PHOENIX—It’s the ultimate power play for hockey fans as Best Western and MasterCard are giving away trips to a 2003 NHL® Stanley Cup® Finals game and hundreds of other fantastic prizes. As an added bonus, guests who complete their stay before March 31 can also earn quadruple airline miles on partner airlines.

For the grand prize, three U.S. and three Canadian residents will each receive a three-day, two-night trip for themselves and three guests including airfare, accommodations at a Best Western hotel, four tickets to the game, ground transportation, $500 total spending money and the opportunity to attend a pre-game practice.
First prize winners will get MasterCard/NHL gift bags containing officially licensed NHL products or apparel. Second prize winners will receive 800 Best Western Gold Crown Club International points - enough for a free night stay in many locations.

To win, simply stay at a Best Western hotel between March 1 and April 15. Pay for the stay with your MasterCard and receive a scratch-and-win game piece. Or, request a free game piece by mail. Game pieces are available while supplies last.

Those who receive non-winning game pieces will have another chance to win. Guests can enter a second chance drawing in which winners will be randomly selected to receive any unclaimed prizes. Complete contest rules and details on how to enter available at www.bestwestern.com.

“The NHL has a huge following in the US and Canada, and this promotion with MasterCard gives six lucky people (three in each country) the opportunity to win a trip of a lifetime,” says Bob Gilbert, vice president worldwide marketing and sales for Best Western. “By simply staying at a Best Western and paying with a MasterCard, that’s what I call a real power play.”

Each stay completed before March 31 qualifies for quadruple miles, which can be earned on any one of Best Western’s eight partner airlines including: Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, America West Airlines®, American Airlines®, Delta Air Lines®, Northwest Airlines®, United® and US Airways®.

The miles increase with each of the four stays and plateau for stays five through 10 during the promotional period. Miles are earned in the following manner: 1st stay - 250 miles, 2nd stay -500 miles (double miles), 3rd stay - 750 miles (triple miles), 4th stay - 1,000 miles (quadruple miles), 5th -10th stays-500 miles for each stay (double miles).

Gold Crown Club International is Best Western International’s newly enhanced frequency program. It offers a global free room night award that is redeemable any day of the week and has no blackout dates. The program offers one of the most generous reward options and is rated among the best programs in the industry according to Inside Flyer magazine. For more information about GCCI or to enroll in the program, visit www.goldcrownclub.com or call (800) 237-8483.

Best Western is THE WORLD’S LARGEST HOTEL CHAIN® with more than 4,000 hotels in 80 countries and territories. It is a membership association of independently owned and operated hotels that provides marketing, reservations and operational support to its member hotels. Reservations can be made at 800-WESTERN or online at www.bestwestern.com.
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