How to Get Best Western Gold Rewards Status for Just $16
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Hotel elite status can provide valuable benefits, ranging from upgrades to better earning on paid stays. The traditional way of earning elite status is through stays, but oftentimes hotels offer status matches from other programs or provide elite status to credit card holders.
Best Western does offer status matches from other programs as well as two credit cards that offer Best Western Rewards status. In particular, the no-annual-fee Best Western Rewards Mastercard offers Gold Rewards status and the $59 annual fee (waived the first year) Best Western Rewards Premium Mastercard offers Platinum Rewards status.
But, there are also a few ways to get Best Western Rewards status if you don't have elite status with any other hotel programs and you don't want to sign-up for a Best Western co-branded credit card. Members of the military and armed forces, as well as AAA and AARP members, get complimentary Gold Rewards status. AARP will usually be the cheapest and easiest, since an AARP membership costs $16 a year, is open to anyone and can also get you discounts on British Airways flights and on Hilton hotel stays.
To get your Gold status once you're an AARP member, give Best Western a call at 1-800-618-2277. You'll need to provide your name, address, email address, Best Western Rewards number and AARP number. When I called, an agent picked up immediately and the entire call took less than three minutes. The agent confirmed that I won't need to call annually in order to keep the status, since my AARP membership is now registered in my account. Presumably, the process would be similar for military and AAA members.
Gold status in the Best Western Rewards program provides a decent number of benefits over the introductory Blue status. Besides increased earnings on paid stays, higher tiers of elite status don't provide incremental benefits over the Gold level.
Sure, most Best Western properties aren't inspirational, but there are some nicer properties internationally and in the Premier Collection. In addition, over 1,600 Best Western properties in the US, Canada and Caribbean are pet friendly. The room upgrades and arrival gifts or points provided by Best Western Gold status can making having the status worthwhile — especially if you're already an AAA or AARP member and have a Best Western stay or two in your future.