Best Western Rewards - Rate Best Western Gold Crown Club

We are going to review Gold Crown Club in the next issue of InsideFlyer magazine and would like your input.

If you would like to participate, please post your response in the thread with the pros and cons of membership in Gold Crown Club and grade the program from A to F (A being the highest grade). You can include a plus or minus with the rating.

You can also respond directly to me at dmankell@insideflyer.com.
Thank you!

Grade D+.


Pros:

More locations (especially in small towns, National Parks, etc) than any other chain where you can earn miles.

Sometimes it's by far the least expensive property where you can earn miles or points. Especially if traveling far across the world to a place where mostly only local chains (with points you won't be able to use again) dominate.


Cons:

Tracking forms make this the hotel reward program of the 19th century!

Posting of stays is haphazard.

Most promos don't work reliably. (Promo points or miles can take months post or not all. And you never know when they're supposed to post. And when they post it's not clear which stay they relate to.)

Calling about unposted stays or unposted promos requires multiple calls to straghten out. If those calls stretch out beyond 6 months, they refuse to adjust for missing points or miles after that! :td::td::td::td::td:

"Hotels independently owned and operated" means every hotel is different, and quality varies more than with any other chain. TripAdvisor (or other recommendation) is a must with this chain.

Website gets confused about which country you're a member in when you pull up Travel Rewards pages, and thus may not let you transfer points to airlines in your own country!!! (You thus have to call to redeem.)

Pros:
- Number of properties (Presence in smaller cities)
- Points never expire
- Ability to book rewards on-line (pay options and award options are on the same page).
- Affiliated MasterCard for Americans and Canadians.

Cons:
- Hotels use old credit card voucher type to send points to the program (Stays in Europe almost never post automatically - have to fax folio)
- Points are earned on room rates only
- Lack of consistancy between properties (Most North American properties compare to Choice Hotels and Motel 6. Many European properties are really nice and can be compared to small boutique hotels!)
- Promotions are often targetted to North American members only.
- Promotions are less generous than before.
- Some hotels charge ridiculous redemption rates to avoid free stays at their properties. (36000 points for a $100.00 room rate)
- Top tier members have no real benefits except some bonus points and symbolic gifts from time to time. Most employees at hotels don't even know about tier levels in the program.

This program is good as a back-up when big chains have no presence in a market. For point accumulation, it's better than nothing!

I give a "D" to this program.

I've only stayed at BW once (last weekend), so I really can't give it an honest grade. But I'll give it the benefit of a doubt and give it a "C".

Pros:

1) I stayed 3 night in 2 rooms. I received points and stay night counts for both rooms.
2) My check out date was 11/4, and the points posted on 11/5.
3) Being a AAA member, those bonus points posted on 11/6.
4) The triple point promo will give me enough for 2 gift cards - when they post.

Cons:

1) The triple posts have not yet posted, but it has been only a weeek.
2) I hear most N American BW's are inconsistent, and that is why I haven't stayed there before.

Pros:
There happens to be a conveniently located Best Western hotel near the office where I travel frequently, and it's a nice enough hotel, so this program works for me based on that.
The online services for points management and redemption appears to be quite functional.
At my last stay, I was pleased that my status level did get me a free upgrade to a larger room. I understand that many people haven't had good luck with this, so perhaps I was merely lucky, but it did seem like a nice benefit.

Cons:
For more than half of the stays I've had this past year, I've had to contact their service center to resolve an error in the nights/points accumulated (usually for longer stays that only get partially credited). They've been very responsive and the problem has been easy to fix, but it's a shame I've had to follow up on that.
The Elite bonuses are nice, but they don't help one maintain status. Although I'm probably going to get 30 nights stay which qualify me for their top tier and I'll be entitled to a 40% points bonus (30% Diamond bonus plus 10% AAA bonus), I'll still have to get 30 nights again next year to maintain this status. I wish that the Elite bonuses would also apply to status criteria.
I question the value of their rewards for room nights. Like Nomade said, I've found some points redemption values that seemed excessive for the hotel. I don't like that they are so widely varied in the range roughly between 10,000 and 30,000 points.

Overall, I'd give it a grade of: C

I'd have to say I'd rate the program a B. As a Diamond member, I'm pretty well taken care of at the service center as well as at the properties. Also, I'm finding more and more that the Best Western properties out there are getting nicer with many new properties and renovated properties. Best Western is actually trying to upgrade their image as they are weeding out the "poor" properties and even have a very nice new construction prototype that should be nice when it starts being built.

The only thing that they need to do away with as everybody else has mentioned is the credit card slip system for posting points. Talk about low tech!!.

I'll raise my score of GCCI to a B-. My triple points bonus posted to my account on 11/12/07 - only 1 week after checkout!

I may have been lucky, but I can not really rate them on only 1 experience.

Grade B+

I pretty much agree with Nomade's excellent comments except I would rate the program higher. For convenience I have copied Nomade's comments and added my comments in italics...

Pros:
- Number of properties (Presence in smaller cities - Particularly notable presence in small market vacation destinations such as beach towns, national parks, river front properties in the Pacific Northwest, etc.)
- Points never expire
- Ability to book rewards on-line (pay options and award options are on the same page).
- Affiliated MasterCard for Americans and Canadians.
- Easy to gain elite status (For those able to take advatage of the offer - there was a particularly easy path to lifetime Diamond Elite status last year)
- Multiple elite levels
- Lots of promotions - There almost always seems to be one going on.
- Special programs for NASCAR fans and AAA members

Cons:
- Hotels use old credit card voucher type to send points to the program (Stays in Europe almost never post automatically - have to fax folio)
- Points are earned on room rates only
- Lack of consistancy between properties (Most North American properties compare to Choice Hotels and Motel 6. Many European properties are really nice and can be compared to small boutique hotels!)
- Promotions are often targetted to North American members only.
- Promotions are less generous than before.
- Some hotels charge ridiculous redemption rates to avoid free stays at their properties. (36000 points for a $100.00 room rate)
- Top tier members have no real benefits except some bonus points and symbolic gifts from time to time. Most employees at hotels don't even know about tier levels in the program. - I disagree with this comment, when I make the front desk aware of my status, they almost always try to upgrade me.
- Although there seems to be lots of promotions, they are ususally of such a short duration that they can be difficult to plan for/take advantage of.

This program is good as a back-up when big chains have no presence in a market. For point accumulation, it's MUCH better than nothing!

Pros:
I've stayed at a few "neat" properties.
Got Gold Elite status after 10 nights as promised.
Often the cheapest chain in town. And decent for the price.
Frequent promos.
Locations can be quite good, big cities and resort areas.
Nice printed directory.
Bonus points when they goof up (ie: points don't post after a stay).

Cons:
Inconsistency among properties. Big time.
Too many promos are property specific.
Best avoided at interstate exits.
Properties change affiliation at the drop of a hat.
Program and elite recognition spotty.

Did someone say that BW points don't have a time limit? We have stayed at quite a few BWs in Europe and one in Calif. We have never cashed in any points and yet our account shows none. BW is not a partner of our favorite airline so the points aren't going to an airline. What gives?

Did someone say that BW points don't have a time limit? We have stayed at quite a few BWs in Europe and one in Calif. We have never cashed in any points and yet our account shows none. BW is not a partner of our favorite airline so the points aren't going to an airline. What gives?
When were those stays?

It's true that BW points "don't have" a time limit:

https://goldcrownclub.bestwestern.com/custserv/faq.asp#Q5

but the tricky part is the present tense of the phrase "don't have". They certainly did have a time limit until a year and a half ago, so if your stays were before then, that could explain it.

The other question is: Did you ever check whether the points posted in the first place? BW has perhaps more problems with points posting than other chains (because at so many of its locations they still use that paper-based tracking system, with its confusing-to-fill-out fields), so if you never checked, perhaps your stays never posted and you didn't follow up in time (per a thread elsewhere in this forum, you have to get non-postings or mis-postings corrected within 6 months or not at all).

I would rate GCCI a C.

Pros
- I stayed at a BW for about 25-30 days last year in a small town where they are one of the better hotels in town (heh, the town thought the opening of Walmart superstore and a KFC big news). It was perfectly acceptable and some nice people on staff.
- Customer service seems responsive, especially when points do not post or some other issues.
- Elite status is easy to achieve but don't get you much than some bonus points.

CON
- Customer service keeps more basic hours than other larger chains.
- Since each property is independently owned and operated, not very consistent and some look from the outside pretty borderline. I find it less consistent than Choice chain since some hotel do not include breakfast, soe do have different operating criteria, etc.
- The promotion can be pretty painful to redeem. Last years's free night voucher was a paper voucher can I had to get it reissues and had a lot of trouble using it. When I could use it, did not have it with me and when I had it with me, could not use it. But customer service was nice to do something with it.

My grade for GCCI loyalty program is A. BW properties range from A+ to F-. Useful extensive printed book with maps and good website.

Pros of GCCI
-Choice of collecting GCCI points or airline miles - easy to change preference.
-Easy to convert GCCI points to airline miles or redeem for travel card(s).
-The buy $50 travel card (virtual or plastic), get 500 airline miles promo was fabulous and unlimited, provided you can use the card(s) in your lifetime - they don't expire, just depreciate by inflation. Actually, they can be transferred or inherited, so don't have to use in your lifetime.

Cons of GCCI
-Sometimes have to follow up to get points/miles/stays to post, but that's also true of most other hotel/airline programs.
-Never redeem for vouchers per night; always redeem for $$ value travel card or convert to airline miles. Too much variability in value of vouchers and quality of properties.

Pros of BW properties
-large number of properties.
-usually less expensive.
-often free breakfast.
-often free shuttle to/from airport and/or other area attractions.
-independently owned and operated sometimes means more personal service, flexibility.

Cons of BW properties
-independently owned and operated results in vast variability/inconsistency in quality.
-not always prime location at center of action or nearest to attractions.

Grade of C- from me.

Pros:
1. Properties in smaller towns, which is a nice option most of the time
2. Free Breakfast, sometimes more then a simple continental breakfast

Cons: ( which are major to me)
1. Inconsistency among properties. I've stayed at really great properties
and really bad properties. Nothing consistent - which is more a symptom of their ownership model more then anything else.
2. As others have mentioned, their stay program is also inconsistent. Though
more times then not, stays have not posted unless one takes extraordinary measures in dealing with customer service. They could learn a few things from Priority Club and Hilton.

I'd have to rate the BestWestern program a B+.

Pros:
-- large number of properties all over US & many very nice properties in Europe
-- often reasonably priced in major markets
-- independently owned -- so often dealer with owner/manager on-site -- better customer service
-- usually free breakfast/parking and/or shuttle bus to/from airport
-- ability to transfer points between family members at no charge and easily
-- some of the nicest customer service folks (who you end up talking to a lot for reward reservations and/or getting points posted)
--seems to have a real interest in updating their properties and keeping customers satisfied
--good website/great maps

Cons:

--hit or miss with getting points posted -- if booked on-line at bestwestern.com, easy to get credit posted
-- if not booked on-line, need to fax receipts in for credit -- I always give the front desk my card and always, always hold onto my folio receipt. Then check and check to make sure account has posted
-- poor ability to book reward stays on-line
-- points assigned to reward stays don't make sense in relation to actual cost of stay and not able to book a reward room if you have more than 2 people in a room (many Best Western hotels allow children under a certain age to stay for free, but if you try and book a room with 2 adults/1 child -- consistently get an error message saying that the number of occupants exceeds maximum)

Overall, works for the markets I'm interested in and really not too much of a hassle to get points retroactively posted. Just need to stay on top of your account -- and with no expiration, it's a pretty decent hotel program.

I missed the BW article, curious if it echoed the avg sentiment of the replies so far ?

Can you guys help me out

I am going to Norway (Oslo and Horton) for 3 weeks in June and it appears my choices are down to Radisson and BW (no Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt or SPG)

I have never stayed at either chain and am looking for hints to get the best returns on one of the two programs

Can you guys help me out

I am going to Norway (Oslo and Horton) for 3 weeks in June and it appears my choices are down to Radisson and BW (no Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt or SPG)

I have never stayed at either chain and am looking for hints to get the best returns on one of the two programs
Too bad you didn't get on the Amtrak Guest Rewards->Chioce bandwagon last fall when it was 1:5. Lots of great redemption choices (sorry for the pun!) with Choice in Norway, many at just 16k points (which it now takes just over 5k miles to get through AGR->Choice, but would have only taken just over 3k miles last fall). Btw, in case you're still interested, apply for the no-annual-fee AGR Choice MC with 5k bonus points with first purchase (there used to be an 8k bonus points offer but it appears now gone), and you can transfer them to 15k Choice points, then buy 1k Choice points for $10 and you can use the 16k for a $200++ night at many Choice hotels in Norway! (FYI: Choice allows burning but not earning in Norway at present.)

At any rate, with all of these chains (BW, Radisson, and Choice) many locations in Europe are good or better, but some not so, so always check TripAdvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com) for each specific hotel you're considering.

Btw, not sure about Norway, but unlike the US, in much of Europe BW's make you pay for internet access, while many (but not all) Radisson SAS hotels have it free. If you're taking your laptop, that could be a value factor to consider.

(I'm going to Norway in June too, but the other side of it. The one BW I'm staying in is in Kirsavnik which I have to pay for, otherwise I'm 8 nights at several Choice hotels all at 16k a night, in Bergen, Stavanger, and Eidfjord.)

thanks for the heads up, I'm going for work so they will pay for everything. However based on what you said, it sounds to me like the Radisson program will be better if only b/c it 'earns' points

thanks again

Best Western standards are so inconsistent across their properties. Even all across Europe the vast majority have very small unrefurbished rooms at high prices and only offer cold continental breakfasts.

Their website consistently list services and amenities for their hotels which you never find on arrival.

Worst of all, often their website usually only shows photos of the best, most expensive rooms in their hotels (of which there are probably only 1 or 2 each) and often omit photos of all other normal regualr priced rooms.