Choice Privileges guide: Earn and redeem points

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.

The program announced some positive changes in late 2025, including lower requirements for existing elite status tiers, a new top-tier Choice Privileges status and the introduction of milestone rewards. But it's not all good news, as the program significantly devalued its award options in major Japanese cities in mid-2026. Even so, it’s still possible to get good value from the Choice Privileges program. Let's dive in.

Choice Privileges elite status

You can qualify for Choice Privileges elite status and milestone rewards through qualifying nights or qualifying credits.

Qualifying nights are generally your points-eligible nights, reward nights (including points and cash rates) and nights booked under employee or friends and family rate plans. Meanwhile, qualifying credits consist primarily of base points earned from stays and points earned through qualifying spending on a linked U.S.-issued Choice Privileges credit card.

However, Choice treats extended stay properties differently. Stays at WoodSpring Suites don't earn qualifying nights or qualifying credits, while qualifying stays at Everhome Suites, MainStay Suites and Suburban Studios earn qualifying nights and qualifying credits as follows:

Stays of six nights or less: one qualifying night per night completed and 10 qualifying credits per dollar spent
Stays of seven nights or more: one qualifying night per two nights completed (capped at 15 qualifying nights per stay) and five qualifying credits per dollar spent on the first 30 nights of a stay (no qualifying credits for nights 31 and onward)

Cambria Hotel Copper Mountain in Colorado. CHOICE HOTELS

Once you qualify for a specific Choice Privileges tier higher than Member, you'll keep that status through the end of the next calendar year.

You must requalify for your status each calendar year to keep it. However, if you don't requalify, Choice Privileges has a soft-landing policy. With this policy, you'll automatically get the status one tier lower than the previous year if you don't requalify for your status. This applies even if you soft-land into your current status, meaning you'll slowly move down the Choice elite status tiers until you reach the Member tier if you fail to requalify for several years in a row.

Now, let's look at the Choice Privileges tiers, as well as the milestone rewards you can earn along the way.

Choice Privileges Member

When you sign up for a Choice Privileges membership, you’ll automatically get Member status and the following benefits:

10 base points per dollar spent at most Choice Hotels properties
1,000 bonus points after your second qualifying stay and another 1,000 bonus points after your third qualifying stay each calendar year

Choice Privileges Gold

You’ll earn Gold status after completing five qualifying nights or earning 10,000 qualifying credits in a calendar year. However, one easy way to snag Gold status is to have the no-annual-fee Choice Privileges® Mastercard®, which gives cardholders 10 elite qualifying nights each calendar year.

Gold members enjoy the following perks on top of those offered to all members:

10% bonus points on all qualifying stays
A welcome gift (bonus points, a beverage or a snack) at participating hotels
Early check-in and late checkout (only where available)
Room upgrades at Cambria and Ascend Collection brands worldwide and at Radisson, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson Collection, Radisson Individuals and Park Plaza brands in North America, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean (determined by each hotel at check-in and subject to availability; hotels are not required to upgrade rooms to any specific type)
Elite reserved parking (when available) at participating hotels in the U.S. and Canada
Access to an elite customer hotline
A status match to Penn Play Advantage at more than 20 casino hotels nationwide

Additionally, points don't expire as long as you remain an elite member.

Choice Privileges also lets active-duty military members, veterans and military spouses enjoy Gold status upon request. Choice Gold status is a sweet spot that offers a decent number of benefits, even though the annual qualification requirements are easily obtainable by most travelers.

The information for the Choice Privileges Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Choice Privileges Platinum

You’ll reach Platinum status after 15 qualifying nights or 30,000 elite qualifying credits in a calendar year. One easy way to maintain Platinum status is to have the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® ($95 annual fee), which gives cardholders 20 elite qualifying nights each calendar year.

Choice Privileges Platinum benefits include all the perks of Gold status, plus 25% bonus points on all qualifying stays. Since the primary difference between Gold and Platinum status is earning a 25% bonus on qualifying stays instead of 10%, it's not worth chasing for most travelers. However, if you earn Platinum status, the additional bonus points will provide some incremental value.

The information for the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Choice Privileges Diamond

You’ll earn Diamond status after 35 qualifying nights or 70,000 qualifying credits in a calendar year. Of course, if you have the Choice Privileges Mastercard or the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard, you’ll get elite qualifying nights each calendar year as a cardholder perk. That means you won’t need to stay as many nights to secure Diamond status.

Choice Hotels Europe Quality Hotel Toulouse Centre — Quality Hotel Toulouse Centre in France. CHOICE HOTELS

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 for eligible paid stays when you call at least 48 hours before your stay at participating Ascend Collection and Cambria hotels worldwide and at Radisson, Radisson Red, Radisson Blu, Radisson Collection, Radisson Individuals and Park Plaza hotels in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean (restrictions and blackout periods apply)
A status match to Penn Play Preferred

Complimentary breakfast at select brands is where Choice Privileges Diamond status offers significantly more value than Platinum status. If you frequently stay at these brands or value a status match to Penn Play Preferred status, it could be worth striving for Diamond status.

Choice Privileges Titanium

Finally, you'll secure top-tier Titanium status with 55 qualifying nights or 110,000 qualifying credits in a calendar year.

Titanium members enjoy all the perks of Diamond status. Plus, Titanium members receive one Titanium travel award each calendar year. This award reduces the points required for one eligible reward night reservation by 50% and can cover one room for up to seven consecutive nights at a curated selection of properties.

You must book and complete your Titanium travel award stay during the calendar year in which the award is issued. But if you don't currently have Titanium status, you'll earn one Titanium travel award in the year you qualify and another in the following year while you have the status.

Milestone rewards

Choice Privileges members can earn milestone rewards of points or gift cards as they accrue qualifying nights and qualifying credits each calendar year as follows:

Milestone	Points option	Gift card option
10 qualifying nights or 20,000 qualifying credits	1,500	$5
20 qualifying nights or 40,000 qualifying credits	2,500	$10
25 qualifying nights or 50,000 qualifying credits	3,000	$10
30 qualifying nights or 60,000 qualifying credits	3,500	$10
40 qualifying nights or 80,000 qualifying credits	4,500	$20
45 qualifying nights or 90,000 qualifying credits	5,000	$20
50 qualifying nights or 100,000 qualifying credits	6,500	$20

Note that the qualifying night credits you get each year as a Choice Privileges cardholder are elite qualifying but not milestone qualifying. (Spending on your card earns both elite and milestone qualifying credits, though.) Additionally, the gift card option is only available in the U.S. and Canada.

How to earn Choice Privileges points

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

Hotel stays

Members earn 10 base points per dollar spent on their room rate (excluding taxes and incidental charges) at most participating Choice hotels, and elite members earn 10% to 50% bonus points based on their status tier.

Hotel Aquarius Venice, an Ascend Collection Hotel in Italy. CHOICE HOTELS

However, you won't earn points on WoodSpring Suites stays, and you'll only earn 5 points per dollar spent on stays of seven to 30 nights at Everhome Suites, MainStay Suites and Suburban Studios. (You won't earn points for nights 31 and beyond.) Plus, you won't earn points for stays in select destinations (see the program's rules and regulations for details).

To earn Choice Privileges points at participating properties, you must book an eligible rate 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 a participating hotel.

However, even when booked directly, some stays won't be eligible to earn points. These include stays with room rates below $40 a 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): 5 points per dollar spent on stays at participating Choice Hotels properties; 3 points per dollar spent on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and home improvement stores, plus phone plan services; and 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard ($95 annual fee): 10 points per dollar spent on stays at participating Choice Hotels properties; 5 points per dollar spent on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and home improvement stores, plus phone plan services; and 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases

Related: Best hotel credit cards

Transfer rewards from other programs

Several programs with transferable currencies partner with Choice Privileges, allowing you to easily get more Choice points:

American Express Membership Rewards: Transfer at a ratio of 1 Amex point to 1 Choice point
Capital One miles: Transfer at a ratio of 1 Capital One mile to 1 Choice point
Citi ThankYou Rewards: Transfer at a ratio of 1 Citi point to 1.5 or 1.05 Choice points, depending on your specific Citi ThankYou Rewards card
Wells Fargo Rewards: Transfer at a ratio of 1 Wells Fargo point to 2 Choice points

Buy Choice points

Buying Choice points is another way to boost your balance. The cost per point varies depending on how many points you purchase, but you'll typically pay between 1.03 and 1.28 cents per point — not a great deal compared to our August 2026 valuation of 0.7 cents per Choice point. However, you can sometimes pay much less if Choice is offering a discount or bonus promotion.

Earn with partners

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

Avis and Budget car rentals: Get up to 35% off and earn Choice points when you rent with Avis or Budget.
Choice Privileges Cruises: Earn Choice points when you book a qualifying cruise through Choice's cruise platform.
E-Rewards: Earn Choice points by taking surveys.

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 or more per meeting at Cambria Hotels and unlimited points at Radisson Hotels) on eligible charges, including meeting space, sleeping rooms and food-and-beverage charges.

How to redeem Choice Privileges points

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. You can book reward nights up to 50 weeks in advance.

Booking a Choice Privileges reward night — CHOICE HOTELS

You'll occasionally see RewardSaver discounts when you search for reward night stays.

Choice Privileges RewardSaver — CHOICE HOTELS

Some properties make premium room types or views available with points. In some cases, you may find an upgraded room for the same number of points as a standard room.

Book elevated room types for the same number of points with Choice Privileges — CHOICE HOTELS

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 can buy up to 250,000 points per calendar year through these bookings.

Choice Privileges points and cash options — CHOICE HOTELS

You can also redeem Choice points for stays at participating Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Westgate Resorts, Bluegreen Vacations properties and Penn Entertainment Hotels.

Redeem for special experiences

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

Redeem for gift cards

You can redeem Choice Privileges points for physical or electronic gift cards to a limited number of retailers such as Amazon, Home Depot, Target, Walmart 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 it's best to use 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 the American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the National Park Foundation. Most of these allow you to donate $5 per 1,000 Choice points redeemed, but you can donate $10 to Polaris per 1,000 Choice points redeemed. This gives you a solid redemption value of 0.5 to 1 cent per point.

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: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Avios
Aeromexico Rewards: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Aeromexico points
Air Canada Aeroplan: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Aeroplan points
Air France-KLM Flying Blue: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Flying Blue miles
Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Atmos Rewards points
Avianca Lifemiles: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Lifemiles
British Airways Club: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Avios
Iberia Club: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Avios
LATAM Pass: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 LATAM miles
Qantas Frequent Flyer: Starting at 2,000 points for 800 Qantas points
Saudia AlFursan: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 AlFursan miles
Southwest Rapid Rewards: Starting at 6,000 points for 1,800 Southwest points
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 Turkish miles
United MileagePlus: Starting at 5,000 points for 1,000 United miles
Velocity Frequent Flyer: Starting at 2,000 points for 800 Velocity points

You'll usually be better off keeping your Choice points and redeeming them for hotel stays, but this option could make sense if you don't frequently stay at Choice Hotels properties and are short a few miles for your next airline redemption.

Redeem for cruise credit

Finally, you can redeem Choice Privileges points toward a sailing through Choice Privileges Cruises. You'll have to call, but 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 a high-value way to redeem Choice points.

Maximizing Choice Privileges points

As you can see from the above options, redeeming Choice points for award nights is usually the best way to maximize their value. Here are a few tips to get even more value from the Choice Privileges program.

Choice Privileges promotions

The Choice Privileges program frequently offers promotions to help you save money or earn bonus points. One of the best promotions Choice offers several times each year lets you earn 8,000 Choice points for every two hotel stays. So, it's worth keeping an eye out for promotions if you have stays at Choice Hotels coming up.

Sweet spot redemptions

There are plenty of opportunities to get outsize value from Choice Privileges points. For example, in Japan, you can book some properties for as few as 8,000 points per night.

Choice award nights in Japan — CHOICE HOTELS

You can also find centrally located hotels in Europe that can be booked for as little as 8,000 points per night.

Choice award night in Frankfurt — CHOICE HOTELS

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 points.

Choice Hotels award nights in South Carolina — CHOICE HOTELS

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 book at least 48 hours before a 6 a.m. arrival on the first day of your booking and 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 if you're a U.S. or Canadian resident. If you’re an international resident, the first night of your stay will be free.

Match up to Choice Privileges Platinum status

If you have elite status with another hotel loyalty program and live in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America or Mexico, you can take advantage of Choice's status match program for tiers up to Choice Platinum.

To use this status match, U.S. and Canadian members must send their name, Choice Privileges member number and a screenshot of their current account statement with another hotel loyalty program to Status_Match@choicehotels.com. European members can send this information to Status_Match_EU@choicehotels.com, while Caribbean, Latin American and Mexican members should send their information to CALA.statusmatch@choicehotels.com.

Based on the information you provided, Choice Privileges may match you up to Platinum status. If you match between January and June, you'll keep the matched status through the end of the year. But if you match between July and December, you'll keep the status through the end of the following year. As such, July is generally the best time to request the match because a successful match should last through the end of the following calendar year.

Bottom line

Choice Privileges may not offer the rich, consistent elite benefits of some competing hotel loyalty programs, but it can still deliver significant value. Reward nights start at just 6,000 points, Choice has a large footprint across multiple price points and its U.S. credit cards can accelerate both elite status and milestone rewards.

The program is especially compelling when you find RewardSaver nights, discover a premium room bookable for the same number of points as a standard room or book a high-value reward night. However, award costs can change without notice, and elite benefits vary considerably by brand and property. As a result, the best way to use Choice Privileges is usually to focus less on earning status and more on redeeming points in high-value ways.