Choice Privileges is the rewards program for Choice Hotels, which includes brands such as Cambria Hotels, Comfort Inn, Sleep Inn and Econo Lodge. Since Choice Privileges fully integrated Radisson Rewards Americas in 2023, it also includes brands like Radisson, Radisson Blu and Park Plaza in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The program : Transfer at a ratio of 1 Wells Fargo point to 2 Choice points
Buy Choice points
Buying Choice points is another way to boost your balance. The cost per point varies depending on how many points you purchase, but you’ll typically pay between 1.03 and 1.28 cents per point — not a great deal compared to our August 2026 valuation of 0.7 cents per Choice point. However, you can sometimes pay much less if Choice is offering a discount or bonus promotion.
Earn with partners
Choice Privileges partners with various programs to let members earn additional points on other activities. These include:
- Avis and Budget car rentals: Get up to 35% off and earn Choice points when you rent with Avis or Budget.
- Choice Privileges Cruises: Earn Choice points when you book a qualifying cruise through Choice’s cruise platform.
- E-Rewards: Earn Choice points by taking surveys.
Earn when planning events
You can earn Choice Privileges points when you host events at eligible Choice hotels. When you associate your Choice Privileges member number with your group’s reservation, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent (up to 150,000 points or more per meeting at Cambria Hotels and unlimited points at Radisson Hotels) on eligible charges, including meeting space, sleeping rooms and food-and-beverage charges.
How to redeem Choice Privileges points
Now that you know how to earn Choice Privileges points, let’s consider the different ways you can redeem Choice points. You’ll usually get the most value when you use Choice points for hotel stays, but there are other options.
Redeem for free nights
Choice Privileges has no set award chart and doesn’t sort properties into categories. Although Choice no longer caps award nights at 35,000 points, most award nights still cost between 8,000 and 35,000 points. You can book reward nights up to 50 weeks in advance.
You’ll occasionally see RewardSaver discounts when you search for reward night stays.
Some properties make premium room types or views available with points. In some cases, you may find an upgraded room for the same number of points as a standard room.
You can book Points Plus Cash rates at some Choice Hotels if you see the option when you search for a reward night. You won’t earn points on the cash portion, as you’re effectively buying points with the cash copay. As such, ensure you’re buying points at a low enough rate to make doing so worthwhile. You can buy up to 250,000 points per calendar year through these bookings.
You can also redeem Choice points for stays at participating Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Westgate Resorts, Bluegreen Vacations properties and Penn Entertainment Hotels.
Redeem for special experiences
Choice Privileges Experiences lets you bid on exclusive college sports experiences and NASCAR experiences with Choice points. The tickets up for auction change frequently, but you can see what’s currently available on the Choice Experiences website.
Related: 8 of the most exclusive travel experiences you can book with points and miles
Redeem for gift cards
You can redeem Choice Privileges points for physical or electronic gift cards to a limited number of retailers such as Amazon, Home Depot, Target, Walmart and Applebee’s. In most cases, you can redeem 8,000 points for a $25 gift card, 16,000 points for a $50 gift card or 32,000 points for a $100 gift card. This yields only 0.31 cents per point, so it’s best to use other redemption options that provide more value.
Donate your points
You also have the option to donate your Choice Privileges points to a handful of charities, including the American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the National Park Foundation. Most of these allow you to donate $5 per 1,000 Choice points redeemed, but you can donate $10 to Polaris per 1,000 Choice points redeemed. This gives you a solid redemption value of 0.5 to 1 cent per point.
Related: How you can donate your points and miles to charity
Exchange your points for miles
If you’d rather have airline miles than hotel points, you can transfer your Choice points to the following loyalty programs online:
- Aer Lingus AerClub: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Avios
- Aeromexico Rewards: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Aeromexico points
- Air Canada Aeroplan: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Aeroplan points
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Flying Blue miles
- Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Atmos Rewards points
- Avianca Lifemiles: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Lifemiles
- British Airways Club: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Avios
- Iberia Club: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Avios
- LATAM Pass: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 LATAM miles
- Qantas Frequent Flyer: Starting at 2,000 points for 800 Qantas points
- Saudia AlFursan: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 AlFursan miles
- Southwest Rapid Rewards: Starting at 6,000 points for 1,800 Southwest points
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Turkish miles
- United MileagePlus: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 United miles
- Velocity Frequent Flyer: Starting at 2,000 points for 800 Velocity points
You’ll usually be better off keeping your Choice points and redeeming them for hotel stays, but this option could make sense if you don’t frequently stay at Choice Hotels properties and are short a few miles for your next airline redemption.
Redeem for cruise credit
Finally, you can redeem Choice Privileges points toward a sailing through Choice Privileges Cruises. You’ll have to call, but you can redeem 85,000 points for a $250 credit toward your cruise or 160,000 points for a $500 credit. This provides a redemption value of 0.29 or 0.31 cents per point, so it’s not a high-value way to redeem Choice points.
Maximizing Choice Privileges points
As you can see from the above options, redeeming Choice points for award nights is usually the best way to maximize their value. Here are a few tips to get even more value from the Choice Privileges program.
Choice Privileges promotions
The Choice Privileges program frequently offers promotions to help you save money or earn bonus points. One of the best promotions Choice offers several times each year lets you earn 8,000 Choice points for every two hotel stays. So, it’s worth keeping an eye out for promotions if you have stays at Choice Hotels coming up.
Sweet spot redemptions
There are plenty of opportunities to get outsize value from Choice Privileges points. For example, in Japan, you can book some properties for as few as 8,000 points per night.
You can also find centrally located hotels in Europe that can be booked for as little as 8,000 points per night.
Choice points can also provide good value in the U.S. For instance, here are some properties near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where you can book a weekend night for 15,000 points.
Lowest Price Guarantee
Choice’s Lowest Price Guarantee applies when you book directly with Choice and then find a lower publicly available price within 24 hours of booking. You must book at least 48 hours before a 6 a.m. arrival on the first day of your booking and complete the claim form within 24 hours of booking.
Within 48 hours of your claim, a Choice Hotels representative will contact you. If your claim is approved, Choice will not only honor the lower rate for your stay but also give you a $50 reward card if you’re a U.S. or Canadian resident. If you’re an international resident, the first night of your stay will be free.
Match up to Choice Privileges Platinum status
If you have elite status with another hotel loyalty program and live in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America or Mexico, you can take advantage of Choice’s status match program for tiers up to Choice Platinum.
To use this status match, U.S. and Canadian members must send their name, Choice Privileges member number and a screenshot of their current account statement with another hotel loyalty program to Status_Match@choicehotels.com. European members can send this information to Status_Match_EU@choicehotels.com, while Caribbean, Latin American and Mexican members should send their information to CALA.statusmatch@choicehotels.com.
Based on the information you provided, Choice Privileges may match you up to Platinum status. If you match between January and June, you’ll keep the matched status through the end of the year. But if you match between July and December, you’ll keep the status through the end of the following year. As such, July is generally the best time to request the match because a successful match should last through the end of the following calendar year.
Bottom line
Choice Privileges may not offer the rich, consistent elite benefits of some competing hotel loyalty programs, but it can still deliver significant value. Reward nights start at just 6,000 points, Choice has a large footprint across multiple price points and its U.S. credit cards can accelerate both elite status and milestone rewards.
The program is especially compelling when you find RewardSaver nights, discover a premium room bookable for the same number of points as a standard room or book a high-value reward night. However, award costs can change without notice, and elite benefits vary considerably by brand and property. As a result, the best way to use Choice Privileges is usually to focus less on earning status and more on redeeming points in high-value ways.
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.