Choice Privileges hotel loyalty program (abbreviated as CP in this article) is a relatively under-the-radar program, but its hotels are anything but obscure. If you live in North America, you have probably seen many of these brands before:

From left to right: Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria Hotels & Suites, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality Inn, Clarion Hotel, Mainstay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, and Rodeway Inn. In the U.S., it almost feels like “wherever there is a hotel, there is a Choice hotel” Choice, please send over the advertising fee.

If you think CP points can only be used for those classic roadside motel-style properties, think again. CP points can also be redeemed for more upscale Preferred Hotels. For details, see Redeeming CP points for Preferred Hotels.

Signing Up for CP Membership

Here is our CP membership referral sign-up link. If you register for CP through this link and complete one stay at a Choice property, both you and we will receive an extra 500 CP points. (Without the referral link, you will not get these 500 points.) Thank you for supporting US Credit Card 101.

Main Ways to Earn CP Points

  • Hotel stays: At participating hotels, you earn the following points per $1 spent: basic member 10 points, Gold 11 points, Platinum 12.5 points, and Diamond 15 points. On top of that, if you stay on weekdays (Sunday through Thursday), you can also receive Your Extra, where you can choose one of the following: 500 CP points, 100 airline miles, $0.20 Fuel Rewards (for related information, see ymlulu’s introduction to Fuel Rewards), $2.5 Amazon Credit, $5 coffee card, or a $2.5 Uber discount.
  • AMEX Membership Rewards points: the transfer ratio is 1000:1000. Since MR points are generally worth more when transferred to airline miles, OneMoreDay does not recommend using MR points this way unless you are just trying to extend the life of your CP points.
  • Barclaycard’s Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card: no annual fee. There is currently a limited-time 40,000-point welcome bonus (ending 5/31), after spending $1,000 within 90 days of account opening. You earn 5X points on purchases at Choice hotels or on Choice gift cards, and 2X points on all other purchases. Spend $10,000 in a year and you will receive 8,000 bonus points. Cardholders are automatically upgraded to Gold status.
  • Buying points through Daily Getaways: This year at noon on 4/28, Daily Getaways will be selling CP points for as low as 0.4 cents per point. If converted to AS miles, that is effectively like buying AS miles for 2 cents each, which is even better than the 40% bonus point-purchase promotion. For details, see Converting CP points to airline miles. If you think you may need this, go ahead and register an account.

CP points expire similarly to miles in most North American frequent flyer programs: they expire after 18 months with no activity. However, any account activity will automatically extend expiration by another 18 months. If you are worried about expiration, you can transfer 1000 MR points to CP shortly before the points expire to reset the clock.

CP Elite Status

One thing that makes Choice redemptions different from other hotel programs is that there is a booking window restriction. Specifically (and award stays count toward elite qualification nights):

  • Basic members: can only redeem hotels in their country of residence within 30 days, and foreign hotels within 60 days.
  • Gold members (10 nights per year): can only redeem hotels in their country of residence within 50 days, and foreign hotels within 60 days.
  • Platinum members (25 nights per year): can only redeem hotels within 75 days.
  • Diamond members (40 nights per year): can only redeem hotels within 100 days.

For example, if you are a basic member with a U.S. address and want to redeem for a Choice hotel or Preferred Hotels property in the U.S. for a stay on 5/30, then you would have to wait until 5/1 to book it. On that same day, however, you could also book non-U.S. hotels for stays through 6/29.

If you really want to book hotel stays earlier but do not have CP elite status, no worries: they offer a status match, making it fairly easy to get higher status with the program. The detailed rules are here: CP Status Match. Here is how it works:

  • You need to send the relevant information to [email protected], including your name, your CP membership number, and a screenshot of your elite status page with another hotel program (be sure the expiration date is visible). You should receive a response in 7-9 business days.
  • If you submit a Status Match request between January and June of this year, the matched elite status will be valid through the end of this year. If you submit it between July and December, the matched elite status will be valid through the end of next year. So OneMoreDay recommends doing the Status Match in the second half of the year.
  • The highest status you can match to is Platinum. Generally speaking, HH Gold, Marriott Gold, and IHG Platinum can all be matched to CP Platinum.
  • Each CP membership number only gets one Status Match opportunity. If you have matched before, you cannot do it again later.

Redeeming CP Points for Choice Hotels

If luxury accommodations and highly attentive service are not your top priorities when traveling, CP points can be one of your best friends. According to TPG’s valuation, Choice points are worth about 0.6 cents each, but if used well, you can get far more value than that. For example, in May, the Comfort Inn Midtown West in Midtown West Manhattan has a cash rate of $231 before tax, while an award stay costs only 20,000 points (roughly a cost basis of $80):

On Manhattan’s East Side, near the Empire State Building, the Clarion Hotel Park Avenue has a cash rate of $183 before tax, while an award stay costs only 16,000 points (roughly a cost basis of $64):

Redeeming for hotels in Europe can also be an excellent value, especially in the Nordic countries, which we will discuss in more detail later. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Choice hotels do not have a fixed award chart. The number of points required fluctuates with the cash price, with awards starting at just 6,000 points and going up to 35,000 points in most regions (up to 75,000 points in Oceania).
  • When redeeming for Choice hotels, you can also use Cash + Points. It starts at 6,000 points + $35-$180 in cash. Compared with booking entirely with points, this is not always a good deal (such as the two examples above).
  • Keep in mind the redemption booking window limits for each elite status tier discussed above.
  • Choice redemptions may also have Flex Rewards, which means discounted award pricing may be available for either weekday stays (Sunday through Thursday) or weekend stays (Friday and Saturday), depending on the positioning of the specific hotel.

Redeeming CP points for Preferred Hotels

Preferred Hotels & Resorts is a hotel group headquartered in Chicago, with more than 650 hotels and resorts. Its properties are much more upscale than Choice’s own hotels. They share the same points system with Choice Hotels. For the detailed rules, see the official website.

  • Preferred Hotels awards cannot be booked online. You must first check availability on the official website, then call customer service to complete the booking. The US phone number is 888-770-6800.
  • Because these properties are positioned at the higher end, they require more points. There are four award tiers: 25,000 points, 35,000 points, 45,000 points, and 55,000 points. Most good hotels in the US are basically at the top 55,000-point level.
  • Keep in mind the redemption booking window limits for each elite status tier discussed above.
  • You can also book with Cash + Points. The redemption chart is as follows:

Transferring CP points to airline miles

If the hotel options above are not really your style, then transferring CP points to airline miles can also be a good use. Below are the transfer ratios from CP points to major airline mileage programs:

  • 5,000 CP points transfer to 1,000 miles for: AS miles (highly recommended!), UA miles, AA miles, AC miles (the three above can be a decent option if you only need a small mileage top-off), Spirit miles, Czech Airlines OK miles, airberlin miles, and AeroMexico miles. If you bought Choice points through Daily Getaways at 0.4c each, that works out to a cost of 2c per mile for these programs.
  • 6,000 CP points can be transferred to 1,800 Southwest (WN) miles. Unfortunately, hotel points transferred to WN miles can no longer be used to earn the Companion Pass.
  • In addition, you can transfer at 32,000 : 5,000 to Amtrak points, 20,000: 50 to Air New Zealand points, and 20,000: 3,000 to Qantas miles or Virgin Australia miles.
  • The following transfers can be completed online: AS miles, AeroMexico miles, Amtrak points, airberlin miles, UA miles, and Qantas miles. For other partners, you need to call customer service to complete the transfer.

Redeeming CP points for gift cards

The ratio is 16,000 CP points for a $50 gift card. Common options include Amazon, Banana Republic, Best Buy, Nike, Shell, Target, and Walmart. This is generally not a good value.