The Best Western Rewards World MasterCard

It can be tough to spend long days on the road, especially when traveling on a budget. At the very least, it is nice to earn credit card reward points from hotels that can be used for travel rewards. The Best Western Rewards World MasterCard from Barclay’s allows their customers to earn elevated reward points from stays at their hotels that can be redeemed for a myriad of travel benefits.

For each dollar spent, travelers will only earn a single point in the Best Western Rewards program, but purchases at their hotels will earn a far more substantial 15 points per dollar. New cardmembers will receive 10,000 points as a sign up bonus and are eligible to earn another 5,000 points for completing a balance transfer within the first 30 days of opening an account. There is a 0% APR on balance transfers for the first six months of card member’s accounts. There is a 3% balance transfer fee during this introductory period, but it then rises to 4%. After the introductory rate expires, interest will accrue at a rate equal to the prime rate plus either 10.74% or 21.74%, depending on the applicant’s credit history. Card holders are will also be upgraded to Best Western Rewards Elite status when after spending $6,000 on their card. There is no annual fee for this card, but there is a foreign transaction fee of 3%.

While the points earned from most spending will not add up to much value, the 15 points per dollar spent at Best Western’s properties can add up very quickly. One of the strengths of their program is the many different reward options. Free nights at Best Westerns start at 8,000 points, which is the equivalent of merely $533 of spending at one of their properties. Other options include gift cards, dining rewards, and transfers to airline miles.

Best Western advertises that the 10,000 point bonus is enough for a free night stay, but most of their properties will require many more points, up to 36,000. Furthermore, most people are attracted to a hotel’s loyalty program because they aspire to a free vacation with luxury accommodations, something that will be difficult to find at a budget chain like Best Western.  Many of the award redemption options do return good value for spending at Best Westerns, where points are earned at a much higher rate than other spending. When this card is used elsewhere, the value returned is dismal.

This card is only recommended to those who spend heavily at Best Western properties. For example, a business that was constantly booking accommodations for visitors at a local property would have much to gain from charging their expenses to this card. Unless customers are very frequent guests at Best Western hotels, they would probably be better served by a credit card affiliated with another major hotel group that offers a more diverse selection of lodging choices.