Choice Privileges is the loyalty program of Choice Hotels International, Inc. and incorporates more than 20 different hotel brands and ~7,500 properties worldwide.
Historically, it’s tended to fly under the radar as far as hotel loyalty programs go, with a key reason for that being that elite status benefits aren’t very robust compared to those available through other hotel programs. However, Choice Privileges did improve somewhat in early 2026 following a revamp of the program which added a number of new benefits, Milestone Rewards, and more.
Many of Choice’s hotel brands and properties also aren’t what you’d class as aspirational, but there can still be good value to be had thanks to the ability to buy points fairly cheaply during sales, transferable currencies that transfer to Choice on a 1:2 basis, a partnership with Preferred Hotels, and more.
Here’s our complete guide to the Choice Privileges program.
Choice Privileges overview
Choice Privileges has some features that are similar to other hotel loyalty programs:
- Earn points on paid hotel stays (although not on stays booked through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) such as Hotels.com, Expedia, etc.)
- Redeem points for free hotel nights.
- Earn elite status on both paid stays and award nights.
- Choice credit cards offer an additional way to earn more points, get perks, include status, etc.
Choice’s loyalty program also includes some features that aren’t always as common with other hotel chains:
- Earn elite status through credit card spend thanks to an update in early 2026.
- (Somewhat) fixed award chart; while most hotel chains now use dynamic pricing, Choice uses what is – for the most part – a fixed award chart, although pricing can differ a little (we’ll cover that in the Award Pricing section below).
- Ability to book premium rooms with points; although this isn’t an option at all properties, there are quite a lot of hotels where you can book junior suites, 1 bedroom suites and other types of upgraded rooms for the same number of points as an award night in a standard room.
- Preferred Hotels partnership means you can book some Preferred Hotels & Resorts locations using a reasonable number of Choice points.
- Casino status match with PENN Play, the loyalty program of PENN Entertainment. You can also earn and redeem Choice points for stays at PENN locations.
Choice award pricing
Choice uses fixed award pricing which starts at 6,000 points per night. Award nights at their higher end properties (such as the Radisson Blu Aruba) can be 50,000 points per night or more, but the majority of their hotels appear to be in the range of 12,000-30,000 points per night. Some properties seem to use off-peak/standard/peak pricing, similar to the World of Hyatt program. For example, you might find that a hotel charges 12,000 points for some nights of the week in the off-season, 18,000 points for other nights of the week, and 25,000 points per night during peak season.
As a result, Choice Privileges doesn’t have a specific award chart that lists pricing, but it’s easy to check how many points you’ll need to redeem for an award stay by selecting the ‘Use Choice Privileges Points’ rate on Choice’s website.
Depending on the location and dates you’re searching, you might see some discounted awards listed as ‘RewardSaver.’ The discounts can vary, so some properties might be 8% off, others might be 17% off, others might have a higher or lower discount, while many will have no discount at all.
Choice also makes it very easy to see award pricing month-by-month for any given property. When you’ve selected a specific hotel and have the search results set to display the cost in points, clicking on the date range for your stay will display the nightly points cost.
Historically, one of the biggest frustrations that people had with Choice Privileges was that you could only book award nights 100 days in advance. That made it hard to plan for stays further into the future as there was no knowing if award pricing would increase in the meantime, nor if there’d still be award availability by the time you were able to book. Thankfully that changed in early 2025 when Choice expanded the award booking window to 50 weeks out. That’s still not quite as good as some other hotel programs, but it was a vast, vast improvement on what came before.
Points Plus Cash
U.S. members of the Choice Privileges program have the ability to book Points Plus Cash rates provided they have at least 6,000 points per night available to redeem in addition to having a cash co-pay.
Similar to the way that IHG’s Points + Cash stays work, booking a Choice Points Plus Cash stay means you’re effectively purchasing the excess number of points needed. That means that if you subsequently cancel a Points Plus Cash stay (provided you’re within the cancellation policy period), you’ll receive back the points you initially redeemed, as well as the points you bought rather than a cash refund.
Seeing as you’re buying points using this method, that means you’re effectively booking an award stay. As a result, you don’t earn Choice points for the cash portion of the stay, although you do still earn elite night credits.
You’re limited to buying 250,000 Choice points per calendar year via Points Plus Cash.
Choice points expiration
Choice points never expire if you have some kind of elite status (i.e. Gold status or higher). If you only have member-level status, points expire after 18 months of inactivity. You can extend their expiration date by earning or redeeming points, buying points, or transferring points in from a transferable currency like Citi ThankYou, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, or Wells Fargo.
Choice free night certificates
At the time of publishing this guide, Choice doesn’t offer free night certificates.
Choice Privileges elite status
The Choice Privileges program has five levels of elite status:
- Member
- Gold – earned after staying 5 nights or via 10K credits
- Platinum – earned after staying 15 nights or via 30K credits
- Diamond – earned after staying 35 nights or via 70K credits
- Titanium – earned after staying 55 nights or via 110K credits
As you’d expect, elite benefits differ depending on your status level:
You might notice that the only additional benefit that Titanium members currently receive is a ‘Titanium Travel Award.’ This is:
An annual coupon for 50% off a Reward Night stay at select properties. It is good for a redemption for 1 room for up to 7 nights at participating properties.
Valid at a curated selection of properties, including Ascend Collection, Cambria, Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Radisson Individuals, Westgate Resorts, Bluegreen, and other premium locations. Good for one Reward Night reservation of one room for up to 7 consecutive nights once a year.
If you have enough Choice points to redeem for a week-long stay at one of the eligible properties, the Titanium Travel Award could provide good value. Otherwise, it’s surprising that Choice gives no other incentive to attain status beyond the Diamond level, especially considering that the number of bonus points you earn on paid stays is 50% regardless of whether you have Diamond or Titanium status.
Nick has written a more in-depth post about the Titanium Travel Award, so check that out here.
Elite nights
If earning elite status through stays, elite nights are earned on paid nights, award nights, and stays booked using Points Plus Cash.
Elite credits
Alternatively, you can earn status by earning elite credits which are different to elite night credits. Elite credits are earned through spend on Choice credit cards, with each redeemable Choice Privileges point earned through spend also earning you one elite credit.
Where this becomes more interesting is the fact that bonus categories on Choice credit cards earn you an equivalent number of elite credits. For example, the Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard Select earns 5x points on groceries and gas. That means you also earn 5x elite credits in those categories. With Gold status earned at 10K credits, you’d only need to spend $2K in those categories on that Choice card to get it.
For people who can generate a lot of spend in bonused categories, that puts Choice status within easy reach.
Elite status match
If you have elite status with another hotel chain you can match that to Choice here.
There are a few important factors to be aware of though. There’s a limit of one Choice status match per member per lifetime, so it’s worth using it wisely. The highest status level that’ll be matched is Platinum, so even if you have top-tier status with another program, you won’t end up with Diamond or Titanium status with Choice.
It’s also worth considering the time of the year when submitting your status match. If you submit for a status match from January to June, your matched status will only be valid through the end of that year. However, if you match from July to December, you’ll gain status that’s valid for the rest of that year and all of the following year. As a result, it’s best to match on July 1 because then you get 18 months of matched status.
Milestone Rewards
In keeping with the trend that kicked off when Hyatt introduced them several years ago, at the start of 2026 Choice launched their own selection of Milestone Rewards.
You start earning Milestone Rewards after staying 10 nights or earning 20,000 credits, with more Milestone Rewards earned every 5 or 10 nights (or every 10K or 20K credits) with no Milestone Rewards earned at the levels where a new status level is achieved.
The different Milestone Rewards options are as follows; you can pick one at each level:
- 10 nights / 20K credits
- 1,500 bonus points
- $5 gift card for select retailers and restaurants
- 20 nights / 40K credits
- 2,500 bonus points
- $10 gift card for select retailers and restaurants
- 25 nights / 50K credits
- 3,000 bonus points
- $10 gift card for select retailers and restaurants
- 30 nights / 60K credits
- 3,500 bonus points
- $10 gift card for select retailers and restaurants
- 40 nights / 80K credits
- 4,500 bonus points
- $20 gift card for select retailers and restaurants
- 45 nights / 90K credits
- 5,000 bonus points
- $20 gift card for select retailers and restaurants
- 50 nights / 100K credits
- 6,500 bonus points
- $20 gift card for select retailers and restaurants
You have six months to select your Milestone Reward after earning it. In a customer-friendly move, your reward doesn’t expire if you fail to make a selection. Instead, Choice automatically awards bonus points by default in the event of a non-selection.
Earning points on stays
Choice awards 10 points per $1 spent on base room rate at most of their hotel brands, although this can differ depending on the brand and your length of stay.
For example, with their extended stay MainStay Suites brand, you earn 10 points per $1 for stays of 1-6 nights, 5 points per $1 for stays of 7-30 nights, and fewer than 5 points per $1 (the exact number varies by hotel) for stays of 31+ nights.
Other ways to earn Choice points
Transfer points to Choice
Choice Privileges is a transfer partner of several transferable points currencies, with Citi and Wells Fargo offering the best transfer ratios:
- Citi ThankYou – 1,000:2,000
- Wells Fargo Rewards – 1:2
- American Express Membership Rewards – 1,000:1,000
- Capital One miles – 1,000:1,000
Credit card spend
Choice has two credit cards – both issued by Wells Fargo – that provide another way to earn points on spend.
Buy points
You can ordinarily buy Choice points for 1.03 cents per point when buying at least 10,000 points. However, Choice frequently offers a discount or bonus when buying points which takes the price down to ~0.7 cents per point (the exact price differs depending on the sale).
Planner Rewards
Choice Privilege Planner Rewards is a feature that allows meeting and group planners to earn 3 points per $1 spent on rooms, meeting rooms, food and beverage, and more.
Book cruises
You can earn 5 points per $1 spent on cruises through Choice Privileges Cruises. There are occasionally promotions that award a higher number of points (e.g. 10 points per $1).
Book rental cars
Choice has a partnership with Avis and Budget which can get you both a discount on the rental and the opportunity to earn bonus Choice points.
Timeshare presentations
A partnership with Bluegreen Vacations sometimes provides the opportunity to pay a discounted rate in return for a short stay and some bonus points in return for also attending a timeshare presentation. For example, see this post for a past offer.
Complete surveys
e-Rewards rewards you for signing up and taking your first survey, then rewards you for other surveys completed in the future. You can choose to take your rewards as miles or points with a number of airline and hotel loyalty programs, with Choice Privileges being one of them.
Redeem points on stays
As mentioned earlier, you can redeem points on stays at Choice properties starting at 6,000 points per night. You can also redeem Points Plus Cash if you don’t have enough points for a full award stay.
Other ways to redeem Choice points
Preferred Hotels & Resorts stays
Via their partnership, you can redeem Choice Privileges points for stays at hundreds of properties in the Preferred Hotels & Resorts portfolio. There’s more about that partnership below.
PENN Gaming hotel stays
Via their partnership with PENN Entertainment, some PENN hotels are bookable with Choice points. There’s more about this partnership below too.
Experiences
Although the Experiences by Choice program doesn’t have the extensive range of experiences that some other hotel programs have, it does have some unique experiences that might be of interest such as college football games, NASCAR races, and more.
Transfer to airline programs
Choice allows you to transfer your points to a range of airline loyalty programs. However, seeing as the transfer ratio in most cases is 5,000:1,000, it represents poor value for your points.
Gift cards
You can redeem 8,000 Choice Privileges points for $25 gift cards for a range of retailers and restaurant brands here. Choice sometimes runs promotions which provide the opportunity to redeem 8,000 points for a $50 gift card, thereby doubling the value you can get through this avenue.
Transfer points to others
Starting in March 2026, Choice will allow members to transfer points to other members. Precise details of this are yet to be provided.
Choice credit cards
Below you’ll find information about each currently available Choice credit card:
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $378 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 60K Points Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler 60K after $1K spend in first 3 monthsNo Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Choice members may be targeted for a higher offer Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Decent bonus for a no-annual fee card, but not a great keeper unless you value the Choice Gold Status Earning rate: 5X at Choice Hotels ✦ 3X at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, and phone plans ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Wells. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Automatic Gold status ✦ Cell phone Protection ($25 deductible, $800 max per claim) |
 ⓘ $234 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 60K Points Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler 60K after $3K spend in first 3 months$95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Choice members may be targeted for a higher offer Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: Worth getting for the welcome offer and keeping for the 30,000 anniversary points. The 5x categories could also be interesting for some. Earning rate: 10X at Choice Hotels ✦ 5X at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, and phone plans ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Wells. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Automatic Platinum status ✦ 30,000 bonus points each card anniversary ✦ Cell phone Protection ($25 deductible, $800 max per claim) |
Preferred Hotels partnership
For several years, it’s been possible to book stays at hundreds of Preferred Hotels & Resorts locations using Choice Privileges points. Initially it could only be done by calling in, but the process became considerably easier in 2023 when they became bookable online. The landing page for that can be found here.
We’ve since covered the partnership a number of times, so it’s worth checking out the following posts for more details:
- Guide to booking Preferred Hotels with points
- Find Preferred Hotels bookable with points (updated interactive map)
- How To Book Preferred Hotels with Points (video)
- My experience cancelling a Preferred Hotel booked with Choice points
- Preferred Problems (issues booking Preferred Hotels with points)
PENN Entertainment partnership
In 2021, Choice launched a partnership with PENN Entertainment. It’s now possible to both earn and redeem points on stays at 20+ PENN Gaming Hotels around the country.
In addition to that, Choice and PENN have a reciprocal status match opportunity. If you have Choice status, here’s how it’ll match to PENN Gaming:
- Choice Privileges Gold = PENN Play Advantage
- Choice Privileges Platinum = PENN Play Advantage
- Choice Privileges Diamond = PENN Play Preferred
- Choice Privileges Titanium = PENN Play Preferred
Status matching in the other direction works a little differently. If you have PENN status, you can match to Choice on the following basis:
- PENN Play Advantage = Choice Privileges Gold Elite Status
- PENN Play Preferred = Choice Privileges Platinum Elite Status
- PENN Play Elite = Choice Privileges Diamond Elite Status
- PENN Play Owners Club = Choice Privileges Diamond Elite Status
Choice Privileges pros & cons
Pros (where Choice is better than average):
- More than 7,500 properties worldwide
- Ability to earn top-tier status through credit card spend
- Ability to book suites and other premium room types with points at many properties
- Partnership with Preferred Hotels, enabling you to book luxury properties
- Points don’t expire for elite members
- Some transfer partners transfer on a 1:2 basis
Cons (where Choice is worse than average):
- Fewer aspirational properties than ideal (although the Preferred Hotels partnership does help with that)
- Elite status doesn’t have many meaningful benefits (no guaranteed suite upgrades, no guaranteed late checkout, etc.)
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Do you have any favorite properties with choice properties or their partners?
I’d ask you to put some more thought into earning status through co-branded credit card spend. Suggests spending $2k to get gold status but the cards come with enough elite nights to qualify for gold (no fee card) or platinum ($95 card). The con is that it doesn’t help you get to the next higher status unless qualifying on nights. With or without the cards, you still need 70k EQC for platinum and for diamond, 110k EQC. I’d be more excited if the card gave elite nights and EQC.
Otherwise I like the review and thank you.