From Best Western: a Free Night or Bonus Miles for Summer Stays

Best Western is giving away 3,000 bonus points (5,000 for elite members) for stays purchased with a Best Western travel card completed by August 31. But you had to have purchased the travel card by May 31. So if you missed the deadline, that promotion is a non-starter for you.

If you did purchase the travel card by May 31 and haven’t yet used it for a stay, you may be able to combine those bonus points with either a free night or bonus miles on offer in these two newly announced Best Westerns promotions.

Offer Details

Between June 19 and August 14, Best Western Rewards members can earn a free night voucher after completing three separate stays.

If the three qualifying stays are charged to a Best Western Rewards MasterCard, the member will receive 6,500 bonus points in addition to the free night.

And elite Rewards members who qualify for the promotion and complete two of their three required stays at different Best Western branded hotels (Best Western, Best Western Plus, and Best Western Premier) will also earn 6,500 bonus points.

Only one voucher may be earned per member, and the voucher must be used by January 31, 2012. Advance registration is required.

Alternatively, Rewards members who have chosen to earn American AAdvantage or Aeroplan miles can earn 750 bonus miles for every stay during the same promotion period. The normal earning rate is 250 miles per stay, so the bonus brings the total per-stay earnings to 1,000 miles.

There’s no limit to the number of bonus miles that may be earned. Again, advance registration is required.

The free night and bonus mile offers can’t be combined; but either may be combined with the travel card promotion if all conditions are satisfied.

Deal or No Deal

On the face of it, a free night after three stays isn’t the most generous of this summer’s hotel promotions. But where Marriott and Choice are offering a free night after just two stays, those free nights may only be taken at one of their lower-tier (read: less desirable) properties. The Best Western voucher, by contrast, may be used “at any Best Western branded hotel in the U.S., Canada, the Bahamas or the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

For mile-collectors, quadruple AAdvantage or Aeroplan miles are solid bonuses.

And the option to choose between a free night and bonus miles is a plus in itself.

Reader Reality Check

There are plenty of hotel offers this summer. Which are you planning to take advantage of?

This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.