As per the (Award Winning) Raffles you can now set your earnings preference to taking Avios
http://www.headforpoints.com/2017/09...-status-match/
This seems to me, a much better use of a night's stay than earning points with Best Western, unless you are paying a lot for your hotel room. As you receive 500 Avios per stay which is worth around £5/$6.5 sometimes more.
But this does create a conundrum given the almost total worthlessness of status with BWR (at least in Europe).
Room upgrades do happen just very very rarely. The welcome gifts are also hit and miss (even at the same hotel) and are usually restricted to a bottle of water and a cheap chocolate bar. The only reliable benefit was the extra 30% points you received.
Now as I am getting more valuable Avios points at the same rate as I would whatever my status, there is no point chasing status.
Now in my book chasing status is a mugs game, but it would swing things if the choice of hotels were pretty much equal on price/location/amenities/etc. But this only adds to my perplexity about a "loyalty scheme" which seems dysfunctional.