Best Western used to have this awesome Best Rate Guarantee. And then they took it away, then brought it back. And when I wrote my recent post on the Master List of Hotel Best Rate Guarantees, I checked Best Western’s, and there was none. None at all.
However, after I posted it, Jess commented telling me about the $100 Gift Card policy for Best Western BRGs. Well, sure enough, it’s back. Below I’ll explain some of the details and rules. But essentially, if you find a lower rate they match it and give you a $100 “Travel Card” good at Best Western.
This is so extremely generous and here’s why.
- Many of their hotels aren’t even worth $100.
- It’s given after the stay instead of as a discount. So you earn points on the stay.
- You earn points on stays while using the gift card.
- You can use your last BRG gift card on a current BRG. And thus get it free from the last BRG and get another $100 gift card, for another free stay… and round and round it goes.
- And the entire time you’re completing promotions toward your one account.
- You can go through your rebate portals too (5% at TCB).
And honestly, this makes more sense than Hilton giving $50 Amex cards. This encourages you to keep on staying at their brand. For a number of reasons it’s good for them. But I have a feeling that there will be a number of people who… um… won’t make them much money past the first day.
How it works:
Book on BestWestern.com and if you find a lower rate within 24 hours of booking you submit a claim online. Also note that you must book more than 48 hours before the earliest allowed checkin.
But it’s as easy as looking on Kayak.
What are the rules:
- One “Travel Card” every 30 days per household. (Do you and your spouse have the same address?).
- Obviously things need to match up – “same hotel, dates, length of stay, currency, number of guests and similar room type.” (Odd that it doesn’t say same terms and conditions for room rates & type. And it doesn’t mention the same cancelation policy, payment collection, payment rate (pre-paid), and other things the other hotels have. So odd.)
- Unfortunately they say that currency needs to match. I find this a little strict, but not a problem. IHG does it too.
- Difference in rate must be equal to or greater than $1.
I just don’t know what to say other than, just don’t abuse all the loopholes too much. Dear goodness.
Since we’ll be earning more Best Western points, I’ll be posting a bit about their rewards program and how to use points, status matching, etc… The first step here is find the cheapest BW to BRG to get the first $100 TC, as it takes 4-6 weeks to mail.
Oh and note that you get the gift card after you complete the stay. (I’m glad I won’t have to be tempted by that with them too.)
So, in the meantime, behave yourselves, as always.
It could be they’ve decided to be really aggressive about making sure they do have the best prices at their website. Otherwise people will abuse this program relentlessly, and it won’t last long.
I mean it’s true, these guarantees do work. Try finding a better rate with a chain with no guarantee or a bad one. It’s super easy. Try to find one with IHG. It’s not as straightforward.
So it really works. But ultimately, if people abuse it, they can shut those people down.
Do you know if this $100 travel card can be used at Best Westerns aboard, for example, in Greece?
Good question. Yes.
I should have linked to the gift card. http://travelcard.bestwestern.com/travelcard/index.jsp?lang=en
But turns out it’s pretty straight forward and accepted worldwide.
I’m curious about the “once every 30 days”. Do you know if this means that you can make a successful claim every 30 days, or is the 30 days based on the dates of your stays? That is, can I make a claim for 1 night 6 months from now, then next month make a second claim for the following night? Or do my stays need to be more than 30 days apart?
30 day period. Hmm… I think it’s based on the timing of the stay. So if you claim one on December 15, you have to wait until Jan 15 instead of Jan 1.
This is how I understand it. Haven’t started mining this well yet…
We have done this successfully twice now. The first time we paid under $70 a night for a two night stay. We got our $100 travel card. I booked a 1 night stay at $60 but found it for $58, put in a claim and then used the $100 travel card to pay for it. I just received our new $100 travel card via email so now we have $130 in travel cards to travel with. I think the limit is every three months though, not every 30 days.
Anyone ever try using the card outside of Best Western?
I’m driving cross country this week and have been trying to get this work for me. I’m repeatedly finding the advertised rates on BW.com to be the same as the best rates I can find on kayak. At first, I thought I found a cheaper offer, but my BRG was denied due to the cheaper rate being for a smoking room. Too bad. Maybe BW has tightened their game after reinstating this guarantee. Or maybe I’m missing something.
I have tried this several times only to be shut down due to reasons that weren’t fully explained. It really isn’t worth the time and effort.
Their Best Rate Guarantee is BUNK!!! When I submitted my claim form it was replied to in quick fashion!!!!DENIED!!!Due to the fact that the web site
http://www.freehotelcoupons.com needed me to sign in & produce a password.
Guess what…in order to get a quote from their web site you have to sign in by giving then your email or user name plus other personal info.
They hide behind semantics. Why does AAA support this kind of crap? Because they are complaisant in their survival, that’s my opinion.
Best Western’s Low Rate Guarantee is a total scam.
My claim was first denied because it was supposedly booked in a different currency. When I provided a screenshot as proof that both rates were in the same currency with a USD display, they said the rate was “discounted”. Well, of course it was – that’s why I made the claim.
Based on their interpretation of the T&C, they can deny any claim they want. It’s a total scam and you shouldn’t waste your time with it. Search with hotelscombined, trivago or tripadvisor instead and book the cheapest provider.