Advertiser disclosure
Advertisers are not responsible for the content of this site, including any editorial or review that may be published on it. For complete and up-to-date information about any product featured, please visit their website. We maintain business relationships with certain partners mentioned in our communication tools. While we may receive compensation if you sign up for a product or service through our affiliate links, our reviews and content are based on an objective assessment. Value estimates are established by Milesopedia and are not provided, endorsed, or verified by the issuing financial institutions. †*Terms and conditions apply.
Best Western Rewards is running three promotions at once this fall: a $31 gift card per stay up to $124, double points worldwide from September 8 to December 31, 2026, and 1,000 bonus points per night through September 7. The gift card offer requires registration and a booking by September 7, 2026.
Best Western Rewards remains one of the simplest loyalty programs in the hotel world. It’s built mainly for travelers who want to control their lodging budget without aiming for the very top of the luxury market.
The program covers more than 4,700 hotels worldwide, across over 100 countries, under 18 brands in the BWH Hotels family.
For a quick search, use our map of Best Western hotels in Canada:
Three official offers overlap right now. Two close on September 7, 2026, and the third takes over on September 8 and runs to the end of the year. Each one requires registration on your account before your first qualifying stay.
Bookings must be made between August 31 and September 7, 2026. You receive one $31 Best Western gift card per qualifying stay, up to four cards per member. The offer therefore tops out at $124.
One last detail that matters: the gift card cannot pay for the stay that earned it. It applies to a later booking, once you have received it.
This offer covers stays from September 8 to December 31, 2026. It applies to every Best Western branded hotel on the planet, more than 4,000 properties. You register on the promotion page or directly at the front desk of any hotel in the group.
Double points take the form of a bonus equal to the base points earned during the stay. A stay billed at $100 USD earns 1,000 base points, then 1,000 more. No limit applies to the number of bonused stays.
This promotion ends on September 7, 2026. It grants 1,000 bonus points per qualifying night, with no cap, for nights spent at a Best Western hotel in Canada, the United States or the Caribbean since May 11, 2026.
Each qualifying night also earns an entry in a sweepstakes for 250,000 points, up to 20 entries. No additional purchase is necessary to enter the sweepstakes.
The calendar allows it: a booking made by September 7 for a stay in October falls inside both the gift card window and the double points window. The two registrations are separate and nothing stops you from completing both.
One exclusion applies to all three offers: stays booked through an online travel agency, through a tour operator or at a special discounted rate do not count. Book directly with Best Western.
Best Western Rewards no longer has a co-branded credit card in Canada. No card earns you Best Western points directly. The real question becomes which card to put the bill on so you earn points somewhere else.
Three cards with a travel accelerator stand out for this kind of spending. The net values below come from our calculator, based on an average spending profile.
Income requirements often settle the choice between these three. At $60,000 of personal income, the RBC Avion Visa Infinite Card stays within reach when both World Elite cards do not.
Click a card name to see the details of its offer. To widen the comparison, see our ranking of the best credit cards in Canada, or filter on your own criteria in our credit card comparison tool.
You can earn Best Western Rewards points in several ways:
Earning depends on your status and the amount you spend. By default, you earn 10 points per US dollar spent on the room rate, regardless of your level.
Then, based on your elite status, a bonus applies: from 10% for Gold members up to 50% for Diamond Select members.
Several major rental agencies partner with Best Western, so you earn points when booking your car.
Like any hotel program, Best Western Rewards is designed so points are used for stays in the group’s hotels.
The number of points for a free night varies by hotel, location and time of year. It’s a variable award chart, with no blackout dates: expect roughly 8,000 to 70,000 points depending on the property and season.
You can convert your already-earned Best Western Rewards points into airline miles with 7 partner programs such as Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles or Flying Blue.
The ratio stays unfavorable (5 to 6 points for 1 mile). In my view, converting is mainly worth it to top up the balance you’re missing for a specific award flight, not as a primary earning strategy.
Not to be confused with conversion: instead of earning Best Western points, you can choose to credit each stay directly to a partner airline program. This option covers 11 programs, some of which aren’t available for conversion (SAS EuroBonus, United, Virgin Atlantic).
Finally, you can use your points to buy gift cards or products, though we advise against it. The value per point is much lower than for a free night.
You can transfer points from one Best Western Rewards account to another, free of charge. The official rules in effect:
To reach Best Western from Canada or the United States, call 1 (800) 237-8483. You can also request a transfer through the Best Western Rewards contact form.
Best Western Rewards points never expire.
Beyond the base member level, Best Western Rewards has 4 elite status tiers: Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Select.
Since the program revamp, status is earned solely through qualifying nights in the year. Points no longer count toward status.
Once earned, your status stays valid for the rest of the current year and all of the following year. Members who earn miles instead of points don’t receive status bonuses.
Best Western Rewards runs a “Status Match… No Catch” program: if you hold elite status in another hotel loyalty program, Best Western matches it for free, with no hidden conditions. You get immediate access to Best Western Rewards elite benefits and earn points faster from day one.
To request it, email the following: your full name, complete address, email address, phone number, Best Western Rewards member number, and proof of elite status in another hotel program (a copy of the loyalty card or account statement showing your full name).
Requests without valid proof aren’t processed. Members who reach a new elite tier through Status Match in 2026 keep it through December 2027. Questions? Call 1 (800) 444-7646.
Best Western Rewards is likely the simplest hotel program out there. Given the group’s global footprint, it’s usually very easy to score free nights at a Best Western.
It’s handy for “transit hotels” when you’re flying out of Plattsburgh, or just arriving at a destination. See our photo report on the Best Western Plus Plattsburgh.
For longer stays, it’s often more rewarding to use Marriott Bonvoy points (that program offers a 5th night free on award bookings).
To get our analysis every week, subscribe to our newsletter.
Savings are this way:
You can change your preferences or unsubscribe at any time by clicking one of the links available at the bottom of each newsletter.
If you are already subscribed and would like to unsubscribe, you can click the link at the bottom of one of our emails.
