Win Up to One Million Best Western Points in Holiday Giveaway
While not the most exotic hotel points program, Best Western Rewards is trying to make a splash with a massive 115 million point "Go. Get. Rewarded." giveaway now through Cyber Monday. In addition to over 155,000 awards between 100 and 10,000 points, there will be ten 100,000 point winners and four 1 million point winners. Make sure to enter daily through 11:59pm Eastern on November 27 to have a chance to win one of these prizes.
Everyone with a Best Western Rewards account will get one spin per day — if you don't have an account, you can create one the first time you play. Best Western loyalists will earn a bonus spin "for every ten (10) eligible stays ... using your Best Western Rewards number in any Best Western branded hotel in the United States or Canada from January 1, 2017 through November 23, 2017." Based on my experience, this bonus spin is applied the first time you log in to play.
The official rules (caution: PDF link) also note that members can get up to 10 "Non-Purchase Spins." In order to do this, the rules say to "visit the Website and follow the link to access the non-purchase spin request page and complete all data requested on the request form." However, I can't find this request form. Feel free to share below in the comments if you spot it.
Based on TPG's valuations, the four 1,000,000 point grand prizes are valued at $7,000 each. Interestingly, the Approximate Retail Value for the Grand Prize is stated at $1,750. This might be the first time that a giveaway's ARV is less than TPG's valuations.
To help you spend these points, Best Western is also running a spend promotion offering a special 10,000 point rate for a free night "valid for a stay at any Best Western branded hotel in North America." However, the free night must be redeemed before January 31, 2018.
Here's how the prizes are laid out:
| Number of Prizes | Points Awarded | Value of award | Stated Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000 | 100 | $0.70 | 1 in 4 |
| 50,000 | 1,000 | $7 | 1 in 8 |
| 5,000 | 10,000 | $70 | 1 in 80 |
| 10 | 100,000 | $700 | 1 in 40,000 |
| 4 | 1,000,000 | $7,000 | 1 in 100,000 |
| 115,014 | 115,000,000 | $805,000 |
For those that are really nerdy like me: Since we have stated odds for each prize, we can calculate the expected return from playing this promotion. Based on the awards and odds, you can expect to win 288 points — worth just over $2 based on TPG's valuations.
You don't need to be a statistician to figure out that the most likely prize you'll win is what I received on my first spin:
If you win one of the grand prizes, Best Western will "contact you by phone on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 to award your points," so "make sure your contact information is up to date in your member profile on bestwestern.com."
H/T: The Gate
Did you win one of the 155,014 prizes?