How to Earn Points With Best Western Rewards

Once you join Best Western Rewards, opening a co-branded card is the quickest way to start earning.
Sally French
By Sally French 
Updated
Edited by Mary M. Flory

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.

MORE LIKE THISTravel

Best Western is one of the best midscale brands out there, and staying at one of the company’s roughly 4,200 hotels worldwide can shape up to be one of the best ways to have a comfortable stay at an often-budget-friendly price.

But even better than staying at a hotel for a low price is staying for free on points. However, in order to redeem points for Best Western stays, you’ll have to earn them. And earning them is a worthy mission, as the Best Western Rewards program is underrated in many ways. Points never expire. There are no blackout dates for redeeming your points. And the higher your elite status, the more points you’ll earn.

But how much is a Best Western point actually worth? NerdWallet values one Best Western Rewards point at 0.7 cent each.

Here are the best ways to earn Best Western Rewards points.

Join the Best Western Rewards program

The first step to earning with Best Western is to join the brand's loyalty program. Signing up is free — you’ll just have to register an account. Once you do, you automatically earn Blue status in the program.

Along with perks such as early check-in and late checkout, all members earn at least 10 points per $1 spent on eligible stays at Best Western properties just for being part of the program.

And once you’re a member, there are tons more ways to earn points — and they don’t even necessarily require staying at Best Western hotels.

Earn elite status with Best Western

The Best Western elite status program puts you in one of five tiers of elite status. The higher your status, the more points you’ll earn for your Best Western stays.

Everyone earns at least 10 points per dollar spent, but those with elite status will earn even more.

Here’s how the earnings structure breaks down by elite status tier (and how to earn it):

Elite status level

Qualification requirements

Bonus points earn per eligible stay

Blue

Free to join.

10 points per dollar.

Gold

5 nights, 3 stays or 5,000 points.

10% bonus.

Platinum

7 nights, 5 stays or 7,500 points.

15% bonus.

Diamond

15 nights, 10 stays or 15,000 points.

30% bonus.

Diamond Select

25 nights, 20 stays or 25,000 points.

50% bonus.

You have tons of options when it comes to which Best Western hotels to stay at. Best Western brands range from the company’s signature, midscale-minded Best Western hotels to the fancier Best Western Premier properties. The company’s Aiden brand embodies trendy, boutique-style properties, while its Sadie brand is upscale.

Pay with Best Western credit cards

One of the best ways to earn points quickly is with Best Western credit cards. The hotel brand has two consumer credit cards: the Best Western Rewards® Mastercard® and the Best Western Rewards® Premium Mastercard®.

Both come with an introductory offer that can be an efficient way to quickly earn a bunch of rewards. If applying for one of these cards, fulfill the terms so you actually earn those points.

The cards offer extremely high bonus points for spending at Best Western hotels, as well as points on general spending. While it’s likely better to put your regular spending on another credit card that has a higher earnings rate (given that the 2 points you earn on everyday purchases are only worth about 1.4 cents), charging everyday purchases to one of these cards can sometimes make sense to boost your Best Western points balance if you’re close to having enough points for the redemption you want.

Best Western Rewards® Mastercard®

Best Western Rewards® Premium Mastercard®

Annual fee

$0.

$89.

Intro offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points for up to 3 free nights- 40,000 points when you spend $1,000 in the first 3 billing cycles after the account is opened and 20,000 points when you spend $5,000 every 12 billing cycles.

Earn 120,000 bonus points for up to 7 free nights- 80,000 points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 billing cycles after the account is opened and 40,000 points when you spend $5,000 every 12 billing cycles.

Reward points

  • 3 points per $1 spent on Best Western stays.

  • 2 points per $1 spent on everything else.

  • 10 points per $1 spent on Best Western stays.

  • 2 points per $1 spent on everything else.

Automatic elite status

Gold.

Gold.

Reservation discount

10% off reservations booked using Best Western Rewards Rate.

10% off reservations booked using Best Western Rewards Rate.

Foreign transaction fee

None.

None.

Given NerdWallet’s value of one Best Western Rewards point at 0.7 cent each, you’re looking at a 2.1 cents or 7 cents return per dollar spent at a Best Western hotel paid for on those cards.

Shop with Best Western’s partners

Best Western partners with a few online retailers, as well as some rental car companies and airlines, allowing you to earn Best Western points for your spending. Typically you’ll have to make the purchase through the link on Best Western’s website for your points to be credited, while sometimes you’ll have to link your Best Western loyalty number to the partner program’s website.

For example, Best Western’s rental car partners include Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, National and Sixt. Booking with them as a Best Western member can mean discounted rates, points earning or both.


How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024, including those best for:

Hotel Cards from Our Partners
IHG® One Rewards Premier Credit Card

on Chase's website

IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-26x

Earn up to 26 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Earn 5 points per $1 spent on purchases on travel, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Points

Intro offer

165,000

Earn 165,000 Bonus Points after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Points
World Of Hyatt Credit Card

on Chase's website

World of Hyatt Credit Card
5.0
NerdWallet Rating
Rewards rate

1x-9x

Earn up to 9 points total per $1 spent at Hyatt – 4 Bonus Points per $1 when you use your card at Hyatt hotels & 5 Base Points per $1 you can earn as a World of Hyatt member. Earn 2 Bonus Points per $1 spent at restaurants, on airlines tickets purchased directly from the airlines, on local transit and commuting and on fitness club and gym memberships.

Points

Intro offer

30,000

Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 More Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.

Points
See more hotel cards
Get more smart money moves – straight to your inbox
Sign up and we’ll send you Nerdy articles about the money topics that matter most to you along with other ways to help you get more from your money.