Choice Privileges isn’t a popular topic in the points and miles world. But that doesn’t mean the hotel loyalty program has little to offer. It’s a big hotel group with some great sweet spots in its redemption structure.
See our best credit card bonuses here.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about Choice Privileges.
| Personal credit cards | |
| Business credit cards | No business credit cards |
| Redemption options | Hotel nights Points Plus Cash Vacation rentals Timeshare rentals Cruise vacations Gift cards Transfers to travel partners Charitable donations |
| Value per point | $0.006 average |
Choice Hotels Portfolio
Choice Hotels encompasses thousands of properties in dozens of countries and territories. Brands include:
- Ascend Hotel Collection
- Cambria Hotels
- Clarion Hotels
- Comfort Inn
- Comfort Suites
- Econo Lodge
- MainStay Suites
- Quality Inn
- Rodeway Inn
- Sleep Inn
- Suburban Extended Stay Hotels
- Woodspring Suites
Although Choice Hotels is better known for its budget brands like Econo Lodge and Comfort Inn, the hotel group is working on improving its overall image. That includes higher-tier hotels like Cambria and Ascend as well as increasing brand standards.
Learn more about Choice Hotel brands here.
Choice Privileges Elite Status
As a Choice Privileges member, you’ll get exclusive member rates, express reservation and check-in, and Your Extras (more on that later).
| STATUS | REQUIREMENTS | POINT BONUS |
| Member | No requirements | No point bonus |
| Gold | 7 nights/calendar year | 10% |
| Platinum | 15 nights/calendar year | 25% |
| Diamond | 25 nights/calendar year | 60% |
*For updated information, click here to find our source.
As you move up in status, you’ll unlock more benefits:
- Gold: access to the Elite Customer Service Hotline
- Platinum: Avis Preferred Plus membership
- Diamond: Complimentary room upgrade, where available
Other hotel loyalty programs offer free breakfast with elite status. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with Choice Privileges.
For stays between Sunday to Thursday night in the United States or Canada, you’ll receive a Your Extra bonus. Choose from:
- 400 Choice Privileges points
- 100 airline miles
- $0.20/gallon in Fuel Rewards
- $2.50 Amazon.com credit
- $5 coffee card
- $2.50 Uber trip discount
- Earn Double Your Extras when you stay at any Cambria® hotel. Choose from a $10 coffee gift card, $5 Uber credit, $5 Amazon gift card or 800 bonus points.
Simply select your preference in your Choice Privileges account settings to receive this perk. To check if this offer is still current, click here.
Earning Choice Privileges Points
Earn 10x Choice Privileges points when you book a stay with Choice Hotels. It doesn’t matter if you stay at a budget brand or a higher-tier property, you’ll earn a flat rate of ten points per dollar.
Please note, you must register with Nordic Choice Club separately in order to earn points at Choice Hotels in the following countries:
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Iceland
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Norway
- Sweden
Use the following credit card to easily earn Choice Privileges points for everyday purchases.
Meeting planners can earn Choice Privileges points for hosting meetings and events at participating Choice Hotels properties. If you book meetings with at least ten hotel rooms per night, you’ll earn 4x Choice Privileges points on meeting expenses. That includes meeting rooms, guest rooms, and food and beverages.
Avis & Budget. Save up to 25% off base rates on car rentals and earn 1,000 Choice Privileges points per rental car.
Cruises by Cruise411. For a limited time, earn 5x Choice Privileges points on your cruise vacation.
Bluegreen Resorts. Earn 25,000 Choice Privileges points when you book a Bluegreen Explorer Getaway.
Transfer partners. You can also transfer to Choice Privileges from: Aeromexico Club Premier, Air Canada Aeroplan, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Amtrak Guest Rewards, Qantas Frequent Flyer and United MileagePlus.
| PRODUCT | POINTS |
| Merchandise from Choice Privileges Online Mall | Varies |
| Quicken Loan new home loan or refinance | 50,000 points |
| 1800flowers or 1800baskets gifts and treats | 15x points |
| OPTION | DETAILS |
| Transfer from Diners Club | 1,250 points for 2,400 points |
| Referral program | 500 points for each referral |
| Gifted points | Up to 120,000 points per calendar year |
| Purchasing points | Up to 120,000 points per calendar year |
Earning Choice Privileges Points With American Express Membership Rewards®
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards® points to your Choice Privileges account. For every 1,000 Membership Rewards points, get 1,000 Choice Privileges points.
Credit cards that earn Amex Membership Rewards include:
Personal Credit Cards
Business Credit Cards
THE PLATINUM CARD® FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Platinum Card® from American Express has a special offer for 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in purchases within your first 6 months.
Membership Rewards® points are some of the most valuable in the market. Redeeming these points by booking travel through American Express or by redeeming for gift cards will give you a standard 1 cent per point value. The 100k bonus points are worth $1,000 going this route.
You can potentially get more value by transferring your points to Membership Rewards travel partners. Using this strategy can get you up to an average value of 2 cents per point. Get around $2,000 in value with 100,000 points this way. Read more on this here.
With this card, earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
The biggest drawback to this card is the $695 annual fee (see Rates & Fees, Terms Apply), which puts it in the premium class of credit cards. The card has a market because it offers premium travel benefits, such as 5X points for flights (up to $500,000 on these purchases) and eligible hotels, access to 40+ Centurion Loung and Studio locations worldwide, up to $200 airline fee credit annually, and an annual Walmart+ membership. These benefits are given as statement credits.
For frequent travelers, the added benefits make sense in terms of value and added luxury.
AMERICAN EXPRESS® GOLD CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The American Express® Gold Card has a welcome bonus for 60,000 Membership Rewards Points when you spend $4,000 within 6 months.
Membership Rewards Points have great flexibility. We value each point to be worth up to an average 2 cents per point. At this value, 60k Membership Rewards Points can be worth up to $1,200.
The Amex Gold Card has plentiful perks. You’ll get:
- Choice between Gold or Rose Gold.
- 4X points at restaurants, including takeouts and deliveries in the U.S.
- 4X points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per year in purchases (1X thereafter)
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- Up to $120 in annual dining credits (get up to $10 monthly statement credits)
- No foreign transaction fees
The annual fee is $250. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
THE BUSINESS PLATINUM CARD® FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has a welcome offer for 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $15,000 on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. We value 80k points to be worth around $1,600.
This card earns 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (amextravel.com). Also earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else. Cap applies.
This is a premium business card with a $695 annual fee. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
AMERICAN EXPRESS® BUSINESS GOLD CARD
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
For a limited time, the American Express Business Gold Card has an offer for 70,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
This card earns 4 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month. These 4X points are capped at the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year.
Other card benefits include an Airline Bonus, where you’ll get 25% points back after you redeem points for all or part of an eligible flight booked with Amex Travel. This is capped at up to 250,000 points back per calendar year.
The annual fee is $295 for this card. See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply.
Redeeming Choice Privileges Points
As a Choice Privileges member, you have a variety of options when it comes time to redeem your points: free nights, gift cards and more.
Your Choice Privileges points never expire so long as you’re an active member. That means you need to do at least one of the following every 18 consecutive calendar months:
- Earning points
- Redeeming points
- Purchasing points
- Referring a friend
Get award nights at Choice Hotels in all 50 states and 40+ countries and territories, starting at just 8,000 Choice Privileges points. However, you can only book 100 days in advance – for all Choice Hotels properties. That might be a dealbreaker if you like to plan your vacation well in advance, especially with no guarantee of room availability.
Award pricing is seasonal, so nights at the same hotel may have different point prices at different times of the year. The maximum award night price is 35,000 points (with the exception of 75,000-point nights in Australia).
Don’t have quite enough for a free night? You can still get a discounted stay at a Choice Hotels property with just 6,000 points using Points Plus Cash.
For just 16,000 Choice Privileges points, you can book a two-night stay at a participating Bluegreen Vacations property (and get a $50 gift card to boot). Options include up to three-bedroom suites with a full kitchen and a washer and dryer.
But be forewarned, you will have to take part in the whole timeshare spiel. The 100-day advance booking window also applies here.
Use your Choice Privileges points for a cruise vacation with more than 155 ships and 20 cruise lines to choose from.
| CRUISE CREDIT | POINTS REQUIRED | VALUE PER POINT |
| $250 credit | 85,000 points | $0.003 |
| $500 credit | 160,000 points | $0.003 |
As you can see, cruise vacations are not the best use for your Choice Privileges points.
Use your Choice Privileges points toward restaurant and retailer gift cards (login required) or subscribe to a variety of magazines and newspapers.
Exchange your Choice Privileges points for airline miles or points from a travel partner:
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
- Amtrak Guest Rewards
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- United MileagePlus
Turn your points into cash donations to non-profit organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the American Red Cross.
Choice Privileges Tips & Tricks
Make the most out of your Choice Privileges membership with the following tips and tricks:
With the Choice Hotels app, you can:
- Plan trips
- Manage reservations
- Manage Your Extras rewards
- Check your points balance
- Redeem rewards
Preferred Hotels & Resorts. This collection of over 500 independent hotels worldwide include some of the most luxurious properties you can book with your Choice Privileges points. Award nights range from just 25,000 to 55,000 points per night.
Families. Plenty of Choice Privileges properties have multi-room suites that are perfect for families. These can cost quite a bit in cash. But in points, it’ll cost the same as a standard room. Unique to the Choice Privileges program, the number of points required for an award night at each property is fixed – regardless of the room size.
Europe. A lot of Choice Privileges properties offer superb point value in European city centers and popular destinations. Especially when compared to other hotel chains. What’s more, complimentary breakfast is often included.
Why should you keep 6,000 points in your Choice Privileges account? Simple. You must have a minimum of 6,000 points to see what kinds of rooms – standard, deluxe, suite, etc. – are available. This tip is a must if you’re looking to use your points for suites.
With less than 6,000 points, you can search for award nights availability at any specific hotel. But you won’t be able to see what kinds of rooms are open for award booking.
If you have elite status with another hotel loyalty program, you can apply for a status match by emailing Choice Privileges.
If you’re matched anytime between January and June, your status will be good for the remainder of the calendar year. If you matched from July to December, you’ll have that status until the end of the following calendar year.
If you stay at a participating Cambria Hotels property, you’ll get a free “nightcap” amenity. Choose one of the following when you check-in:
- Face mask
- Shower burst spa product
- Custom-blend chamomile lavender tea
- $5 beverage voucher for the hotel bar or grab-and-go market
- 250 Choice Privileges points
If you don’t frequently stay at Choice Hotels, it might make sense to choose to earn airline miles or Amtrak Guest Rewards points for your hotel stay, as opposed to Choice Privileges points.
Keep an eye out for promotions like 1,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles or 1,000 Amtrak Guest Rewards points per stay.
Bottom Line
The Choice Privileges program has a lot to offer, but it also comes with a few drawbacks:
PROS
- 7,000+ properties
- Higher-end hotel options
- High earning potential
- Your Extra bonus
- Nightcaps at Cambria Hotels
CONS
- Low point value
- Points expire after 18 months of inactivity
- Booking for award stays starts 100 days before your arrival date
- No free breakfast with elite status
Choice Privileges is a great choice for families, because all rooms – from standard to suite – at a particular hotel have the same award pricing. You can also find sweet deals in Europe and other tourist destinations. Plus with the option to match status, Choice Privileges might be worth signing up for.
READ MORE: SEE THE BEST BANK BONUSES HERE AND THE BEST INVESTING BONUSES HERE.
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