The Best Western Rewards® Mastercard® * The information for
the Best Western Rewards® Mastercard® has been collected independently by
Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by
the card issuer. is a largely forgettable card for even the most staunch Best
Western devotee. Still, it offers tens of thousands of easy bonus points each
year, and it confers automatic Gold status. If you stay just a couple nights
each year, this no-annual-fee credit card could be worth a look.
Best
Western Rewards Mastercard basics
· Annual fee: $0.
· Welcome bonus: 40,000 points
after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three billing cycles from
account opening.
· Rewards: up to 13 points per $1
spent on Best Western purchases and 2 points per $1 spent on all other
purchases.
· APR: 28.24% or 29.74% variable
APR on purchases and balance transfers. There is a balance transfer fee of
either $10 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies.
· Recommended credit score: Good to
excellent.
· Other benefits: 20,000 bonus
points annually (after you meet spending requirements), complimentary Gold
status, no foreign transaction fees.Best
Western Rewards Mastercard review
The Best Western Rewards Mastercard is a no-annual-fee
hotel credit card for the (very) occasional traveler. It doesn’t offer things
like flashy hotel benefits, monthly statement credits or travel insurance.
Instead, it tosses a few Best Western-specific perks toward
you in the hopes that your Best Western fandom will compensate for a marginally
valuable product. For example, you’ll receive:
· Automatic Gold status with Best
Western.
· up to 13 points per $1 spent on
Best Western purchases and 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
· 20,000 bonus points for every 12
billing cycles that you spend $5,000 or more.
Admittedly, that 20,000-point bonus is a solid benefit for
a no-annual-fee-credit card. You can expect to get an average value of 0.06
cents per Best Western point, making this perk worth around $120 toward hotel
room bookings each year.
Outside of this bonus, however, the card is a poor choice
for your everyday spending. It earns up to 13 points per $1 spent on Best
Western purchases and 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases. The rewards
offered on non-Best Western purchases amounts to a value of 1.2% back (on
average) toward Best Western hotel stays. There are plenty of cash-back credit
cards that run circles around that return.
One upside to this card is that its points are very easy to
use. You can find a Best Western hotel just about anywhere in the U.S. — and in
many other countries, as well.
With around 4,300 hotels worldwide, you’ve probably seen
many Best Western properties located along the highway.
And while Best Western serves largely as a no-frills place
for a road tripper to lay their head, points can be used to book with a few
higher quality hotel brands that you may not associate with Best Western, such
as BW Premier Collection and WorldHotels. Best Western can often be found in
small towns where other higher-end hotels like Hyatt are nowhere to be found.
Pros
· No annual fee: You won’t be
charged a yearly fee just for holding this card.
· Easy elite status: You’ll have
Best Western Gold status as long as your card is open.
· Annual bonus points: For every 12
billing cycles that you spend at least $5,000, you’ll receive 20,000 bonus
points.Cons
· Meager earnings for everyday
spending: You’ll earn minimal rewards for all non-Best Western purchases. Many
no-annual-fee cash-back credit cards offer more value for your spending.
· Rewards aren’t super valuable:
It’s extremely difficult to get outsized value for Best Western Rewards.
· Limited benefits: The card
doesn’t present many notable ongoing perks that’ll keep it relevant for someone
who doesn’t frequent Best Western.Best
Western Rewards Mastercard rewards
The Best Western Rewards Mastercard earns:
· Up to 13 points per $1 spent on
Best Western purchases.
· 2 points per $1 spent on all
other purchases.
The card also comes with a welcome bonus of 40,000 points
after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three billing cycles from
account opening. This isn’t the highest bonus the card has ever had, but it’s
still a solid offer.
Using government data and other publicly available
information, we estimate that a household in the U.S. that would be in the
market for this card has around $25,087 in annual expenses that can be charged
to a credit card. Here’s how our sample household’s rewards could break down:
The cardholder in this example earns a grand total of
51,042 points in rewards. But with the annual 20,000-point bonus, the yearly
earnings jump to 71,042 points.
You can reserve a free night at Best Western hotels for
between 5,000 and 70,000 points, depending on the property. Best Western
doesn’t publish an award chart, but you can usually expect a value of 0.6 cents
per point when booking a night. That makes 71,042 rewards points worth roughly
$426.25 in hotel stays each year.
But with a bit of sleuthing, it’s possible to get a higher
value for your points. For example, The Cartwright Hotel – Union Square, BW
Premier Collection in San Francisco charges a minimum of $181.24 (after taxes)
for a non-refundable room in mid-October 2023. But you can reserve the same
room with 28,000 Best Western points. That comes to a slightly more favorable
0.0065 cents per point.
But as you can see from the above screenshot, booking with
points gives you the same terms as a flexible rate. The above flexible rate
amounts to $220.08 after taxes, giving you an excellent value of 0.78 cents per
point.
Refundable rates regularly cost more than non-refundable
rates. So if you tend to book refundable hotel stays, you’ll find more value
from your Best Western points.
If you don’t have enough points to cover a full night, you
can also choose the Pay with Points option, which allows you to combine points
with cash for your purchase. To use Pay with Points, you must redeem at least
5,000 points. You can then redeem in 1,000-point increments.
Best
Western Rewards Mastercard perks
The Best Western Rewards Mastercard offers complimentary
Gold status. The benefits of Gold status include:
· No blackout dates for award
nights.
· 500 bonus points per stay.
· Free water upon arrival.
These benefits aren’t incredible — but for those who stay
with Best Western frequently, they can elevate your experience and accelerate
your points earnings.
Many credit cards incur foreign transaction fees, which are
a fixed percentage (typically between 1% and 3%) of the money you spend outside
the U.S. The Best Western Rewards Mastercard waives these fees, making it a
good companion when traveling abroad.
How the
Best Western Rewards Mastercard compares to other hotel credit cards Best
Western Rewards Mastercard vs. Hilton Honors American Express Card
A popular no-annual-fee hotel credit card that competes
with the Best Western Rewards Mastercard is the no-annual-fee Hilton Honors
American Express Card (terms apply, rates & fees). Hilton has more than
7,200 properties around the world — far more than Best Western — and offers an
excellent mix of roadside hotels for road-trippers, family-friendly locations
in (nearly) every U.S. city and luxury resorts at popular destinations.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card also has a better
earning rate for everyday spending. You’ll earn 7 Hilton Honors points per $1
on eligible purchases charged directly with hotels or resorts in the Hilton
Portfolio, 5 points per $1 on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S.
supermarkets and U.S. gas stations and 3 points $1 on all other eligible
purchases. The Hilton Honors American Express Card also offers 80,000 Hilton
Honors points after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first three months of card
membership. The card grants automatic Hilton Honors Silver status which comes
with perks like a fifth night free on Hilton award standard room stays.
For most people, Hilton’s larger selection of properties
makes the Hilton card the better choice.
Best
Western Rewards Mastercard vs. Citi® Double Cash Card
The no-annual-fee Citi® Double Cash Card is not a hotel
credit card. However, if you’re looking for a rewards credit card to funnel all
of your spending through, this card is almost certainly a better option than
the Best Western Rewards Mastercard — even if you’re a Best Western
fanatic.
That’s because with the Citi Double Cash Card, you’ll earn
2% cash back on all purchases — 1% when purchases are made and another 1% when
they’re paid off. Whereas the Best Western Rewards Mastercard earns up to 13
points per $1 spent on Best Western purchases and 2 points per $1 spent on all
other purchases. However, points are often worth around 0.6 cents each. That’s
effectively 1.2% back on all purchases outside of Best Western spending for the
Best Western Rewards Mastercard.
If free Best Western stays is your goal, you’re likely to
get more travel by choosing a cash-back credit card like the Citi Double Cash
and using your rewards to pay for Best Western reservations and anything else
you’d like to do with the money.
Alternatively, you could hold both of these cards and spend
on the Citi Double Cash only after you’ve performed $5,000 in yearly spending
on the Best Western Rewards Mastercard (to earn the card’s annual 20,000-point
bonus).
Best
Western Rewards Mastercard vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a top pick among the
best credit cards for travel. If you’re open to paying the $95 annual fee, it
can offer much higher value than the Best Western Rewards Mastercard. The card
doesn’t have any Best Western-specific perks, but it’s chock-full of perks
including an annual $50 credit toward prepaid hotel stays reserved through
Chase Ultimate Rewards®. If used, that effectively reduces the card’s annual
fee to $45.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 5 points per $1 on
travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3 points per $1 on dining,
select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart,
Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per $1 on all other travel purchases and
1 point per $1 on all other purchases. It also comes with a welcome bonus of
60,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of
account opening. Those points can be redeemed for travel through Chase at an
elevated rate of 1.25 cents per point, making the rewards on this card roughly
twice as valuable as Best Western points.
It’s worth noting that you can redeem Chase points for
select airfare and hotel stays by transferring to Chase’s travel loyalty
partners such as Hyatt, Singapore Airlines and Air Canada. Using your points in
this way can also potentially net you a value above 2 cents each.
The
Best Western Rewards Mastercard is right for you if:
· You travel with your family,
since many Best Western hotels offer free breakfast, a pool and adjoining
rooms.
· You’re a road warrior who often
just needs a place to sleep near the highway.
· You travel through “small town
USA”, since Best Western hotels are often in less populated areas where you
won’t find brands like Hyatt or Marriott.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Which
bank issues the Best Western Rewards credit card?
The Best Western Rewards credit card is issued by First
National Bank of Omaha.
What
credit score do you need to get the Best Western Rewards credit card?
Data suggests that you’ll need at least a “good” credit
score to be approved for the Best Western Rewards credit card, which FICO
defines as a score between 670 and 739.
How
many rewards points do you need to get a free night at Best Western?
Free nights at Best Western cost between 5,000 and 70,000
points.
What
kind of credit card is the Best Western Rewards credit card?
The Best Western Rewards credit card is an unsecured
Mastercard that comes with hotel rewards.
For rates and fees for the Hilton Honors American Express
Card please visit this page.
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