Choice Privileges Loyalty Program Review

Barclaycard Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card

If you want to earn Choice Privileges points directly, you can use the Barclaycard Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card. This card earns 2X points per dollar on everyday purchases, which will pair nicely with the Choice Privileges shopping portal.

American Express Membership Rewards Cards

You can also earn Membership Rewards points, which can be transferred to the Choice Privileges program almost instantly.

Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)

CREDIT CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card	Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 2x points at US supermarkets, on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x). Earn 20% extra points when you make 20 or more purchases with your Card in a billing period. 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months on purchases, then a variable APR of 14.74%-25.74%. 0% introductory APR for the first 15 months on balance transfers requested within 60 days of account opening, then a variable APR of 14.74%-25.74%. Terms Apply. Annual Fee: $0
Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express	Earn 25,000 points after you use your new Card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. $100 Airline fee credit. Terms apply. 3x points for flights booked directly with airlines. 2X points at US restaurants, US gas stations, and at US supermarkets. Terms Apply. Annual Fee: $0 for the first year, then $195
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $5,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. Up to $200 Uber Savings Annually. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Terms Apply. Annual Fee: $550

Recommended Amex Cards (Business)

CREDIT CARD	BENEFITS & INFO
The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN	Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $5,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership Get 3x points - Choose 1 out of 5 categories. Earn 2x points on the remaining 4 categories $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $175. Terms Apply.
The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express	LIMITED TIME OFFER: Earn 10,000 extra Membership Rewards Points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 9/26/2018. Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 0.0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then a variable rate, currently 12.99%, 16.99% or 20.99%. Terms Apply. Annual Fee: $0
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN	Welcome Offer: Earn up to 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points. Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 & an extra 25,000 points after you spend an additional $10,000 all on qualifying purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com. Access more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130 countries and counting, including the amazing Centurion® lounges. $200 Airline Fee Credit. Terms Apply. Annual Fee: $450

Choice Hotels has over 6,500 properties in 35 countries and territories.

Known for budget brands such as Comfort Inn and Clarion, Choice is expanding its mid-upscale Cambria brand and it’s upscale Ascend Collection.

Joining Choice Privileges

Register online for a free Choice Privileges account.

Travelers based in the Nordic and Baltic countries may prefer to join the Nordic Choice Club, which is a separate program for the 190 hotels in that region. There are reciprocal benefits between the 2 programs, though they are distinct and have differences.

How to Sign in to Your Choice Privileges Account

Sign in on the choicehotels.com homepage.

Viewing Your Account Activity

The My Point Activity page shows all your recent point activity.

Points Expiration

In 2016, Choice Privileges instituted a more flexible points expiration policy. Now points do not expire as long as you have qualifying activity once every 18 months.

Eligible activity includes earning points from stays, using the Choice Privileges Visa® card, and purchasing points. Your points stay active even with a stay where you choose to earn miles or Amtrak Guest Rewards instead of points.

You can also Refer-a-Friend to Choice Privileges; once they complete a qualifying stay, your points expiration will be extended.

Choice Privileges Elite Status

Registering for free with Choice Privileges gets you space available late check-out at 2 pm.

Cambria Hotel & Suites has their Collectible Coaster Program. For each points-eligible stay at a Cambria, you get a collectible coaster that can be redeemed for a buy 1, get 1 free drink at the hotel bar (or 250 points).

General members can only book award nights 30 days in advance in the U.S. and Canada, and 60 days in advance elsewhere.

Choice Privileges Gold:

• 10% point bonus
• Book 50 days in advance for award nights in U.S. and Canada, 60 days elsewhere
• 100-250 point welcome gift at U.S. and Canada properties, varies by brand (excludes Cambria, which has its Collectible Coaster Program)

Choice Privileges Platinum:

• All Gold benefits, plus:
  • 25% point bonus
  • Book 75 days in advance for award nights worldwide

Choice Privileges Diamond:

• All Gold benefits, plus
  • 50% point bonus
  • Book 100 days in advance for award nights worldwide
  • Complimentary room upgrade

Value of Choice Privileges Elite Status:

Choice Privileges elite status does not have the glamorous benefits of some major hotel programs, reflecting the economical style of most of their properties.

There is no free internet or free breakfast benefit. Only Diamonds have room upgrades as an official benefit, though hotels can upgrade Gold and Platinums at their discretion.

Unusually, Choice Privileges does not make award nights available to book via its full paid booking calendar. Rather, elite status determines when you can book award stays. Advance planners will appreciate being able to book awards farther in advance with higher status.

Earning Choice Privileges Elite Status:

Earning Choice Privileges elite status is refreshingly straightforward: you earn by the number of nights per year — and both paid and award stays count.

• Gold: 10 nights per calendar year
• Platinum: 20 nights per calendar year
• Diamond: 40 nights per calendar year

Status Match:

With elite status in other hotel programs, you can apply for an elite status match by emailing Status_Match@choicehotels.com.

Choice Privileges does not publish which hotel programs and status levels it matches. You can try checking recent user-submitted reports at the independent Status Matcher site.

A match granted in January-June will be good for the remainder of the calendar year. One granted in July-December will be good through the entire following calendar year.

Earning Choice Privileges points starts with hotel stays.

Earning Points on Stays

Choice Privileges has harmonized points earning among its brands. No longer will you earn fewer points per dollar at its budget brands.

You earn 10 points per dollar on up to 4 rooms per night on qualifying stays.

Note that you cannot earn points for stays in Brazil, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Guyana, Iceland, India, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden.

In the Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden, you can earn points by registering in their separate Nordic Choice Club program.

Booking Meetings

Planners booking meetings with 10 or more rooms per night earn 4 points per dollar on meeting rooms, guest rooms, and food and beverage. Book here.

Vacation Rentals

Choice Hotels has launched a Vacation Rentals program that also earns 10 points per dollar.

Your Extras

For U.S. and Canada stays that include a Sunday-Thursday night, you can get a Your Extras bonus:

• 500 Choice Privileges points
• 100 airline miles
• $0.20 per gallon in Fuel Rewards
• $2.50 Amazon.com credit
• $5 coffee card
• $2.50 Uber trip discount

You need to select a Your Extras preference in your Choice Privileges account to receive the benefit.

Free Night Promotions

Choice Privileges typically runs a promotion several times a year that offers 1 free night when you stay 2 paid nights.

Earn Points With Travel Partners

Beyond stays with Choice, you can earn points using:

• Bluegreen Vacations
• Cruises booked through Choice partner CruisesOnly

Alternatives to Earning Points

If you have infrequent stays at Choice Hotels, it can make sense to choose to earn airline miles or Amtrak Guest Reward points for your stays instead of points.

Check for regular promotions such as 1,000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles or 1,000 Amtrak Guest Reward points per stay.

Other Ways to Earn Choice Privilege Points

You can earn Choice Privilege points for:

• Using the Barclaycard Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card
• Transfer from American Express Membership Rewards at a rate of 1,000:1,000 points
• Transfer from Diners Club at a rate of 1,250:2,400 points
• Transfer from Amtrak Guest Rewards at a rate of 5,000:15,000 points
• Shopping online using the Choice Privileges Online Mall
• Buy up to 50,000 points per year
• Gift up to 50,000 points per year (subject to fees)
• Refer friends to Choice Privileges (friend must then complete a qualifying stay)

Hotel award nights are the primary Choice Privileges points awards. From standard awards to points + cash, there are great values to be found.

Cost of Award Nights

Important: Before you search and get frustrated that there seem to be no award nights available, be aware that general members can only book awards 30 days in advance for the U.S. and Canada, and 60 days in advance elsewhere. Elite members can book earlier. Farther out, you won’t see any awards available.

Choice Privileges has over 6,500 properties available for award nights.

There are no published award charts. Instead, awards start at 6,000 points, with over 1,500 properties priced at 8,000 points or less.

The maximum award night price is 35,000 points (except for a whopping 75,000 in Australia).

Pricing is seasonal, so the same hotel may cost a different points price at different times of the year.

Log in to your Choice Privileges account and search on the redeem points page to find specific pricing.

Cash + Points

Compare Cash + Points results with regular points results; you may find some great values.

Cash + Points show up in award night searches where available.

Great for Families

Many Choice Privileges properties have multi-room suites ideal for families. These can be pricey in cash.

The great news is that if they are available for award booking, the price is the same as a standard room!

Great for Europe

Many European properties offer excellent points value in popular tourist destinations, with city center locations other chains may lack.

Even better, breakfast is often included for free.

In the Nordic countries, while you can’t earn points for stays, you can still redeem points for stays. These hotels may have a free breakfast, too, and sometimes even an evening smorgasbord.

FlexRewards

When searching for award nights, you may come upon special low pricing called FlexRewards. Certain properties offer these discounted rates on either Sunday-Thursday or Friday-Saturday.

You do not need to do anything special to book FlexRewards. You’ll book them the same as regular award nights.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts

The 500+ Preferred Hotels & Resorts include some of the most luxurious hotels in the U.S. Award nights range from 25,000-55,000 points per night.

Vacation Rentals

Not only can you earn points for your vacation rental stays, but you can also redeem points. Search availability here.

Bluegreen Vacations (Timeshare)

You can use 16,000 points for a 2-night stay at 6 participating Bluegreen Vacations properties. You also get a $50 gift card. Note that you will have to participate in the usual timeshare rigamarole.

Choice Privileges members also receive telemarketing calls about booking Bluegreen stays using cash.

Gift Cards

You can redeem Choice Privileges points for gift cards.