Maximizing Benefits with Choice Privileges Rewards: A Complete Guide

Introduction to Choice Privileges Rewards

With more than 7,500 properties worldwide including brands like Cambria Hotels, Econo Lodge, and the Ascend Hotel Collection, Choice Hotels offers something for every traveler and budget.

Present in more than 40 countries, Choice Hotels also partners with Penn Entertainment, Inc., Preferred Hotels & Resorts, and Strawberry. This makes redemption options even more interesting, with the addition of casino hotels and upscale resorts to the mix.

How the Choice Privileges program works 

Choice Privileges points are underrated yet valuable in the world of travel rewards currencies. It's easy to understand the program's appeal given its range of redemption options, including free hotel nights and the chance to exchange them for airline miles, Amtrak tickets, and gift cards.

Here's everything you need to know about earning, redeeming, and maximizing your Choice Privileges points.

Ways to earn Choice Privileges points

The Choice Privileges program may seem straightforward, but many little rules define what counts as a qualifying points-earning stay.

For starters, you must book directly with the hotel by phone or via the Choice Hotels website or app. You won't earn Choice Privileges points on third-party bookings, free stays (from award nights or otherwise), nights booked with Points Plus Cash, through a travel agent or as part of a group booking, rates booked through certain promotions or employee discounts — or if rates are under $40 a night.

You'll also need to pay attention to where you can earn points — within the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region (except China and Japan), and Europe (except countries covered by Strawberry). Here's how to get started earning.

Use the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® or the Choice Privileges® Mastercard®

The fastest way to accrue Choice Privileges points is to open one of the two Choice Privileges credit cards available: The Choice Privileges® Mastercard® or the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®. 

Choice Privileges® Mastercard®

The no-annual-fee Choice Privileges® Mastercard® offers new cardholders a decent welcome bonus for a relatively low spending requirement: 60,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases within the first three months. Ongoing earnings include 5 points per dollar on Choice Hotels; 3 points per dollar on gas, groceries, home improvement, and phone plans, and 1 point per dollar on everything else. 

Cardholders also enjoy modest Choice Privileges perks: Gold elite status and cellphone protection.

Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®

The premium Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® costs cardholders $95 a year in annual fees. In exchange, you can earn a welcome bonus of 60,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first three months from account opening. You'll also earn up to 10 points per dollar on Choice Hotels; 5 points per dollar on gas, groceries, home improvement, and phone plans; and 1 point per dollar on everything else.

Finally, cardholders get Choice Privileges Platinum elite status, 30,000 points per card anniversary, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® application fee credit once every four years, and cellphone protection.

Transfer points from flexible travel rewards programs like Amex, Citi, and Capital One

Choice Hotels partners with several major transferable points programs including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

When you have cards like American Express® Gold Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, or Citi Strata Premier℠ Card , you can transfer points to Choice Hotels, but the ratio varies by program.

You'll get a 1:1 ratio when you transfer American Express points or Capital One miles to Choice, while the transfer ratio is 1:1.5 or 1:2 (depending on the card you have) on transfers from Citi.

Earn points from Choice hotel stays

The most straightforward way to earn Choice Privileges Rewards is by staying in select Choice hotels on paid bookings.

It's free to sign up for a Choice Privileges account, which offers savings through members-only rates.

The program previously had complicated qualifications for earning rates at different hotel brands. But now, Choice Privileges program members can earn 10 points per dollar spent at all brands in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Mexico, Central American, Caribbean, Asia-Pac (including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and Fiji).

Points cannot be earned in Denmark, Estonia, Ecuador, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, or Sweden.

Earn special perks and additional bonuses with Choice Privileges elite status

While all Choice Privileges members save with exclusive member rates and receive Your Extras perks, those with Gold, Platinum, or Diamond elite status have access to extra perks like elite gift cards, early check-in and late checkout, preferred parking, a dedicated customer service hotline, and an elite welcome gift at check-in.

Choice Privileges® Mastercard® cardholders automatically earn Gold status, which gets you a 10% elite points bonus and up to nine rollover nights.

Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® cardholders get Platinum status, which gets you a 25% elite points bonus and up to 19 rollover nights.

Finally, Diamond status gets you a 50% points bonus and up to 39 rollover nights.

Platinum and Diamond members also receive Avis Preferred Plus membership for car rentals. Status matches are available if you're an elite member of another hotel loyalty program.

Choice Privileges membership tiers and benefits

You'll need to stay 10, 20, and 40 nights, respectively, to earn Choice elite status. Elite members can keep their accounts active by completing qualifying activities every 18 months; otherwise, they will lose their status and earned points.

Qualifying activities include earning or redeeming Choice Privileges points, using the Choice Privileges® Mastercard® and Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®, or transferring flexible points to Choice.

Earn extra points and perks by staying at Cambria Hotels

Hotel members with Choice Privileges elite status can earn benefits such as 250 bonus points, preferred parking, and late checkout and early check-in.

If you're an elite member of another hotel loyalty program, you can also earn Diamond elite status with Choice Privileges after staying at least one night at a Cambria Hotels property, thanks to the Diamond elite status jump perk.

Sign up for Your Extras perks

If you're booking a points-eligible stay on a weekday — Sunday through Thursday — select a Your Extras perk in your account before you go. You can choose from 400 Choice Privileges points, 100 airline miles, $2.50 Amazon credit, or a $5 coffee card. 

While you can change your choice for each stay, you must make your selection prior to check-in. Make sure to include your member number when you make your reservation.

WoodSpring Suites properties do not participate in the Your Extras program. 

Save with military discounts and other perks for service members

Active duty, reserve, and retired military personnel automatically receive limited-time Gold elite status by signing up for a free Choice Privileges account.

Take advantage of bonus points promotions

Check the Choice Privileges website to stay on top of bonus points promos. In the past, there have been promotions to earn 2x points on qualifying stays, and be sure to check for bonus points packages that let you pay a little more each night for an extra 1,000 or 2,000 Choice Privileges points. 

Earn airline miles instead of points toward hotel stays

If you don't plan on redeeming points for hotel stays, opt to earn points toward airline miles — just enter your frequent flyer info and set your points-earning preference to airline miles. Note that airline miles cannot be earned by staying at all-inclusive resorts through the Ascend Hotel Collection or casino hotels through Penn Entertainment, Inc. 

While rates are subject to change, you'll earn 600 Qantas Frequent Flyer points or 600 Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer points per qualifying stay at participating hotels.

Save on cruises and car rentals with travel partnerships

You can earn 5 points per dollar by booking qualifying rooms with more than 20 cruise lines through Choice Privileges Cruises, giving you access to perks like onboard spending allowances, instant savings, and discounts for additional guests.

You can also earn Choice Privileges points by booking car rentals with Avis and Budget (1,000 points per rental, plus 25% off rates).

Utilize Choice Privileges retail partnerships

An easy way to earn points is through the Choice Privileges Online Mall shopping portal, which lets you earn bonus points at Macy's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and more.

Earn points with Planner Rewards

Groups booking meetings and qualifying events (at least 10 rooms booked on one night) can earn 3 points per dollar (up to 150,000 points per event) on conference rooms, hotel accommodations, and on-property catering at participating Cambria hotels as part of the Planner Rewards program.

Take E-Rewards surveys

Completing your first survey within 90 days of signing up for a free E-Rewards account will earn you bonus points. 

Buy Choice Privileges points for yourself or someone else

You can buy up to 250,000 Choice Privileges points for yourself — or up to 180,000 Choice Privileges points for friends and family members — per calendar year. Rates start at $12.10 per 1,000 points (you must buy them in 1,000-point increments) and go all the way up to $1,782 for 180,000 points.

Note that this is the only way to gift points to family and friends, as the Choice Privileges program does not allow points pooling and transfers between members.

Earn rewards for referring friends to Choice Privileges

It's a win-win when you refer a friend to join the Choice Privileges Program and they complete their first eligible stay. You'll each earn 500 Choice points, which also counts as a qualifying event to keep your account active.

Redeeming Choice Privileges Rewards

Choice points are worth, on average, 0.7 cents apiece based on Business Insider's latest points and miles valuations. The exact value you'll get depends on where and when you redeem your rewards.

You have multiple options for maximizing rewards such as booking free nights at Choice Hotels, taking advantage of travel perks like airline miles and car rentals, and even redeeming them for gift cards and shopping credit. We'll explore the best options in the sections below. 

Redeem Choice Privileges points for dream vacations

Whether you're planning a romantic getaway, family vacation, dream honeymoon, or an epic solo trip, you can use Choice Privileges points to book everything from extended stays and roadside motels to luxury casino hotels and resorts on the beach. 

Thanks to Choice Hotels' partnerships with Preferred Hotels & Resorts and Penn Entertainment, Inc., you'll also be able to redeem points for stays at a number of independent, boutique properties and casino hotels. 

Choice Hotels redemptions start at 8,000 points per night and can go up to 35,000 or 75,000 points per night in some locales like the Asia Pacific region, or when redeeming for Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Since redemption rates vary by hotel and date, you may end up with a great deal, especially if you value convenience over luxury.

Be aware that you can only reserve award stays with a check-out date within 100 days of your trip. Unlike other loyalty programs, there's no award chart and no categories, so you'll have to go through each hotel's website to see exactly how many points are needed for a free night.

Stretch your savings with Points + Cash

Use the Points Plus Cash perk, available to Choice Privileges members with at least 6,000 points in their account, to pay with the points you have while essentially purchasing enough points to make up the difference. Select "Reward Points" under the special rate menu while searching for your hotel, choose the Points Plus Cash tab, then pay a set combination of points and cash, which will vary by hotel and date.

While these bookings won't earn you any points, you'll be refunded solely in Choice points if there's a cancellation.

Transfer Choice Privileges points to travel partners

To redeem Choice Privileges points for flights, use the Choice Hotels Rewards Exchange to transfer them to airline partners at the following rates: 

• 5,000 Choice points for 1,000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles
• 5,000 Choice points for 1,000 Aeromexico Club Premier miles
• 5,000 Choice points for 1,000 Aeroplan miles
• 5,000 Choice points for 1,000 United MileagePlus miles
• 20,000 Choice points for 8,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points
• 20,000 Choice points for 8,000 Virgin Australia Velocity points

You may need to call Customer Service at (888) 770-6800 and provide them with your frequent flyer number to complete your airline redemption.

Donate Choice Privileges points to charity

You can convert your Choice points to donations to organizations including Sleeping Children Around the World and True Patriot Love.

Redeem points for gift cards

When you cash in points for plastic (not digital) gift cards from all your favorite retail stores, gas stations, restaurants, and movie theaters, redemptions start at 8,000 points for $25 gift cards, 16,000 points for $50 gift cards, and 32,000 points for $100 gift cards. Note that you're limited to two gift card transactions within a 48-hour period and they'll arrive in 2–4 weeks.

Choice Privileges Rewards frequently asked questions