(EXPIRED) Double points w/ Choice Hotels

Choice Privileges is offering a new promotion: earn double base points on stays from December 4, 2018 to February 15, 2019. You can earn up to 30,000 bonus points through this promotion. Keep in mind that you’ll need to be paying a room rate of $40 per night or more to earn points and stays in a handful of countries are excluded — read on for more.

The Deal

• Earn double base points with Choice Privileges from December 4, 2018 to February 15, 2019
• Direct link to register for this promotion

Key Terms

• Must register prior to first check out
• Promotion is only available to members of the Choice Privileges® Rewards Program who make qualifying stays with arrival between 12/04/2018 and 02/15/2019.
• A stay is defined as any number of consecutive nights at one hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs. 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 at rates below $40 USD per night, certain hotel initiated promotions, 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 every qualifying stay, registered members will be awarded double Choice Privileges points, up to 30,000 bonus points, during the promotion period.
• “Double points” means two times the base points earned from a qualifying stay, which varies by hotel.
• Members may earn no more than 30,000 total bonus points during the promotion period. If a member reaches 30,000 bonus points during the promotion period, the member may continue to earn base points on subsequent qualifying stays, but not bonus points.
• 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.
• Choice Hotels properties in the following countries are excluded from this promotion: Japan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Guyana, and Ecuador.
• To be eligible to earn bonus points, members must set their earning preference to Choice Privileges points in their online account.
• 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

It’s always worth registering for this type of promotion, even if you don’t have stays planned during the promotional period. You never know when an unexpected trip may come up or a weather delay leaves you somewhere overnight, so it’s worth registering in case. If you received the email from Choice, it’s 1-click registration (no need to enter your details), otherwise click the link under “The Deal” to register.

As a reminder, you generally earn 10 points per dollar for most Choice hotel stays. Here are the terms on earning base points:

You earn 10 points for each whole U.S. dollar that you pay in full in room revenue when paying qualifying rates, excluding taxes, restaurant or other incidental charges at hotels in the U.S., Canada, Europe (excluding Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden), the Middle East, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (excluding Guyana and Ecuador). In the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan), you earn 10 points for each whole U.S. dollar on all eligible charges. Eligible charges in the Asia-Pacific region include: accommodation, tax, restaurant, bar charges, laundry and phone calls. All rooms must be in your name and include your member number. You must complete the stay in the room that you booked for the entire duration of your reservation. No shows will not be able to earn points on a stay. You only receive any applicable bonus points on one room. Members only earn Elite status on one room per stay. Vacation rental properties are excluded. See https://www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/rules-regulations for details on earning points for vacation rental stays

Through this promotion, you’d earn up to twenty base points per dollar. While you can earn points for up to four rooms on a single night (provided you’re staying in one of the rooms), terms of the program indicate that you’re only eligible for bonus points on one room.

Still, 20 Choice Privileges points per dollar is a pretty good return. According to our Reasonable Redemption Values, Choice points are worth around 0.81 cents each. Earning 20 points per dollar is worth somewhere around a 16.2% return. Of course, that depends on how you use the points — you can certainly get more or less value.

Keep in mind two key exclusions in the key terms: First, you must pay a room rate of more than $40 per night to be eligible to earn points. Second, hotels in the following countries are excluded: Japan, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Guyana, and Ecuador. The good news is that hotels in Scandinavia generally represent the best use of Choice points, so you’re better off using your points there than paying for a room anyway.

Overall, this looks like a decent little promo for Choice fans. Just don’t forget to register.

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