Best Western Diamond Select and Status Match
I love status matches. The savvy traveler can often take status with one chain and match it for “equal” status with another chain. For example, in the past year or so we have seen a very brief but generous match from Hyatt to their top-tier Diamond status and another one from Hilton as well.
Of course the big chains aren’t the only ones to play the game. Over the years smaller players like Kimpton have given match opportunities. And then there is Best Western. Best Western’s match is so public that they even have a webpage dedicated to it. The kicker with Best Western is that the matched status seems to stick around for awhile. There is no published expiration date, although I imagine at some point they’ll flip the switch and demote you again.
Related: The Easiest Hotel Status Match I Have Ever Experienced
I matched my Hyatt Diamond status to Best Western Diamond back in August of 2015. The plan at the time was to stay at a property or two in Scandinavia where they have a decent presence, but that didn’t quite work out. To this day my loyalty account has not seen one stay at the chain nor have I been able to take advantage of my Diamond benefits.
Maybe my reluctance to stay had to do with the lack of club lounges or guaranteed upgrades, or maybe I just wanted to wait until I was able to get top tier status with them. While Best Western only matches people up to Diamond, they actually have an even higher tier called Diamond Select. The benefits are mostly the same, except you get more bonus points.
Anyway, a few weeks ago I was browsing the internet when I came across my friend Stefan’s post on Rapid Travel Chai about a promotion Best Western was running in November. It was an instant win game and one of the prizes was an upgrade to the next tier of the program. Stefan had matched to Diamond and then won an upgrade to Diamond Select. Even though I only had one chance to play (I heard about this promotion late), I decided to go for it and was delighted when I won an upgrade as well!
Getting the Upgrade
After playing the game on November 25 I sort of forgot about everything. I did check my account once or twice, but it still said that I was a lowly Diamond. Then, an email came in welcoming me to highest levels of Best Western society. I was now one of the 1% known as Diamond Select. My account confirmed the upgrade.
Why Does This Matter?
On a personal level this matters because my family and I are returning to Scandinavia next year and I may have a use to stay at their properties. That aside, any time you can get top-tier or near top-tier status with a major international chain then it is worth pursuing.
Remember those Hyatt and Hilton status matches I was talking about earlier? I believe at some point during both of those matches (rules changed along the way), this Best Western status would have been enough to get matched. That is a huge deal.
Matching to Best Western Diamond
We don’t know if Best Western will ever offer free tier upgrades again or even an instant win game, but I do think the Best Western Diamond status match is worth pursuing if you have any interest in their program or properties. When I matched in August of last year it was truly the easiest process I have ever gone through. I was shocked.
Conclusion
I feel bad that I wasn’t on top of the Best Western instant win game enough to share this with you a bit earlier, but I do think it is still good to keep the Best Western status match in mind for your future travels and future ability to match to other programs. While I still haven’t stayed a night at a Best Western property as a Diamond or Diamond Select member, I am sure it will happen eventually. Right?!? 😉
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shhh… Hilton Gold status is matched to Best Western Diamond. Actually not so secret, as Best Western matches status based on number of nights required for the competitor program. Hilton Gold normally requires 40 nights and BW Diamond requires 30.
What does Best Western status even get you? I would look into their program more for their property in Nassau but the fact you can only book rooms with points 60 days out does not sit well with me.
Yes, it is a shame you have not alerted to this promo while it was still underway…