How I Got a Nearly Instant Free Night With Best Western Rewards

Getting a free night at a hotel sometimes requires jumping through hoops. Usually, you can get a free night when you sign up for a credit card that offers free nights as a cardholder benefit, earn a sign-up bonus, or rack up points until you have enough for a redemption. It’s unusual to get a free night after staying just a couple of nights with a hotel brand, but that’s exactly what I did with Best Western.

Here’s how I got a free night worth more than $200 after spending just $600 with Best Western.

Earning a Free Night With Best Western

From February 5 to May 5, 2024, Best Western Rewards offered a free night promotion. Members who stayed 2 nights — consecutive or not — earned a free night good for stays through August 25, 2024.

I found out about the promotion when I booked a Route 66 motel for 6 nights in mid-March. The motel offered a great experience and excellent value, and the free night was icing on the cake.

Since we stayed more than 2 nights, my booking qualified for the promotion. I received my free night certificate just a couple of days after checking out of the motel. I had just over 4 months to redeem the certificate, and it was limited to the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.

Redeeming My Best Western Free Night

The Best Western free-night award was easy to earn but had a tight redemption window. Comparatively, I’ve earned Hilton free-night certificates by spending $15,000 within a calendar year on my Hilton Honors American Express Surpass^® Card. Although the Hilton certificate requires me to spend significantly more than Best Western did, I have a year to redeem those certificates after they’re issued.

Fortunately, I had travel plans in early June that required a quick overnight stay, so Best Western’s redemption window lined up perfectly for me. I flew into and stayed a couple of nights in San Francisco before heading up to Redwood National and State Parks, and needed a place to stay along our road trip up to the parks.

With a few properties in Eureka and Arcata, California, Best Western was a good fit for staying in a hotel or motel close to the parks. I chose Best Western Plus Bayshore Inn in Eureka, a property in town that had a koi pond and indoor-outdoor pool.

I chose this property because I could use my certificate to get a suite with a separate living room and a sofa bed for my kids.

It also had an indoor-outdoor pool, sauna, and a hot breakfast with eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy, oatmeal, and more. We had a nice stay, even if it was quick!

When booking at bestwestern.com/award, ensure that the Use Rewards Points box is checked.

Nightly room rates at this property started at $114. but the suite we stayed in usually goes for about $240 per night. Alternatively, you can book an award for about 36,000 Best Western Rewards points per night, which is what my reservation email indicated.

Ultimately, I got more than $200 back in value after spending just over $600, which is a great bargain. Better yet, I didn’t have to wait months to accumulate rewards or sign up for a new credit card to stay for free — I got the certificate almost as soon as we checked out.

Final Thoughts

A cute motel in redwoods country isn’t my most glamorous redemption to date, but it saved me more than $200, and I didn’t have to go out of my way to earn it. It’s always worth it to check for bonus promotions when you book travel and keep track of credits and certificates you can use to lower your vacation costs along the way.