How To Save on Summer Hotel Stays With Choice Privileges Points

Summer is the peak travel season for many destinations. The increased demand and limited inventory can drive up prices and strain your summer travel budget.

While it’s possible to use hotel loyalty points to book rooms, many programs use dynamic pricing that raises the points cost of hotel nights, along with cash pricing. Some hotel loyalty programs even restrict the use of points during peak periods.

Choice Hotels can be different. Many Choice properties have consistent points pricing and offer great value. In many cases, you can save hundreds of dollars, even if you need to purchase Choice Privileges points to book your hotel stay.

Here’s how Choice Privileges award pricing works, how much it costs to purchase points, and the potential savings it can yield for summer lodging.

About Choice Hotels

There are more than 7,500 Choice hotels in over 50 countries and territories. The brand’s loyalty program, Choice Privileges, allows members to redeem points for hotels starting at 6,000 points, though most start around 8,000. A typical midtier hotel costs around 20,000 points per night.

One of the best opportunities for value within the hotel program is in the Nordic countries, where summer hotel rates can climb significantly while award pricing remains relatively stable.

Seasonal Pricing vs. Points Pricing

Hotel pricing varies widely by season. To illustrate this variance, let’s look at the nightly rates for a popular hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Hotel Admiral, an Ascend Collection Hotel.

The specific dates of any hotel stay will determine the nightly rate. For example, for a night in July or August, you could pay approximately $433 (2,790 kr).

Visit in November or December, however, and rates may drop to around $291 per night (1,879 kr).

While nightly rates vary by season, Choice tends to have consistent points pricing year-round. At some Choice properties, the nightly award rate could stay the same across high- and low-season dates. For example, The Hotel Admiral is 20,000 points per night any time of year.

If you review the points calendar for any month, you’ll find the award rate stays at 20,000 points. A quick look at July and August award pricing shows this consistency in action.

The same holds true for November or December bookings, where you’ll find award redemptions for 20,000 points per night.

Obviously, the best value for Choice Privileges points stays is when nightly rates are high. If you use 20,000 points to book a stay that costs $433 in the summer, you will receive much better value (over 2 cents per point) than on a winter nightly rate of $291.

At Upgraded Points, we currently value Choice Privileges points at 0.6 cents per point. Receiving more than 2 cents per point in the above example offers good value. If you have Choice Privileges points in your account, it makes sense to use them for the more expensive summer stays.

Another example is the Nordic Light Hotel, an Ascend Collection Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden, where a typical summer nightly rate sits around $350 (3,300 kr).

Yet, the nightly award rate using points is consistently 30,000 points per night. At 0.6 cents per point in value, you’d use $180 worth of points for a room that costs $350 per night.

Availability can vary, and not all dates are available to book with points. It’s best to book early if you’re planning summer travel. And thankfully, reservations are usually cancelable up to a specified date before arrival.

How To Earn Choice Privileges Points

If you don’t already have Choice Privileges points in your account, you can earn them by staying at Choice Hotels when paying the nightly rate, in addition to several other ways.

First, you can transfer points from flexible rewards programs. Here are the programs that transfer to Choice Privileges and the transfer ratios:

• American Express Membership Rewards points: 1:1
• Capital One miles: 1:1
• Citi ThankYou Points: up to 1:1.5 (depending on the card)
• Wells Fargo Rewards points: 1:2

Generally, transferring at a 1:1 rate isn’t recommended unless you need a small number of points to top off your Choice Privileges account balance for a specific redemption.

The best value would be to transfer Wells Fargo Rewards points at a 1:2 ratio. The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card are popular cards that earn these transferable rewards points. Another option is to purchase Choice Privileges points.

Here’s a look at how much it would cost to purchase Choice Privileges points and if it’s worth it.

Should You Purchase Choice Privileges Points?

Before purchasing Choice Privileges points, check for any promotional offers. These offers can arrive via email or be posted on the homepage of your Choice Privileges account.

Typical offers include purchase bonuses of 30%, 40%, or even 50%. If you have no immediate need for points and there is no bonus offer, keep an eye out for a sale, as they happen frequently. Choice ran 9 purchase bonus promotions in 2025 alone.

Purchasing points during a bonus promotion can yield significant value. For example, I could purchase 21,000 points for $144.20, which is enough to book an otherwise expensive summer hotel night.

If you can’t wait for a bonus offer, 20,000 points cost $206 at the regular price. If you were to use those 20,000 points for a summer stay at the Admiral Hotel, you would still save over $200 per night. You could book a room at the $433 nightly summer rate with 20,000 points you purchased for just $206.

Even without a purchase bonus, buying points can yield good value. Image Credit: Choice

Purchasing points does not always result in good value. Your actual savings will depend on your specific stay dates and availability. Always do the math to see if it is worth purchasing or redeeming points for a specific stay.

Final Thoughts

Peak travel season and special events often bring higher hotel rates. Those are also the times when you can save by redeeming Choice Privileges points. While many hotel loyalty programs increase award rates as cash prices rise, Choice properties often maintain more stable award pricing. 

Not all Choice Hotels have award availability during peak times, but booking early can yield the best results. It’s also important to check both the award rate and the nightly rate to determine which is the better value.