- A 50-week booking window
- The ability to redeem points for premium room types
- The reintroduction of RewardSaver, a popular Radisson Hotels Americas redemption tool
Over the last few weeks, travelers may have noticed some changes when searching for Choice Privileges award stays. This wasn't a surprise, though, as Choice Privileges said it would roll out some of the changes to a small set of properties before the end of 2024.
However, on Thursday evening, Choice officially emailed its members a message titled "Discover the New Benefits of Your Reward Nights" to announce its Choice Privileges program updates. Now that all the updates are live, here's my take on what the Choice Privileges changes are like in practice.
50-week booking window
One of the Choice Privileges program's biggest limitations has historically been its 100-day award booking window. But now, you can book award stays at Choice Privileges properties up to 50 weeks before your stay.
Best of all, most Choice Privileges award night bookings are still freely cancellable until shortly before your stay.
Related: The ultimate guide to redeeming Choice points
New look, similar award pricing
Until recently, Choice Privileges published redemption rates on the homepage for each property. These redemption rates often differed on Friday and Saturday nights and would usually shift every few months.
However, you'll no longer see published award rates on each property's page. Instead, now you can see the points cost for every night by going to an individual property's page, selecting "Reward Points" as the rate and clicking on the check-in date box.
As you can see in the above screenshot, weeknights and some weekend nights at this property cost 35,000 points, while some weekend nights cost 45,000 points.
The email Choice sent its members on Thursday noted, "Choice may change reward levels at any time without notice; redemption levels typically vary per location and time of year." So, while the rates in the calendar could change at any time, it's unlikely Choice will change to fully dynamic award pricing. Instead, I expect Choice will stick to its current practice of using specific redemption levels across set date ranges based on the day of the week.
Related: Unique ways to redeem Choice Privileges points
8,000 points per night across Japan
Interestingly, every Choice Privileges property in Tokyo is currently bookable for 8,000 points per night.
Japan is one of my favorite places to redeem Choice points — I'm writing this article from one of the Comfort Hotel properties in Tokyo — so I know that several properties in the city previously cost 16,000 and 20,000 points per night instead of 8,000 points per night.
It's usually pointless to compare current award rates to previous rates since Choice Privileges award rates have historically shifted every few months. However, the Tokyo properties are worth noting since they have remained at the same award rate for years.
Interestingly, I've yet to find a Choice Privileges property in Japan that isn't priced at 8,000 points per night. However, the Ascend Collection property in Takayama, Japan, suspiciously only has award availability on Sunday nights.
Related: How to earn Choice Privileges points — from hotel stays to credit card rewards
Redeem Choice points for premium room types
For years, it's been possible to book premium room types at some Choice Privileges properties for the same number of points as a standard room. Even with the recent changes, you can often still book elevated room types for the same number of points as a standard room. For example, look at all the room types you can book for 20,000 points per night at Bluegreen Vacations Fountains, Ascend Resort Collection.
Related: How and why to book Bluegreen Vacations resorts through Choice Hotels
At some properties, certain premium room types will cost you more points. However, from what I've found in my searches, the rates for the premium room types are reasonable. For example, you could redeem 20,000 points per night for several standard room types at the Radisson Panama City Beach - Oceanfront or 26,000 points per night for a two-bedroom ocean-view suite that sleeps up to nine guests.
Related: How and why to register for Choice Hotels Personalized Weeknight Benefits
RewardSaver rates
Finally, Choice also reintroduced RewardSaver rates. These rates aren't difficult to find and seem to offer an actual discount on award pricing. For example, 16 of the 56 hotels on the results page for a sample August stay in Nashville offered RewardSaver pricing.
And yes, RewardSaver rates can bring the per-night cost down to as low as 6,000 points. It took some searching, but I found some RewardSaver nights bookable for 6,000 points in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Related: How to earn points with the Choice Privileges Eat & Earn dining rewards program
Bottom line
I'm excited that the Choice Privileges award booking changes are live. Sure, award rates will fluctuate over time — as they did before — but there's so much value to be found, especially now that you can book more room types with points and secure award stays up to 50 weeks in advance.
Families and groups may find Bluegreen Vacations stays excellent. Meanwhile, we can all enjoy booking premium room types — some of which offer more space, better views or the ability to sleep more guests — for little to no extra points compared to a standard room at many properties.
However, checking paid rates before redeeming Choice points is still important. Although you can get a terrific redemption rate on some award bookings, you may want to save your points for other stays when the points rate is high and the cash rate is low.
