Choice Privileges guide: How to earn and redeem points, elite status and more

Choice Privileges is the rewards program for Choice Hotels, which includes brands such as Cambria Hotels, Comfort Inn, Sleep Inn and Econo Lodge. Since Choice Privileges fully integrated Radisson Rewards Americas in 2023, it also includes brands like Radisson, Radisson Blu and Park Plaza in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Despite some recent devaluations — including the removal of the 35,000-point cap on award night prices for Choice Hotels properties and an increase in Preferred Hotels & Resorts award rates — it’s still possible to get significant value from the Choice Privileges program. Let’s dive in.

Related: Best hotel rewards programs in the world: Which one is right for you?

• 10 points per dollar spent at most Choice Hotels properties
• Member rates and promotions
• Personalized Weeknight Benefits (also known as Your Extras) on stays that include a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night

Beyond that, you’ll find three Choice Privileges elite status tiers: Gold, Platinum and Diamond.

Choice Privileges Gold

You’ll earn Gold status after completing 10 qualifying nights in a calendar year. Only reward nights and nights that earn Choice points count toward elite status, and some stays at extended-stay brands earn fewer qualifying nights.

However, one easy way to snag Gold status is to have the no-annual-fee Choice Privileges® Mastercard® (see rates and fees), which offers cardmembers 10 elite night credits each calendar year.

On top of the benefits available to basic members, Gold members also get the following perks:

• 10% bonus points on all qualifying stays
• Welcome gift (bonus points or beverage and snack) at participating hotels
• Early check-in and late checkout when available
• Room upgrades at Cambria and Ascend Hotel Collection brands worldwide and Radisson, Radisson Blu, Radisson Red, Radisson Collection, Radisson Individuals and Park Plaza brands in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean
• Elite reserved parking, when available, at participating hotels in the U.S. and Canada
• Up to nine elite rollover nights per calendar year
• Elite customer hotline
• Status match to Penn Play Advantage at more than 20 casino hotels nationwide

Choice Privileges Platinum

You’ll reach Platinum status after 20 qualifying nights in a calendar year. One easy way to maintain Platinum status is by having the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® ($95 annual fee; see rates and fees), which gives cardholders 20 elite night credits each calendar year.

Platinum members get all the perks of Gold status as well as:

• 25% bonus points on all qualifying stays
• Up to 19 elite rollover nights per calendar year

Choice Privileges Diamond

You’ll earn Choice Privileges Diamond status after 40 qualifying nights in a calendar year. Of course, if you have the Choice Privileges Mastercard or Choice Privileges Select Mastercard, you’ll get elite night credits each calendar year as a cardholder perk. That means you won’t need to stay as many nights to secure Diamond status.

In addition to the above Platinum benefits, Diamond members get the following perks:

• 50% bonus points on all qualifying stays
• Complimentary breakfast for you and one registered guest at participating hotel restaurants during stays at Radisson, Radisson Red, Radisson Blu, Radisson Collection, Radisson Individuals and Park Plaza properties in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean
• Guaranteed room availability when you call at least 48 hours before your stay at participating Ascend and Cambria hotels worldwide and Radisson, Radisson Red, Radisson Blu, Radisson Collection, Radisson Individuals and Park Plaza hotels in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean
• Up to 39 elite rollover nights per calendar year
• Status match to Penn Play Preferred

Related: The best hotel elite status tiers and how to earn them in 2025

Here’s a quick overview of the many ways to earn Choice Privileges points.

Hotel stays

Basic members earn 10 points per dollar spent on their room rate (excluding taxes and incidental charges) at most participating Choice hotels; you can see which brands and destinations are excluded in Choice’s rules and regulations. Elite members earn 10% to 50% bonus points based on their status tier.

To earn Choice Privileges points, you must book directly with Choice Hotels through one of the following channels: the toll-free express reservation line, the Choice Hotels website or mobile app, or directly with the hotel (except for Ascend Hotel Collection all-inclusive resorts and casino locations).

However, even when booked directly, some stays won’t be eligible to earn points. These include stays with room rates below $40 per night, certain hotel-initiated promotions, reward night stays and Points Plus Cash reservations. See the rules and regulations for more details.

Credit card spending

If you frequently stay at Choice properties, you may want to get a cobranded Choice Privileges credit card. You can earn Choice points with the cobranded cards as follows:

• Choice Privileges Mastercard (no annual fee; see rates and fees): 5 points per dollar spent on stays at participating Choice Hotels properties and on Choice Privileges point purchases; 3 points per dollar spent on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and phone plan services; and 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases
• Choice Privileges Select Mastercard ($95 annual fee, see rates and fees): 10 points per dollar spent on stays at participating Choice Hotels properties and on Choice Privileges point purchases; 5 points per dollar spent on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and phone plan services; and 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases

Related: Best hotel credit cards

Transfer points from other programs

Several programs with transferable currencies partner with Choice Privileges, allowing you to easily get more Choice points even if you don’t frequent Choice properties:

Buy Choice points

Buying Choice points is another way to boost your Choice Privileges balance. The cost per point varies depending on how many points you purchase, but you’ll typically pay between 1 and 1.3 cents per point — not a great deal compared to our March 2025 valuation of 0.6 cents per Choice point. However, sometimes you can pay much less if Choice is offering a discount or bonus promotion on buying points.

Earn with partners

Choice Privileges partners with various programs to let members earn additional points on other activities. These include:

Earn when planning events

You can earn Choice Privileges points when you host events at eligible Choice hotels. When you associate your Choice Privileges member number with your group’s reservation, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent (up to 150,000 points) on meeting space, guest rooms, and food and beverage charges.

Now that you know how to earn Choice Privileges points, let’s consider the different ways you can redeem Choice points. You’ll usually get the most value when you use Choice points for hotel stays, but there are other options.

Redeem for free nights

Choice Privileges has no set award chart and doesn’t sort properties into categories. Although Choice no longer caps award nights at 35,000 points, most award nights still cost between 8,000 and 35,000 points.

Choice recently extended the booking window for reward nights (among other changes to Choice Privileges in 2025), meaning you can now book with points up to 50 weeks in advance. Since you can book premium rooms at some properties for the same number of points as standard rooms, you’ll want to snag these soon after the booking window opens.

You can book Points Plus Cash rates at some Choice Hotels if you see the option when you search for a reward night. You won’t earn points on the cash portion, as you’re effectively buying points with the cash copay. As such, ensure you’re buying points at a low enough rate to make doing so worthwhile. You’ll be refunded entirely in points if you cancel a Points Plus Cash booking, and you can buy up to 250,000 points per calendar year through these bookings.

You can also redeem Choice points for stays at participating Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Westgate Resorts, Bluegreen Vacations rentals and Penn casino hotels and resorts. For instance, award nights at Preferred properties start at 25,000 Choice points.

Redeem for special experiences

Choice Privileges Experiences lets you bid Choice points on exclusive tickets to concerts and sporting events, including college sports experiences and NASCAR tickets with special access. The tickets up for auction change frequently, but you can see what’s currently available on Choice’s Experiences website.

Related: The most exclusive travel experiences you can book with points and miles

Redeem for gift cards

You can redeem Choice Privileges points for physical or electronic gift cards to a limited number of retailers such as Home Depot, Hulu, Kohl’s and Applebee’s. In most cases, you can redeem 8,000 points for a $25 gift card, 16,000 points for a $50 gift card or 32,000 points for a $100 gift card. This yields only 0.31 cents per point, so we recommend using other redemption options that provide more value.

Donate your points

You also have the option to donate your Choice Privileges points to a handful of charities, including American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Operation Homefront. Most of these allow you to redeem $5 for every 1,000 Choice points, or you can double your donation with $10 for every 1,000 points at Polaris. This gives you a solid redemption value of 0.5 to 1 cent per point.

Related: How you can donate your points and miles to charity

Exchange your points for miles

If you’d rather have airline miles than hotel points, you can transfer your Choice points to the following loyalty programs online:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Aeromexico Rewards
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan
• British Airways Executive Club
• Iberia Plus
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Saudia AlFursan
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• United MileagePlus
• Velocity Frequent Flyer

You can also transfer Choice points to Spirit Airlines Free Spirit by calling Choice Privileges customer service; this transfer may take two to six weeks.

Transfer ratios vary by program, but none of them are great. For most of the above airlines, 5,000 Choice points will give you only 1,000 airline miles. We think you’re better off keeping your Choice points and redeeming them for hotel stays, but this option could make sense if you don’t frequent Choice Hotels and are short a few miles for your next airline redemption.

Related: Should you transfer hotel points to airline partners?

Redeem for cruise credit

Finally, you can redeem Choice Privileges points toward a sailing through Choice Privileges Cruises. According to the terms and conditions, you must book by phone to redeem points this way.

You can redeem 85,000 points for a $250 credit toward your cruise or 160,000 points for a $500 credit. This provides a redemption value of 0.29 or 0.31 cents per point, so it’s not the best way to maximize your Choice points.

The Choice Privileges program frequently offers promotions to help you save money or earn bonus points. For instance, you can currently earn double points on participating stays through April 7, or earn a $200 gift card or 40,000 Choice points (worth $240 by our valuations) on a three-night Bluegreen Vacations stay.

Related: Quick Points: Earn bonus points by registering for hotel promotions

Sweet spot redemptions

There are plenty of opportunities to get outsize value from Choice Privileges points. For example, in Europe and Japan, you can often book properties for 20,000 or fewer points per night.

Choice points can also provide good value in the U.S. For instance, here are some properties near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where you can book a weekend night for 15,000 or fewer points.

Lowest Price Guarantee

Choice’s Lowest Price Guarantee applies when you book directly with Choice and then find a lower publicly available price within 24 hours of booking. You must have booked at least 48 hours before a 6 a.m. arrival on the first day booked, and you must complete the claim form within 24 hours of booking.

Within 48 hours of your claim, a Choice Hotels representative will contact you. If your claim is approved, Choice will not only honor the lower rate for your stay but also give you a $50 reward card after your stay if you’re a U.S. or Canadian resident. (If you’re an international resident, you’ll receive the first night free.)

Status match to Choice Diamond

If you have elite status with another hotel loyalty program, you can take advantage of Choice’s status match program for tiers up to Choice Platinum. Or you can use Choice’s Cambria Diamond Elite Status Jump to get top-tier Diamond status after one qualifying stay at a Cambria Hotel. Since Choice status matches are once per lifetime, we recommend opting for the latter.

To request Diamond status after your stay, email Status_Match@choicehotels.com with the following information:

• Your full name and Choice Privileges number
• Proof of elite status with another major hotel loyalty program
• A copy or screenshot of a folio/receipt from a points-eligible Cambria stay in the last 12 months

If your request is approved, you’ll gain Diamond status for the rest of the year if your Cambria stay or your request was between January and June. You’ll get Diamond status through the end of next year if your Cambria stay and request are between July and December.

Related: How to keep your airline, hotel and rental car points and miles from expiring

As is often the case with points and miles, the high-value redemptions you can get with Choice points have dwindled over the years. Still, we love redeeming as few as 8,000 points per night to stay in many Choice Hotels properties, and even a 35,000-point award night redemption can make sense in otherwise expensive destinations. Plus, you can get even more value from the program with a Choice credit card.

However, Choice Privileges elite status provides relatively few benefits. If elite status is important to you, you may want to consider a different hotel loyalty program.