Best Western Rewards members in the U.S., Canada and Caribbean earn one free night after three stays between February 6 and April 11, 2011. There is an earning limit of one free night during the promotion. The free night certificate is valid at any Best Western property in the U.S., Canada or Caribbean and must be redeemed for a stay completed by June 30, 2011.

Promotion registration is required before first stay.

• Log in to ‘My Account” on Best Western Rewards.
• Select Tab ‘Special Offers Sign-Up’ located under current point balance.
• Stay three times and earn one free night promotion is listed in four types depending on your membership type of general member (promo code Spring11), AAA, CAA.

There are two additional bonus points to earn with this offer.

Stay in two of three Best Western branded hotels and receive 6,500 bonus points:

• Best Western
• Best Western Plus
• Best Western Premier

Only one bonus for 6,500 points may be earned during promotion period.

10 members will receive 650,000 Best Western Rewards bonus points

In addition to the above bonus opportunities, the first ten Best Western Rewards members to stay once in all three Best Western branded hotels BW, BW Plus and BW Premier will earn 650,000 bonus points.

Loyalty Traveler promotion analysis:

A free night voucher for any Best Western hotel in U.S. has some leverage potential for redeeming a free night voucher for a hotel equivalent to the cost of earning the free night after three stays.

6,500 points + base points earned for three qualifying stays may be sufficient for a second low category 12,000 points reward night for many travelers qualifying for this additional promotion bonus.

650,000 points bonus for staying at three Best Western brand types is a high value return for members who are in select locations of the U.S.

The limiting factor for the 650,000 promotion bonus is there are only four Premier Hotels in the United States and none in Canada or Caribbean. A stay in one of these four hotels is necessary to qualify for the 650,000 points bonus.

Premier United States Hotels

California Hotels

Napa Hotels

BEST WESTERN PREMIER Ivy Hotel Napa

Florida Hotels

Miami Hotels

BEST WESTERN PREMIER Miami International Airport Hotel & Suites

Pennsylvania Hotels

Lancaster Hotels

BEST WESTERN PREMIER Eden Resort & Suites

Texas Hotels

Denton Hotels

BEST WESTERN PREMIER Crown Chase Inn & Suites

650,000 points is sufficient for 18 free nights at the highest level hotel reward of 36,000 points per night.

This Best Western Rewards offer is a 4-key offer (out of 5 keys).

Best Western has a buy one night and get one night free promotion available for booking over the next two weeks.

Offer: Pay one night and get your second night free on a minimum two-night stay at 31 participating Best Western hotels in Asia thru October 31, 2009.

Booking period: July 20, 2009 – August 3, 2009; reservation is prepaid and nonrefundable.

Terms and Conditions: Promotional rate does not earn Best Western Rewards points or airline miles.

Participating Best Western Hotels: http://www.bwrewardsasia.com/freenights

China

Best Western World Trade Hotel , Jinhua

Best Western Kylie Ningbo Hotel, Ningbo

Best Western Premier Ocean Hotel, Yiwu

Best Western Hangzhou Meiyuan Hotel, Hangzhou

Best Western Shenzhen Felicity, Shenzhen

Best Western Harbin Fortune Hotel, Harbin

Best Western Grandsky Hotel, Beijing

Best Western Hotel Sun Sun, Macau

Best Western Hengfeng Hotel, Putian

Best Western Shanghai Ruite Hotel, Shanghai

Best Western New Century Hotel Shanghai, Shanghai

Best Western Premier Beijing, Beijing

Best Western OL Stadium Hotel, Beijing

India

Best Western Resort Country Club, Gurgaon

Best Western Yuvraj, Surat

Best Western Resort Country Club, Hyderabad

Japan

Best Western Takayama, Takayama

Best Western Premier Hotel Nagasaki, Nagasaki

Best Western Hotel Newcity Hirosaki, Hirosaki

Thailand

Best Western Samui Bayview Resort, Koh Samui

Best Western Premier Supalai Resort & Spa, Phuket

Best Western Bella Villa Cabana, Pattaya

Best Western Pattaya, Pattaya

Best Western Premier Bangtao Beach Resort & Spa, Phuket

Best Western Ao Nang Bay Resort & Spa, Krabi

Best Western Chiang Mai Resort & Spa, Chiang Mai

Best Western Ban Ao nang Resort, Krabi

Philippines

Best Western Hotel La Corona Manila, Manila

Best Western Astor Hotel, Makati

Indonesia

Best Western New Kuta Condotel, Bali

Vietnam

Best Western Pearl River Hotel, Haiphong

Asia Hotel Industry by the Numbers (data from STR Global May 2009-Asia Pacific Report)

Hotel travel numbers for Asia are not looking good this year which partly accounts for the promotions being advertised by Best Western, InterContinental Hotels Group (mentioned in Lucky’s One Mile at a Time blog today), and Accor Hotels.

May 2009 STR Global hotel data shows double digit declines over the past year in average daily rates (15.2%) and occupancy (14.9%) for the overall region of Asia and the Pacific.

The Asia/Pacific region showed the greatest decline for any global region for the month of May 2009 and May 2008 to May 2009 numbers.

Thailand and China have seen dramatic declines in occupancy.  Hotels in the resort destination of Phuket plummeted to just 34.5% occupancy rate in May 2009. Suite upgrades should certainly be a negotiable option in this hotel climate.

In spite of the overall downturn, hotel rates actually increased for Bali, Seoul, and Tokyo hotels.

1. Bali, Indonesia ADR up 17.5% to US$127.83. (Bali hotel numbers may drop again after the recent Jakarta bombings.)

2. Osaka, Japan ADR up 8.7% to US$129.72

3. Tokyo, Japan ADR up 12.9% to US$228.55

It is unclear to me what effect currency rate fluctuation plays in this ADR increase.

The largest decrease in ADR is New Delhi, India with a 31.5% drop to US$162.02. I was astonished over the past three years at the data showing the steep rise in average room rates across India. Rates in Mumbai and New Delhi increased at astronomical levels of 30 – 40% per year and $300 per night hotel rates at the major hotel chains was not uncommon. It is no surprise to see a steep decline back to sustainable room rates in this business economy downturn of 2009.

Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne maintained occupancy rates above 70% as did Seoul, Korea. All the fare sales from the USA to the Down Under and the poorer economy keeping more Australians at home on the continent is probably helping hotel travel. Australia only saw a 6% year-to-year decline in hotel occupancy compared to 14% decline in Japan, 15% India, 16% China, and nearly an 18% drop in hotel guests in Singapore over the past year.

I was developing a piece on Best Western’s Free Night summer promotion and today I came across Tim Winship’s piece on SmarterTravel.com. I hadn’t considered the airline miles earning angle in my Best Western promotion analysis. Ironically, the central topic my July InsideFlyer column is earning airline miles from hotel stays. Since I did not include Best Western Rewards in my magazine column, I will present the airline miles option here with a discussion of the free night promotion for two stays.

Best Western Rewards loyalty program offer: Summer promotion 2009 earns a free night voucher for every two stays between June 21, 2009 and August 16, 2009. A maximum of two free night vouchers may be earned.

There is also a Best Western Rewards online booking bonus of 250 points per completed stay for reservations booked online during promotion.

Restrictions:

- Promotion limited to residents of US, Canada, and Caribbean Islands.

- Free Night Voucher is equivalent to a level 3/16,000 points voucher – a relatively low level hotel redemption.

- Free night voucher expires six months after issue.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis:

My first thought on reading the terms and conditions of this promotion is a 16,000 points voucher is not valid for many hotels in my area. I made a survey of the hotel category for the 66 Best Western properties shown within 100 miles of Monterey, California.

Best Western free hotel nights are based on the hotel level. There are eight Rewards levels for Best Western hotels starting at 8,000 points per free night and increasing by 4,000 points for each level. A Best Western hotel will be categorized at one of the eight redemption levels for a free night:

Level 1 = 8,000 points

Level 2 = 12,000

Level 3 = 16,000

Level 4 = 20,000

Level 5 = 24,000

Level 6 = 28,000

Level 7 = 32,000

Level 8 = 36,000 points

Hotel Level for 66 Best Western Hotels within 100 miles of Monterey, California

* NA = Four hotels were not available using points for the date I checked. The hotel level was not indicated for these four hotels. I did not bother to search for an available free night date to find the hotel level for these four hotels.

To see the redemption level for a specific hotel requires the Best Western Rewards member be logged into the website and search for hotels using points. There are 66 Best Western hotels within 100 miles of Monterey. Only 6 of these hotels are at level 3 which is the free night voucher level. The other 60 hotels are higher points levels for the free night. It is unclear from the terms of the promotion whether a 4,000 points upgrade voucher can be used with this promotion to get a 20,000 points room.

My free night hotel choices within 100 miles of Monterey consist of 6 Best Western hotels. Nothing here looks too enticing for my travels. These are all inland valley places and I try to stay along the California coast as much as possible.

1.       Best Western Apricot Inn, Firebaugh, CA

2.       Best Western Villa del Lago, Patterson, CA

3.       Best Western Pleasanton Inn

4.       Best Western Luxury Inn, Tracy

5.       Best Western Town House Lodge, Modesto

6.       Best Western Executive Inn, Manteca

Best Western can be a good program for padding airline miles

While the free night voucher may not be a widely useable free night, I find there are good miles earning options with Best Western Rewards. There are 17 airline partners for earning miles from your hotel stays and most earn 250 miles per stay. Southwest is 0.5 credit and Miles & More is 500 miles per stay.

1.       Air Canada Aeroplan

2.       Air Berlin

3.       Air France/KLM Flying Blue

4.       Alaska Airlines

5.       Alitalia

6.       American Airlines

7.       Asiana Club

8.       China Southern

9.       Continental

10.   Czech Airlines

11.   Delta

12.   Hainan

13.   LanPass

14.   Miles & More (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, LOT Polish) = 500 miles per stay

15.   Northwest

16.   Southwest = 0.5 credit per stay

17.   US Airways

Special Bonus Miles Hotel Offers

In addition to setting your earning preference to airline miles instead of Rewards points, there are also special hotel specific bonus mile offers.

Example: Best Western Inn Santa Clara Double Miles per minimum 3-night stay. This offer will earn double the normal 250 miles for 500 miles with most airlines or 1,000 miles with Miles & More.

The best special offer I saw was Halifax, Nova Scotia for triple miles on a one night stay.

Best Western Travel Cards and Bonus Airline Miles (link)

Tim Winship mentions American Airlines miles or Southwest Rewards credits as an additional promotion bonus miles when buying Best Western Travel cards. There are actually six other airlines for earning miles with these cards. Air Canada Aeroplan and American AAdvantage have the best earning at 500 miles per $50 Gift Card. Alaska, Continental, Delta, Northwest, and US Airways are 500 miles per $100 gift card. The Southwest Rewards offer of 0.5 credit per $100 is not as good as Aeroplan or AAdvantage miles in terms of the percentage of award miles earned towards a free domestic ticket.

All in all the limitation of the free night to the lowest hotel levels diminishes the value of this promotion in my evaluation. Don’t go out of your way to take advantage of this deal.

But keep in mind the opportunity to earn airline miles through Best Western hotel stays and Best Western Travel card purchases. This is a good way to pick up miles when you find yourself needing a Best Western hotel.

For the past several weeks I have been thinking about writing a piece on hotel brands and hotel market segments.  The release yesterday of the JD Power 2008 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study brought the idea back to the forefront.  Overall customer satisfaction with hotels is on the decline.  The luxury and extended stay hotel markets were the only market segments not showing a decline in customer satisfaction from 2007.

My friends on July 4^th were quite impressed with my corner room suite at the Le Meridien San Francisco, a Starwood brand hotel.   Two of my friends have Starwood employee connections and could get a hotel room at the Le Meridien at quite a discount, but they did not know the hotel was a Starwood brand.

I typically find the most confusing aspect for travelers learning about hotel loyalty programs is the lack of familiarity with the variety of hotel brands in the major hotel chains.  Hilton, Marriott, Starwood, and InterContinental are multi-brand hotel corporations and their hotel loyalty programs represent over 30 hotel brands.

J.D. Power and Associates performs an annual Hotel Guest Satisfaction study that segments the hotel market into six categories.  I have added loyalty program information next to the hotel brand and I have added additional brands from the major programs.

1. Luxury Market Segment Hotel Brands

            a. Fairmont Hotels (Fairmont President’s Club)

            b. Four Seasons (no traditional loyalty program)

            c. InterContinental Hotels (IHG Priority Club and Ambassador Club)

            d. JW Marriott (Marriott Rewards)

            e. Loews Hotels (Loews You First)

            f. Millennium Hotels, (hotels are primarily outside North America; no traditional loyalty program)

            g. Sofitel Hotels (Accor Hotels, redesigned loyalty program to launch Sep 2008)

            h. Ritz-Carlton (Marriott Rewards redemption only),

            i. W Hotel (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

          Luxury Hotel Brands Missing from JD Power survey:

            Waldorf=Astoria (Hilton HHonors)

            Conrad Hotels (Hilton HHonors)

            St. Regis Hotels (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            The Luxury Collection (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            Le Meridien Hotels (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            Park Hyatt (Hyatt Gold Passport)

Upscale Market Segment Hotel Brands

            a. Crowne Plaza (IHG Priority Club)

            b. Delta (Delta Privilege), Canadian hotel chain

            c. Doubletree (Hilton HHonors)

            d. Embassy Suites (Hilton HHonors)

            e. Hyatt Hotels (Hyatt Gold Passport)

            f. Marriott Hotels (Marriott Rewards)

            g. Omni Hotels (Omni Select Guest),

            h. Radisson (Carlson Gold Points Plus)

            i. Renaissance (Marriott Rewards)

            j. Sheraton (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            k. Westin (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            l. Wyndham Hotels (Wyndham Rewards)

          Missing Brands:  Cambria Suites (Choice Privileges)

Mid-Scale Full Service Market Segment Hotel Brands

            a. Best Western (Best Western Gold Crown Club)

            b. Clarion (Choice Privileges)

            c. Courtyard (Marriott Rewards)

            d. Four Points by Sheraton (Starwood Preferred Guest) 

            e. Hilton Garden Inn (Hilton HHonors)

            f. Holiday Inn (IHG Priority Club)

            g. Howard Johnson Hotels (Wyndham Rewards)

            h. Hyatt Place (Hyatt Gold Passport)

            i. Quality Inn (Choice Privileges)

            j. Ramada Inn (Wyndham Rewards)

Mid-Scale Limited Service Market Segment Hotel Brands

          a. AmericInn  (AmericInn Rewards)

            b. AmeriSuites (Wyndham Rewards)

            Note: most hotels in the AmeriSuites brand were converted to Hyatt Place Hotels or sold in 2008.

            c. Baymont Inn (Wyndham Rewards)

            d. Comfort Inn (Choice Privileges)

            e. Comfort Suites (Choice Privileges)

            f. Country Inns and Suites (Carlson Gold Points Plus)

            g. Drury Inn and Suites (Drury Gold Key Club)

            h. Fairfield Inn (Marriott Rewards)

            i. Hampton Inn (Hilton HHonors)

            j. Holiday Inn Express (IHG Priority Club)

            k. La Quinta Inn (La Quinta Returns)

            l. Ramada Limited (Wyndham Rewards)

            m. Sleep Inn (Choice Privileges)

            n. Springhill Suites (Marriott Rewards)

            o. Wingate by Wyndham (Wyndham Rewards)

Economy/Budget Market Segment Hotel Brands

          a. America’s Best Value Inn (ValueClub)

            b. Days Inn (Wyndham Rewards)

            c. Econolodge (Choice Privileges)

            d. Howard Johnson Express (Wyndham Rewards)

            e. Knights Inn (Wyndham Rewards)

            f. Microtel Inns (MicroPass, but Wyndham recently bought Microtel and perhaps this program will become part of Wyndham Rewards)

            g. Motel 6 (Accor, but no participation in Accor hotel loyalty program)

            h. Red Roof Inn (Redicard)

            i. Rodeway Inn (Choice Privileges)

            j. Super 8 Motel (Wyndham Rewards)

            k. Travelodge (Wyndham Rewards)

Extended Stay Market Segment Hotel Brands

          a. Candlewood Suites (IHG Priority Club)

            b. Extended Stay America (Extended Stay Hotels, no loyalty program)

            c. Hawthorn Suites (Wyndham Rewards)

            d. Homestead Studio Suites (Extended Stay Hotels, no loyalty program but register for Suite Offers online and receive $10 off next stay)         

            e. Homewood Suites (Hilton HHonors)

            f. Residence Inn (Marriott Rewards)

            g. Staybridge Suites (IHG Priority Club)

            h. TownePlace Suites (Marriott Rewards)

Other Extended Stay Hotel Brands:

            Element (Starwood Preferred Guest)  new extended stay brand

Elite status qualification in a hotel loyalty program is the avenue to getting consistent higher-value out of your hotel expenditures.  My rule of thumb with the major frequent guest programs like Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, and Starwood is high elite status will typically add $100 of value for each hotel night.  Bonus points, complimentary upgrades, special redemption offers, and complimentary hotel amenities all contribute to the value-added benefits of being a top elite member with your hotel program.  Complimentary upgrades to hotel rooms priced $200+ more per night than the rate you book at an upscale category hotel is a common benefit of top-elite membership in a frequent guest hotel loyalty program.

The benefits are doled out to lower level elite members on a sporadic basis.  I have had some fantastic upgrades as a Hilton HHonors Gold member and Marriott Silver member, but these are not the norm.  Regular room upgrades are the primary benefit of being a top-tier elite member and in my opinion the primary value for maintaining loyalty with a hotel chain year-to-year. 

Your personal travel pattern will determine your elite membership target.  If you travel just 20 nights per year, then Marriott is probably not a great program for your hotel lifestyle.  If your travel is not concentrated in major cities, then you will probably not benefit greatly from Hyatt or Fairmont as your primary hotel loyalty program.  If your budget is not elastic, then Loews may not be the program for you.

Not surprisingly, the hotel loyalty programs with the fewest hotel members such as Loews Hotels, Fairmont, and Kimpton tend to be the programs with the easiest high-elite qualification standards.  Hyatt and Starwood both have run promotions in the past year for counting stays double towards elite qualification, thereby making top elite status possible with as few as 13 nights.  Wyndham ByRequest does not provide a room upgrade as a defined benefit.

Here is the run-down of qualifying stays and nights for top elite status with major hotel loyalty programs.  All programs are based on the number of hotel stays or nights earned in a calendar year, except Hilton HHonors which uses any 12 month period of activity. 

Qualification Standard for Frequent Guest Top-Tier Elite Membership

Wyndham Rewards = ByRequest elite = 3 nights (room upgrades are not a defined benefit)

Fairmont President’s Club = Platinum elite = 10 stays or 30 nights in calendar year

Loew’s You First = Platinum elite = 10 stays

Kimpton InTouch = Inner Circle elite = 15 stays or 45 nights

Radisson Gold Points Plus = Gold Elite = 20 stays or 35 nights

Hyatt Gold Passport = Diamond elite = 25 stays or 50 nights

Starwood Preferred Guest = Platinum elite = 25 stays or 50 nights

Hilton HHonors = Diamond elite = 28 stays or 60 nights

Best Western Gold Crown Club = Diamond elite = 30 nights

Choice Privileges = Diamond elite = 40 nights

InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club = Platinum elite = 50 nights or earn 60,000 points (potential to earn platinum status based on points earned throughout year can make attaining platinum status qualification much easier than staying 50 nights in a calendar year.

Marriott Rewards =Platinum Elite = 75 nights

A hotel stay is defined as consecutive nights in one hotel property.  One-night stays allow a member to qualify for elite membership with a number of nights below the  qualification standard for nights.  For example, guest member #1 of Hilton HHonors could have 20 one-night stays and 8 two-night stays and qualify for HHonors diamond status with 28 stays and 36 nights.  Another HHonors member could have 15 three-night stays and would not qualify for HHonors diamond status with 45 nights and 15 stays.  Even though member # 2 has stayed more nights than guest # 1 at Hilton Hotel properties, the diamond qualification level has not been met.

Loyalty Traveler Original Research –
Diners Club Comparison of Redemption Value Across Hotel Points Programs

Hotel Points can be earned through credit card points exchanges with Diners Club/MasterCard Club Rewards points. Club Rewards points can be a valuable asset when planning the hotel component of a trip.

Loyalty Traveler is always seeking good hotel value. An analysis of Diners Club shows value is relative to the hotel program partner and the particular time and place of points redemption for a free hotel night.Diners Club Rewards points can be exchanged into hotel points for 7 major hotel loyalty programs at the following exchange rates for 1,250 points (transfers must be multiples of 1,250 Club Rewards points):

Best Western Gold Crown Club = 3,300 points
Choice Privileges = 2,400 points
Hilton HHonors = 2,000 points
Hyatt Gold Passport points = 750 points
Marriott Rewards = 1,500 points
Priority Club Rewards = 1,500 points
Starwood Preferred Guest = 750 points

In addition to point exchanges, Diners Club Rewards points can be used for free night redemption offers with Fairmont Hotels, Ritz-Carlton, and various luxury villa properties in Europe and hotels in Hawaii.
By the Numbers

Points Redemption Value

Summary of results based on an extrapolation of value for 50,000 Diners Club Rewards points exchanged into hotel points and redeemed for a free night in a particular location (San Francisco) and date (Tuesday, July 15, 2008) for a hotel stay using points.

Best Western = $1,399 for 4.7 room nights
Starwood = $1,197 for 3.0 room nights
Hyatt = $1,080 for 2.5 room nights
Choice = $905 for 6.0 nights
Priority Club = $811 for 2.4 nights
Hilton = $660 for 2.0 nights
Marriott = $270 for 1.0 nights (Marriott Redemption Value affected by Stay Anytime reward as only available option for July 15, 2008 San Francisco).

Assume a Diners Club member has 50,000 Club Rewards points and wants to exchange these for a good hotel value. $50,000 in purchases earns 50,000 Club Rewards points under normal earning rules.

50,000 Club Rewards points exchanged into hotel points for:

Best Western Gold Crown Club = 132,000 points
Choice Privileges = 96,000 points
Hilton HHonors = 80,000 points
Hyatt Gold Passport points = 30,000 points
Marriott Rewards = 60,000 points
Priority Club Rewards = 60,000 points
Starwood Preferred Guest = 30,000 points

Calculating Hotel Points Redemption Value

Calculating the value of hotel points across programs is a complex analysis. There are too many variables: specific hotel program terms, hotel location, time of year, weekday vs. weekend nights, promotions, and redemption special offers for free nights using hotel points. That being said, the reality is -

hotel points have no value until redeemed.

Ultimately, the final decision for hotel travelers becomes whether to pay cash or use points for your all or part of your stay. Therefore, it is a valuable exercise to see real numbers for hotel free nights in a sample scenario. There will likely be hotels around the globe and the USA offering better value and hotels offering lesser value than the hotel points redemption sample.

Methodology for hotel program comparisons and the value of 50,000 Diners Club Club Rewards points.

Hotel points redemption value is based on using the same city and same dates for comparison across programs. I use San Francisco as a model for comparing hotel programs due to the large number of hotel members in a large number of hotel corporations in a highly concentrated area of downtown San Francisco. I frequently use international locations for redemption value options due to the high cost of hotels in most major international cities around the globe.

The limitation of the analysis that follows is I only look at one sample date for hotel rates and all data is extrapolated based on hotel rates for Tuesday, July 15, 2008 in downtown San Francisco. This analysis gives a snapshot of the comparative value in a real-time analysis of what kind of reservation could be booked with hotel points on July 1, 2008.

The points redemption values for the one night San Francisco stay are extrapolated to provide a common relative value across hotel programs. This allows a comparison of the relative redemption value for total hotel points earned through an exchange of 50,000 Diners Club Rewards points.

Obviously, a person cannot book 2.4 nights using points and I did not actually try to book 2 or 3 night stays using points. The total points redemption value found for San Francisco for Tuesday July 15 is extrapolated at the same rate to determine an overall points value for an exchange of 50,000 Club Rewards points.

Marriott is the only program that has skewed data because in this real time situation using July 15, the Marriott Rewards program was the only program requiring extra points for a free night (double points for a Marriott Rewards Stay AnyTime reward).

In real travel the probability that one program will be less favorable than another is common. The real value of Diners Club points is the ability to transfer your points into a variety of hotel programs and take advantage of the best opportunity for points redemption for the particular trip and hotel stay.
Example of Calculating Points Redemption Value for Free Rooms Using Points:

JW Marriott San Francisco is a Category 7 hotel in the Marriott Rewards program. Your points redemption value is determined by how many points you actually save when you redeem points for a free night.A free night for a Category 7 hotel costs 35,000 points using Marriott Rewards points. This next Friday night, July 4th, the lowest available room rate for this hotel is $199. After 14% hotel tax, your 35,000 points save you $227 for a free night in San Francisco.

The value of 1,000 Marriott Rewards points is about $6.50/1,000 points if used for a free room night to save $227 at JW Marriott San Francisco, July 4th Friday night.

A weekday Tuesday free night on July 8th is an entirely different value for 35,000 points. The midweek rate for the JW Marriott San Francisco is $319 per night and the value of your points redemption increases to $364 after 14% hotel tax. Your points redemption value is 60% higher at $10.40/1,000 points when redeeming 35,000 points for a $364 savings.

A good rule of thumb is to try and redeem your points at a value higher than the purchase rate of points through the hotel program.

Caveat and analytical limitation:
The analysis shown here does not take into account the value of points not earned by not paying for a room.

For example, a paid room at $199 base rate will earn 1,990 Marriott Rewards points plus promotional and elite bonuses. The points not earned will likely be 2,000 to 4,000 points that need to be included in a calculation of the value of your points when redeeming for a free night.
A more precise valuation for a $227 JW Marriott room savings would be 35,000 + 1,990 (points you would have earned if $199 base rate paid instead of hotel points reward).

$227 hotel savings / 36,990 points = $6.14/1,000 points redemption value for July 4.
$364 hotel savings / 38,190 points = $9.53/1,000 points redemption value for July 8.

Actual points redemption values will also be dependent on the date, location, current promotions, and elite status within the hotel loyalty program, so the points not earned will be higher than these basic calculations and result in points redemption values slightly lower than these given above. As you can see it is complex to calculate the value of points with a single hotel program and comparisons across programs are more complex.

The value* of 50,000 Club Rewards points exchanged for hotel points:
*calculations for redemption value do not consider points not earned for a paid stay.

Points Redemption Value = money saved/points for free night x 1,000

Best Western Gold Crown = 132,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $1,399.20 for 4.7 free nights

Best Western Hotel California, San Francisco
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Best Western, The Hotel California
28,000 points or $260.10 + 14% hotel tax = $297/night
or $10.60 redemption value/1,000 points.

Best Western members must be Platinum (15 nights) or Diamond (30 nights) elite to purchase points at rate of $10/1,000 points. ($1,320 points purchase value)

Choice Privileges = 96,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $905.28 for 6 free nights at Rodeway Inn Downtown San Francisco

Choice points purchase value ($10/1,000 points with 10,000 points annual limit)

Rodeway Inn Downtown San Francisco
Tuesday, July 15, 2008 16,000 points or $131.99 AAA rate or $151 after tax
$151/16,000 = $9.43/1,000 points

Hilton HHonors = 80,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $660 redemption value for 2 nights at Hilton San Francisco Financial District

Purchase Value: $800 for 80,000 HHonors points

All 3 San Francisco Hilton properties are Category 6 hotels costing 40,000 points for a free night.

Hilton San Francisco Financial District
Tuesday July 15
$289 base rate. $330 after hotel tax.
$330/40,000 points = $8.25/1,000 points

Hyatt Gold Passport = 30,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $1,080 redemption value for 2.5 nights at Grand Hyatt San Francisco

Grand Hyatt San Francisco, A Hyatt Gold Passport Category 3 hotel = 12,000 points for a free night.

Tuesday July 15
$379/night or $432/night after tax
$432/12,000 points = $36/1,000 points x 30,000 = $1,080 redemption value

Marriott Rewards = 60,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $270 redemption value for 1 night at San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf

1 night Stay Anytime Category 6 hotel reward for San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf = $270 value.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008
San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf
Category 6 Stay Anytime award = 60,000 points

$237 internet only 14-day advance nonrefundable rate = $270 after tax.
$270/60,000 points = $4.50/1,000 points

This would be a quite poor redemption value for 60,000 Marriott Rewards points.

Priority Club Rewards = 60,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $811 redemption value for 2.4 nights at Holiday Inn San Francisco Golden Gateway

$811.12 redemption value for 2.4 nights at Holiday Inn San Francisco Golden Gateway
San Francisco charges 40,000 points for the Mark Hopkins and the new InterContinental San Francisco adjacent to Moscone Convention Center. The InterContinental hotels are not available for the July 15 date, however there is availability for the Holiday Inn San Francisco Golden Gateway on Van Ness Street for 25,000 points per night.

$296.65 + tax = $338/night
July 15, 2008
$338/25,000 points = $13.52/1,000 points

Priority Club PointBreaks

Priority Club has a special redemption offer called PointBreak for a 5,000 points free night award. There is a revolving list of participating hotels around the globe that is updated with new hotels every couple of months. There is potential to get 12 nights on PointBreaks awards at 5,000 points per night.

Example night: PointBreaks Reward for France at the Holiday Inn Toulouse Centre for July 15, 2008 where the regular rate is 99€ per night and a 5.5% tax is included in rate. The value of this PointBreaks redemption is about $160/5,000 points or $32.00/1,000 Priority Club points. With 60,000 Priority Club points from 50,000 Diners Club Rewards points the redemption value in the range of $1,920 value is possible. This is nearly a 4% return on the Diners Club credit card purchases of $50,000.

Purchase Value: $690 value for 60,000 Priority Club Rewards points.

Priority Club points purchase limit is 40,000 points per 12 months at rate of $11.50/1,000 points for purchases of 20,000 points or more.

Starwood Preferred Guest = 30,000 points

Diners Club Exchange Value = $1,092 redemption value for 3 nights at Westin Market Street
or
$1,197.00 redemption value for Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf

Purchase Value: 30,000 Starpoints x $35/1,000 = $1,050 value

This type of comparison for the relative value of using points compared to booking a paid reservation is facilitated by the simple design of the Starwood hotel rate search returns that also show availability of free nights using points or the even more valuable Cash & Points option.

The best value for July 15, 2008 is the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf, a Category 4 hotel available for 10,000 points or a paid rate of $350 + tax/night.
The Westin Market Street is also available for points at $319 + tax/night or 10,000 points.

Westin Market Street
$364/10,000 points = $36.40/1,000 points

Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf
$399/10,000 points = $39.90/1,000 points

Best Western Carmel Bay View, Carmel, California
36,000 points for a free night using points (the highest hotel award category)

Best Western Carmel Bay View Hotel

Best Western Hotels: Brand Overview

Best Western Hotels are a franchise operation organizing 4,200+ hotels in the USA and international make Best Western the largest single hotel brand in the world. (Hotel brand geography: USA 2,200 hotels, Canada 180 hotels, and nearly 2,000 hotels in 80 other countries).

More than 1000 Best Western hotels in the USA and Canada receive a 3-diamond rating. Over 90% of the Best Western properties in Europe receive a 3-star or 4-star rating.

All BW hotels in USA, Canada, and the Caribbean offer free high-speed internet access.

Best Western Gold Crown Club

Gold Crown Club is Best Western’s hotel loyalty program and with hotels in about 80 countries, the Best Western program is truly international in scope.

Earning Points:
Earn 10 points/$1US spent on hotel charges (excluding taxes).
Points do not expire under current program rules.

Gold Crown Club Elite Status:
Gold Elite membership for 10+ nights in a calendar year
Benefits include:
10% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers

Platinum Elite for 15+ nights in a calendar year

Benefits include:
15% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers
Complimentary room upgrades and early check-in/late check-out privileges

Diamond Elite for 30+ nights in a calendar year

Benefits include:
30% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers
Complimentary room upgrades and early check-in/late check-out privileges

Hotel Points Redemption:
Gold Crown Club points may be used for a variety of travel-related and travel-unrelated redemption choices.

Hotel Free Nights are available based on 8 categories of hotel redemption levels ranging from 8,000 points for one free night to 36,000 points for one free hotel night at a Best Western.

Best Western Gold Crown Club member must be signed in to account to see the option of “Search by Points” in the “Find a Hotel” tab. The search results will then show the points level for a free night for specific hotels.

Best Western Carmel Bay View Inn is at the 36,000 points level for a free night. This is the highest category level in the program. Wow.

Carmel Best Western TownHouse Lodge
Free Night Using Points = 32,000

A drawback of points redemption is the need for a hotel category voucher, although these can be printed via your online account. The Best Western Carmel Townhouse Lodge takes a 32,000 points voucher for a free night. If you decided you wanted to change to a free night at the Best Western Carmel Bay View the voucher needed is a 36,000 point free night. An interesting feature of the Gold Crown Club program is the ability to redeem points for 4,000 points “level adjustment vouchers”. A person with a 32,000 points voucher and a 4,000 points level adjustment voucher can pay for the 36,000 points free night at the Carmel Bay View using the two combined vouchers.

Best Western’s Preferred AAA Guest Rewards Program

AAA members have the option of joining a subcategory of Gold Crown Club with the immediate beneft of 10% points bonus on hotel stays, in addition to the discounted AAA group room rates.

Ric’s Best Western hotel notes: I stayed in a wonderful Best Western hotel in the Latin Quarter, Paris a few years back. The room was tiny, but clean and on a relatively quiet street at a cost under $60/night.

I recall in the LatinPass 1,000,000 miles run in May 2000 getting unexpectedly stranded in Guayaquil, Ecuador for a night (fortunately after I had completed the 10th LatinPass airlines segment for the 1,000,000 frequent flyer miles bonus). There was a Hilton near the GYE airport for about $200/night. I talked with two young girls working the tourist information booth at the airport (they didn’t even look 18) and they booked me into the Best Western in downtown Guayaquil for $30/night. The room was basic and clean, looked out to the urban center shopping district street from the 3rd floor, and provided a safe environment to lay my head. I think I did use a safety precaution I read from a Robert Young Pelton article about propping a chair against the door jam to deter unexpected openings. The hotel had a restaurant connected to the lobby and I ate a steak dinner and drank beers for about $3. And it remains the only hotel where I was escorted 15 feet to the door of a taxi and protected by a big armed, armed man. I fet like I had ambassador treatment from my Best Western hosts.