Presale at 12 noon eastern (Access Code = 03C70) and main sale at 1:00pm eastern.

• 835 sets of points available.
• 160 sets available during presale.

This is a discount on the normal purchase rate of $100 per 10,000 Best Western Rewards points.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Bottom line is I don’t find these Best Western Rewards points to be a compelling offer. These points might be used for US Airways Grand Slam hits if that offer comes around again in 2012.

In general the exchange rate for Best Western points to frequent flyer miles is 5 points to 1 miles meaning $60 in points will give you 2,000 airline miles. That is not a particularly attractive value.

Points for Hotel Rewards

Best Western hotel reward nights start at 8,000 points, but I have never been in a place where I needed a Best Western hotel stay and the reward rate was 8,000 or 12,000 points. I find nearly all the hotels I consider are in the 16,000 to 20,000 points range in places near National Parks and such where there are few other lodging options aside from Wyndham and Choice.

My basic analysis is a 20,000 points hotel for $120.60 might be a savings, but probably not a big savings on the published rate.

Friday, July 15, 2012 reward night.

The AAA rate including tax for this night at a Yosemite region Best Western is $184.30.

Buying 30,000 points from the Daily Getaways sale will cost $180.90 with an American Express payment.

There might be some deals for Europe in places like Paris and there might be some deals in rural places where there are $100 per night rooms and 8,000 or 12,000 points reward nights. My experience traveling around the western states is most of the Best Western hotels in places where I find myself are typically 16,000 to 20,000 points. Buying points might be a savings or perhaps not.

Personally I like to have points for one night in most of my hotel loyalty accounts so I have options when I find myself needing a hotel reward night.

I will try for 20,000 points. I know I will be somewhere this summer where these points will save more than the $121 to buy them today. There are over 4,000 Best Western hotels and they are one of the main hotel lodging choices for rural travel in the U.S.

Best Western has developed an extensive informational website on U.S. 66 established in 1926. Town descriptions and photos and Best Western hotels along the historic 2,448 miles of US highway route 66 from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California are available through the website.

For example, California is Region 4 where there are town descriptions of 27 locations along historic Route 66.

It is kind of like a AAA TripTik guide.

I think this is one of the most informative and clever promotions by a hotel loyalty program. There is some useful information in the Route 66 guide.

Best Western Route 66 Scavenger Hunt for $100 and 6,600 points

The promotional contest portion of this Route 66 campaign is a bit more vague. There are no links to contest rules or FAQ or promotion dates on the Best Western page.

The first task is to find the photo in Region 1.

Clue: The Wizard of Oz famous Kansas quote from Dorothy does not apply to this photo setting.

Here is my clue since I clicked through about 40 towns to find the photo answer.

You get 250 bonus points as a new member enrollee to Best Western Rewards.

Webflyer.com posted a promotional offer for two night stays at any of the Best Western hotels along Route 66 earn 6,600 bonus points through June 4, 2012.

I can’t find any reference to the 6,600 bonus points for a two-night stay on the Best Western site or anywhere on the web. WebFlyer is usually accurate so I am surprised to not find any reference to this offer.

Harbor seal pups on the beach at Hopkins Marine Station, Pacific Grove, CA (4-19-12)

April and May are the months for seeing seal pups. These little pups are survivors and start feeding on their own after just a few months.

Highway 1 Big Sur is the leisurely driving route

On my way to Los Angeles.

I seriously considered driving the Big Sur coast along Highway 1 from Monterey to Morro Bay yesterday since the weather was gorgeous, but the Big Sur coast road adds at least an extra hour to the 135 mile drive to San Luis Obispo.

Highway 1 Big Sur

The fog building in the center of Monterey Bay as I left home in early afternoon meant the fog along the Big Sur coast might roll in and obscure any ocean views. And there always seems to be some part of Highway 1 that has fallen into the sea requiring a one-lane traffic stoppage adding a bit more idle time to the coast drive.

Monterey was baking in 65 degree hot sun and then the temperature rose to the upper 80s just five miles inland from the sea and low 90s once I hit the agricultural fields of the Salinas Valley 20 miles inland.

Highway 101 is the inland central coast road people generally take when driving between Pismo Beach and Monterey when you want to travel fast. Pismo Beach is about 175 miles north of Los Angeles and 245 miles south of San Francisco. For me, Pismo Beach is the halfway point, about 150 miles, when driving from Monterey to LA.

Pismo Beach offers the first Pacific Ocean views visible from Highway 101 once I leave my home in Monterey driving to southern California. I consider this town to be the dividing line between southern California and northern California. I think Pismo Beach might be the most northerly town where there is an official State of California sign calling Highway 1 “Pacific Coast Highway” or “PCH”.

I live by Highway 1 in Monterey and it is named Cabrillo Highway in Monterey County and Santa Cruz County, although everyone just says Highway 1. PCH is a southern California term.

Pismo Beach, California

Best Western Shore Cliff Lodge, Pismo Beach, California

Pismo Beach is a quintessential California beach town with surf, surfers, sand and loads of hotels, motels and vacation rentals. Most of the hotels are independent non-brands, but there are a couple of notable Best Western hotels right on the Pacific’s edge.

Best Western Plus Shore Cliff Lodge

The Best Western Plus Shore Cliff Lodge is literally hugging the cliff over the Pacific. The rooms here on the ocean view side of the hotel have unobstructed views of the ocean.

There must have been a substantial investment to inhibit the cliff erosion around the Best Western hotel and for numerous other buildings along the Pismo Beach cliffs. Pismo Beach is an old beach town where development happened years before the California Coastal Commission regulated development along the coastline since the 1970s.

View looking north from Pismo Beach.

View from hotel balconies of the 2-story Best Western Shore Cliff Lodge.

A gazebo perched on the cliff edge at Best Western Shore Cliff Lodge.

View looking south from Best Western Shore Cliff Lodge, Pismo Beach.

The hotel lobby is nicely decorated with a TV and computer terminals.

The hotel received TripAdvisor 2011 Certificate of Excellence recognition for positive guest reviews.

The pool area of the hotel is between building wings and offers ocean views.

When people ask me where there is a good Best Western hotel to redeem a free night, Pismo Beach comes to mind. Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express are within a few miles, but these other brand name hotels do not offer ocean views.

Best Western Shore Cliff Lodge and nearby Best Western Shelter Cove Lodge are two oceanfront hotels in Pismo Beach.

Best Western Rewards elite members (Gold, Platinum, Diamond) receive 1,000 bonus points for their first 3 reservations booked online during this promotion for a maximum 3,000 bonus points.

Best Western FMJUMP12 promotion registration required.

• Best Western Jump Start to Summer Promotion 2012 FAQ.
• Best Western Jump Start to Summer Promotion 2012 T&C.

Best Western Rewards MasterCard members earn 1,000 bonus points when 3 stays paid with Best Western MasterCard.

Best Western stringent promotion limits

This Best Western promotion requires 3 stays, not 3 nights. You can do 3 stays in 3 nights with separate one night stays. So this promotion is more restrictive being stays and not nights. Fewer people will qualify with 3 stays at Best Western hotels in less than 7 weeks of a promotion period.

The $50 gift card is a decent rebate on 3 stays with only 3 nights. Best Western Rewards members with longer stays or higher priced nights would likely get more value with a double points promotion after about $600 in spend. There is no option here for double points. I am just saying that double points promotions favor the high spender and this type of Best Western promotion for a $50 hotel card after 3 stays favors the low spender.

There is a promotion earning limit of one (1) $50 BW Travel Card per member.

25% Rebate Potential

Assume $200 for 3 relatively cheap Best Western hotel stays and a $50 gift card is a 25% rebate. In addition to 2,000 points earned, plus elite bonus points if applicable.

At $600 in spend for 3 stays and say 6 nights, the value of a $50 gift card is less than a 10% rebate on hotel spend during the promotion.

High spend guests would get more value from a double points promotion for an extra 6,000 points.  Points are likely to be more valuable in room redemptions than a $50 credit.

This kind of promotion for a $50 Best Western Travel card favors the low spender. Stay 3 nights in 3 separate stays over the next two months and get a $50 Best Western Hotel stay card.

I see this as about $200 for 3 stays and then get a $100 Best Western night for $50 when you stay before November 2012.

This is a decent offer if you are not a regular Best Western guest. This is a relatively low value promotion for a guest with high spend or many nights at Best Western hotels.

$50 off a future Best Western hotel stay is some rebate, but not as high value as the promotion ending this week for a free night at any Best Western after 3 stays.

The earning limits of midscale programs like Best Western Rewards, Wyndham Rewards and Choice Privileges make these offers a decent value for the infrequent loyalty member. Earn the bonus after a few hotel stays and go on to other programs with other loyalty promotions to diversify you points accounts. Best Western is a good road traveler hotel brand.

The lack of recommendations for aspirational hotels in the Best Western chain led to a qualification of “expensive” Best Western hotels. The Best Western forum on FlyerTalk does not get a whole lot of attention with fewer than 25 threads responded to in the past two months. MilePoint offers even less discussion with only two posters for the current 3 stays, one night free promotion ending April 8. I called the Best Western free night offer a 5-star promotion for a midscale chain. I expected free night offers to be scarce in 2012 and there have been a couple of surprises.

Grab the good offer for the next ten days it lasts. You can only earn one free night anyway. The new Best Western promotion is kind of more what I expected for 2012. The upcoming Best Western promotion looks weak.

Midscale Chains get Short Shrift

Midscale chains like Best Western get short shrift from the elite frequent flyer crowd looking for ways to get aspirational hotels on award stays for little money down. SPG, IHG, Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt all offer that.

But the average hotel rate per night to earn points will be higher in those chains; sometimes much higher.

The main point I like to make about Best Western is the large number of hotels around the world in the Best Western chain (4,200+ hotels). There are about 300 Best Western hotels in the UK and 200 hotels in Australia.

Best Western has far more hotels outside the USA (around 2,000? hotels) than any other major chain besides Accor (France based hotel chain). And Accor does not operate a loyalty program conducive to leveraging low rate paid stays into high rate reward stays. Accor points exchange into cash credits. Using $50 vouchers off a $300 hotel night is not the same value as a free $300 hotel night with points in U.S.-based hotel chain loyalty programs.

The Best Western hotel chain has more international hotels than Marriott and Hilton combined. Wyndham (7,000+ hotels) and Choice (6,000+ hotels) are larger hotel chains, but almost all their hotels are in the USA (80 to 90%?).

[I use a question mark by some hotel chain numbers because these are my educated guesses from past analyses and I don’t want to take the time to research those fine details right now.]

Aspirational Quest

I decided to seek out some expensive and possibly aspirational Best Western Hotels. There have got to be some gems out of 4,200 hotels in 100 countries.

I have not been to any of these Best Western hotels mentioned. This is raw internet research. The same kind of limitation most travelers face when searching out hotel options for a new location.

The Best of the Best – Best Western Premier

Best Western has done some of the aspirational quest work already by designating hotels into three tiers in 2011 with the top tier Best Western Premier, followed by Best Western Plus and the other 3,000 or so hotels remaining plain old Best Western.

Best Western Premier hotels seemed like a logical place to seek out aspirational hotels. I also decided to focus on international hotels since the vast majority of Best Western Premier hotels are outside the USA.

In early 2011 Best Western Rewards launched the three tier system and celebrated with a 650,000 bonus points promotion for the first ten people to stay in a Best Western in all three tiers. I completed the task in the first three nights of the promotion. So did around 25 other Best Western Rewards members. I didn’t win one of the ten prizes for 650,000 bonus points.

But I did stay at the Best Western Premier Ivy Hotel, Napa, California. The room was a nicely furnished room in a remodeled hotel that I enjoyed. The hotel itself seemed like a roadside motel in northern California. I wouldn’t dub Hotel Ivy as aspirational.

Perhaps some of these Best Western Hotels are aspirational.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague felt like the real Disneyland Europe to my wife and I when we spent a week there in February 2007. No fast rides, except on incredibly steep elevators in the subway system, but we drank great beer, and saw a castle and lots of old buildings. And really drank many different kinds of beer. Art too – on buildings and in museums and around the hotel. In 2007, glass art in stores was really inexpensive to buy. Our regret is we didn’t buy some objects of beauty while in Prague.

Best Western Premier Hotel Royal Palace

Best Western Hotel Royal Palace is about 1/4 mile north from the gorgeous Mala Strana district where we spent our week in Prague. I have not been to the Best Western hotel, but the location looks to me like a great location for Prague if you want to walk historic neighborhoods and also have easy subway transportation.

The Best Western Premier Royal Palace hotel is shown in this Google Maps photo of Prague.

The astronomical clock photo in Loyalty Traveler homepage slideshow is from the clock in the historic square of Prague that is an easy walk across the river from the Best Western hotel location.

159 EUR = US$210.11 (tax included) or free night voucher or 24,000 points. Hotel has 36 rooms and suites.

Best Western Premier Hotel Katajanokka in historic Helsinki, Finland prison.

106 rooms in a hotel that was converted from a 19th century prison closed down in the past decade.

The oldest part of BEST WESTERN PREMIER Hotel Katajanokka dates back to 1837 and the main part to 1888. The building originally served as a county prison and pretrial detention centre. The prison was closed down in 2002. The open central corridor, red brick outer walls and the high wall around the park are protected by the National Board of Antiquities and serve as a reminder of the building’s long and colourful history.

Following extensive restoration work, a high-quality and modern hotel opened its doors in May 2007. BEST WESTERN PREMIER Hotel Katajanokka is the first Premier hotel in Finland for the World’s Biggest Hotel Family, Best Western.

One free night voucher or 24,000 points or USD$229 at Best Western Premier Hotel Katajanokka. Your friends bring out pictures of a European ice hotel and you can show them your photos from a stay at a Baltic region prison hotel. Sounds so gulag.

Best Western Premier Majestic Ponta Negra Beach, Natal, Brazil – Southern Beach Skies

One free night voucher or 32,000 points or USD $128 for a night at Majestic Ponta Negra Beach, Natal, Brazil. Not a great rate savings for 32,000 points. How many other major hotel chains have a hotel in Natal, Brazil?

Best Western Premier Hotel Kaiserhof Wien, Vienna, Austria

One free night voucher or 36,000 points or USD $250 for a night at Hotel Keiserhof in Vienna.

Best Western Premier Hotel Corsica, Calvi, Island of Corsica, France

Calvi is on the north coast of the French island Corsica off the coast of Italy. Summer tourism is big business and prices are high.

One free night voucher or 36,000 points or USD $400 for a night at Best Western Premier Hotel Corsica.

Best Western Premier Hotel Laurus al Duomo Firenze, Florence, Italy

One free night voucher or 36,000 points or USD$460 for a night at Best Western Premier Hotel Laurus al Duomo in Florence, Italy.

Best Western Premier Hotel Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan

I have visited Dresden, Germany a couple of times and saw the burnt buildings from the WWII firestorm that raged through the city and killed tens of thousands. Nagasaki seems like a pilgrimage we all should make in the atomic age.

One free night voucher or 28,000 points or USD$261 for a night at Best Western Premier Hotel Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan.

Best Western Premier Port Harcourt Hotel, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

This hotel makes my list just because it sounds so James Bond for the 21st century petroleum business traveler.

The hotel homepage has this warning to prospective guests:

Please be aware that you need to book transport and a security escort with the hotel on booking. Most local companies have their own security services and can also do this for you. if booked with hotel, rate will be advised at time of booking.

One free night voucher or 28,000 points or USD$280 for a Queen Bed Superior room night at Best Western Premier Port Harcourt Hotel. A hotel for those who aspire hotel living on the edge.

Best Western Sile Gardens Hotel, Sile, Turkey

Istanbul is a city of fine hotels at the crossroads of global regions. This city has three Best Western Premier hotels including the all-suites Acropol Suites & Spa. I could not find any reward night availability for these three hotels through June 30.

Then I saw the photos of Best Western Sile Gardens.

Obviously you can’t write off the hotels without a Plus or Premier label.

The hotel is 20,000 points per night or USD $227 for a large King Bed room at the Best Western Sile Gardens Hotel, Sile, Turkey.

One of the interesting facets of Best Western Reward nights is the option to get a higher category room with points. I often see this with IHG Priority Club reward nights too.

And I have not even ventured into the territory of Paris and London.

36,000 points or $367.70 or a free night voucher from the current Best Western Stay 3, One Night Free promotion through April 8.

To participate in the promotion, you must:

1. Become a new Best Western Rewards member by enrolling through this Best Western Rewards-Southwest Airlines link.

3. Set your Best Western Rewards earning preference to Southwest Airlines points.

4. Stay at any Best Western branded hotel by April 30, 2012.

Best Western Rewards member will earn Best Western Rewards Gold elite status (normally requires 10 nights) and double Rapid Rewards points (1,200 points) after the first Best Western hotel stay by April 30, 2012.

Members qualifying for this promotion will retain Gold elite through the 2012 year. Best Western hotel stays normally earn 600 Rapid Rewards points for Southwest Airlines flyers earning miles rather than Best Western points. This is the standard number of points given per hotel stay with most hotel loyalty programs. Double points (1,200 Rapid Rewards points) is only available for the first stay during this promotion.

Double Dip with Best Western’s Free night after 3 stays by April 8

Be sure to check out the major Best Western Rewards promotion for a free night voucher after three stays by April 8, 2012. The free night offer should be stackable with this Southwest promotion. Here is my Loyalty Traveler analysis of what I called the best midscale hotel chain promotion of the season.

Best Western Gold elite benefits

Members can change their earning preference to points if they choose after earning the Gold elite and 2x miles bonus with Southwest Airlines.

Best Western Gold elite has the primary advantage of 10% bonus points.

Best Western Rewards now allows points as elite qualifying route

Another feature of Best Western Rewards that changed just this month is elite qualification by points. All stays at Best Western earn 10 points per dollar (unless you have earning preference set to airline miles).

Gold elite = 10 nights or 10,000 points in a calendar year.

Platinum elite = 15 nights or 15,000 points in a calendar year.

Diamond elite = 30 nights or 30,000 points in a calendar year.

I am awaiting clarification on whether points counted for elite status are only points earned from hotel stays or if partner activity points also count similar to the way Priority Club Rewards works for elite qualification.

My guess is only points from hotel stays count. Then, the next question is whether only base points count or if all points from hotel stays like elite bonuses and promotion bonus points count.

There does not seem to be detailed explanation in BWR terms and conditions on the new elite qualification terms.

Assuming only 10 base points/$1 count (this is how Hilton HHonors works), then elite status would require $1,000 in hotel spend for Gold, $1,500 in spend for Platinum and $3,000 for Diamond in a calendar year.

I’ll update when I receive clarification on the new elite route of qualifying by points.

Best Western Elite Benefits

Several travel blogs over the past 24 hours have discussed the US Airways hotel points transfer bonus promotion and most of the commentary suggests no other hotel program is worth considering besides SPG to get the best miles value from your hotel points.

 

Personally, the only hotel programs that give you a decent value when transferring is Starwood Preferred Guest. For every 20,000 SPG points you can get 37,500 US Airways points – which is pretty awesome! – Deals We Like

Through March 31st, US Airways is giving a 50% bonus when you transfer miles from a hotel program partner into Dividend Miles. They have a bunch of hotel partners, but the only one worth considering here is Starwood. – Online Travel Review

The best transfer bonus here would be with Starwood Preferred Guest. SPG points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to US Airways Dividend Miles, and for every 20,000 points you transfer you get a 5,000 point bonus. That means transferring 20,000 SPG points would earn you 37,500 Dividend Miles during this promotion. That means you’re basically earning 1.875 US Airways Dividend Miles per SPG point, which is an amazing transfer ratio. – One Mile at a Time

One of the biggest opportunities here is to transfer Starwood points, because this promotion stacks on top of the existing 5,000 mile bonus Starwood adds to each 20,000 point transfer to US Airways. So 20,000 Starpoints = 25,000 US Airways miles + this 50% promotion = 37,500 miles. – The Points Guy

The obvious way to leverage this is with Starwood points, 20,000 points normally yield 25,000 miles but with this offer would yield 37,500 miles. – View from the Wing

At first, I was super excited since US Airways has many hotel partners, but then reality quickly came rushing back in as I remember that the transfer ratios from most of the partners are pretty crummy. The best play for many people who have large Membership Rewards balances will be to convert American Express Membership Rewards to Starwood Preferred Guest points at a ratio of 2 Membership Reward points: 1 SPG point. – Mommy Points

Reality Check on SPG

My reality check for these bloggers is to point out that Starwood Preferred Guest does not have the best points-to-miles exchange rate among hotel loyalty programs when comparing programs based on the rate points are earned for hotel stays.

The competitive advantage of SPG is its high earning rate of 1 point per dollar for everyday spend on the SPG American Express card. That is a competitive advantage over other hotel loyalty program credit cards. But that advantage is not the same as having the best points-to-miles exchange rate for hotel loyalty programs.

Unless your earning is primarily from credit card spend outside hotel stays, then SPG is not the hotel program with the best points-to-miles transfer rate for this US Airways 50% bonus. I might also argue that SPG points are one of the most valuable points for hotel stays with competitive advantages over Club Carlson, Marriott Rewards, Hyatt Gold Passport and Wyndham Rewards for the ability to save lots of money with Cash & Points and 5th night free award stays using Starpoints. Marriott matches 5th night free, but doesn’t have Cash & Points option. Club Carlson has Cash & Points option, but not as good as SPG and there is no Club Carlson discount for extended reward stays. Therefore, SPG hotel points are the points I would hold and spend hotel points in the other leading points-to-miles hotel transfer programs if you have a choice of hotel points to transfer.

Comparison of hotel program points-to-US Airways miles exchange rates

In this post I show how different hotel programs match up when hotel spend is correlated to points earned and the points-to-miles transfer to US Airways.

The tables below do not include the 50% US Airways bonus miles. These are simply tables to show how programs match up at specific levels of hotel spend when all the points earned are transferred into airline miles.

Marriott Rewards, Club Carlson and Wyndham Rewards match or exceed the SPG points-to-miles transfer rate in most cases for people who earn their points primarily through hotel stays and hotel spend.

In January/February I published several hotel points-to-miles exchange rate tables. I never got around to publishing US Airways. This is probably a better situation to post the tables when readers are more engaged to see the comparison as it involves an actual transfer promotion with US Airways.

The tables below assume hotel loyalty members are staying at hotel brands with the best earning rate. For example, Marriott Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites earn only 5 points/$1 and the table is based on 10 points/$1. Wyndham Rewards only has one brand Hawthorn Suites earning less than 10 points/$1.

I have deleted HHonors from the table due to US Airways being the worst exchange rate of any airline in HHonors and HHonors having the worst points-to-miles exchange rate of any hotel loyalty program. Even a 50% bonus doesn’t make it worthwhile to transfer HHonors points to US Airways miles.

Note: these tables are not based on the US Airways 50% bonus miles promotion.

This table shows that a member without elite status or credit card consideration will get the best points-to-miles exchange rate with Wyndham Rewards.  After $7,000 in hotel spend the Wyndham Rewards member will have earned 70,000 points, enough points for 28,000 US Airways miles.

SPG member will have earned only 14,000 points for 14,000 miles.

Wyndham Rewards has the best points-to-miles exchange rate when comparing the rate of earning points per dollar in hotel spend. 2.5 points = 1 mile in Wyndham Rewards. That is a fixed rate regardless of the number of points transferred.

The disadvantage for Wyndham Rewards is the program does not offer elite status for bonus points. SPG Gold or Platinum earns 50% bonus points, Marriott Platinum earns 50% elite member bonus points and Club Carlson Concierge earns 75% elite bonus points. These programs improve ranking and Wyndham drops as elite bonus points are factored. Hyatt Gold Passport offers the same 25% miles bonus at transfers of 50,000 points that SPG offers at 20,000 points. Hyatt Diamond members see a comparative drop as the 30% bonus points in Gold Passport are exceeded by higher elite bonuses in Club Carlson, SPG and Marriott Rewards.

Note: Hyatt Gold Passport ends its partnership with US Airways on March 15, 2012.

Club Carlson’s high points-to-miles exchange rate combined with the highest elite bonus points at 75% for Concierge members means this is the fastest earning program for US Airways miles from hotel stays.

Club Carlson’s disadvantage is the lack of a credit card, but a recently inked deal with US Bank should bring a Club Carlson cobranded Visa card to the market by the end of 2012.

Wyndham Rewards still offers a better rate of earning US Airways miles than SPG for most members (under 75 nights/year) when not considering the credit card or hotel promotions. SPG will likely have better points earning promotions than Wyndham.

Marriott Rewards Platinum members still earn miles faster than SPG members based on hotel spend and assuming the Marriott Rewards member is not staying at Residence Inn or TownePlace Suites where the points earning rate is 50% of other Marriott hotel brands.

Marriott Rewards and Club Carlson still rank high in this comparison factoring in credit card spend for hotel stays. Wyndham Rewards credit card keeps that program in the running for one of the best points-to-miles exchange rates.

Bottom line is that while SPG has a great credit card for earning Starpoints, the actual exchange rates for points-to-miles transfers favor several other hotel loyalty programs over SPG for the hotel guest not spending tens of thousands of dollars on the SPG American Express credit card.

Transfer Hotel Points between member accounts

Another consideration for the US Airways hotel points promotion for 50% bonus miles is the option to transfer points between member accounts to increase your balance to a more favorable exchange rate level.

The ability to transfer points between two member accounts is probably the most useful strategy for bigger value hotel rewards. The transfer of points has the most variability in rules across hotel programs.

Club Carlson: free transfer of unlimited points through Member Services.

Hilton HHonors: member may receive unlimited points. Sender pays $25 fee per 10,000 points.

Hyatt Gold Passport: free transfer of minimum points needed for reward redemption between any two members.

IHG Priority Club Rewards: maximum 50,000 points receivable per member account. Sender pays $5.00 per 1,000 points.

Marriott Rewards: free transfer of minimum points needed for reward redemption between spouses/domestic partner members.

Starwood Preferred Guest: free transfer between members with same residential address for at least 30 days. SVO Vacation members may transfer points between accounts regardless of address.

Club Carlson has the most liberal policy for point transfers. A member can transfer points to any member free of charge with no maximum limit. Hyatt and Marriott allow one member to transfer the minimum points needed for a reward stay to another member with no fee, but Marriott limits this to spouses/partners. Starwood allows unlimited point transfers to members at same address. Priority Clubis more restrictive with both transfer fees and recipient points limit.

Marriott Air + Hotel Packages

One of the best reward values to combine with this US Airways 50% bonus miles for hotel points transfer is the Marriott Rewards Air + Hotel Packages.

200,000 Marriott Rewards points can be redeemed for 7 nights at a category 5 hotel and 50,000 miles (remember reward categories change March 15, 2012). This package will result in 75,000 miles and 7 nights at a category 5 hotel after the US Airways 50% bonus.

At the upper end of miles is 270,000 points for 120,000 miles and 7 nights at a category 5 hotel. Higher category hotel packages are available but 120,000 miles is the highest miles transfer.

At 270,000 Marriott Rewards points the Vacation Package miles increases from 75,000 US Airways miles for 200,000 points to 180,000 miles after the 50% bonus. Plus you have 7 nights at a Marriott Rewards hotel. You receive 105,000 more US Airways miles for 70,000 more Marriott Rewards points with the higher miles travel package.

Now that is a great Marriott Rewards points-to-miles exchange rate!

Reality check for all you SPG spenders.

STR and STR Global package hotel industry data. I like to read HotelNewsNow.com to see hotel industry trends and average room rates, although to get detailed information about hotel brands and places requires paying for information. I stick with the free stuff.

One of the valuable STR resources for me is the chain scale hotel list that categorizes hundreds of USA and global hotel brands on a scale of six market segments from economy to luxury. Hotel brands are placed on the scale solely using average daily rate as the factor. Note: the average daily rate data was added March 7 based on Smith Travel Research data for January 2012.

• Luxury = $262 ADR
• Upper Upscale = $148 ADR
• Upscale = $112 ADR
• Upper Midscale = $94 ADR
• Midscale = $73 ADR
• Economy = $50 ADR

Any specific hotel may have a large rate differential from another hotel in that brand, but the average rate says something about the brand overall across the hotel chain and across the USA and globe.

STR and STR Global have moved some hotel brands to a higher chain scale based on 2011 average daily rates.

• Best Western Premier moved from upper-midscale to upscale. Best Western launched a rebranding campaign in 2011 to distinguish the better hotels in the 4,000+ global chain.

All the other chains operate several different hotel brands across different market segments and Best Western finally got into the game with three tiers of Best Western, (3,000 or so hotels), Best Western Plus (1,000+ hotels) and Best Western Premier (over 100 hotels). The numbers given here are just rough estimates based on past data I have seen.

Best Western Premier moves to upscale hotels. My stay last year in Napa was a great room in an old motel style building. The room was definitely upscale.

Napa, California Best Western Premier Hotel Ivy

Hotel Ivy Napa, Best Western Premier Hotel.

Hotel Ivy Napa, Best Western Premier.

• Country Inns & Suites moved from midscale to upper-midscale. That is a huge accomplishment for Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group working to become a more recognized name in the chain scale competition.

Upper midscale includes brands like Hampton Inn, Clarion, Best Western Plus, Fairfield Inn, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

Candlewood Suites, La Quinta and Ramada are examples of hotel brands in the midscale segment.

Hyatt Place, Hilton Garden Inn, Courtyard, Residence Inn and Four Points are in the higher upscale segment. The bad news for Club Carlson members is this chain segment change indicates rates are rising at Country Inns.

Loyalty Traveler note: This post originally had seven hotel brand changes based on a HotelNewsNow.com article (media arm of STR and STRGlobal). I received an email on March 7 stating HNN will issue a correction on their article and only Best Western Premier and Country Inns are changing in the hotel chain scale. I deleted references to the other hotel brands originally included in this post.

Best Western says submit a claim when you find a lower rate for the Best Western hotel within 48 hours after booking on BestWestern.com. Best Western reservations made within 48 hours of hotel arrival are not eligible for claims.

The online travel agency room rate must meet these conditions:

• same hotel
• similar room type
• same dates
• same number of people on reservation
• same currency and at least US$1 difference in rates on other website.
• the rate must be bookable by the general public when Best Western customer care agent validates claim.
• opaque sites that do not reveal the name of the hotel until after booking, like Priceline and Hotwire, are not eligible for claims.

Points or miles earned are based on room rate actually paid after Best Rate Guarantee claim processed.

This Best Rate Guarantee policy is only for residents of U.S., Canada and the Caribbean when staying at Best Western hotels in the U.S., Canada or Caribbean.

Other international locations and residents of other regions are still only eligible for a 10% rate discount on the lower rate found on a third party travel agency for approved claims.

Loyalty Traveler analysis

A $100 BW Travel Card is a good value Low Rate Guarantee if you have a claim approved.

I still object to the fact that no hotel chains follow the terms of Starwood Hotels and Hyatt Hotels who allow guests to file a Low Rate Guarantee claim before making a reservation on any site.

What good is a Best Rate Guarantee when I see a lower rate on a competing website, and I am faced with the choice of booking the lower rate or booking the higher rate on Best Western and file a claim?

He said, “We haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine” Eagles- ‘Hotel California’

While Kayak has lost its usefulness it once had when hotels could be filtered by hotel loyalty program, the fact that all Best Western hotels are in one brand means Kayak is still useful for filtering Best Western Hotels.

Kayak.com is a useful website for finding hotels eligible for Low Rate Guarantee claims.  On the left side of the page is a box for “Hotel Name/Brand”. Type in Hilton or Starwood or Marriott or Best Western and Kayak gives the selection choice to filter hotels for only “All Hilton brands” or “All Marriott brands”. I filtered this search to “All Best Western brands”.

EasyClickTravel,com is an online travel agency that I have used before for approved low rate guarantee claims. The $92 rate on EasyClickTravel.com listed is $17 less than the BestWestern.com rate.

EasyClickTravel.com has a rate of $105.75 after tax. BestWestern.com shows $125.90 for this same room after tax.

Bottom line: Best Western may approve my claim and I get a $100 gift card and the lower rate.

If Best Western rejects the claim for some reason I can’t see at this point, then I paid $20 more than I needed to pay for the same room.

Hopefully the Best Western Rewards points I earn from the hotel stay are worth at least $20 that I overpaid for the room.

For me personally, a Best Rate Guarantee that requires me to book the hotel room on BestWestern.com first is only useful if I have a rate that can be cancelled in case my Low Rate Guarantee claim is not approved.

When I really need a hotel room though, I don’t want to play booking games poker. In this post I have shown how easy it is to find a Low Rate Guarantee claim. I found this hotel in about five minutes. But I don’t want to gamble on whether the room shown in this post is an eligible Low Rate Guarantee with Best Western.

Now if I saw this with a Starwood Hotel or Hyatt Hotel, then I would be filing my claim and see if I could get a great rate deal for San Francisco. Starwood Hotels’ Best Rate Guarantee gives 10% off the lower rate, but I almost always take 2,000 Starpoints and a match of the lower rate. Hyatt’s Best Rate Guarantee will reduce the lower rate by 20%.

This is a good effort from Best Western and some guests are going to be excited to get a $100 Best Western Travel Card.

BestWestern.com Low Rate Guarantee.

The complete pdf Best Western Best Rate Guarantee Terms & Conditions.

Hilton HHonors is far and away the biggest program for airline partnerships. That can be a major factor for a frequent guest earning miles from hotel stays in a frequent flyer program where there might be few opportunities to earn miles other than flying.

• Hilton HHonors = 57 airline partners
• IHG Priority Club = 43 airline partners
• Marriott Rewards = 36 airline partners
• Hyatt Gold Passport = 35 airline partners
• Starwood Preferred Guest = 34 airline partners

There are 8 airlines that only partner with one of these ten programs.

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I will follow up this post with comments and details on airline miles differences in earning rates between different programs.

This seemed like a useful table to create as I work on my series of hotel points-to-miles exchange rates across loyalty programs for a selection of major airlines.

Loyalty Traveler – Airline Tables for Hotel Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates

• American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for 9 Hotel Programs. (Feb 5, 2012)
• American Airlines Points-to-Miles Exchange Rates for Elites and Credit Card members. (Feb 6, 2012)
• Delta Skymiles hotel points-to-miles rates in 9 hotel programs. (Feb 7, 2012)
• United Mileage Plus hotel points-to-miles rates favor Marriott, Club Carlson, Wyndham. (Feb 8, 2012)
• Hotel Loyalty Program Airline Partners: 10 programs compared on one spreadsheet. (Feb 9, 2012)
• Why Change hotel points into airline miles? (Feb 9, 2012)
• Hotel points conversion into Southwest Rapid Rewards points favors Marriott, Choice and Hyatt. (Feb 10, 2012)