I will try to buy Choice Hotel points today during the 1pm ET Daily Getaways sale. I prefer to buy points rather than earn them more slowly the traditional way during Choice Privileges promotion for 8,000 points after two stays.
There are four packages available.
20,000 points = $102 ($91.80 with American Express payment). Purchase price is $4.59 or $5.10 per 1,000 points. 190 sets of points are available and there is a limit of 2 sets per member. This means as few as 95 people in the U.S. may end up buying all these points.
32,000 points = $134 ($120.60 with American Express payment). Purchase price is $3.77 or $4.19 per 1,000 points. 660 sets of points are available and there is a limit of 2 sets per member.
36,000 points = $156 ($140.40 with American Express payment). Purchase price is $3.90 or $4.33 per 1,000 points. 795 sets of points are available and there is a limit of 2 sets per member.
40,000 points = $166 ($149.40 with American Express payment). Purchase price is $3.74 or $4.15 per 1,000 points. 325 sets of points are available and there is a limit of 2 sets per member.
Buy Choice Points Deal Analysis
Last week I posted an analysis of the Daily Getaways Choice Privileges offers.
In April and May I stayed two times at Choice Hotels brands on a trip to Disneyland and when I roadtripped from Monterey to Colorado Springs. I earned 8,000 points with two separate hotel one-night stays.
I should find myself in Europe in fall 2013 and winter 2014 where there are generally dozens of hotels at 8,000 points per night. Choice Privileges is fond of advertising its promotion for 8,000 points after two stays as being a free night at over 1,500 hotels. The aspect of that claim that goes unmentioned is most hotels in the USA at 6,000 and 8,000 points per night are economy level hotels with low rates most of the year.
The real value of Choice Privileges points is for international hotels that regularly drop from 20,000 and 25,000 points per night in peak season to 8,000 points per night in the off-season. In Europe there are more than 400 Choice Hotels. Several countries in Europe and in some other international countries seasonal hotel reward rates generally offer dozens of hotels two seasons per year when reward nights drop to 8,000 points at otherwise 3-star and 4-star hotels with regular room rates over $200 per night.
The other value of Choice Hotels points is for road travel when you are passing through rural areas with few hotel options. Choice Hotels with 5,000+ hotels in the USA has far more hotels that any of the other major hotel brands, except Wyndham. There are hundreds of towns where Choice Hotels and Wyndham Hotels and perhaps one other brand are located. Road trips are why I always try to have a balance of Choice Privileges and Wyndham Rewards points for last minute hotel bookings. I tend to save $50 per night or so compared to the price to buy points when I pick up a last minute midscale hotel in a place on the back roads of Oregon, Utah and Colorado.
Here is the link to Choice Privileges hotels for 6,000 or 8,000 points. This list does not include many of the hotels that are currently at 8,000 points in cities like Paris and London and rising to 20,000 or 25,000 points beginning July 1 for the summer season.
Choice Privileges Reward Nights
- There are no blackout dates!
- There are over 1,500 Choice hotels with reward nights at 8,000 points or less. Click here to see the list.
- Reward nights at Choice hotels worldwide are available from 6,000 to 35,000 points (excluding Australasia where points required are up to 75,000)
- Point requirements for some hotels may vary based on time of year
- Book up to 30 days in advance for hotels in the U.S. or Canada or 60 days in advance for hotels outside of the U.S. and Canada
- Reward nights can be booked 50 days in advance for Elite Gold members staying in the U.S. and Canada or 60 days in advance for hotels outside of the U.S. and Canada.
- Reward nights can be booked 75 days in advance for Elite Platinum members and 100 days for Elite Diamond members.
The other main caveat to Choice Privileges is points expire after December 31 two years following the date points were earned. Buy points today and they will expire December 31, 2015 if you have not used them.
My advice is do not buy Choice Privileges points today if you do not have a plan to use them over the next 30 months.
Daily Getaways Choice Privileges 40,000 points = $166. Pay with American Express and the price is 10% less.
Ric Garrido, writer and content owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests.
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