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Choice Privileges Double Points Dec 15-Feb 9, 2017

a screenshot of a hotel

Choice Privileges double points for stays Dec 15 to Feb 9, 2017, up to 30,000 bonus points. You would have to spend $3,000 and earn a minimum 60,000 Choice Privileges to max out this offer

Choice Privileges double points promotion registration is required.

Double points is 20 points per $1 in hotel rate at hotel brands Ascend Collection, Clarion, Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Baymont Suites, Sleep Inn and true budget brands Econolodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites and Suburban Suites.

This promotion is generally not as lucrative as the repetitive Choice Privileges 8,000 points for 2 stays offer, Choice Privileges most prevalent promotion offer the past several years. In 2016, I picked up 9,000+ points for $85 at Rodeway Inn and Econolodge with one night stays in Monterey, where I checked in, checked out the room and went back home. I would have had to pay $99 to buy 9,000 points through the normal Choice Privileges purchase points channel.

Those 9,000 points allowed me to buy more discount points with Choice Privileges Points Plus Cash bookings.

Loyalty Traveler – Buy up to 250,000 points per year with Choice Privileges Points Plus Cash

Double Points promotion takes about $450 in spend to earn 9,000 points.

Value of Choice Privileges Double Points

I will be in Prague, Czechia.

Last August I realized there were some great deals at Choice Hotels in Prague, but I had already planned my trip to neighboring Slovakia. I mentioned at the end of that post how I thought we would return to Prague at Christmas, but we ended up in Bratislava, Slovakia and Krakow, Poland at Christmas.

Loyalty Traveler – Prague hotel deals on Choice Privileges points

Since Prague has been on my mind since summer 2016, I decided to take advantage of the low $69 WOW Air fare this week to Copenhagen and fly from there to Prague for another visit and refresh my local knowledge.

Loyalty Traveler – My European winter itinerary $259 SFO-CPH-PRG/KRK-ARN-OAK

Choice Hotels Prague, Czech Republic

There are three Choice Hotels properties in Prague, all Clarion brand. Two are tourist area locations with Clarion Hotel Prague Old Town by the river on the north side of Old Town and Clarion Hotel Prague City near the city train station on the southeast side of Old Town about 2.5km or 30 minutes walk from Clarion Old Town.

Clarion Congress Hotel Prague is a convention center hotel about 4 miles from Prague’s main tourist areas.

Prague Choice map

The remarkable feature of these hotels are their low Choice Privileges reward rates. I saw great value last August for September reward nights compared to the paid room rates.

The reward rates are still low at 8,000 points per night for either of the two tourist area hotels or 10,000 points for Clarion Congress.

Clarion Prague reward rates

The main difference I see in the value proposition for these hotel reward nights in February compared to September is the paid rates are less than half. In this situation, the better value may just be pay for room nights and earn double 20 points per dollar on the room rate.

Clarion Prague rates Feb3

The cost to buy 8,000 Choice Privileges points is $60 with Points Plus Cash trick. There is a 15% hotel tax on these rates so Clarion Prague Old Town is about $60 either way. Clarion Prague City will be about $11 less to buy points and book a reward night.

Clarion Hotel Prague City 67 EUR ($71.21 USD) or 8,000 points.

Room rate is 58.65 EUR ($62.30 USD).

$62.30 x 20 = 1,246 Choice Privileges points.

This hotel is less buying Choice Privileges points, while Clarion Old Town can be a better deal paying cash and earning 960 Choice Privileges points on the $48 room rate.

Of course, the advantage of reward nights is flexible cancellation. These paid rates are based on nonrefundable advance purchase rates. Reward nights are cheaper than paying best flexible rate at either hotel.

 

Choice Privileges 60 Days Advance Reward Nights Reservations

One of the big drawbacks to Choice Privileges is a limited window for booking reward stays with points. A member from the USA without elite status can only book reward nights in USA within 30 days of stay or within 60 days for reward stays at Choice Hotels outside USA.

Members who have not yet achieved Elite Status must make their free night reservation personally through the Program Line or through their online account no more than 30 days prior to planned arrival for stays in their country of residence.

Sixty days prior to their planned arrival at all other locations worldwide.

https://www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/rules-regulations#rewards

Since there is a limited window of 60 days for reward stay bookings and Choice Hotels reward rates are seasonal, there is no way of knowing if these hotels will still be 8,000 points in July when room rates climb over 100 EUR per night.

But there is a way to see reward rates through June 30, 2017 by checking hotels on the Canadian website.

Clarion Prague Old Town

choice-prague-old-town-ca-reward-seasons

Jan 13 – April 15, 2017 all nights 8,000 points.

April 16 – June 30, 2017 Sun-Thur 10,000 points; Fri-Sat 12,000 points.

Clarion Hotel Prague City

Jan 13 – April 15, 2017 all nights 8,000 points.

April 16 – June 30, 2017 all nights 12,000 points.

2 Comments

  • Don January 13, 2017

    Choice is in the progress of a major devaluation of European hotels for bookings mid April and later. In Rome hotels in the city center are going from 10,000 points to 30,000 points on 4/16/17. Choice is still in the progress of implementing this major Europe devaluation. If you choose a hotel with a date after 4/16/17 and it shows sold out but is actually available to book without points, that means the point redemptions for that hotel is increasing.

    After this latest devaluation Choice points are almost worthless except for some hotels in New York City.

  • Ric Garrido January 14, 2017

    @Don – While a jump from 10,000 to 30,000 is quite an increase, this seems in line with normal seasonal changes. Rome is likely far more popular for reward nights April to June. I checked several other cities in Europe and the changes seem like normal seasonal changes, and I did not come across other changes as dramatic as 10,000 to 30,000 points.

    In my hometown, Clarion Carmel-by-the-sea goes from 20,000 points midweek in the current season to 12,000 points in April to June, a far busier tourism season.

    In February, a huge Pebble Beach ATT golf event fills all the hotels in our area. In Rome, Easter falls April 16 this year in the next seasonal cycle for April 15 – June 30 Choice Privileges reward rates.

    I still redeem nearly all my points in Scandinavia at Nordic Choice Hotels and there is no indication those reward rates are changing through June 2017.

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