8,000 Choice Privileges points every two stays Sep 4 to Nov 12, 2014

Choice Hotels has announced its new promotion for 8,000 Choice Privileges points every two stays September 4 to November 12, 2014.

You must maintain an address in the U.S. (including U.S. territories) or Canada to be eligible for this promotion.

Choice Privileges offers over 1,500 hotels with reward nights at 6,000 or 8,000 points. One of the highest redemption values for Choice Privileges points is for hotels in Europe.

I recently redeemed over 200,000 Choice Privileges points for two weeks of hotel stays in Norway in September. While the typical Quality Inn may have an average room rate under $100 per night in the USA, in Norway I redeemed 16,000 points per night for high category rooms like a 3-bedroom villa at Quality Resort and Spa Holmsbu with room rates near $600 per night. I redeemed 40,000 points for two nights at The Thief, Ascend Collection, the #1 ranked hotel on TripAdvisor of 88 hotels in Oslo, Norway with room rates near $500 per night.

My hotel stay travel pattern does not include many nights at Choice Hotels, but when I need a road trip hotel in a rural place, Choice Hotels like Comfort Inn and Quality Inn work out well with a promotion like this.

Here are quick facts for the traveler less familiar with Choice Hotels.

Choice Hotels has 11 hotel brands and over 6,000 hotels worldwide, primarily in the midscale and economy hotel sector.

How Choice Privileges 8,000 points (free night) promotion works

The basic deal with this recurring Choice Privileges promotion is the member earns points at the regular base earning level of 10 points per $1 for these Choice Hotels brands:

• Comfort Inn and Comfort Suites
• Quality Inn and Quality Suites
• Clarion
• Cambria Suites
• Sleep Inn
• Ascend Hotel Collection

There are four economy market segment brands in Choice Hotels where stays earn only 5 points per $1. The main point to remember is a qualifying stay at these four hotel brands requires a minimum two nights to be eligible for the bonus points.

1. MainStay Suites
2. Suburban
3. Econolodge
4. Rodeway Inn

Econolodge and Rodeway Inn are two of the most common brands I see when traveling the desert southwest USA and rural places when I am on roadtrips. Be cognizant that it takes a stay of two or more consecutive nights when staying at these brands to be eligible for the two stays bonus.

Promotion Analysis

Assume you stay at a Comfort Inn for $80 for one night and then spend two nights at a MainStay Suites for $75 per night.

Stay 1 Comfort Inn earns $80 x 10 points per $1 = 800 base points.

Stay 2 MainStay Suites earns $150 x 5 points per $1 = 750 base points.

Two stays earn 1,550 base points and then Choice Privileges promotion gives additional bonus points to reach 8,000 points. These two stays will earn 6,450 bonus points and you will have 8,000 total points after two qualifying stays. Elite bonus points are added on for each stay according to your elite membership level.

Elite Diamond and Platinum members earn 250 additional points for each hotel stay booked on ChoiceHotels.com or via the Choice Hotels mobile app. You probably already know how all this works if you hold one of these elite levels.

This is not in the T&C

For a couple of years I called out Choice Privileges on this promotion for its bias against high spenders. Eventually a Choice Privileges manager emailed me to say that my posts were incorrect since high spenders earn a minimum 5,000 bonus points from the promotion. Last year that wording was included in the offer Terms and Conditions, but it is not included in the current offer’s T&C.

Still, I assume there is a 5,000 bonus points minimum in effect for this offer. If a reader experiences something different, please leave a comment.

Here is an example to illustrate how the 5,000 points minimum becomes effective.

Stay 1: Comfort Inn for 3 nights at $120 per night. $360 x 10 points per $1 = 3,600 base points.

Stay 2: Quality Suites for 2 nights $100 per night. $200 x 10 points per $1 = 2,000 base points.

These two stays earn 5,600 base points.

Now, it does not seem right that a person who stays 3 nights spending $230 earns 6,450 bonus points from this offer while another person who spends $560 on five nights only earns 2,400 bonus points.

5,000 bonus points minimum

Choice Privileges rewards high spenders by offering a minimum 5,000 points after two qualifying stays. Again, this is not listed in the promotion T&C, but that rule has been in effect for the past few years and I assume it applies for this fall 2014 offer too.

The Choice Privileges member who earned 5,600 points from the two stays above gets 5,000 bonus points for a total 10,600 points. This balances out the promotion bonus points earned so that higher spenders get a reasonable bonus offer while low spenders get an even better deal for two eligible stays at Choice Hotels.

Choice Privileges Free Night Promotion Terms and Conditions

*Free night is based on an 8,000 point Choice Privileges reward night level. Registration required at ChoiceHotels.com before arrival. Members must book trips via ChoiceHotels.com, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE at qualifying rates. Choice Privileges Diamond and Platinum members receive 250 Choice Privileges bonus points with every qualifying trip booked on ChoiceHotels.com and the Choice Hotels mobile app ONLY; these members may book directly with a hotel but will not receive the 250 bonus points. Corporate travelers may book through a travel agent or corporate online booking system. Choice Privileges member number must be provided upon check-in. After a second qualifying trip with arrival between 9/4/14 and 11/12/14, members will be awarded a minimum of 5,000 and maximum of 8,000 bonus points, depending on the number of base points earned from the two (2) separate qualifying trips. These bonus points will allow redemption for a free night at the 8,000 reward night level at over 1,500 hotels. A free night at most Choice Privileges locations requires more than 8,000 points. For Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria Suites or Ascend Hotel Collection hotels, a trip is defined as a stay that is any number of consecutive nights at one hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs.  For Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, or MainStay Suites hotels, a trip is defined as a stay that is two (2) or more consecutive nights at one hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs.  Trips at vacation rental property locations do not qualify for promotional bonus points. To be eligible to earn the bonus, members must set their earning preference to Choice Privileges points in their online account. Any change made to earning preference will remain in effect after the promotion has ended. Allow 72 hours from check-out for points to post.  You must maintain an address in the U.S. (including U.S. territories) or Canada to be eligible for this promotion.  For Choice Privileges program details, eligible rates, eligible countries and point redemption rules, visit choiceprivileges.com. Hotels are independently owned and operated.

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