Choice Privileges Loyalty Program Review
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Choice Privileges Summary Table
- Hotel Website ChoiceHotels.com
- Loyalty Program Choice Privileges
- Hotel Brands Cambria, Comfort Inn, and 9 other brands
- Points Are Worth 0.6 cents/point
- Earn Points/Miles How to Use the Choice Privileges Mall
- Award Chart Link Award nights from 6,000 points
Branded and Partnered Credit Cards
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)
| The Platinum Card® from American Express - There's currently a new welcome bonus offer of 75,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn 10x points in the first 6 months on eligible purchases at U.S. Gas Stations and U.S. Supermarkets (on up to $15,000 in combined purchases). This is our #1 card for accessing 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide (including Priority Pass). We leverage ~$3,000+ in benefits and perks from the card every year. Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here. |
| American Express® Gold Card - We love using this card as it earns 4x points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery, and 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year; then 1x. Terms Apply). There's no better card in our opinion if you eat out and/or shop at supermarkets regularly; and you'll have access to many benefits and perks. With a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 in your first 6 months, it's a strong choice. For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, click here. |
Recommended Amex Cards (Business)
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express - Right now, there's a new welcome bonus of 85,000 points plus earn 5x points on eligible purchases in 5 select business categories, up to 80,000 bonus points per category, all within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms apply. See how we get ~$5,525+ in value per year by leveraging many of the benefits & perks, including access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide. For rates & fees of the Business Platinum, click here. |
| American Express® Business Gold Card - probably our favorite Amex business card because we earn 4x points across the top 2 select categories that we spend the most money in each month, such as Facebook or Google ads. The 4x points applies to the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these 2 categories each calendar year. After that, you earn 1x. Terms Apply. For rates & fees of the Business Gold Card, click here. |
| The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express - A super simple, no annual fee card that earns you 2x points on everyday business purchase, up to $50,000 annually. After that, then 1x. That makes for an easy 100,000 points per year. For rates and fees of the Blue Business Plus, click here. |
Choice Privileges Program Overview
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 Program Benefits
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.
Hot Tip: A new alliance in 2021 with Penn National Gaming, Inc. will offer reciprocal earning and redemption benefits for Choice Privileges members and members of Penn’s mychoice loyalty program.
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 [email protected]
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.
How to Earn Choice Privileges Points
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 Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden, you can earn points by registering in their separate Nordic Choice Club program.
Announced for 2021, members will also soon be able to earn points at Penn properties.
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)
How to Redeem Choice Privileges Points
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.
Announced for 2021, members will also soon be able to redeem points at Penn properties.
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.
Frequently asked questions
What is Choice Privileges?
Choice Privileges is the hotel loyalty program for Choice Hotels, which has 11 brands and over 6,500 properties worldwide.
Why should I join Choice Privileges? Is it worth it?
Choice Privileges is a free frequent guest program from Choice Hotels. Registration is free, and you can earn and redeem points from Choice Hotels award nights.
Is there a Choice Privileges credit card?
The Barclaycard Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card earns 5x points per dollar at Choice hotels and 2x points per dollar on everyday purchases.
Will I earn more Choice Privileges points with elite status?
Yes, Choice Privilege elite status earns bonus points on stays: Gold (10%), Platinum (25%), and Diamond (50%).
How many Choice Privileges points do I have?
To see your points balance, sign in to your Choice Privileges account and view your activity.
What are Choice Privileges points worth?
Points vary in value by property and season.
Award nights range from 6,000-35,000 points per night (75,000 in Australia).
Are Choice Privileges points transferable?
Yes. You can transfer them to other Choice Privileges members (for a fee), donate them to charity, or transfer them to travel partners.
When do Choice Privileges points expire?
Choice Privileges points will expire after 18 months of no account activity.
Where is my Choice Privileges number?
You’ll see your rewards number when you log in to your account.
Which hotels are included in Choice Privileges?
The Choice Privileges family of brands includes: Ascend, Cambria, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay, EconoLodge, and Rodeway Inn. You can also redeem points for Preferred Hotels.
Choice Privileges has the worst customer service and I will never and none of my contacts will ever use them again.
Agreed. They are the worst.
It seems to be impossible to update one’s Choice Privileges info on-line after moving to a new residence and getting a new Internet / email provider. My phone number, email, and street address have all changed yet some of this info is required to log into the account I created 3 years ago. There needs to be a way to make these changes on-line. If I use my old email address, I am sure that a confirming email will be sent to my old email address, which I no longer have and cannot use. The funny part of this is that the Choice Privileges web site says “Simply do…” which is impossible in my situation. Nothing simple about it… and there should be.
Sorry you’re having trouble accessing your account, Edward. You probably have no other option in your situation than to contact Choice Privileges. Their phone number is 888-770-6800 or you can contact them by email here: https://www.choicehotels.com/support
agree with very poor customer service comment! recently booked and stayed at a cambria hotel thru travelocity. come to find out I can’t get any choice reward points since i did not book hotel direct! In the past felt that this chain was sub par and cheap. thought i would take a chance by staying at their newer and what looked like more upscale label. wrong! i will stick with my other loyalty programs at hilton and marriott.
Marilyn,
Generally, you will not earn rewards points at Choice Privileges if you don’t book directly. There are a number of other hotel chains and even American Express Travel that does this, in order to guarantee the cheapest rates.
When I signed up for this program was never told if using calc for a discount I won’t get points if below a certain amount. Well let me tell you, I’m a member of Best Western rewards and Wyndham Rewards and I don’t have that problem with them. I don’t care what kind of discount I get, when I stay I get my points. I will never be staying at a Choice Privileges Motel again. I stay in motels at least three times a week, sometimes 5, but I will not be using Choice Privileges again. I will never stay in them period. This tells me that all they want is the money and they don’t care about the customer.
Hello Arthur. Thanks for the data point. Would you mind elaborating on the type of discount you used that didn’t earn points?
Per their terms and conditions, you do not earn points for rooms under $40/night. If the discount dropped it below that then Arthur would not earn any points. It’s not unusual for some budget properties, like a Rodeway inn, for example, to get below 40 with a discount applied.
Thank you TC for taking the time to clarify that. I’m sure the information will be helpful to others as well.
Loved choice privileges and their seasonal promotion events each time the roled them out. The best bonuses and payouts in the game, or so I thought. After noticing account discrepancies in regards to promotional payouts I did some digging, examined rules and terms of each promo going over the past calendar year and saw multiple nights were on my account that met every stipulation required to receive promo bonus points of 500pts min up to 8000pts max.
There have been 5 occurrences where the seasonal promo bonus points advertised were applied to my rewards account. Not one of these instances mentioned was I rewarded at the time of requirements were met. I inquired about these missing points 2 weeks prior and magically that’s when stays in question dating as far back as Feb 2019 turned into qualifying stays even though I’m told manual adjustments can not be made, yet clearly, my invoices reflect otherwise.
Under guidelines of these promos where bonuses are to be offered, there are over 30,000 points missing and that is the minimum. I am argued with, hung up on, cursed at and never once have I been presented with rules and regulations posted at any time that would make these stay unqualified and I am still not rewarded anything after at least 20 calls in occupancies to multiple departments where not one employee has been able to tell me my arguments are invalid and show me why or where its stated in the rules of each promo that would make my arguments null and void and still no points awarded.
My children and I being stuck in a Lobby for hours while seeking an explanation about a set of points I was assured would be added that morning and still were not upon arriving at our destination a little after 10 pm. The last straw was seeing my 3 kids reduced to sleeping on the lobby floor as I am being told these points now would not be added and was given no explanation as to why, just they will not be added at this time and I will be reaching out to multiple outlets online, commercial, professional, as well as legal and will pursue all avenues of retribution for these bad practices but mainly for the looks in my children’s eyes as they lie on hotel floor while I was being lied to by rep after rep after rep.
This is wrong on all accounts and I know I am not the only person who caught on to this mispractice and I doubt it will be hard to get this ball rolling and I look forward to righting this wrong at every level.
Choice privileges is the WORST! My business was exclusively using Choice Hotels for business travel. We were there weekly for the last 2 years. Consequently, we were active Choice Privileges members. Last week, we could not actually stay for our reservation. We still paid. We even followed up with the hotel manager to make sure he had the correct credit card to charge us for a no-show. But now Choice Privileges refuses to award us points because it was a “no-show”. Time to take our business elsewhere!
I just stayed 7 days in North Dakota and have been staying at a lot of your hotels. I just check on the member site and saw I have a second account with points in it. Can you just give me the points or combine them with my current account number?
Hi Edward,
We are not, and have no affiliation with Choice hotels so you will need to contact their customer service team for help combining accounts.
Thanks for reading!
I just checked in to a Cambria hotel in Fort Lauderdale and was offered a free breakfast as a Diamond member on top of the usual $10 credit to the bar/restaurant. Wonder if this is unique to this hotel or a new Cambria benefit for Diamonds?
Oh I love the Choice promotions… stay 2 nights get a free one… I have doubled my Choice points every year on mainly this promo…. almost 400k now.. ~85 nights a year in Choice.. 2-4 free nights a year using points.
Hi Justin,
If you’re a top tier elite, you might get extra benefits that are not published perks. That being said, we’re glad you’re pleased with the Choice Privileges program. Thanks for reading.
Terrible customer service. If I call for a reservation, someone answers in one second. If I call for a problem it takes 20 minutes for someone to answer. I have also have had problems making a reservation with points.
I was about to apply for Choice rewards and Credit Card account. After reading the comments. No way in hell I want to have either.
OMG, what is wrong with these people all complaining about Choice? I absolutely LOVE this brand! I have never met a discourteous employee, not at any of the hotels, and never on the phone. NEVER. I’ve changed my name, my address, my e-mail, and had no problems at all. I use their website, I’ve sent them e-mails, I’ve sent letters, and I get prompt and courteous replies. I love their hotels, with the exception of a Rodeway in San Diego. If I have a problem and let them know about it, they fix it with a smile. Don’t believe all the naysayers because they likely complain about everything else, too!
Quick question. I started this a few months ago and will be Platinum this week. So come January 1st am I starting back at zero stays and have to work my way back up, or do I stay platinum until I end of next year? It is about as clear as mud on anything I have read. It just says calendar year but does not clarify how long you hold membership.
Hi George,
If you qualified for Platinum status this year then you should continue to have it for all of 2020. Just keep in mind that you will need to requalify in 2020 to extend that status to 2021.
Thanks for reading!
Just had my account hacked and 150,000 points stolen. Waiting to see if Choice reimburses me. If you have an account I suggest you check it and change your password.
Hi JAF,
We are really sorry to hear that! Hopefully Choice gets your points back!
I’m a member that stays more than 7/8 times a month. Customer care direct with hotels that I deal with are great! Customer care direct with choice privileges not so great! Had reservation set for certain price today night phone call later price kept going up with choice privilege hotel accommodated best they could well I stay on the phone the entire day trying to adjust this. At this point if it weren’t for hotel staff any couple members choice privilege I would definitely not recommend choice privilege! I ended up just paying for a room.
Hey Zimmerman, may I ask what city you stay in due to the fact that it has to do a lot with the points?
I booked 6 nights at a comfort inn and I am very unhappy.
When checking in the lady working the front desk was extremely rude and prejudice. While trying to check-in she left in the middle of me asking her a question to go talk to the security guard which I overheard her tell him that he needed to keep an eye on me.
The hotel advertised premium free Wifi pretty much everywhere. I use my laptop for work. The internet in my room does not work at all. When I called the front desk about this they were very rude. They told me there was nothing I could do about it except leave. They said all other rooms would not have working internet access either so I couldn’t try moving rooms. When I asked about the advertising for free wifi and told her that I needed the internet for work she responded “oh” then hung up on me.
The room was very small, which I could deal with but it was dirty. The bedsheets looked dirty for sure. The bathroom was disgusting; the toilet had not been cleaned and there was blood splattered on the bathroom door and on the shower walls.
The morning after my first night there I woke up to them vacuuming right in front of my room. They vacuumed the area in front of my room for no joke 1 1/2-2 hours. I called the front desk and asked about this, they said they had carpet cleaners there and that was the carpet cleaners cleaning the carpet. I checked and they lied, no carpet cleaners were there, it was the maid with the vacuum, vacuuming the same spot over and over. Why lie and why did they feel the need to do that, very immature.
Overall very disappointed. I tried calling corporate but was unable to speak to anyone, I will try again tomorrow. Also waiting for a response to the email I sent corporate.