A good Best Western promotion has returned. Like last time, when you stay two nights (consecutively or separately), you will get a free night voucher to be used within a limited time. I like straightforward promos like this and it’s possible to extract decent value from it with a bit of planning. Unfortunately, you can only earn one free night.
Promotion
There are geographic and time limitations to earning and redeeming your free night. The two qualifying nights must be in Canada, United States or the Caribbean and the free night must be redeemed in one of those locations as well.
The two nights must be completed between February 18 and April 20, 2020.
After completion of the second night, you should receive your free night voucher by email within 2-3 weeks. The voucher will expire 70 days “after fulfillment” according to promo terms. Book your free night by phone.
Important Reminders
Registration is required for this promotion and it’s a good idea to do so even if you have no Best Western stays planned at the moment. It’s easy to forget all the promos on the go.
As with most hotel loyalty program promotions, qualifying stay(s) are required to trigger the free night. That is, you must book directly with Best Western on a rate that earns Best Western points.
Normally when you see mention of a promotion with the phrase “Stay Twice” it means two separate non-consecutive stays and many promos are structured that way. This one doesn’t use those words, instead it says “Stay 2 Nights”. However, some deal websites will still use the “two stays” language, presumably out of habit. This is just a little reminder that you really need to review the terms and conditions yourself to make sure you fully understand what’s involved.
Free Night Ideas
One free night is not usually enough to build a trip around, so if you have another person doing the promo as well, that would be preferable. If you have travel plans before April 20th where you can stay 4 nights cumulatively at Best Westerns, you would then have around two months to use the 2 free nights, if you can make the timing work.
One great use of free BW nights is in New York City at the Best Western Premier Herald Square. I stayed there during one of the 10,000 point redemption promotions. The hotel is in a great location and breakfast is included. Sundays typically have the lowest rates in New York, so you could do a 3 night trip where 2 nights are free and the other is a Sunday.
Another well-located Best Western is the Cartwright Hotel – Union Square in San Francisco where rates are often high.
If you have any plans for a Disney trip, there are multiple Best Westerns in close proximity to Disneyland in Anaheim (their high rates reflect the location, not the standard of accommodation).
In Orlando, there is a Best Western in the Disney Springs Resort Area but note the $14 USD resort fee.
Best Western Mastercard
The MBNA Best Western MasterCard is not that exciting with a modest sign-up bonus of 20,000 points upon first purchase. Still, with no annual fee and a rebate of $50 on Great Canadian Rebates, it’s something to consider if you need the points.
US Travel Association Daily Getaways Sale
Best Western points are usually part of the Daily Getaways annual Spring sale. I don’t believe they get snapped up as quickly as the Choice Privileges points, and I don’t know if this year’s Best Western devaluation will have an impact, but it’s something to be aware of as well.
Bottom Line
This is a nice promotion and worth steering a couple of nights toward Best Western if you know you can make good use of your free night. In my opinion, for a budget traveller, this one is currently the best of the bunch compared to the other hotel loyalty promotions.
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