Travel

booking and canceling BW with points

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  • Dec 3rd, 2017 7:31 pm
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Jul 17, 2008
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booking and canceling BW with points

Anyone who booked BW with points, can I book for someone else while I won't be there? So I'm using my points for someone else, and when they go in they just give my name, or the reservation under what name it is?

Also, if I have to cancel, if I cancel before the cancellation date, are the points fully refunded similar to paying with credit card?
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May 10, 2005
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BW?
Need the decoder ring :)
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Messerschmitt wrote: Anyone who booked BW with points, can I book for someone else while I won't be there? So I'm using my points for someone else, and when they go in they just give my name, or the reservation under what name it is?

Also, if I have to cancel, if I cancel before the cancellation date, are the points fully refunded similar to paying with credit card?
I would say that you need to be the one checking in given that most, if not all, hotels require photo ID at check in now. This is, I believe, the case particularly when using rewards.

As for getting the points credited back, yes, if you cancel within their cancellation guidelines.

For Pete Coach, BW = Best Western.
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Oct 18, 2014
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Pete_Coach wrote: BW?
Need the decoder ring :)


Lol, I was also confused initially. My bet is that you never "had to" stay at a Best Western either!
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Conquistador wrote: I would say that you need to be the one checking in given that most, if not all, hotels require photo ID at check in now. This is, I believe, the case particularly when using rewards.

As for getting the points credited back, yes, if you cancel within their cancellation guidelines.

For Pete Coach, BW = Best Western.
This.

Most Hotel Loyalty Programs don’t allow others to use the Points that you’ve earned... however they do allow you to transfer / gift them to another member (at a cost).

If you are considering your options... be assured that with cancelling, you will indeed get your points back so you can use them another time.

TIP - The BW Rewards Program is pretty awesome as their Points rarely expire (activity requirements very low), and BW has one if the best Status Equivalency around, if you are GOLD - DIAMOND - PLATINUM - ELITE ... whatever somewhere else, then BW recognizes that in their program
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RE - Best Western

@Pete_Coach & @McKinsey good old BW has really cleaned up its act in recent years. Still mostly few frills but their Best Western Plus & Best Western Premiere are head & shoulders above say the likes of Comfort Inns, Day’s Inns, etc that were the head to head competition for the Standard Best Western. So much so, that if we are in a smallish town or region that does not offer a Holiday Inn / Hampton Inn etc, we’ll opt for a BW over anything else. Lol, don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.
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PointsHubby wrote: This.

.......
RE - Best Western

@Pete_Coach & @McKinsey good old BW has really cleaned up its act in recent years. Still mostly few frills but their Best Western Plus & Best Western Premiere are head & shoulders above say the likes of Comfort Inns, Day’s Inns, etc that were the head to head competition for the Standard Best Western. So much so, that if we are in a smallish town or region that does not offer a Holiday Inn / Hampton Inn etc, we’ll opt for a BW over anything else. Lol, don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.
I have actually stayed in many Best Western hotels, primarily in Europe. Best Western went on a campaign in Europe quite a few years ago and signed up many many small hotels and put them under the Best Western umbrella. They went to small towns and villages and to large cities and convinced the owners to sign up and take advantage of their advertisement and organization.
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Messerschmitt wrote: Anyone who booked BW with points, can I book for someone else while I won't be there? So I'm using my points for someone else, and when they go in they just give my name, or the reservation under what name it is?

Also, if I have to cancel, if I cancel before the cancellation date, are the points fully refunded similar to paying with credit card?
I did this for my parents last year when we all flew to Tokyo together, but ended our trips differently with me coming back first. I had more points than my parents and covered two nights for them from my balance.

The phone rep acted like it was a common request; she may have been willing to book the rooms for them from my account directly, just under their name. What we ended up doing was transferring my points over to them, then booking on their behalf. She actually asked how many points I wanted to move, when I thought it had to be all or nothing. I ended up transferring everything to keep it simple, as I had very little left anyway.

We don't live at the same address, so that wasn't a requirement/obstacle.

As for refunding points, definitely works -- they don't come off until the end of your stay. In fact I was able to book more nights than I could afford (was waiting for credit card bonus at the time) by making multiple bookings -- you just can't exceed your balance in one go.
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RE - Points Transfer

As I mentioned earlier, many Points Programs charge for Points Transfers.

But not all are structured this way...

Hilton just introduced Points Pools in April 2018, so a group of friends or family members can join the pool and opt in to either earn together, redeem together or both. One person though has to be named the central contact / spokesperson.

The big advantage with the Hilton Program (and there may be other Programs following suit) is there is NO COST to this option / perk... it is evidently very popular in families where both spouses travel for work, they can now pool their points for vacation.

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