(EXPIRED) Best Western Promo: Stay 2 Nights & Earn Free Night, Then Get 2x Points On Subsequent Nights

Best Western has opened registration for a new promotion and in true Best Western style they’ve taken what could’ve been a great promotion and structured it in a way that makes it far less enticing.

The Deal

• Stay 2 nights with Best Western & earn a free night award, then earn 2x bonus points on subsequent stays.
• Direct link to registration.

Key Terms

• Best Western Rewards members who (a) register for the promotion on bestwestern.com or as otherwise permitted (e.g., at the front desk of any Best Western branded hotel), (b) complete two (2) eligible night stays*, between June 6, 2022 and September 4, 2022 at any Best Western branded hotel in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean Islands, and (c) have a valid email address listed in the Rewards Member’s account profile at the time of registration for the promotion, will earn a free night award redeemable at any Best Western branded hotel in the United States, Canada or the Caribbean Islands.
• The free night award is only eligible to be redeemed Sunday-Thursday nights, beginning September 5, 2022 and will expire on February 16, 2023. The award will not be accepted for Friday or Saturday nights of a reservation. The free night award will be sent out via email the week of August 29, 2022. There is a limit of one (1) free night award a Rewards Member can earn during the Promotion Period. Free night award redemption is subject to hotel availability.
• Promotion registration and BWR enrollment/membership is required prior to the first eligible night applied towards the promotion. Eligible nights completed prior to promotion registration and BWR enrollment/membership will not count towards satisfying the promotion requirements.
• The free night award will expire on February 16, 2023. The expiration date will be stated on the free night award. Free night award redemption reservation must be completed by calling 1(800) 567-4009. Free night award can only be redeemed Sunday-Thursday nights at any Best Western branded hotel in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean Islands. Free night award redemption is subject to hotel availability.
• No extensions, substitutions, or replacements are available. Promotion is not valid with any other offer, promotion, or discount. Promotion is subject to cancellation or change without notice. The free night award will be sent electronically to the Rewards Member’s email address (regardless of whether the Member has opted out of Best Western communications) in their account profile. Free night awards will not be sent via mail or any other means other than to the Rewards Member’s email address as registered in the account profile. All BWR program rules apply. Visit bestwesternrewards.com for complete program terms and conditions.
• *An “eligible night stay” for the purpose of this promotion is defined as a night stay at any Best Western branded hotel in the United States, Canada, or the Caribbean Islands, at a rate eligible for earning points, with the exception of a night booked through an online travel agency, a night booked through a tour operator, or a night booked at a special discounted rate (see BWR program rules for further information on eligibility criteria at bestwesternrewards.com). Eligible nights can be consecutive or separate and at the same Best Western branded hotel or separate hotels. Eligible nights which take place during the Promotion Period must be completed on or before Sunday, September 4, 2022 to be counted towards the promotion.

Quick Thoughts

Oh Best Western, you were so close to putting together a great promotion. Giving a free night certificate after staying only two nights is an excellent reward that could certainly entice people to move at least one stay to you, but then you go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like “here are all the hoops you have to jump through.”

It’s actually impressive all the ways they’ve managed to contrive to make it harder to use the free night award:

1. It’s not valid on Friday or Saturday nights – the days of the week most people would want to use it.
2. You don’t receive the award until the end of August/beginning of September. If you stayed two nights from June 6-8, you’d therefore have to wait almost three months to receive the free night.
3. Once you have the free night, you have fewer than six months to redeem it.
4. You have to call Best Western to redeem the free night award – it can’t be used online.
5. Usage of the free night is subject to hotel availability. Best Western doesn’t have blackout dates, but I’ve no idea how many rooms each property makes available for award nights.
6. It can only be used for a stay in the United States, Canada or the Caribbean Islands.

Once you’ve stayed two nights and earned your eventually-forthcoming free night, you’ll earn double points on subsequent stays. They can’t even make that easy though. To earn double points, you have to register for that second part of the promotion, but you can’t do that until you receive an email from Best Western. There’s no guarantee that you’ll receive that email either because you have to be opted in to receive email marketing from them in order to get the registration email for that second offer.

If you’re happy to jump through Best Western’s hoops though, getting a free night when staying only two nights is, in theory, a very good offer. You can also stack it with the Best Western Amex Offer giving $20 back when spending $100.

Here are all current hotel promotions:

h/t OMAAT

Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.