Best Western Gold Crown Club

Best Western Carmel Bay View, Carmel, California
36,000 points for a free night using points (the highest hotel award category)



Best Western Carmel Bay View Hotel

Best Western Hotels: Brand Overview

Best Western Hotels are a franchise operation organizing 4,200+ hotels in the USA and international make Best Western the largest single hotel brand in the world. (Hotel brand geography: USA 2,200 hotels, Canada 180 hotels, and nearly 2,000 hotels in 80 other countries).

More than 1000 Best Western hotels in the USA and Canada receive a 3-diamond rating. Over 90% of the Best Western properties in Europe receive a 3-star or 4-star rating.

All BW hotels in USA, Canada, and the Caribbean offer free high-speed internet access.

Best Western Gold Crown Club

Gold Crown Club is Best Western's hotel loyalty program and with hotels in about 80 countries, the Best Western program is truly international in scope.

Earning Points:
Earn 10 points/$1US spent on hotel charges (excluding taxes).
Points do not expire under current program rules.

Gold Crown Club Elite Status:
Gold Elite membership for 10+ nights in a calendar year
Benefits include:
10% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers

Platinum Elite for 15+ nights in a calendar year

Benefits include:
15% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers
Complimentary room upgrades and early check-in/late check-out privileges

Diamond Elite for 30+ nights in a calendar year

Benefits include:
30% point bonus on hotel stays
Purchase points for award redemption (1,000 points/$10)
Exclusive special offers
Complimentary room upgrades and early check-in/late check-out privileges

Hotel Points Redemption:
Gold Crown Club points may be used for a variety of travel-related and travel-unrelated redemption choices.

Hotel Free Nights are available based on 8 categories of hotel redemption levels ranging from 8,000 points for one free night to 36,000 points for one free hotel night at a Best Western.

Best Western Gold Crown Club member must be signed in to account to see the option of "Search by Points" in the "Find a Hotel" tab. The search results will then show the points level for a free night for specific hotels.

Best Western Carmel Bay View Inn is at the 36,000 points level for a free night. This is the highest category level in the program. Wow.


Carmel Best Western TownHouse Lodge
Free Night Using Points = 32,000

A drawback of points redemption is the need for a hotel category voucher, although these can be printed via your online account. The Best Western Carmel Townhouse Lodge takes a 32,000 points voucher for a free night. If you decided you wanted to change to a free night at the Best Western Carmel Bay View the voucher needed is a 36,000 point free night. An interesting feature of the Gold Crown Club program is the ability to redeem points for 4,000 points "level adjustment vouchers". A person with a 32,000 points voucher and a 4,000 points level adjustment voucher can pay for the 36,000 points free night at the Carmel Bay View using the two combined vouchers.

Best Western's Preferred AAA Guest Rewards Program

AAA members have the option of joining a subcategory of Gold Crown Club with the immediate beneft of 10% points bonus on hotel stays, in addition to the discounted AAA group room rates.


Ric's Best Western hotel notes: I stayed in a wonderful Best Western hotel in the Latin Quarter, Paris a few years back. The room was tiny, but clean and on a relatively quiet street at a cost under $60/night.

I recall in the LatinPass 1,000,000 miles run in May 2000 getting unexpectedly stranded in Guayaquil, Ecuador for a night (fortunately after I had completed the 10th LatinPass airlines segment for the 1,000,000 frequent flyer miles bonus). There was a Hilton near the GYE airport for about $200/night. I talked with two young girls working the tourist information booth at the airport (they didn't even look 18) and they booked me into the Best Western in downtown Guayaquil for $30/night. The room was basic and clean, looked out to the urban center shopping district street from the 3rd floor, and provided a safe environment to lay my head. I think I did use a safety precaution I read from a Robert Young Pelton article about propping a chair against the door jam to deter unexpected openings. The hotel had a restaurant connected to the lobby and I ate a steak dinner and drank beers for about $3. And it remains the only hotel where I was escorted 15 feet to the door of a taxi and protected by a big armed, armed man. I fet like I had ambassador treatment from my Best Western hosts.