The Complete Guide to the Choice Privileges Rewards Program

Choice Privileges is the loyalty program for Choice Hotels, which has more than 7,400 properties across 22 brands.

The magic of a program like Choice Privileges: You can earn Choice hotel points from stays at more affordable hotels and then redeem them at pricier properties later, like an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean.

These are the things you can do with Choice points:

• Transfer other points into your Choice Privileges account.

• Transfer Choice points to airlines.

• Use Choice points for other people’s travel.

• Use Choice points to redeem for other benefits.

The brand made recent changes to its loyalty program that further elevate the value. For example, starting in early 2025, guests can redeem points for stays at Choice hotels as far out as 50 weeks in the future (an upgrade from the previous shorter booking window). Even better, travelers can redeem points for premium rooms with a better view or even a suite.

Another new feature to maximize your points is the RewardSaver program, which came from Radisson Hotels Americas and allows travelers to redeem points at a cheaper price point (as few as 6,000 points per night) on certain dates.

» Learn more: Your guide to Choice Privileges hotel brands

Transfer points to Choice Privileges

Several credit card programs offer points transfer opportunities into Choice Privileges. We recommend this only if you are short on a Choice redemption and really need the points.

You could find a better use of your transferable points than using them for a hotel stay (unless you're redeeming for a particularly expensive redemption). Otherwise, it is better to redeem credit card points for higher-value things like moving them to an airline program for a business class ticket or paying in points outright for the cost of a flight. If you still want more Choice points, the following credit card programs transfer points to Choice Privileges.

American Express Membership Rewards

The American Express Membership Rewards program offers numerous paths to points earnings, from AmEx Offers to bonus points by booking travel through the American Express Travel platform.

AmEx cardholders who earn Membership Rewards points can convert 1,000 AmEx points into 1,000 Choice Privileges points.

Some of the cards that could help include:

• American Express® Green Card. (All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The American Express® Green Card is no longer available through NerdWallet. )

• American Express® Gold Card.

• The Platinum Card® from American Express.

Terms apply.

To transfer points from AmEx Membership Rewards to Choice Privileges, log in to your Membership Rewards account and go to the “Rewards & Benefits” tab on the menu.

Select "Transfer Points to a Loyalty Program," choose the Choice Privileges program and then enter your Choice details.

Is it worth it to transfer AmEx points to Choice? Only if you can maximize the value from your Choice points; NerdWallet values Membership Rewards points at 1.2 cents apiece, while Choice points are worth only 0.8 cent each.

Moving points to Choice represents a reduction in value unless you can score a transfer bonus, especially since AmEx Membership Rewards points also can be transferred to airlines for premium cabin redemptions. If you're swimming in AmEx points, then a transfer could make sense, especially if you would otherwise use your points to shop or buy gift cards (yielding even less value).

» Learn more: The best hotel credit cards right now

Citi ThankYou points

Citi ThankYou points transfer to Choice at a 1:1.5 or 1:2 ratio, depending on the card you're using. To transfer points, go to the “Partner Programs Listing” on the ThankYou redemption page. If you have one of Citi’s most premium cards, like the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, you can get more value than with one of its more basic cards.

NerdWallet values Citi ThankYou points at between 1 cent and 1.3 centseach, which means that transferring from Citi ThankYou to Choice Privileges is not always a great idea unless you have a lot of points in your account.

Capital One miles

Another transfer option is from Capital One to Choice Privileges with a 1:1 transfer ratio, which makes more sense than other loyalty programs. This is because NerdWallet values Capital One miles at 1 cent to 1.2 cents each and Choice Privileges at 0.8 cent each. It’s not the best deal, but if you need the Choice points, it could make sense.

Follow these steps to redeem your miles and transfer to Choice Privileges:

1. Sign in to your account.

2. Head over to the credit card account with the miles you plan to transfer.

3. Select "View Rewards," where you'll see options for how to use your rewards.

4. Choose the option to convert your rewards to a Capital One miles transfer partner and follow additional prompts.

5. Save your confirmation code for your records.

Wells Fargo Rewards

Move Wells Fargo Rewards points to Choice Privileges at a 1:2 ratio. This is another so-so swap because NerdWallet generally values Wells Fargo Rewards at 1 cent. Sure, you’re getting more Choice points than what you transfer from Wells Fargo, but they are still worth less.

The Wells Fargo Rewards card also awards Choice Privileges points directly, which is a better method to rack up Choice points than transferring them from a credit card where they hold more value. Two cards are available for fans of the Choice program: the Choice Privileges® Mastercard® and the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®.

» Learn more: The best hotel credit cards right now

Frequent flyer programs and other travel partners

There are several frequent flyer programs that allow you to convert Choice Privileges points into airline miles. They include:

• Aer Lingus: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 Avios points.

• Aeromexico: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 Aeromexico Rewards.

• Aeroplan: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 Aeroplan miles.

• Air France-KLM Flying Blue: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 Flying Blue miles.

• Alaska Airlines: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 Mileage Plan miles.

• British Airways Executive Club: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 Avios points.

• Iberia Plus: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 Avios points.

• Qantas: 2,000 Choice Privileges points = 800 Qantas Frequent Flyer points.

• Saudia Al Fursan: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 AlFursan miles.

• Southwest Airlines: 6,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,800 Rapid Rewards points.

• Turkish Airlines: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 Miles&Smiles miles.

• United Airlines: 5,000 Choice Privileges points = 1,000 MileagePlus miles.

• Virgin Australia: 2,000 Choice Privileges points = 800 Velocity Frequent Flyer points.

Conversions from Choice Privileges to airline mileage programs are not as generous, but there are some exceptions. For example, Air France-KLM Flying Blue regularly offers Promo Rewards like 15,000 miles for a one-way ticket from cities such as Austin or Dallas/Fort Worth to Europe. Now that’s great value.

To transfer from Choice to an airline, visit the Rewards Exchange section on the Choice Privileges website to choose and save your preferred airline program and then enter your details.

Also, keep in mind you cannot transfer points to another person’s frequent flyer account, only one under the same name as that on your Choice Privileges account. In addition, it can take 24 hours to transfer points to miles.

Transfer Choice Privileges to family and friends

You cannot transfer Choice points to family and friends, but you can book an award redemption under their name from your own account.

Other Choice Privileges transfer partners

If you want to use Choice points for other redemptions, whether they are travel-related or for everyday things, there are options. Here’s how to extract value from Choice Privileges.

Cruises

While you cannot transfer points directly to a cruise loyalty program, you can use them to pay for a part of your next cruise vacation via Choice Privileges Cruises. For 85,000 points, you can receive a $250 cruise credit; 160,000 points equals a $500 cruise credit.

This represents poor value because, according to our calculations, Choice points are worth 0.8 cent apiece (85,000 points would yield $680 in value for a hotel stay, far more than $250 for a cruise credit).

Gifts

You can redeem Choice Privileges points for magazine subscriptions or gift cards, but this is another example of not getting top-notch value from your points. To see the restaurants, retailers or magazine titles available, log into your Choice Privileges account and go to the “Redeem” section.

VIP experiences

You can bid Choice points on special VIP auctions for exclusive access to events and experiences. These include concerts and sporting events, some with behind-the-scenes access or extra perks that are hard to buy on your own. While the bids may be high, this is a great example of using your points for something that you really want that may otherwise be out of your price range.

Nonprofit donations

You can move points from Choice to many charities.