Choice Privileges is back with their summer 8,000 points after two stays promotion from May 22 to August 22, 2014. They promote this offer as a $50 gift card and 8,000 points earned during this promotion are good for a $50 gift card, although I find hotel award nights to be a better value for my travel. Choice hotel stays worldwide are eligible, except for hotels that normally do not earn Choice Privileges points such as hotels in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries that are part of Nordic Choice.
There is no limit to the number of times this offer may be earned.
Choice Privileges promotion registration required before stays.
8,000 points for $50 Gift Cards is 50% off until September 30, 2014
Members who earn 8,000 points after two stays during the summer promotion have the option for redeeming those 8,000 points for a $50 gift card at 50% of the normal 16,000 points rate for a variety of restaurant, shopping and gas retailers. Choice Privileges members are only eligible to redeem points earned from this promotion at the 8,000 points = $50 gift card rate through September 30, 2014. See list of participating retailers at bottom of this post.
How it 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.
- MainStay Suites
- Suburban
- Econolodge
- 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 over Memorial weekend and then spend two nights at a MainStay Suites over July 4th holiday 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. You probably already know how all this works if you hold one of those 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 summer 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 the summer offer while another person who spends $560 on five nights only earns 2,400 bonus points from the summer offer.
5,000 Bonus points minimum
Choice Privileges accounts for rewarding 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 summer 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 summer stays at Choice Hotels.
$50 Gift Card
Member must register at ChoiceHotels.com before arrival and book their trips at ChoiceHotels.com, via the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE at qualifying rates. Member may also 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 5/22/14 and 8/20/14, member will be awarded enough bonus points to reach the 8,000 point level, which can be redeemed until 9/30/14 for one (1) $50 gift card at defined retailers on ChoiceHotels.com/giftcard. Only members earning this bonus qualify to redeem for the $50 gift card. Only members who register for the promotion are eligible to earn the defined promotional gift cards during the promotion. Terms and conditions apply to $50 gift card options. See card for details.
Choice Privileges promotes this summer bonus as a $50 gift card after two qualifying stays. 8,000 points for a $50 gift card is a redemption opportunity to get a $50 gift car at half the normal rate of 16,000 points.
U.S. Resident Options
Dining:
• Bahama Breeze
• Chili’s
• LongHorn Steakhouse
• Olive Garden
• Red Lobster
Shopping:
• Amazon
• Macy’s
Gas:
• BP
• Chevron/Texaco
• ExxonMobil
• Shell
• Sunoco
Canada Resident Options
Dining:
• Harvey’s
• Kelsey’s
• Milestones Restaurant
• Montana’s Cookhouse
• St. Hubert
• Swiss Chalet
Shopping:
• Canadian Tire
• Future Shop
• The Gap
• Hudson Bay Company
• Lowe’s
Gas:
• Esso
• Petro Canada
This Choice Privileges offer is a good summer travel offer for leisure travelers on the road staying in midscale hotels. This deal for a rebate on hotel spend at Choice Hotels, along with Best Western Rewards 3 stays earns one free night from May 19 to September 1, 2014 are offers to remember when hitting the road this summer and planning one-night stays while getting from place to place.
Choice Privileges $50 gift card summer promotion registration.
Choice Privileges summer promotion T&C.
*****
Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.
Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests.
Follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.
4 Comments
Comments are closed.