(EXPIRED) Choice Hotels Fall 2018 Promotion: Stay Twice, Get Up To 8,000 Bonus Points

Choice Hotels has launched their fall 2018 promotion and it’s similar to their previous promotions this year. When staying twice between September 12 and November 9, you’ll earn between 5,000-8,000 bonus points.

The Deal

• Stay twice at Choice Hotels properties and earn between 5,000-8,000 bonus points.
• Registration required – direct link.

Key Terms

• Registration required before check-out.
• Promotion is only available to members of the Choice Privileges Rewards Program who make two separate qualifying stays with arrival between 09/12/2018 and 11/09/2018.
• Only bookings made at qualifying rates and at participating hotels are eligible. A “qualifying stay” is a stay at a participating hotel that is eligible to earn Choice Privileges points. Most stays are eligible to earn Choice Privileges points EXCEPT: rooms booked below certain rates, reward night stays, complimentary rooms, rooms paid for as part of a convention or meeting, rooms booked through a travel agent or third party online retailer including online travel agencies, wholesale packages, group tours, and stays booked using the employee discount or the friends, family and associate discount.
• After the second qualifying stay, registered members will be awarded a minimum of 5,000 and maximum of 8,000 bonus points. The number of bonus points awarded will depend on the number of base points earned from the two (2) separate qualifying stays, which vary by hotel. The total base points plus bonus points awarded will be at least 8,000 points.
• A stay is defined as any number of consecutive nights at one hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs.
• Members must book stays via ChoiceHotels.com, ChoiceHotels.ca, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE at qualifying rates. Corporate travelers may book through their online booking tool, GDS, or with a travel agent.
• Choice Privileges member number must be provided upon check-in at both qualifying stays.
• Stays at vacation rental property locations do not qualify for this promotion.
• To be eligible to earn bonus points, members must set their earning preference to Choice Privileges points in their online account. Any change made to earning preference in members’ online accounts will remain in effect after the promotion has ended.
• Allow 72 hours from check-out for points to post.
• Requests for bonus points made by members who did not register for the promotion will only be considered up to 60 days after the promotion ends; requests thereafter will be denied.
• You must maintain an address in the U.S. (including U.S. territories) or Canada to be eligible for this promotion.

Quick Thoughts

Choice Hotels markets this promotion as a way to get a free night, but it doesn’t work in the way that you might think. You don’t earn a free night certificate; instead, your Choice Privileges account will be topped up with enough bonus points that can either be redeemed for a free night at one of their lowest category hotels or put towards a free night at a higher category property.

The number of bonus points varies depending on how many base points you earn for your stays. The terms state that you can earn up to 8,000 bonus points, but I can’t think of a scenario where it’d be possible to earn that many points.

For example, let’s say you booked two separate stays that each cost $75 per night before tax. You’d earn 1,500 Choice Privileges points as you earn 10 points per dollar. This promotion would mean you’d then earn 6,500 bonus points to reach the 8,000 point threshold. To earn 8,000 bonus points, both stays would need to cost $0 but that’s not allowed according to the terms.

Free nights in the Choice Privileges program start from 6,000 points per night, with 8,000 points being their category 2 level. Some of their category 1 and 2 properties aren’t places you’d want to stay, but some of those hotels are decent enough and so 8,000 points can be great value for a quick overnight stay somewhere.

For example, we drove from Mansfield OH to Montpelier VT in May and needed somewhere to stay overnight. We’re traveling with our dog, so didn’t want somewhere with an expensive pet fee. We ended up booking the Econo Lodge Arena in Wilkes-Barre PA as it cost 8,000 points for that night and they only had a $15 pet fee. It was our first time staying at an Econo Lodge and were pleasantly surprised by how clean and comfortable our room was. A paid night would’ve cost $91.87, so we got 1.15cpp of value by using points.

There’s definitely value to be had from the Choice Privileges program, so this promotion could be worth considering, especially if you need a couple of one night stays somewhere during the promotion period.

That said, most other chains are currently running promotions which could potentially be more rewarding. It’d therefore be worth checking out our list of current hotel promotions in case any of those would offer a better return.

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