Credit Card News
Best Western Debuts Two New Rewards Credit Cards
After pausing applications for their previous rewards card, the hotel chain Best Western has unveiled a new pair of rewards credit cards with a new issuer.
About the Best Western cards:
Best Western is partnering with First Bank & Trust and Mercury Financial to introduce two new co-branded credit cards.
First up is the no-annual-fee Best Western Rewards Visa Signature Card. With this card, customers can 4x points on Best Western stays and purchases. Plus, all other purchases earn 2x points per dollar spent.
Best Western Rewards cardholders will also enjoy automatic Gold Elite Status. On top of that, customers can earn a 10,000-point Anniversary Bonus each year when they renew their card. Finally, in addition to having no annual fee, the card also doesn’t charge any foreign transaction fees.
Joining the Best Western Rewards card is the Best Western Rewards Premium Visa Signature Card. This card earns a massive 10x point on Best Western stays and purchases as well as 4x points at gas stations and 4x points on grocery store purchases. All other purchases earn 2x points.
The Best Western Rewards Premium Visa also cranks up the benefits for cardholders, including offering automatic Platnum Elite Status. As for an Anniversary bonus, each year customers will earn up to Two Free Night Awards when they renew their card. Note that the Best Western Rewards Premium Visa card does carry an $89 annual fee.
With the launch of these cards, Best Western is also offering welcome bonuses for each product. New Best Western Rewards cardholders can earn up to 40,000 bonus points, while those grabbing the Best Western Rewards Premium Visa can score up to 80,000 bonus points. However, prospective cardholders will need to gain pre-approval for the card in order to see their specific offer (the offer will be shown before they fully apply). For the Best Western Rewards card, the bonus could be as low as 10,000 points while the Best Western Rewards Premium’s bonus offers start at 20,000 points. Both also require a minimum spending requirement that will accompany the personalized offer.
Previously, Best Western offered a Mastercard issued by First National Bank of Omaha.
My thoughts:
To be honest, what mostly spurred me to write about this news in the first place is the concept of dynamic welcome bonuses. This is my first time hearing of such a thing — and I can’t say I’m a fan. While, in theory, this could technically be beneficial to some, I’m inclined to think that this model will result in less appealing outcomes for most people. Plus, having to get pre-approval for a card before you even see the offer is a dealbreaker for me. Therefore, here’s hoping that this is an idea that won’t catch on.
As for the cards themselves, as is so often the case with co-branded cards, the value you get from these products will heavily depend on how often you stay at Best Western. That said, on the surface, the $89 annual fee Best Western Rewards Premium Visa seems as though it could be a good deal — especially with two Free Night Awards each anniversary year. Other than that, though, I’m personally not too interested in either of these new Best Western offerings.
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