“You can redeem your points for hotel stays worldwide in over 80 different countries. Free nights range from 8,000 to 36,000 points, depending on the property type and location. Best Western Rewards members must have the necessary number of points to complete a free night based on the hotel’s individual point tier level. Search for hotels using your Best Western Rewards points.”
Devaluation of Best Western Rewards 2019 With No Notice or Warning Whatsoever
The paragraph you just read was from the frequently asked questions section of the official Internet web site of the Best Western Rewards frequent guest loyalty program — except that one part of the paragraph is no longer true: certain hotel and resort properties now require as much as 70,000 points for one single night…
…and the substantial changes in the redemption of points for an award night were quietly implemented with no advance notice or warning whatsoever.
Exactly how many hotel and resort properties have been affected by this perceived devaluation is undisclosed at this time — mainly because one has to check the point redemption rates of each hotel and resort property instead of referring to a convenient list to find out the specific information…
…but out of a total of 44 hotel and resort properties in the San Francisco Bay area, one has a redemption rate of 70,000 points; and eleven have a redemption rate of 56,000 points. This means that greater than 27 percent of the hotel and resort properties in the San Francisco Bay area have been affected by a significant increase in point redemption rates.
Two of the aforementioned 12 examples of hotel and resort properties whose point redemption rates for an award night have quietly increased from 36,000 points — in this case, for one night from Thursday, July 23, 2020 to Friday, July 24, 2020 in the greater San Francisco Bay area — include:
- Best Western Crestview Hotel & Suites
Mountain View, California
70,000 points for one award night — an increase of almost 94.5 percent - Best Western Silicon Valley Inn
Sunnyvale, California
56,000 points for one award night — an increase of almost 56 percent
Summary
In addition to the 70,000 and 56,000 point redemption tiers, a 40,000 point redemption tier — which would represent an increase of slightly greater than eleven percent from 36,000 points — also exists; but I have yet to find one hotel or resort property at this new tier.
The point redemption rate increases have been the subject of this discussion on FlyerTalk — and as you can imagine, participants in this discussion are not exactly happy.
At least all of the information — such as the aforementioned the frequently asked questions section of the official Internet web site of the Best Western Rewards frequent guest loyalty program — could have at least been updated in a timely manner once the new point redemption rates became effective. At the time this article was written, it still had not been corrected and can be considered deceptive.
Although technically not illegal, implementing these changes to significantly devalue the Best Western Rewards frequent guest loyalty program overall without an advance warning — or any notice at all, for that matter — is downright sneaky and unethical…
…but unfortunately, quietly implementing negative changes to a frequent travel loyalty program with no advance notice or warning is apparently de rigueur, as demonstrated by these articles which I wrote here at The Gate pertaining to other travel companies in recent years:
- Massive Devaluation of Hertz Gold Plus Rewards 2019 With No Notice or Warning Whatsoever
- Wyndham Rewards Changed Promotion Rules on Its Members Without Notice — Again?
- A Reminder of Why Delta Air Lines Does Not Have to Give Notice of SkyMiles Redemption Increases
- Another Reminder of Why Delta Air Lines Does Not Have to Give Notice of SkyMiles Redemption Increases
- Why Award Redemption Increases Should Not Be Done Without Advance Notice
- Should Airlines Offer Refunds if They Implement a Change in Policy in Elite Status With Little or No Advance Notice?
- Did Alitalia Quietly Change This Offer Without Notice?
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
