Best Western Rewards - Do BW points expire?

title says it all.

thanks.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=534721

Points actually do expire if you don't live in Nth America. Ask me how I know!

Yes - points do expire if you don't live in North America. I joined by picking up a leaflet in a BW property in the USA and therefore, arguably, joined under the conditions in operation there. However, even though I aways use the bestwestern.com site for everything (such as registering for promotions), my actual membership is, apparently, handled through the Paris office. Several years back - it was the year that the change to non-expiring miles was made - I didn't stay at a BW for twelve months (other hotel chains had better offers and the new rule that points don't expire meant that I didn't pay so much attention) and nearly 5000 points expired. After endless complaining and sending them the link to the page (from the general site) which said that points never expired, they agreed to reinstate them. Weeks went by without them doing so, after which I got just 2000 reinstated, their argument being that the computer is unable to reinstate more than that!

Needless to say, other hotel chains now have more of my loyalty and I only use BW where the location requires it.

I had something like 9900 points in my account early this year, and had temporarily switched my earning to miles to take advantage of one-night stays. When I inquired about a seemingly missing post online*, they gifted me 100 points and then converted 10000 points to miles, simply because they assumed that I now only wanted miles! (And, of course, once thus converted, they can't be converted back.)

If I had truly been counting on using those as points (I actually had no firm plans for them either way, and at least I was earning to my primary airline at that moment), that would've felt like they'd expired!

*The "missing" post was just a slow post. Miles-earning stays don't post to your online summary within the number of days the website claims, because you don't see them until they're actually sent to the airline.

I had a small amount of points expire long ago, from some stays in the late 1990's, and none since. Decided recently to add the CAA promo and 10% bonus point benefit to my dusty old BW account, so I emailed BW to ask if they would add that option to my account, as it appeared I was too late for the advertised promo. Not only did they add the promo and send a new card (same GCC number) but they "found" the old points and reinstated them to my account at the new rate (10 points per dollar vs.the old one for one), even though I didn't ask for the reinstatement.

Question while I'm here though, and very OT: My wife insists that she heard somewhere that all BW's are now totally non-smoking. Is that true?? Noticed that the one in Niagara Falls, Ontario, advertises itself as non-smoking, and I saw one in the U.K. (Europe) guidebook that lists itself as completely "smoke-free".
I know that Marriott and Choice hotels have announced a smoke free policy, and Sheraton will become that way by years end, but is BW totally smoke free in all their properties also? Reason I ask: the Mrs. and I are both smokers.

bj-21.

I just made a reservation at the BW St. Christopher in New Orleans yesterday for October and there was a choice between smoking and non-smoking rooms so I assume they have not went 100% non-smoking across the chain.