUR/GBP** Gift Card following the completion of the second eligible stay, and one (1) 30 USD/CAD/EUR/GBP** Gift Card following the completion of the third eligible stay. There is a limit of three (3) Gift Cards per Member during the Promotion Period totaling 60 USD/CAD/EUR/GBP**.
• **Customers who reside in countries where their main currency is USD, CAD, GBP, or EUR, will be issued a Gift Card in their country’s respective currency, otherwise, a USD Gift Card will be issued.
• The Gift Card(s) will be issued in the currency used in the Member’s country of residence, as indicated in the Member’s account profile, where available**.
• The Gift Card(s) will be emailed as a virtual gift card to the Member’s email address registered in their Best Western Rewards profile.
• The Gift Card(s) cannot be used to pay for the first eligible stay, during which the Member qualified to receive the Gift Card pursuant to this Promotion. The Gift Card(s) can be used toward a subsequent stay after the Gift Card is received.
• Promotion registration and Best Western Rewards enrollment/membership required prior to the first eligible stay applied to the Promotion.
• Eligible stays completed prior to Promotion registration and Best Western Rewards enrollment/membership will not count towards satisfying the Promotion requirements. Best Western Rewards enrollment may be completed by visiting bestwesternrewards.com.
• The Gift Card will expire 120 days after the date of issuance. The expiration date will be stated on the Gift Card.

Quick Thoughts

This promotion initially seemed like it could be somewhat rewarding, as earning up to $60 in gift cards after three stays seemed like a reasonable return if you booked three fairly cheap one-night stays.

That was until I noticed the term I’ve bolded above. Best Western is advertising these as gift cards, but in reality they’re more like promo cards as they expire 120 days after being issued. I’m not sure on the legality of Best Western calling them gift cards, because gift cards you purchase aren’t allowed to expire until at least five years after they’re purchased based on federal law. There might be a loophole here though seeing as they’re a reward rather than something you purchase. Even if it is legal, I feel like it’s a shady way of running a promotion, especially seeing as you have to specifically click through to the terms and conditions to discover that important restriction. The terms state that the expiration date will be stated on the “gift card”, but as it’s a virtual card then guests might not notice that expiration date until they go to use it after it expires.

Best Western also recently devalued their award chart, almost doubling their top tier from 36,000 points to 70,000 points. As with all hotel promotions, it’s worth registering for this just in case you end up having an unexpected stay. However, it’s probably only worth actively taking advantage of it if you know you’ll be staying at another Best Western property within 120 days of your first stay seeing as the reward will go to waste otherwise.

I’ve never stayed at a Best Western property, but if I did then I’d book it through Hotels.com instead. That way I could pay with a Hotels.com gift card I’d bought at a 20% discount (and which will never expire) while also earning 10% back in Welcome Rewards that I don’t expect Hotels.com to devalue overnight to only being worth 5%. You see Best Western – that’s how things should be done!

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