Best Western Rewards has a promotion offering Southwest Airlines frequent flyers who enroll in Best Western Rewards between March 8 and April 30 the opportunity to earn Gold Elite after one hotel stay along with 1,200 Rapid Rewards points. Offer is only available to residents of U.S. and Canada.

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

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards was restructured last year from a program where 16 credits was a free ticket to a system where 6,000 points = $100 for the “Wanna Get Away” lowest fare types. Choice Privileges and Wyndham Rewards have a competitive edge fitting their hotel market segments as the fastest earning hotel programs for Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points at low levels of spend.

Marriott Rewards and Hyatt Gold Passport take the lead when elite and credit card bonus points are added to hotel stays.

Hilton HHonors and Priority Club ended their partnerships with Southwest Airlines in 2011. Starwood Preferred Guest eliminated the option to transfer Starpoints into Southwest Rapid Rewards in 2011. Club Carlson does not partner with Southwest Airlines.

Hotel Points to Southwest Airlines Conversion Tables

The tables are formatted to be read in columns. Each column shows the points earned for a set amount of hotel spend, elite status bonus points and credit card bonus points for hotel stay payment and converts hotel points into Southwest Airlines points.

These tables are formatted to compare the conversion rates of different hotel programs for points to miles. The amounts shown in the tables do not necessarily correspond to the amount of hotel points required to be transferred in any specific program. For example: Wyndham Rewards requires points transfers for most airlines in blocks of 8,000 or 17,500 or 30,000 points.

The standard earning rate across most hotel loyalty programs is 600 points for a hotel stay. This is a great deal for the midscale programs like Best Western, Choice and Wyndham. The 600 points per stay are not as good a rate when staying at full service hotels like Marriott, Starwood or Hyatt.

Choice Privileges looks like a great program for pulling in Southwest credits. Southwest is one airline where Hyatt Gold Passport rises significantly in ranking compared to the other major hotel loyalty programs.

Related Loyalty Traveler posts:

• 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)

Just as you are experiencing the travails of holiday travel comes Owen Benjamin, a comedian and social media experience, who embarked yesterday from Dallas on a 30-day Southwest Airlines journey to set a record for the most airports visited by a passenger in one month.

Looking at his flight schedule and seeing only 10 airports in the first three days looks like a basic two day mileage run for Lucky at One Mile at a Time blog. The record for most airports visited in a month by a passenger is a high hurdle.

Owen is tweeting updates as he travels with his dog in a carryon suitcase on Southwest Airlines. Maybe the dog is not really traveling in his suitcase, but that is how the initial Funny on the fly video ends. The video made me laugh as I am a traveler often looking for a last minute pet sitter. Travel is so much easier with cats as pets (leave the cats at home with lots of cat sand).

There is also a sweepstakes portion to this campaign for free Southwest Airlines tickets and Lenovo IdeaPad K1 tablet. You can enter sweepstakes once a day.

Owen’s Twitter handle is @Funnyonthefly and the trip is called “Funny on the Fly”, but the web domain is www.flyingfunny.com just to keep you slightly off-balance in the air.

I am looking forward to seeing how Owen’s social media campaign progresses. I thought it interesting there is a banner saying “The Ultimate Do”.

Hey Owen. Are you a member of FlyerTalk and MilePoint?

Owen Benjamin www.flyingfunny.com and @Funnyonthefly on Twitter.

Hyatt Gold Passport offers Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards members 1,800 points per Hyatt stay worldwide from October 1 to January 15, 2012. This is triple points compared to the normal earning rate of 600 Rapid Rewards points per stay. A maximum 10 hotel stays may earn triple Rapid Rewards points for 18,000 Rapid Rewards points.

The value of 1,800 Rapid Rewards points has a set $30 value (60 points = $1) when redeemed for Southwest Airlines Wanna Getaway fares.

Hyatt Promotion Registration Required

Hyatt Gold Passport Triple Rapid Rewards points with Southwest Airlines registration page. You may also register by calling 1-800-30-HYATT (provide promotion code WN002).

How to Request Miles from Hyatt Gold Passport

Hyatt Gold Passport does not have a way to change your earning preference to airline miles instead of Hyatt points through online account preferences. Gold Passport members need to request Southwest Rapid Rewards points (or any airline miles) at check-in and provide your frequent flyer number rather than earn the normal 5 Gold Passport points per dollar. Even when you request miles at the hotel there is the likelihood your account will post Gold Passport points instead of miles.

Don’t panic if you earn Hyatt points instead of Southwest points (miles) when your hotel stay posts. This is common for miles earners. A call to Hyatt Gold Passport customer service can easily get the Gold Passport points changed to Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis

Triple points with Southwest Airlines promotion can be combined with the 5,000 Gold Passport points every three nights promotion that runs concurrently through November 15, 2011. The ability to combine the 5K per 3 nights with airline promotions was confirmed by Gold Passport Representative, Hyatt’s company concierge on FlyerTalk.

Hyatt Gold Passport points are typically worth $20 per 1,000 points.

The combination of 1,667 Gold Passport points per night and 1,800 points per stay can be a rebate value around $190 after three one-night Hyatt stays between October 1 – November 15 when both of these offers are in effect.

Hyatt Gold Passport offers good value hotel rebates for frequent guests this fall 2011.