Like many of its bricks & mortar counterparts, the Choice Privileges Mall has closed down.
If you’re not familiar with the Choice Privileges Mall, it was a shopping portal that allowed you to earn bonus points in the Choice Hotels loyalty program. I’m not sure exactly when it closed down; the Wayback Machine shows it as being alive on September 15, so it’s been at some point in the last three months that Choice shut it down.
To be honest, this isn’t a huge loss. The portal never had the most generous of rates and didn’t run promotions offering bonus points like many of the airline shopping portals. Even on the rare occasions that it did offer high rates for any given retailer, the lower value of its points compared to cashback and airline programs meant that it was usually worth using a different portal.
The biggest loss is its card-linked offer program. While most shopping portals operate online-only, there are some that offer rewards when paying with a linked card at select retailers in-store and, occasionally, online. The Choice Privileges Mall has one of a handful of portals with a card-linked feature operated by Collinson, so it’s a shame that’s no longer an option. Still, there are still Collinson-back options for JetBlue, Emirates and Caesars, so there are alternatives.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
I beg to differ with your assessment. I used it extensively when making purchases for my business. It was a fast and easy way to rack up huge hotel points. As a result, I rarely paid for a hotel room over a 15 year period of time.
Not a big loss, but it was a easy way to keep expiring Choice Privileges points alive. I’d usually make a small purchase through the portal about 3 months from expiration. I still have the option of using AMEX Membership Rewards to keep my points alive.
I did this too but then i realized booking and cancelling a points reservation reset the clock too! You’re welcome!
You’re the man Jake! Thanks for the tip.
Hey Jake, would you happen to have example properties?
We tried doing this a few weeks ago but of the half dozen properties we tried (when buying points) their cancellation policies were so generous (COVID-19?) that are credit card was refunded instead of the points added to our account.
EDIT: We just reread your comment and noticed you said ‘a points reservation’…interesting, we’re off to try it!
TY!
I believe it shut down on November 1.
It’s a bit frustrating that they just zapped the entire site from the internet without any message or access to pending/past transactions. I can confirm, though, that I’ve seen pending points continue to post.
To me, the biggest loss is that it removes the easiest way to keep Choice points from expiring (18 months).
Use Choice eat and earn every few months.
Book and cancel an award reservation. You’re welcome!