Best Western Rewards - People Matched to BW Elite Levels: How Much Did You Stay this Year?

Figured this would be interesting to see how we all ended up. I didn't stay much sadly.

Stays: 2
Nights: 3
Spend: $164 plus taxes and fees

Hotels:
- Best Western Plus Papago Inn And Resort, Scottsdale, AZ
- Best Western Royal Host Inn, Lodi, CA

Also had one stay prior to status.

I also stayed a lot less than before. There is only one BW in North America I will stay at and I didn't do any travelling overseas this year.

I had four paid stays this year, one in march, one in march, one in july and one in August (nine nights total), all the Hawthorne terrace in Chicago. I also had a stay this past weekend at Hawthorne for one night using the promo from this summer. I have actually stayed a lot less this year at the Hawthorne because I reached Diamond status with Hilton. Seeing that internet is now free at all hilton properties, unless I realy want to stay in lakeview and am driving and want the cheaper parking at BW, the benefits at Hilton as a diamond are too much to pass up, especially seeing hilton gives you 50% bonus points IN ADDITION to airline miles and has had some great promos this year.

If someone became elite from being matched from another hotels program, I wouldn't think it would increase their paid stays anyway with BW.

If someone is already elite with a chain that offers great benefits like Marriott or Hilton, I wouldn't think they would switch to a BW over the other chain if both properties were avialable in the area. The benefits with BW elite just aren't nearly as good as with Marriott or Hilton or Hyatt

Good Question!!!

I would have to sit down and add it up but my stats as of right now are showing 32 nights for 2010.

UI have to admit though some of those are bumps from the 250 bonus points so it is probably actually around 26 real paid nights.

I still have a stay in Santa Rosa, CA this wkend and another on Dec 30th in Calistoga, CA.

All in all with promos and everything I racked up a total of 69,450 points in 2010, alot of bonus promos this yr, great yr!!!=)

When I log in and go to My Account, it says Nights to Next Tier: 0.

But if I go to another page that shows account info in more detail, it says I need 2 more nights to requalify for Diamond status.

Does that mean that it thinks I've stayed 28 nights? (I'm too lazy to count, but that doesn't sound right offhand, I would think given that I only stayed as far as each promo worked and then no more than it would be about half of that or so!)

Of course, in the past, this would have been easy to explain. In previous years, bonuses which posted on a separate day typically incremented the stay count! :) But they seem to have that fixed now...

It is tough to sort out the stays the way they list things, but after removing duplicate entries I came up with 32 nights. I find the status to be almost useless, could not even use my two free night certificates. No award availability at a half empty hotel on a personal trip. But the $47 a night rate there was too good to pass up.

So why do I stay at BW? My main work destination is Waterloo, ON and believe it or not BW is the best hotel in town. Great staff there. Just wish there was a convienent HH option in town where I could actually earn valuable rewards and my status would provide real benefits.

When I log in and go to My Account, it says Nights to Next Tier: 0.

But if I go to another page that shows account info in more detail, it says I need 2 more nights to requalify for Diamond status.

Does that mean that it thinks I've stayed 28 nights? stay count! :) seem to

Because there is no tier above diamond, so you really need 0 night to get there :-)
It has more sense for people who are not on the top tier.

As for the number of nights to keep status - it is a big mess. We got a 0 in June, since it the number has been alternating between 1-2, regardless of the many nights we stayed.

Because there is no tier above diamond, so you really need 0 night to get there :-)
It has more sense for people who are not on the top tier.
Well, before I got to Diamond (through the status match that was promoted earlier this year), I was already Platinum, but not requalified for anything for the new year yet, so it told me how many nights I needed to requalify for the next tier. So first it told me how many nights to the first tier (not even my then-current tier of Platinum). But as soon as my status match went through, this went to 0 and has stayed at 0, implying (on this main page) that my Diamond status will be maintained for all of 2011.

As for the number of nights to keep status - it is a big mess. We got a 0 in June, since it the number has been alternating between 1-2, regardless of the many nights we stayed.
Thanks!

I checked again. It's the My Profile page. It claims that I have 25 nights and that I therefore need 2 more to keep my status for 2011. Which does not add up to anything at all sensible the way I do arithmetic.

Good to know that having stays does not make it go 2-1-0. So no sense wasting another stay before the end of the year just because of this flakey "2". (Unlike you, I never checked this page before last week. There's a different way of getting to the Profile Update which does not go through this page, and I never thought to look at my My Profile page before!)

I wasted a status match. I was planning on having a lot of nights or stays at a Best Western, but then the other hotel chains had much better promotions. As it turns out, I had 0 (zero) stays at Best Western last year. I think you only get one status match in a lifetime with most hotel chains unless its a special promotion like this one.

I was matched to Diamond from IHG Plat in April. So far I've retained IHG Plat and had about 22 nights toward requalifying for BW Diamond this year.

I will probably make requalification, but I'd still be interested to know if the status match definitively is once-per-lifetime or not.

I was matched to Diamond from IHG Plat in April. So far I've retained IHG Plat and had about 22 nights toward requalifying for BW Diamond this year.

I will probably make requalification, but I'd still be interested to know if the status match definitively is once-per-lifetime or not.


Not even sure how long the status last. I was status matched in early 2010 and my last BW stay was in December of 2010 and that was a free stay (was a free night voucher from the summer program they had in 2010), and the last paid stay before that was in October of 2010 so it's been almost a year since I Have had a paid BW stay and I am still diamond. I don't remember seeing an expiration date on my diamond card like there is on my Hilton card. I also got status matched last year with my Hilton Diamond to IHG Platnium and I have only had one stay with them in the past year (and it was a stay paid for by Southwest durin gan IRROPS) and I am still Platnium with IHG.

I was up to THREE stays this year!

- Best Western Plus Monterey Beach Resort (Monterey, CA)
- Best Western City View Inn (Long Island City, NY)
- Best Western Royal Host Inn (Lodi, CA).

The status did come in handy at the first hotel though as they let me check in early based on it. Nothing doing on upgrades at any of them. I promptly transferred all the points I'd earned to AA anyway. Still, it is a SHINY card for the wallet.

Believe it or not, I'm planning on spending about 30 nights in a Houston-area property, either the Best Western Plus Katy Inn & Suites, or the Best Western Westchase Mini-Suites. This will probably happen in January so that I re-qualify for Diamond status up to February 2013.

I'm currently top tier with SPG and Hyatt, with Marriott platinum completed by the end of the year. So why am I so keen on spending 30 nights in a BW when I'm top tier with superior programs? A couple reasons:

* I do a fair amount of leisure travel in rural Canada, and it can be very difficult to find a SPG/Hyatt/Marriott property outside of the major city centres. Best Westerns are usually the only option. Jasper, Alberta is a good example of this (Fairmont not withstanding, since there are no Fairmont properties that I can stay at to gain status with in Houston.)

* My leisure/reward stay hotel needs are quite modest; most of the time I just need a room and a bed. When travelling for leisure purposes, I like to "get up and go" without spending much time at the hotel.

* After doing some calculations, it would appear that free nights come more frequently with BW than with other programs given the same amount of dollars spent.

Now, I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune after my 30 nights are done. But, I thought it'd be worth a shot to see what a long-term stay at a BW property is like. :D It'll be an interesting experiment, and will give me a very broad view of what all the different hotel chains are like.

If someone became elite from being matched from another hotels program, I wouldn't think it would increase their paid stays anyway with BW.

If someone is already elite with a chain that offers great benefits like Marriott or Hilton, I wouldn't think they would switch to a BW over the other chain if both properties were avialable in the area. The benefits with BW elite just aren't nearly as good as with Marriott or Hilton or Hyatt


I would have done about twenty nights/stays but I am already so frustrated after five nights/stays that I think I won't use BW for many more stays/nights!

The hotels do what they want. They ignore the status and the benefits completely and the customer service is totally useless. :td:

I would have done about twenty nights/stays but I am already so frustrated after five nights/stays that I think I won't use BW for many more stays/nights!

The hotels do what they want. They ignore the status and the benefits completely and the customer service is totally useless. :td:

In the UK and Australia my experience has been somewhat different. Sure, the benefits vary from property to property, but I've found the BW Rewards team in the UK, to not only be excellent, but also to provide the fastest, personal customer service of any hotel or airline program of which I've ever been a member.

In the UK and Australia my experience has been somewhat different. Sure, the benefits vary from property to property, but I've found the BW Rewards team in the UK, to not only be excellent, but also to provide the fastest, personal customer service of any hotel or airline program of which I've ever been a member.

Glad to see they have efficient and good people.

"Customer service" in the USA (today): Have my account set to airline miles. Asked them why I got points for my last stay. Got an email back, saying they would correct it. Stay was removed. No more points and also no airline miles. Hotel BW Grand City Frankfurt says "there is nothing we can do about it". CS does no longer answer my mail. Phone agent wants me to contact the hotel :mad::mad::mad:

"Customer service" in the USA (last Friday): Brrrrrrr :td::td::td:
Called them from the BW Frankfurt Domicile where I was refused an upgrade. CS USA called the hotel and asked if I can get an upgrade. Hotel told them that upgrades are not part of the BW program :rolleyes: CS came back to me and told me that upgrades are not part of the program. Blah, blah, blah.... Of course they are part of the program for diamond members. CS USA :td::td::td:

"Customer service" in Germany (last week): Brrrrrr :td::td::td:
Called them and informed them that the BW Frankfurt Plaza canceled my prepaid and confirmed booking because I asked them to play by the rules and give me an upgrade. Same story there. CS agent called hotel and asked. Hotel refused "because they never give upgrades". Even worse: CS agent wanted to book a new room for me for a new payment. Did not even care about the fact that the BW Frankfurt Plaza canceled my booking. :mad: Or did not understand :rolleyes:

Many other such stories.

BW? - Noooo, thank you :td::td::td::td::td:

-----> WHHHHYYYYY do they push the diamond status if they don't play by the rules ?!

PS: Could stay any longer in such a BW dump in FRA and booked the Sheraton Congress for my last night. Got upgrade to a nice suite, welcome amenity, 500 plat points, points for the stay, two cocktails, super friendly service. The price in the Sheraton was only 30 € more. Gues - which hotels will I certainly not use anymore?

"Customer service" in the USA (today): Have my account set to airline miles. Asked them why I got points for my last stay. Got an email back, saying they would correct it. Stay was removed. No more points and also no airline miles. Hotel BW Grand City Frankfurt says "there is nothing we can do about it". CS does no longer answer my mail. Phone agent wants me to contact the hotel :mad:
I'm not clear on who you emailed. IMHO you should have called (BW CS, not the hotel). If you had called in the first place, they wouldn't be telling you to contact the hotel.

I suggest you call and ask this time whether they can see that you did earn points but that then the stay was removed. If they can see that, they should be able to fix it at BW CS (no need to involve the hotel).

"Customer service" in the USA (last Friday): Brrrrrrr :td::td::td:
Called them from the BW Frankfurt Domicile where I was refused an upgrade. CS USA called the hotel and asked if I can get an upgrade. Hotel told them that upgrades are not part of the BW program :rolleyes: CS came back to me and told me that upgrades are not part of the program. Blah, blah, blah.... Of course they are part of the program for diamond members. CS USA :td:
"Customer service" in Germany (last week): Brrrrrr :td::td::td:
Called them and informed them that the BW Frankfurt Plaza canceled my prepaid and confirmed booking because I asked them to play by the rules and give me an upgrade. Same story there. CS agent called hotel and asked. Hotel refused "because they never give upgrades". Even worse: CS agent wanted to book a new room for me for a new payment. Did not even care about the fact that the BW Frankfurt Plaza canceled my booking. :mad: Or did not understand :rolleyes:

Many other such stories.

BW? - Noooo, thank you :td::td::td:

-----> WHHHHYYYYY do they push the diamond status if they don't play by the rules ?!

PS: Could stay any longer in such a BW dump in FRA and booked the Sheraton Congress for my last night. Got upgrade to a nice suite, welcome amenity, 500 plat points, points for the stay, two cocktails, super friendly service. The price in the Sheraton was only 30 € more. Gues - which hotels will I certainly not use anymore?
BW Hotels are independenlty owned and operated. The good: They are less cookie-cuter on average than other chains. The bad: They are less likely to consistntely implement chain policies.

If you'd been reading here, you'd know that most people rarely get upgrades at any BW anywhere. Diamond gets you very little, that's why they give status away through status matches so willingly! :)

(At Choice, at least Diamond gives you better reward booking windows. But the reward booking windows issue doesn't even exist at BW.)

"Customer service" in the USA (last Friday): Brrrrrrr :td::td::td:
Called them from the BW Frankfurt Domicile where I was refused an upgrade. CS USA called the hotel and asked if I can get an upgrade. Hotel told them that upgrades are not part of the BW program :rolleyes: CS came back to me and told me that upgrades are not part of the program. Blah, blah, blah.... Of course they are part of the program for diamond members. CS USA :td::td::td:

How can they say "upgrades are not part of the program" when the Diamond card mentions upgrades when available? :td:

I thought I'd bump my old thread and the year is drawing to a close again.

Stays: 4
Nights: 5
Spend: $339 plus taxes and fees

Hotels:
- Best Western Monterey Beach Resort, Monterey, CA
- Best Western City View Inn, Long Island City, NY
- Best Western Royal Host Inn, Lodi, CA
- Best Western Hotel Pav, Prague, Czech Republic

Still diamond according to BW.COM and have had NO Paid stays this year. It is showing i need 27 nights in 2011 to maintain status so I guess it will be impossible to requalify unless they extend the status another year.

Stayed 33 nights this year, so expecting Diamond to renew. All stays in the UK, Ireland and Australia.

Last year was bumped to Platinum (UK) after only a handful of nights.

This year I have managed a total of 10 nights + 2 from 2010 not credited until this year. I already have three night booked in January, and possibly more to come. Perhaps they will extend my status.

More important question is, why stay at best western?
While diamond benefits are pretty much zero, i only stay there if their promo is better than other chains' or price is significantly lower.
As a result, i had 2 stays this year. For both of those i didnt get any welcome amenity nor bonus points, but im not even gonna bother calling, its 250 points after all.
Bottom line: with status or without, i'll only stay there if my other preferred chains arent priced to my liking.

If someone became elite from being matched from another hotels program, I wouldn't think it would increase their paid stays anyway with BW.

If someone is already elite with a chain that offers great benefits like Marriott or Hilton, I wouldn't think they would switch to a BW over the other chain if both properties were avialable in the area. The benefits with BW elite just aren't nearly as good as with Marriott or Hilton or Hyatt


What benefits? There are only few hotels who respect the BW Diamond status.

Regardless of this, I took the status match and I had about 30 stays (before I joined BW, I had zero stays with them).

It is to say that I did not book the nights because I was convinced about BW. It was rather a rational decision because I needed stays for the US Airways Grand Slam and a BW "around the corner" offered the cheapest rates for getting Grand Slam hits.

Conclusion: The status match paid out for BW in my case.

More important question is, why stay at best western?
While diamond benefits are pretty much zero, i only stay there if their promo is better than other chains' or price is significantly lower.
As a result, i had 2 stays this year. For both of those i didnt get any welcome amenity nor bonus points, but im not even gonna bother calling, its 250 points after all.
Bottom line: with status or without, i'll only stay there if my other preferred chains arent priced to my liking.

Because sometimes they are dirt cheap. Like when I was in Prague this month, 44 Euros a night for a nice 3* hotel, well located, with free internet and breakfast. Sure I didn't get any Diamond benefits, but I was very happy with the hotel. The only time I stay at BW is to save $$ and that's usually the best Diamond Benefit I can ask for.

Whether it's perfectly accurate or not I don't know (and don't feel like counting them up manually), but it claims I've had 22 stays and need 5 more (which I won't have) to requalify fpr Diamond. (I obviously have enough for Platinum, in case they tire of saying I'm Diamond after this year. :) )

It basically all has to do with capped promos. I don't tend to stay on paid stays beyond however many nights I can earn bonuses on of one kind or another, and BW caps their promos so much that I can't seem to get to 27 nights just doing nights that earn promos. (And Diamond isn't worth that much more than Platinum to "work hard" at steering 27 stays to BW when there are no promos happening.)

(I belong to lots of different hotel programs and am always jumping to where the promos are. I may max out BW promos and not max out some other hotel programs' promos, but that still makes only a tiny fraction of my annual stays be BW stays, because the promos are so few and so tightly capped.)

I never thought I would bother with BW,
but needed nights in Salem, OR for family med issue.

Salem didn't have much to work with that I could see,
as I usually play SPG and IHG.

Anyway... matched to Diamond from IHG Plat, and paid 9 nights.
The 2000 pn bonii promotion seems to be working.

My queries about the "250 points arrival" generated
nothing but Stink Eye at the reception. :eek:

Maybe one free night for 9 paid nights is about it.
Not impressed so far. I didn't expect to be.

Like others say... the price and hotel can be OK value,
even if the rewards program doesn't do much.

Sure I didn't get any Diamond benefits, but I was very happy with the hotel. The only time I stay at BW is to save $$ and that's usually the best Diamond Benefit I can ask for.

luckily, there is no need to stay xx nights to have that benefit of BW program, therefore we're all eligible! lol

My queries about the "250 points arrival" generate nothing but Stink Eye at the reception. :eek:

Gotta love Stink Eye from reception. ;)

Stayed three times in Spain as Diamond. ZERO recognition, got crappy rooms in all the hotels (no view, small rooms when better ones were available). Not going to be back any time soon. I did it mostly because of US Grand Slam promo, else I would have canceled the rest of my stays.

stayed 10 times.....
got nothing.....

...that's why they can give it away for free....

U get what u pay for...

Stayed 10 nights, not all consecutively. Status matched with Priority Club Platinum.

Happy to have received the 30% bonus. Upgraded on one night only.

There were no Intercontinental hotels in the area, so Best Western got my business over 2 other discount hotels----Comfort Hotels and Knights Inn.

As a frequent guest, I was treated very well by the staff---for example, I was allowed to use Meeting Rooms in off hours to review matters with groups of up to 4 persons (not guests) several evenings.

It certainly worked for me and BW. As a result, I have enough points for a free room during my summer vacation, and I'm paying for a stay at Best Western. The rest of my vacation is On Priority Club points.

I would have done about twenty nights/stays but I am already so frustrated after five nights/stays that I think I won't use BW for many more stays/nights!

The hotels do what they want. They ignore the status and the benefits completely and the customer service is totally useless. :td:

Ditto for me, 12 nights in Italy. Spent a fortune and zero recognition or benefits as a Diamond, then had to fight to get the points posted.
No hanks i am done with BW.