Is the Best Western Rewards Premium Mastercard Worth Its Annual Fee?

An annual-fee credit card can bring benefits to outweigh the cost, but it’s still important to do the math when determining if any card is worth its fee. For a reasonable $89 fee, the right cardholder will find plenty of ways to make the Best Western Rewards® Premium Visa Signature® Card worth it.

Valuable perks of the Best Western Rewards® Premium Visa Signature® Card

The welcome bonus

The Best Western Rewards® Premium Visa Signature® Card comes with a fairly attainable and valuable welcome bonus: Bonus points offer of 20,000 to 80,000 points with qualifying spend. You’ll see your bonus points offer before you apply.

While welcome bonuses can be an attractive way to make up for the cost of a credit card, keep in mind that they're one-time events, but annual fees are recurring.

NerdWallet estimates a Best Western point is worth 0.6 cent. Remember, though, that Best Western Rewards doesn't follow a strict award chart. You should aim to get at least 0.6 cent value per point when redeeming points for free nights.

» Learn more: Your guide to booking award nights with Best Western

Points on everyday spending

For every dollar you spend on gas station and grocery store purchases, you’ll earn at least 4 Best Western points. For every dollar you spend on Best Western stays, however, that bumps up to 10 points per dollar spent.

You’ll also earn 10 points per dollar on your stay simply for being a Best Western Rewards member. Add that to the 10 points from the Best Western Rewards® Premium Visa Signature® Card, and you earn 20 points per dollar spent at Best Western properties. These points — and their value against the annual fee — can add up fast if you use the card to pay for stays at Best Western.

Other purchases earn 2 points per dollar spent.

» Learn more: How to earn points with Best Western Rewards

Automatic elite status

Best Western Rewards® Premium Visa Signature® Card holders get automatic Platinum Elite status with Best Western. However, Best Western’s elite levels don’t add much value and are negligible when compared with the annual fee.

The only real advantage to Platinum Elite status over non-elite status is the additional 15% bonus points on eligible stays. Instead of the 10 points per dollar you'll receive for being a Best Western Rewards member, you'll earn 11.5.

» Learn more: Best Western elite status: How to get it and what it includes

Free night awards

Every cardholder anniversary, you'll automatically receive one free night. Then, you can receive another free night after you spend $10,000 during an anniversary year. Note that you're only eligible to receive these free nights once you pay the annual fee after your first cardholder anniversary.

The bottom line

For a Best Western fan, it’s easy to find ways to make the annual fee for the Best Western Rewards® Premium Visa Signature® Card worth it, given the welcome bonus and free nights. However, there are annual-fee travel cards out there that provide better flexibility, more valuable perks and discounts, and more value for many travelers. That said, if you’re looking to score a load of Best Western points, it's easy to justify having this card in your rotation.