Best Western has just brought back a great promotion for buying gift cards, which could be worth it for anyone who stays at Best Western properties with any frequency, as flagged by Frequent Miler.
In this post:
Buy $100 gift card, get $20 bonus card
Best Western is selling e-gift cards with up to a 20% bonus:
- The promotion is valid for gift card purchases made between August 19 and September 2, 2026
- With each $100 Best Western gift card purchased, you get a $20 bonus card
- Each person can purchase up to five Best Western gift cards through this offer (for a total of a $100 bonus)
- While the main gift cards purchased don’t have an expiration date, the bonus gift cards expire on February 28, 2027
- You can purchase gift cards in USD, CAD, EUR, or GBP, and then they can be used worldwide
- Best Western gift cards are transferable
- Gift cards can’t be used as a form of reservation guarantee, and you also can’t use them for pre-paid rates
As you can see, the biggest restriction here is that you need to use your bonus gift card within the next several months, by the end of February 2027.
This promotion is a great deal
If you stay at Best Western properties with any frequency, then taking advantage of this offer should be a no-brainer. Getting a 20% bonus for buying a gift card in advance is an excellent deal, assuming you can use the bonus gift card before it expires.
When you stay at Best Western properties, make sure you take advantage of any loyalty program promotions to get the best value.
Bottom line
Best Western is offering a $20 bonus gift card for every $100 worth of gift cards purchased. If you spend money regularly with Best Western, then I’d absolutely recommend taking advantage of this. That’s especially true when you consider that the non-bonus gift cards don’t expire, and you can even transfer them to others.
Anyone plan to take advantage of this Best Western gift card promo?
Are you sure they can be used worldwide? The option wasn't there to use mine for a Thailand hotel a few months ago.
@dave
This is from BW’s website for this promotion:
‘Best Western Gift Cards can be redeemed at any BWH® Hotels branded hotel that accepts the Best Western Gift Card as payment (excluding the WorldHotels collection).’
BW Current Promotion Offer Website:
https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/offers/travel-card.html
Even with a 20% discount, seems to me most BWs are overpriced for what you get. JMHO.
Back in ancient days (early 90s), when I was travelling to Europe, BW was a life saver. You had no web, so most relied on travel agents for accomodation, certainly outside the US (for use inside). But, you could go to a local BW and pick up their catalogue of hotels. You'd choose a BW property in Paris. London, Barcelona, etc., and call an 800 number (toll free in US) to reserve. You could trust...
Back in ancient days (early 90s), when I was travelling to Europe, BW was a life saver. You had no web, so most relied on travel agents for accomodation, certainly outside the US (for use inside). But, you could go to a local BW and pick up their catalogue of hotels. You'd choose a BW property in Paris. London, Barcelona, etc., and call an 800 number (toll free in US) to reserve. You could trust the property would be better than minimum.
As it turns out, I've got my first BW stay in quite a while coming in a few days. The property was reviewed well enough, and I had Expedia cash to spend. Worth the risk for a one-night stay.
They’re still fine in Europe. So many derivatives of BW these days though. Plus! Premier! Starts to feel a little like that Marc Jacobs meme, you know, ‘Jacobs by Marc Jacobs for Marc by Marc Jacobs.’
Accor must've reached 42 brands by now, and I don't think Hilton et al are very far behind- they make the BW portfolio look positively streamlined!
What's Best Western?
BW are surprisingly big in certain countries (e.g. the UK and Italy, particularly regional destinations), and have some pretty decent hotels, but they don't seem to be very good at marketing themselves. I don't stay very often at their hotels but my stays have all been pretty good.
They do have some half decent midscale properties throughout and, many times, I find their local highway stops to be nicer than the Hilton and Marriott neighbors at less $$. That said, I find their app horrible and their rewards program is nearly useless, even at the highest level.
I have Best Western Diamond Select status and was recently informed that I have renewed Diamond Select Elite Status — which is sort of a surprise to me as I don’t really pay attention to what it takes to maintain the status. So I anticipate the gift cards will be useful for me, as a 20% bonus on purchase value is useful to me on gift cards that work worldwide with BW properties and can...
I have Best Western Diamond Select status and was recently informed that I have renewed Diamond Select Elite Status — which is sort of a surprise to me as I don’t really pay attention to what it takes to maintain the status. So I anticipate the gift cards will be useful for me, as a 20% bonus on purchase value is useful to me on gift cards that work worldwide with BW properties and can lower the cost of my hotel stays at BW properties that I am using frequently anyway in some places.
Diamond Select Elite? Psh. You gotta be at least a Super Ultra Level-9000 Diamond Select Elite Plus before you a somebody at BW.
I am back Ben - Norse just removed their CEO after another unprofitable year