Choice Privileges Rewards Program
Have you ever considered how your hotel stays might work harder for you? With the Choice Privileges Rewards Program, that’s exactly what happens.
Each night you spend in a Choice hotel could be racking up points that you can then exchange for valuable rewards such as free nights, gift cards, and more. Plus, there are many other ways to earn points that, as the saying goes, make prizes.
If you want to get more from your travels and everyday spending, then you should check out the Choice Privileges Rewards Program.
Snapshot Verdict
The Choice Privileges Rewards Program offers tremendous points-earning opportunities and flexible redemption routes, with a global hotels group. It’s a program that caters to all types of travelers, with access to more than 7,000 properties around the world.
Multiple avenues are available to help you accumulate points, from hotel stays to everyday spending on co-branded credit cards.
The tiered structure ensures your loyalty is rewarded with higher-value benefits driven by frequency of stays.
Its helpful mobile app that takes the pain out of managing and redeeming your points, reserving accommodation, and managing your stays.
Choice Privileges Rewards: The Basics
Choice Privileges is the loyalty program of the Choice Hotels group. When you join (for free), you can start earning rewards points immediately. You can then redeem these for free nights at more than 7,000 hotels around the world, or with airline miles, gift cards, and more.
The easiest way to earn points is by staying at Choice hotels and, thanks to the tiered structure of the program, you’ll earn points at a faster rate the more night stays you accumulate.
Each of the program’s tiers – from Member through to Diamond – also offers increasing benefits as well as higher points payments.
There is a caveat to your points earning potential, though. You’ll need to book through Choice Hotels, whether via their website, app, or over the phone. Stays booked through third-party sites like Expedia or Hotels.com won’t boost your points total in your Choice Privilege account.
This said, there are other ways to earn points – it’s not all about stays in Choice hotels. You can also earn points when you use Choice’s partners for car rentals, cruises, and by shopping online at the Choice Privileges Mall.
Overall, it’s a pretty straightforward rewards program, which can be further enhanced by using a Choice Hotels co-branded credit card.
It’s particularly ideal if you stay at any of Choice’s hotel brands, ranging from the budget-friendly Econo Lodge to the upscale Radisson Collection, via the likes of Comfort, Clarion, and Woodspring Suites.
How To Earn Choice Privileges Rewards Points
While the simplest way to earn points in the Choice Privileges Program is by staying in Choice hotels, there are several other ways in which you can accumulate points, whether through everyday spending or using Choice’s partners strategically.
Hotel Stays
The most direct way of earning points is by staying at Choice hotels. Every dollar you spend on your room reservation will earn 10 points, providing you book through Choice Hotels’ channels, including their website, mobile app, or customer service center.
Travel & Shopping Partners
You’ll also earn Choice Privileges points if you take a car rental through a Choice partner. These include Avis and Budget, with car rentals earning up to 2,000 points.
If you’re an avid online shopper, then it could pay to try the Choice Privileges Online Mall before you purchase anything elsewhere. With links to more than 1,000 retailers, your online purchases could earn you the points to score a free night or more.
If you enjoy taking more unique vacations, booking a cruise through Choice Privileges Cruises can earn you five points for every dollar you spend.
Other Ways To Earn Points
Refer a friend and you’ll earn 500 bonus points when they join the Choice Privileges Program and complete a stay.
You can also earn extra points by taking part in social media and surveys run by Choice Hotels on its social media platforms.
Throughout the year, Choice Privileges offer special promotions. These are time-limited, but can yield some great rewards as well as points earning opportunities.
Recent promotions include ‘Pre-pay to save 20%’, ‘Stay twice, get a free night’, and ‘Earn up to 8,000 points for every two stays’.
Buying Points
You know how frustrating it can be if you don’t have quite enough points on your balance to redeem a free night? To cover the shortfall, you could buy extra Choice Privileges points.
This usually works out being more costly than earning them through stays or spending, but can make sense if you only need a small number of points for a high-value stay.
Choice Privileges Co-Branded Credit Cards
Choice Hotels has partnered with major financial institutions to offer co-branded credit cards. Using these opens up even more possibilities to earn points, from sign-up bonuses to everyday spending.
Choice Privileges Mastercard
A second card option with no annual fee is the Choice Privileges Mastercard.
There’s a 40,000-point welcome bonus for spending $1,000 during the first three months, and you can earn five points per $1 at Choice hotels and on Choice Privileges points purchases.
In addition, you can earn three points for every $1 you spend at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, and on phone services, and one point per $1 on all other spending.
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard
If you’re seeking greater points earning potential, the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard could be the best option.
You’ll be required to pay an annual fee of $95. But for this you’ll be rewarded with a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after you have spent $3,000 on the card during the first three months, and you’ll receive a bonus of 30,000 points on each anniversary of owning the card.
You could earn 10 points per $1 spent at Choice Hotels, five points per $1 at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, and on phone plans, and one point per dollar on all other purchases.
How to Redeem Your Choice Privileges Rewards Points
There are several ways to redeem your Choice Privileges points, from exchanging for free nights to transferring to travel partners, offering you the flexibility to suit your own preferences and needs.
When you wish to redeem your points, all you need to do is log into your Choice Privileges account and navigate to the redemption section to select how you’d like to proceed.
Hotel Stays
Using your points to secure free nights at a Choice hotel is the most common redemption method. Choice operates a dynamic pricing model, meaning the redemption rate depends upon hotel, location, and timing, with award nights starting as low as 6,000 points.
Points Plus Cash
If you haven’t accumulated enough points for a free night, Choice offers a Points Plus Cash option. This allows you to book stays by paying a portion of the cost with points, making up the shortfall with cash.
This is often more cost-effective than buying points, though you should always calculate to see which is the best option.
Travel Partners
You can transfer your points to several airline partners, which may be a good option if you are low on airmiles but have more Choice points than you need. Transfer rates with Choice partners vary, so, once again, it pays to get your calculator out.
Gift Cards
You may also redeem your points for gift cards from a diverse range of retailers, although the redemption value is typically lower than when you use them for travel redemptions.
Experiences
Occasionally, Choice Privileges offers the opportunity to redeem points for unique experiences, including college sports and NASCAR tickets. These are available to bid on via the Choice Privileges Experiences auction tool.
Memberships Tiers & Benefits
When you join the Choice Privileges Rewards Program, you’ll join as a Member, the base tier of a program that is designed to offer higher rewards for the most loyal customers. As you move up through the tiers, your points earnings potential and benefits available improve.
Member
In this starting tier, you’ll earn 10 points for every dollar you spend on eligible stays. You’ll also have access to exclusive member-only rates.
Gold
Once you have accumulated 10 nights in a year, you’ll move up to Gold, where you’ll get a 10% bonus on the points you earn on stays.
As well as the benefits you have in the Member tier, you’ll also receive other benefits such as early check-in and late checkout, and a dedicated customer service line for faster customer service.
Platinum
To achieve Platinum status, you’ll need to stay 20 nights in a calendar year.
On top of Gold tier benefits, you’ll earn a 25% points bonus on stays. You’ll also have the convenience of complimentary room upgrades, adding a touch of luxury to each stay.
Diamond
You’ll reach the highest tier, Diamond, after 40 night stays in a calendar year.
You’ll now score a 50% bonus on points that you earn during stays, plus have access to an exclusive Diamond member reservation line, and receive complimentary continental breakfasts on your stays.
As you move through the program’s tiers, the window for booking free nights will widen, increasing your options and reservation flexibility.
It’s worth noting that Choice Privileges will allow you to rollover nights from one year to the next, making it easier to qualify for and maintain a higher status in the program:
- Gold members can roll over 9 nights
- Platinum members can roll over 19 nights
- Diamond members can roll over 39 nights
Moreover, if you are a member of another hotel loyalty/rewards scheme, Choice Privileges will match your status in that program.
The Choice Privileges App
The Choice Hotels app streamlines your Choice experience, allowing you to book properties around the world as well as access exclusive member rates, and manage reservations on the go. You can also use the app to book your free nights and check in and out digitally.
It’s an easy-to-use app on which you can control your membership, profile settings, redemptions, and more. It’s almost like having a concierge in the palm of your hand.
Tips To Maximize The Benefits
The Choice Privileges Rewards Program provides some terrific perks, but a little strategy will help ensure you get the most out of it. These five tactics are key:
Use A Choice Privileges Co-Branded Credit Card
The welcome bonuses alone make this tactic worthwhile, but with points to be earned on everyday spending and more, regular use will accelerate you toward extra free nights and other perks.
Keep Watch For Special Promotions
Stay informed to snap up bonus points and exclusive deals to bank extra benefits and substantial savings.
Utilize The App
Streamline your program with your hotel booking and stay experiences. The app simplifies the entire process and puts control at your fingertips.
Travel Smart
Optimize your points redemptions for free nights and other travel perks by using them when they give the best value as well as aligning with your travel plans.
Stay Loyal
The more often you stay at Choice hotels, the faster you’ll progress through the program’s membership tiers to unlock higher-value benefits and see your brand loyalty rewarded.
Signing Up
You could be signed up for the Choice Privileges program in just a couple of minutes. Simply visit the Choice Hotels website and navigate to the Choice Privileges section.
When you’re there, click on ‘Join Free Now’ to access the registration form. Here is where you fill in your basic details and create a username and password.
You’re now ready to get started earning Choice Privileges points.
If you prefer, you can download the Choice Hotels app and enroll on the program by selecting ‘Join Now, It’s Free’ and following the prompts.
Enhance Your Travel With Choice Privileges
The Choice Privileges Rewards Program takes hotel stays to another level. It offers numerous opportunities to earn points that translate into benefits such as free nights, exclusive experiences, gift cards, and more.
As you progress through the tiers of the program, you’ll earn the right to increasing benefits, such as extra points earning potential, early check-ins, and complimentary breakfasts.
Designed for all types of travelers, this is a great rewards program – use it strategically and you’ll enhance your travel while maximizing value for money.