In August 2022, Choice Hotels acquired Radisson Hotel Group Americas. With this acquisition, Choice Hotels gained more than 600 Radisson hotels across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.
You’ll eventually be able to book these properties through Choice and even use Choice Privileges points to book rooms at Radisson properties. For now, the Choice website says Choice Privileges updates are coming soon, but that the “Choice Privileges and Radisson Rewards Americas loyalty programs will remain separate for the time being.”
However, we noticed that Choice Hotels is hiring a vice president of loyalty strategy membership rewards on its Global Distribution team and a digital product manager of loyalty and partnerships on its Digital Commerce team. These hires may work on Choice Privileges updates, including integrating Radisson Rewards Americas.
So, in this article, I’ll discuss some of the changes I’d like to see in an updated Choice Privileges program — beginning with what I hope will remain in place from the current iteration.
What I hope remains in the Choice Privileges program
Many award travelers ignore the current Choice Privileges program. But, although the program doesn’t offer compelling elite benefits, I still believe there’s value to be found.
Granted, the value has decreased over the last few years. For example, gone are the days you could redeem 8,000 points or less per night for a stay in New York or at an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. But there’s still good value for some travelers.
Here’s what I hope will stick around.
Published award rates
The Choice Privileges program publishes award rates for each property that vary depending on the day of the week. These rates are only published for the next few months for most properties.
For example, on its webpage, I can find the current award rates for the Comfort Inn Near Vail Beaver Creek.
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Based on this information, I know rooms will cost 30,000 points per night through April 15. But from April 16 through June 30, rooms will cost 20,000 points per night on weeknights and 25,000 points per night on weekends.
In many ways, this is the best of published award prices and seasonal variance. Choice can vary award pricing based on the season while also giving travelers a clear indication of what their award will cost.
Choice even publishes award rates through 2099 for a few properties. But for most, you’ll only see rates for the next few months. As such, I’d appreciate it if Choice published award rates for at least the next 12 months for all properties so travelers can better plan how many Choice points they’ll need for their stays.
Cap of 30,000 points per night for most Choice hotels
Currently, Choice says, “reward nights at locations worldwide are available from 6,000 to 35,000 points (excluding Asia-Pac, where reward nights require up to 75,000 points).” However, it’s rare to find a Choice property that costs more than 30,000 points per night.
And it’s nice to stay almost anywhere Choice has a hotel for 30,000 points per night or less. For example, consider the Cambria Hotel New York — Chelsea. Its nightly rates range between $101 and $334 before taxes and fees. But its award rates mean I can redeem 20,000 or 30,000 points per night through June 30.
Based on TPG’s valuations, 30,000 Choice points are worth $180. And getting a night at a centrally located hotel in New York City for $180 is great — especially on nights when rates in the city are sky-high.
So, I hope we don’t see high-end award rates skyrocket with an updated Choice Privileges program.
Redemptions in Japan and Europe
Speaking of award rates, the most valuable part of the Choice Privileges program for me is the redemptions I can make in Japan and Europe. In particular, I love redeeming 8,000 points per night to stay centrally in Tokyo.
And I like to redeem 8,000 points per night to stay at the Comfort Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi near the Dotonbori area of Osaka, Japan.
I’ve also gotten good value redeeming Choice points in Europe. For example, last year I redeemed Choice points for a stay at the Hotel C Stockholm, Ascend Hotel Collection, in Stockholm.
And on other trips, I’ve gotten excellent value redeeming Choice points in Germany and Italy.
Lucrative promotions
Finally, Choice Privileges frequently offers lucrative promotions. For example, you’ll often see promotions offering 8,000 Choice points for every two stays. And usually, your stay can be just one night to qualify. So, if you’re on a road trip or in a city with multiple Choice hotels, you may be able to switch hotels frequently and rack up points.
Over the years, I’ve used Choice Hotels’ promotions to rack up many points. So, I hope the program continues its lucrative promotions.
Related: Register for Choice Hotels Your Extras to earn gift cards and other perks on weekday stays
However, there are a number of customer-friendly enhancements that I’d love to see in the new program.
Award bookings more than 100 days out
One big downside to the current Choice Privileges program compared to other hotel loyalty programs is that you can only book stays with points within 100 days of your planned arrival.
From a planning standpoint, I often like to make hotel reservations more than 100 days before my stay. And especially in popular destinations or during busy travel periods, my desired room type may be fully booked when the award booking window opens.
But I also understand that Choice may prefer to accept paid stays instead of award stays (hence the tighter award-booking window). So, while I’d ideally like the updated program to allow award bookings more than 100 days out, I’d at least like Choice to allow the ability to book a paid stay and then change it to an award stay within 100 days of your stay when availability permits.
Better elite benefits
I don’t stay more frequently with Choice Hotels because of the program’s minimal elite perks, even for top-tier Diamond members. Even when my husband had Diamond status (he’s since let it lapse), we didn’t see any significant benefits besides higher earning rates on paid stays.
Besides not offering top-tier elite members many of the most valuable perks offered by other programs — such as complimentary breakfast, guaranteed late checkout and lounge access — the Choice Privileges program offers lower-tier Gold and Platinum elite members most of the benefits it offers top-tier Diamond elite members.
So, even if you enjoy the Choice Privileges program, it’s only worth striving for Gold status. The higher bonuses at the Platinum and Diamond tiers can be useful if you stay frequently, but alone they aren’t a reason to strive for higher status.
I hope an updated Choice Privileges program will provide better elite status perks that give members a reason to push for higher elite status tiers.
Integration of Radisson properties
Presumably, part of the upcoming Choice Privileges updates will involve the integration of Radisson hotels across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.
Two big questions I have are as follows:
- At what ratio will Radisson Rewards Americas points transfer to Choice Privileges?
- Will you be able to transfer rewards between your Choice Privileges account and a Radisson Rewards global account?
Many travelers, including TPG’s Summer Hull, enjoy redeeming points for stays at international Radisson Rewards properties. So it would be a big loss if this option disappeared with the update and integration.
Related: Radisson Rewards makes huge changes to its program, moves to dynamic pricing
Fewer nonparticipating properties
One of the most annoying parts of the Choice Privileges program is that not all hotels bookable through the Choice Hotels website participate in Choice Privileges and its promotions.
The Choice Privileges rules and regulations note:
You can earn Choice Privileges points for any point-eligible stay at any participating Cambria®, Clarion®, Clarion Pointe®, Comfort®, Econo Lodge®, Everhome®, MainStay Suites®, Quality®, Rodeway Inn®, Sleep Inn®, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel®, and Ascend Hotel Collection® location, in the U.S., Canada, Europe (excluding Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden), the Middle East, Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, Central America, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific region, including China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and India. You can also earn points through staying at one of our partner programs. [WoodSpring Suites® locations are not currently participating.]
But most members don’t carefully study the rules and regulations before booking a stay. And even if you do, there’s no simple way to determine which properties within eligible brands participate. You could try calling the hotel, but I suspect the front desk agent who answers your call might not know how to answer your question.
And in some cases, the Choice Privileges rules and regulations contradict the information available online during booking. For example, the rules and regulations say properties in Sweden don’t participate. Yet the Everday Rate I selected for Hobo, Ascend Hotel Collection in Stockholm states:
This is the best available, non-qualified rate with no restrictions. Eligible for Choice Privileges® points or airline rewards at all brands in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Middle East, Mexico, Asia-Pac and the Caribbean.
So, it’s unclear whether Choice members would earn points at this hotel if they booked this rate. And unlike other programs with nonparticipating brands or properties (such as IHG One Rewards and select Six Senses properties), there’s usually no message during the booking process that your stay won’t qualify for benefits and points.
In short, I’d like Choice to get more properties to participate in Choice Privileges. And, in cases where full participation isn’t possible, the Choice website and mobile app should clearly indicate this during the booking process.
Likewise, Choice Privileges promotions often exclude some properties and brands as well as stays in select countries. It would be a better experience for members if all paid stays booked through the Choice Privileges website or app were eligible for promotions.
Stronger cobranded credit card options
It’s usually a good idea to get a cobranded credit card with hotel programs you stay with frequently.
After all, cards like the IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card and World of Hyatt Credit Card provide good earning rates for hotel stays and valuable annual free night certificates. And cards like the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card and Wyndham Rewards Earner® Business Card provide top-tier elite status in their hotel loyalty programs.
The information for the Hilton Aspire Card and the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card 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 offers the Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card. But although the card has no annual fee, enjoying Gold status and earning 5 points per dollar spent on purchases at Choice hotels aren’t enough to make this card a valuable addition to the wallets of most travelers.
The information for the Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Based on TPG’s valuations, 5 points per dollar spent at Choice hotels is just a 3% return. Meanwhile, using the Citi Premier® Card to pay for your Choice stays would provide 3 points per dollar for a return of 5.1%. So, you’d be better off using a general travel card like the Citi Premier when paying for stays at Choice hotels.
Choice could continue to offer the Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card as a no-annual-fee option. But, especially if Choice begins to offer better elite benefits, I’d like to see the program offer a card with a higher annual fee and higher earning rates, an annual free night and a higher tier of elite status.
Related: 7 of the best hotel credit cards that come with an annual free night
Bottom line
Choice Hotels acquired Radisson Hotel Group Americas in 2022. We know Choice plans to let travelers book Radisson Americas properties through Choice, including redeeming Choice points to book stays at these Radisson properties. We also know that updates are coming to the Choice Privileges program.
But Choice has also noted that the “Choice Privileges and Radisson Rewards Americas loyalty programs will remain separate for the time being.” So, we don’t have a timeline for the updates or integration. However, we expect the loyalty roles Choice is hiring for will play a role in these updates and integrations.
