Choice Hotels Choice Privileges Hotel Loyalty 2012-Q3 Promotions Preferred Hotel Group

Choice Privileges 8,000 points after two stays Aug 30–Nov 14, 2012

Choice Privileges repeats its regular offer of 8,000 points after two stays from August 30 to November 14, 2012.  The last 8,000 points promotion ended August 15. The main condition to know about the Choice Privileges promotion is the bonus points added to your account after two stays is only the amount of points needed to reach 8,000 total points. The promotion does not award 8,000 bonus points, although the terms now state there is a minimum 5,000 bonus points earned after two stays.

There is no limit to the number of times the 8,000 points after two stays can be earned during the promotion.

Stays at four Choice Hotels brands require two consecutive nights to qualify as an eligible stay for this promotion.

  • EconoLodge (budget brand)
  • Rodeway Inn (budget brand)
  • Mainstay Suites (extended stay brand)
  • Suburban Extended Stay Hotel

image

Choice Privileges Platinum and Diamond elite online booking bonus

Another new term for this offer is a 100 points online booking bonus for elite Platinum and Elite Diamond Choice Privileges members who book on ChoiceHotels.com.

Online booking bonuses are becoming all the rage this season with Priority Club, SPG and now Choice offering a promotional online booking bonus. Club Carlson is the only major hotel loyalty program with a standard online booking bonus.

Choice Privileges finally publishes 5,000 points minimum bonus term.

One major change in the T&C for this ‘8,000 points after two stays’ Choice Privileges promotion is the 5,000 points minimum bonus is finally in print.

Over the past couple of years I argued on Loyalty Traveler that Choice Privileges 8,000 points after two stays favored low spenders. This year a Choice Privileges manager contacted me to state there is a 5,000 points minimum bonus after two stays with this recurring 8,000 points promotion.

This latest version of the Choice Privileges promotion is the first time the 5,000 points minimum has been listed in the promotion terms & conditions.

Example A: 2 stays at a $50 Quality Inn earns 1,000 points for $100 in room rate spend. The bonus points added after two stays = 7,000 bonus points for a total 8,000 points after two stays. The Choice Privileges member who spends $100 earns 7,000 bonus points after two stays.

Example B: 2 stays at a Clarion Hotel spending $500 earns 5,000 base points with Choice Privileges. The 5,000 points minimum bonus means this stay earns 10,000 total points rather than just 8,000 points.

I argued previously that the member who spends $500 is only getting 3,000 bonus points while the member spending $100 earns 7,000 bonus points with this promotion. Having never spent over $300 to earn this 8,000 points I had no knowledge of a 5,000 points minimum bonus and there was nothing in the promotion terms to indicate a 5,000 points minimum bonus with this offer.

This latest version of Choice Privileges 8,000 points offer is the first time Choice Privileges published the fact there is a 5,000 points minimum bonus after two stays. This is a big deal in my opinion and I wonder why Choice Privileges took so long to point out this detail in their promotion terms and conditions. This printed term is a promotion enhancement.

What is the value of 8,000 Choice Privileges points?

About 25% of Choice Hotels, some 1,500 of 6,000 global properties are available for 6,000 or 8,000 points for a free night. Choice Privileges provides a link to hotels for 8,000 points or less. Most of these hotels are located in the USA and the typical published rate trends around $50 to $80 per night. Hotels go up to 35,000 points for a free night and even up to an astronomical 75,000 points for Australia in peak season.

image

Choice Privileges partners with Preferred Hotels Group for the option to redeem points (30,000 to 60,000 per night) at boutique luxury hotels around the globe. Barcelo Resorts, all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean also partner with Choice Privileges. Barcelo Resorts are 20,000 to 25,000 points per night. Choice Privileges offers a recurring 50% off Preferred Hotel Group and Barcelo Resort stays providing luxury boutique hotels and beach resorts for as little as 10,000 to 30,000 points per night.

8,000 points in Choice Privileges tends to have best redemption value for international properties. See my Loyalty Traveler March 26, 2012 post explaining how Choice Privileges can provide low cost redemptions for hotels in Paris and Europe for only 8,000 points per reward night.

Be aware of Choice Privileges restricted award reservations window  30 Days US/Canada or 60 Days Hawaii/International.

The main point to know about redeeming Choice Privileges points is the limited booking window for reward night reservations. Non-elite members can only book up to 30 days before hotel stay arrival in the US (excluding Hawaii) and Canada. Hawaii and international hotels allow bookings up to 60 days before arrival.

Extended reward stay booking window for Choice Privileges elite members.

  • Base members:Book up to 30 days in advance for hotels in the U.S. or Canada or 60 days in advance for hotels in Hawaii and outside of the U.S. and Canada
  • Elite Gold members (10 nights in calendar year): Reward nights can be booked 50 daysin advance for members staying in the U.S. and Canada or 60 days in advance for hotels in Hawaii and outside of the U.S. and Canada.
  • Elite Platinum members (20 nights in calendar year): Reward nights can be booked 75 days in advance for and 100 days for
  • Elite Diamond members (40 nights in calendar year): Reward nights can be booked 100 days in advance.

This is another good value loyalty promotion for the road warrior and leisure road traveler looking for mid-range priced hotels. My car travels here in the western U.S. take to many places where the chain hotel options are limited to Wyndham Rewards, Best Western Rewards and Choice Privileges.

A free night in central Paris after two $60 hotel stays in California is the kind of loyalty traveler value I enjoy finding on the road.

Loyalty Traveler post link: http://loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2012/08/27/choice-privileges-8000-points-after-two-stays-aug-30nov-14-2012/

Ric Garrido, writer and content owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

 

15 Comments

  • Kevin F August 27, 2012

    Hi Ric,

    Very informative post as I was considering this promo for some upcoming travel.

    I have a specific question regarding the “recurring 50% off Preferred Hotels” promo, which surprised me. To my knowledge, I haven’t seen that for years(you posted about it a few years back I believe). If it’s still offered, how can I make sure I get the info each time so I am in the know? I would very much like to take advantage of it because it represents some good value when redeeming Choice points. Any insight on this promo would be very helpful.

    Thanks for your hard work and good luck with everything!

  • Ric Garrido August 27, 2012

    @Kevin F – Thanks for asking about the Preferred Hotels Group 50% awards.

    How time flies.

    It has been almost two years since I posted about the Choice Privileges 50% discount for PHG hotels that ran Nov 3, 2010 to Jan 19, 2011.

    http://loyaltytraveler.boardingarea.com/2010/11/04/choice-privileges-offers-up-to-50-off-preferred-hotel-group-reward-nights/

  • Jeff & Marcy August 27, 2012

    Hi Ric,

    Great website! Good info for even us seasoned Choice Privileges members (found the High Value Reward Night post very infomative).

    Question – I’ve been looking for the regular fall stay twice promo for a week or so. Where do you get the heads up on the upcoming promos? (It still isn’t on their website yet – one would think they would want to get the word pronto to entice those of us who actually try to plan ahead….)

    Thanks, Jeff.

  • Matt August 27, 2012

    Ric,
    This is very timely as my fiance and I have a 4 day stay coming up at an enVision hotel in Boston. Room rates are ridiculous for the weekend we are there, so anything we can get would help ease the pain.

    That said, do you think we’ll both get the points if I book Thurs/Sat and she books Fri/Sun? I’ve had luck separating nights with the Club Carlson promo at the same hotel, but I would think maybe I’m pushing it here. Do hotels get pissed when you do this, or, if you’re staying in the same room, do they not really care?

    Also, in the T’s & C’s, it says “a trip is defined as a stay that is any number of consecutive nights at one hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs.” Do you think that means that they’ll count our entire 4 days as one stay even if we split up the bookings?

  • Jeff & Marcy August 28, 2012

    Matt,

    Just a word from experience – you can do the swap (you book Thurs/Sat and she books Fri/Sun), but you will have to check out in the am & check back in in the pm; so you would be changing rooms.

    Be discrete about it and ensure that the hotel does not just “append” your previous night’s reservation, and you should be fine. Most of the time the front desk employee doesn’t know or care.

    We have done this on several occasions with no problem.

    Have fun in Boston,

    Jeff.

  • Ric Garrido August 28, 2012

    @Jeff & Marcy – Choice Privileges email to my member account yesterday morning is where I found this offer. About an hour after posting on my blog I received a PR email about the offer.

    I couldn’t find the promotion on the Choice Privileges website and I truncated the web link from my email. Good thing too since that email link had my account number in the web address.

    @Matt – I have alternated nights with my wife many times to maximize a promotion without changing hotels.

    I always make sure to physically check out of the hotel in the morning and close out the hotel folio. Then my wife checks in under her reservation.

    Depending on my perception of the desk staff attitude, I sometimes tell them exactly what we are doing to maximize the hotel loyalty promotion offer. Generally I find the desk receptionist does not care and will let us stay in the same room.

    The main issue I have experienced is my elite status sometimes requires us to change rooms since my wife generally does not qualify for an upgraded room on her lower status. Some hotels have even allowed us to stay in a suite through both reservations.

    There is certainly no problem if you fully checkout in the morning and the other person comes back for check-in during the afternoon.

    I just make sure to have a closed out hotel folio in hand each day so there is no possibility of the reservations being combined into one account.

  • Matt August 28, 2012

    Ric and Jeff,

    Thanks for your help. Looks like that’s what I’ll do then. Do you normally ask them to stash your luggage while you’re out? We’re not going to have a car, so we wouldn’t really have anywhere to put it. I’m just trying to make it as low impact on the staff as possible so they don’t get upset with us. I’m thinking maybe just explaining what we’re trying to do might be our best choice and asking to keep the same room (and tell them we won’t need housekeeping).

  • Ralfinho August 28, 2012

    How I would have loved to take advantage of that promotion. However, it seems that I am not eligible to participate.
    I followed your link and tried to sign in and to register but I only got an error message that my request could not be processed right now.
    Now I have read the FAQs on the bottom of the page. Well, it says, one needs to maintain an address in the US.
    Bad luck for me (living in Germany).
    Thanks anyway for the information about the promo!

  • Ric Garrido August 28, 2012

    @Ralfinho – I apologize for not putting in the US resident requirement. It seems that the budget chains like Choice, Wyndham and Best Western restrict many of their promotions to US and sometimes Canada residents.

  • […] 8,000 Choice Privileges Points on 2-Night Stays – Loyalty Traveler […]

  • Issy September 1, 2012

    Hi there, any idea why there is a US residence requirement to access Choice Privilege Promotions? We have queried this with Choice and never received an adequate response. By that I mean they acknowledge my emails and then basically don’t don’t know the reason.

    We travel to the US x 2 annually, only holiday in the US and tend to be barred from promotions. Last visit to Texas in the spring, as usual a number of hotels rang Choice on our behalf to query the same and received no further information.

    I was advised by Choice to email again and they would escalate to a Senior Manager (I asked for the email address of the CEO) but you have probably guessed, I received no reply.

    I cannot determine why my dollar is less valuable than everyone elses dollar as it would appear to me that times are tough out there.

    Any ideas?

    From
    A frustrated traveller

  • Betty September 29, 2012

    @ Matt and Ric. I was reading through the Choice Privileges program terms and conditions and the alternated nights you speak of is not allowed. It states the following: If two, or more, Choice Privileges Members share a room, Choice will credit points to the Member reserving and staying in the room. Guest may not change the Choice Privileges number on the stay after the first night has been consumed.

    I would hate to take a chance on loose my points.

  • […] the more prominent upscale chains, but this promotion fares well against Best Western Rewards and Choice Privileges for hotel travelers frequenting the midscale and economy chains over the next two […]

  • […] August 30-November 14, 2012: Earn 8,000 points after every two stays at Choice Hotels. Regardless of hotel spend you will receive either 8,000 total points after two hotel stays or a minimum 5,000 bonus points. This bonus may be earned with no maximum limit during the promotion. An eligible stay requires two consecutive nights at four brands: MainStay, Suburban, Rodeway and EconoLodge. Loyalty Traveler post Aug 27. […]

  • […] Related post: Choice Privileges 8,000 points after two stays Aug 30–Nov 14, 2012 […]

Comments are closed.

BoardingArea