Best Western Rewards: How to earn and redeem points, elite status and more

Best Western Rewards is a program many travelers overlook. After all, it isn’t a transfer partner of any major credit card rewards currencies, and its elite benefits are minimal. But, the program has a mix of luxurious WorldHotels properties, value-oriented SureStay Hotels and Best Western hotels and resorts at various price points where you can earn and redeem points. So, here’s what you should know about Best Western Rewards.Best Western Rewards hotel brandsBest Western Rewards serves three portfolios that contain brands as follows:Best Western Hotels & Resorts: Aiden by Best Western, Best Western, Best Western Plus, Best Western Premier, BW Premier Collection, BW Signature Collection, Executive Residency by Best Western, Glo, Vib and @Home by Best WesternSureStay Hotels: SureStay, SureStay Collection, SureStay Studio and SureStay PlusWorldHotels: WorldHotels Crafted, WorldHotels Distinctive, WorldHotels Elite and WorldHotels LuxuryBest Western acquired WorldHotels in 2019 to add some more luxurious hotels to the Best Western Rewards portfolio. Meanwhile, Best Western created SureStay Hotels in 2016 as a white-label portfolio designed to appeal to value-minded travelers.Related: How and why you should maximize your hotel stays by using multiple loyalty programsBest Western Rewards elite statusBlue is the base tier of Best Western Rewards membership, but you can earn Best Western Rewards elite status when you meet specific qualifying night thresholds within a calendar year:Gold: 5 qualifying nightsPlatinum: 7 qualifying nightsDiamond: 15 qualifying nightsDiamond Select: 25 qualifying nightsOnce you accrue enough qualifying nights in a calendar year for a specific Best Western status, you’ll hold that status for the rest of the current calendar year and the entire next calendar year. So if you stay 15 qualifying nights in 2025, you’ll hold Best Western Diamond status through Dec. 31, 2026.Related: So, what exactly is elite status in travel — and how can I get it?Vib Hotel by Best Western Phoenix-Tempe. BEST WESTERNThe perks of Best Western elite status are minimal. However, Gold members and above receive complimentary water and 500 bonus points upon arrival at a participating hotel (bonus points aren’t offered at some international locations) and Platinum members and above get early check-in and late checkout (both based on availability). Plus, Best Western Rewards elite members enjoy bonus points on qualifying stays as follows:Gold: 10% bonusPlatinum: 15% bonusDiamond: 30% bonusDiamond Select: 50% bonusFinally, Best Western offers a generous status match offer that lets members match any other hotel elite status. Best Western considers the number of nights you’d need to stay for the other program’s elite status, so you’ll want to match whatever hotel elite status you have that requires the most nights to earn.If you live in North America, you can send an email with your full name, address, email address, phone number, Best Western Rewards member number and proof of elite status in another hotel program to StatusMatch@bestwestern.com. Proof of elite status in another hotel program can be a copy of the other program’s loyalty card or account statement, provided it includes your full name.Related: Comparing the best hotel elite status tiers and how to earn themHow to earn Best Western Rewards pointsIt can be difficult to earn Best Western Rewards points because the program doesn’t partner with any major transferable currencies. However, as you’ll learn in this section, there are still several ways to earn them.Stays with Best WesternYou’ll earn points on the room rate before taxes and fees for qualifying nights at Best Western hotel brands unless you book through an online travel agency or tour operator, or book an ineligible rate, including employee rates, wholesale rates, crew rates, and discounted long stay rates of 30 nights or more.Specifically, you’ll earn 10 points per dollar spent at most Best Western Rewards hotel brands — although you’ll only earn 5 points per dollar spent at SureStay Studio by Best Western, Executive Residency by Best Western and @Home by Best Western hotels.SureStay by Best Western Helen Downtown. BEST WESTERNYou can earn points for up to 10 rooms per stay in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean and up to three rooms per stay in other regions as long as you stay in one of the rooms, pay for all the rooms, members in the rooms don’t claim points and you tie your Best Western Rewards number to the rooms at booking or check-in.If you’re traveling on a group booking, up to 10 rooms per stay can earn points in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, and up to three rooms per stay can earn points in other regions. However, only the person making the reservation can decide which members receive points.Best Western Rewards credit cardsBest Western Rewards offers two cobranded credit cards: the $89 annual fee Best Western Rewards® Premium Visa Signature® Card and the no-annual-fee Best Western Rewards® Visa Signature® Card.The information for the Best Western Rewards Premium Visa Signature Card and Best Western Rewards Visa Signature Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.Blake Hotel New Orleans, BW Signature Collection. BEST WESTERNThe Best Western Rewards Premier Visa Signature Card earns 10 points per dollar spent on Best Western stays, 4 points per dollar spent at gas stations and grocery stores and 2 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. Additionally, cardholders receive up to two complimentary night awards each anniversary and enjoy automatic Platinum elite status.Meanwhile, the no-annual-fee Best Western Rewards Visa Signature Card earns 4 points per dollar spent on Best Western stays and 2 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. Additionally, cardholders receive automatic Gold elite status and 10,000 anniversary bonus points, which are generous benefits for a no-annual-fee card.Related: 4 reasons you need a credit card with your favorite hotel loyalty programBuy Best Western pointsYou can buy Best Western points for 1 cent per point in increments of 1,000 points. However, you can only purchase up to 20,000 points per day and 100,000 points per 12-month period, and the points may take up to two business days to post.Magnolia Pointe Hotel & Suites, BW Signature Collection. BEST WESTERNNew Best Western members can only purchase points after they’ve been enrolled in the program for at least 30 days and have stayed at least one qualifying night.Related: When does it make sense to buy points and miles?Book rental carsFinally, you can earn Best Western points on some car rentals. Specifically, you can earn 3 points per dollar spent on time and mileage when you book Alamo, Enterprise or National car rentals through the special Best Western page. Likewise, you can earn up to 1,000 points per Sixt rental car and up to 2,000 points per Sixt limousine service when you use the Best Western Rewards corporate rate.Related: 9 best rental car rewards programs you need to know aboutHow to redeem Best Western Rewards pointsTPG’s November 2025 valuations value Best Western points at 0.6 cents each, so you’ll typically want to get at least that value from your points when you redeem them. Now, here’s a look at some of the ways you can redeem Best Western Rewards points.Book award stays with Best Western Rewards pointsAward nights at Best Western Rewards properties range from 8,000 to 70,000 points per night. Rates vary based on various factors, including the property and the dates of your stay.To see award options, log in to your Best Western account and check the “Use Rewards Points” box before searching for your stay. Then you can check the results via a map or list, and filter by various factors including distance, airport shuttle, free breakfast and free parking.BEST WESTERNSome properties may offer room types at various award costs. For example, on a sample date I searched, the Best Western Hotel Fino Tokyo Akasaka in Japan offered a double room for 28,000 points, a queen room for 32,000 points and a room with two single beds for 40,000 points.BEST WESTERNYou can also redeem as few as 5,000 points per night via Pay with Points. If you do so, the first 5,000 points will earn you $25 off your room rate, and each additional 1,000 points will earn you an additional $5 discount. You’ll get 0.5 cents per point when you use Pay with Points, and you’ll still earn points on the paid part of your booking.Exchange Best Western Rewards points for airline rewardsYou can convert your Best Western points into airline rewards with the following programs:Aeromexico Rewards: 5,000 Best Western points for 1,600 pointsAir Canada Aeroplan: 5,000 Best Western points for 1,000 pointsAlaska Airlines Atmos Rewards: 5,000 Best Western points for 1,000 pointsAvianca LifeMiles: 5,000 Best Western points for 1,000 milesCathay Asia Miles: 5,000 Best Western points for 1,000 milesFlying Blue: 6,000 Best Western points for 1,000 pointsSouthwest Rapid Rewards: 5,000 Best Western points for 1,200 pointsTPG’s November 2025 valuations value Best Western points at 0.6 cents each, and these airline rewards at 0.8 to 1.55 cents each. Therefore, you’ll almost always lose value when converting Best Western points into airline rewards.Redeem Best Western points for gift cardsYou can redeem points for Best Western e-gift cards at the following rates:$10 Best Western e-gift card: 2,000 points$25 Best Western e-gift card: 5,000 points$50 Best Western e-gift card: 10,000 points$100 Best Western e-gift card: 20,000 points$250 Best Western e-gift card: 50,000 pointsAs you can tell, you’ll get 0.5 cents per point when you redeem points for Best Western gift cards.XAVIER LORENZO/GETTY IMAGESYou can also redeem Best Western points for U.S. Digital Select gift cards at a rate of 16,000 points for a $50 gift card, 32,000 points for a $100 gift card and 64,000 points for a $200 gift card. Redeeming Best Western points for U.S. Digital Select gift cards only gives you 0.31 cents per point, though.Related: What credit cards should you use to purchase gift cards?Transfer Best Western points to another memberYou can transfer up to 150,000 points per rolling calendar year to other members. However, you can only transfer points in increments of 1,000 points, and your account must be at least 30 days old and not in a restricted state.Best Western Rewards must review and approve transfers of over 70,000 points, so it may be best to keep your transfer to 70,000 points or less.Donate Best Western pointsFinally, you can donate Best Western points to select charities, including the American Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, Hotels for Heroes, Best Friends Animal Society and two Best Western for a Better World programs.BEST WESTERNMost donations are valued at 500 Best Western points for a $2 donation, resulting in a redemption rate of 0.4 cents per point.Related: How you can donate your points and miles to charityEditorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.