Choice Privilege Points have fueled many memorable stays for me over the years. For example, I once spent about a month at an all-inclusive resort using Choice Points. I’ve also used Choice Points to book numerous moderately priced award nights for city-center stays in Japan and Europe.
While the Choice Privileges program recently removed its 35,000-point cap on award night prices, it’s still possible to get significant value when redeeming Choice points for stays. Sports fans and concert lovers can also find exceptional value when redeeming Choice Points for unique experiences.
But you need to earn Choice Points before you can redeem them. So, here are some ways you can earn Choice Points.
Earn Choice Points with hotel stays
I’ll start with the most obvious way to earn Choice Points: staying at a Choice hotel. You’ll earn 10 Choice Points per dollar on most points-eligible stays at Cambria, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Comfort, Econo Lodge, Everhome, MainStay Suites, Quality Inn, Rodeway Inn, Sleep Inn, Suburban Studio and Ascend Hotel Collection properties. Following regions:
- United States
- Canada
- Europe (except Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden)
- Middle East
- Mexico
- Brazil
- Ecuador
- Colombia
- of Guyana
- Central America
- Caribbean
- Asia-Pacific (including China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and India)
You earn points based on how long you stay at MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios and Everhome Suites. If you stay six nights or less, you’ll earn 10 points per dollar spent. However, if you stay seven nights or more, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar spent on the first 30 nights and no points for additional nights after the first 30.
While you can also earn 10 Choice Points per dollar spent at select Radisson Individuals, Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson Red, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson properties — but only in the following regions:
- United States
- Canada
- Latin America
- Caribbean
You generally won’t earn points on taxes and incidental charges. However, you can earn 10 points per dollar spent on accommodation, taxes, restaurant and bar charges, laundry fees and phone calls when staying in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan).
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Additionally, you will only earn points on point-eligible stays. Points-eligible stays are booked directly with the hotel (excluding Ascend Hotel Collection all-inclusive resort and casino locations) or through Choice’s reservation line, website or mobile app. The following types of investments are not point-eligible:
- Rooms booked using an inappropriate rate plan or for less than $40 per night
- Some hotel-initiated promotions
- Award night stay
- Complimentary room
- Points plus cash reservation
- A room paid for as part of a convention or meeting
- Rooms booked through a travel agent or third-party online retailer, including online travel agencies (unless expressly noted), bulk packages and group tours
- Book using employee discounts or friends, family and associate discounts
Elite bonus
Except as noted above, Choice Privilege members earn 10 points per dollar spent on eligible investments. Elite members also receive bonus points based on their status tier:
- Gold: 10% bonus
- Platinum: 25% bonus
- diamond: 50% bonus
Gold, Platinum and Diamond elite members also receive a welcome gift on point-earning investments at select properties. However, this welcome gift varies depending on the brand and location as follows:
- Cambria Hotels in the US: 250 bonus points
- Radisson Individuals, Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson Red, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson properties in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean: 250 bonus points
- Clarion, Sleep Inn, Quality or Mainstay Suites properties in the US: Breakfast and beverage at check-in or 200 bonus points
- Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn or Suburban Studios properties in the US: Snacks and drinks at check-in or 100 bonus points
100 to 250 Choice points are worth just $0.60 to $1.50 based on TPG’s July 2024 valuation. So don’t feel bad indulging if you value snacks and drinks more than points.
Weeknight Awards
Choice Hotels’ Weeknight Rewards (also known as Your Extras) offer additional benefits on select points-eligible stays that include a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night. Not all hotels participate in Weeknight Rewards; Non-participating hotels include Woodspring Suites locations, some third-party (non-Choice) hotels and some MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios, Everhome Suites and Ascend Hotel Collection properties.
You must opt in to the Weeknight Rewards program and benefits vary depending on your country of residence. US residents may choose to receive one of the following on each eligible weeknight stay:
- 400 points ($2.40 value based on TPG’s July 2024 valuation)
- 100 airline miles with participating carriers
- $2.50 Amazon credit
- $5 coffee gift card
- $3 Uber trip discount
You will get the benefit you selected at check-in for that stay, but you can change your choice for a future stay at any time.
Bonus Points Packages
When investing at the best available rate, you can often choose a 1,000-point, 2,000-point or 5,000-point accelerator package. This package provides you with specified points per night in addition to the points you would normally earn.
You’ll pay an extra $6.50 per night for the 1,000-point package, $13 per night for the 2,000-point package, and $32.50 per night for the 5,000-point package. As such, you can effectively purchase additional points through these packages at a rate of 0.65 cents per point.
promotion
Finally, you can often use promotions to earn additional Choice Points when you stay at a Choice property. Choice offers a few recurring promotions, including its 8,000 points or $50 gift card for every two stays promotion, which can be great for road trips and other short stays.
Preferred Privileges Credit Cards
You can earn Choice Points with two cobrands Preferred Privileges Credit Cards.
This Choose Choice Privileges® Mastercard® (See Rates and Fees) Offers:
- 10 points per dollar spent on purchases at participating Choice Hotels properties and Choice Privilege Points
- 5 points per dollar on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and phone plan services
- 1 point per dollar on other purchases
The card carries a $95 annual fee but offers 30,000 bonus points on each account anniversary and 20 Elite Night credits each calendar year. Plus, if you apply now, you can earn 90,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first three months. See our Select Privileges MasterCard review for more details.
If you choose a no-annual-fee card, Choice Privilege® MasterCard® (See Rates and Fees) is also an option. This card earns:
- 5 points per dollar spent on stays at participating Choice Hotels properties and on purchases of Choice Privilege Points
- 3 points per dollar on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and phone plan services
- 1 point per dollar on other purchases
Cardholders also receive 10 Elite Night credits per calendar year, which is enough for at least Gold status. Plus, if you apply now, you can earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first three months.
RELATED: Best Hotel Credit Cards With Annual Fees Under $100
Transfer credit card rewards to Choice
Another way to earn Choice Points is to transfer credit card rewards to the program. In particular, you can transfer:
However, note that each program may only allow transfers in certain increments. And it’s worth considering whether to convert Rewards that are transferable to Choice Points offer the most value. For example, you may find other Membership Rewards sweet spots that allow you to redeem your Membership Rewards points at a higher value.
Buy Choice Points
However, if you don’t need Choice Points right away, you can delay purchasing your Points. By doing this you can use the Buy Points promotion to buy points at a lower rate.
Get Choice Points as a gift
You can receive Choice Points as a gift, but the other member must purchase them instead of transferring them from their account. As noted above, you can only earn up to 180,000 purchased points per calendar year, whether these points are purchased or gifted.
Other Ways to Earn Choice Points
Here are three final ways to earn Choice Points for future redemptions.
Dining at participating restaurants
You can earn 5 Choice Points per dollar spent at participating restaurants Eat and earn select privileges and pay with linked cards. Sign up for this dining rewards program, link one or more cards to your profile, and then use the linked card when you pay for your meals at participating restaurants.
take a cruise
There are many ways to get a good deal on a cruise. But if earning Choice Points is important, you can book your next cruise Choice Privileges ship. By doing so, you will earn 5 Choice Points per dollar when you provide your Choice Privilege member number during booking.
Plan a meeting
you can use Planner Award Program Americas to earn points when hosting qualifying events at participating Cambria Hotels, Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson Red, Radisson Individuals, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson hotels in the United States, Canada, Latin and the Caribbean.
You’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on eligible charges, including meeting space, guest room, food and beverage. There is no minimum spend requirement, but you can only earn up to 150,000 points per event.
Bottom line
As you can see, there are many ways to earn Choice Points. My favorite way to earn more points is with hotel stays, but I also buy Choice points when I can do so at a reasonable rate. Transferring Citi ThankYou points or Wells Fargo Rewards points to Choice at a 1:2 ratio can also be a good option if you need more Choice points for higher-value redemptions.