How Buying Choice Privileges Points Saved Me $590 in Tromsø

With the peak solar cycle drawing to a close, I wanted to see the aurora borealis again. I decided to book a trip to Scandinavia, starting in Lapland in Finland and Sweden, before heading to Tromsø in northern Norway.

Tromsø is a tourist hotspot for northern lights, and hotel prices (along with meals in the area) are high, even for basic hotels. Instead of paying $1,033 for a 3-night stay at a budget property, I bought Choice Privileges points and redeemed them for my stay. Buying points helped me save $590.

Here’s how it worked and why buying points made sense for this trip.

Comfort Hotel Xpress Tromso Key Features

The Comfort Hotel Xpress Tromso doesn’t offer any luxury perks. There’s no elite lounge or swimming pool at this economy hotel, but it offers the basics you’d expect.

Features included a “barception” — a hotel bar meets reception desk — a hangout space in the lobby, laundry on the third floor, and fantastic Wi-Fi. There was also a grab-and-go cooler with sandwiches and drinks near reception, along with a self-service check-in machine near the front door.

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Between the door and barception at the far end.

The hotel’s rooms were basic and small. My room, 204, had a twin bed, a desk, a chair, lamps, nightstands, and outlets on each side of the bed.

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My room.

The compact bathroom had a toilet, a sink with minimal counter space, and a shower. There was no conditioner, just a shampoo-body wash dispenser mounted on the wall.

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The small bathroom.

One feature I appreciated was the numerous coat hooks near the door.

Comfort Hotel Xpress Tromso Location

The Comfort Hotel Xpress Tromso is located in central Tromsø, in the far north of Norway. Its location in the city center puts it just a few blocks from the tourist information office, waterfront, parks, museums, and the cruise port.

The hotel is 10-15 minutes from the airport by taxi and 20-25 minutes by public transportation.

How I Saved $590 at the Comfort Hotel Xpress Tromso by Buying Points

I wanted to stay in Tromsø for 3 nights in February during the peak of the solar storm, hoping to see the northern lights (which I did — more than once!). Hotel rates during this period were high, even for a basic property like the Comfort Hotel Xpress Tromso.

The cash rate for my stay was $344 per night, totaling at $1,033 for 3 nights. This was the cheapest option during my stay, whether I paid in cash or points. However, Choice Privileges award nights were available for 20,000 points per night.

During a January promotion offering a 30% bonus on purchased Choice Privileges points, I bought the 60,000 points needed for my stay for $442.90 — saving $590.10 compared to the cash rate. Before buying the points, I confirmed that award nights were available for all 3 nights of my stay.

Then, I redeemed my Choice points for the reservation.

Why I Chose To Buy Points

There are several ways to earn Choice Privileges points, so why did I choose to buy them?

Choice partners with several transferable rewards programs. You can transfer points 1:1 from Amex Membership Rewards and Capital One miles. However, I prefer to use those rewards in other ways, even though I had points available to transfer.

My preferred transfer partners for Choice Privileges are Citi ThankYou Points and Wells Fargo Rewards, both of which transfer at a better 1:2 ratio. Unfortunately, I had just depleted both balances for another Choice Hotels booking earlier in this same trip. That left me with 3 options: paying cash, transferring rewards I didn’t really want to use here, or buying the points I needed.

Final Thoughts

Buying points isn’t my preferred way to book hotels. I generally prefer to earn points from credit card welcome offers and daily spending. In this case, however, I had just depleted my Choice Privileges account. By comparing the hotel’s cash rate to the cost of buying the points needed for the stay, I saved $590.

This is a classic example of when buying points can be cheaper than paying for a hotel. Before purchasing points, make sure the hotel has award availability for your dates and confirm that the math works in your favor. In this case, it definitely worked for me.