Introduction
If you stay at Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, Sleep Inn, Cambria, Radisson Americas, or any of the other Choice Hotels brands more than a couple of times a year, you should be using Choice Privileges. Reward nights start at 6,000 points (most start at 8,000 or more), points last 18 months from your last qualifying activity and don't expire at all while you hold elite status, and as of April 2026 the program accepts inbound transfers from Bilt Rewards. Here's exactly how the program works in 2026, what to do on day one, and how to actually use your points.
This guide is the operational playbook. If you want a deep look at award-night pricing tiers and where to find the best per-point value at specific properties, that lives in our companion piece on the Choice Privileges award chart. Everything below focuses on the day-to-day mechanics: signing up, earning, status, redeeming, and avoiding the small mistakes that cost members points.
What Choice Privileges Actually Is
Choice Privileges is the loyalty program for Choice Hotels International, a chain that's grown well past its budget-roadside reputation. The brand portfolio in 2026 covers more than 7,100 properties across brands including:
- Budget and midscale: Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios
- Upper-midscale and upscale: Clarion Pointe, Cambria Hotels, the Ascend Hotel Collection
- Radisson Americas: Radisson, Radisson Blu, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn (added after Choice acquired Radisson Hotels Americas in 2022)
That last bullet is the part most travelers miss. The Radisson integration is now complete, which means a single Choice Privileges account earns and redeems across all of those brands too. If you've stayed at a Country Inn & Suites recently and didn't credit it to Choice Privileges, that's points left on the table.
Membership is free, there's no minimum spend, and your account stays active as long as you earn or redeem points at least once every 18 months.
How to Sign Up (60 Seconds)
Go to ChoiceHotels.com, click Join, and fill in name, email, address, and phone. You'll get a member number on the screen immediately. Add it to your profile in the mobile app and to any pending reservations in your email. If you booked through a third-party site like Expedia or Booking.com, the stay won't earn points or count toward status, so book directly with Choice when you can.
Two account-setup details to handle on day one:
- Turn on email opt-in for promotions. Choice runs registration-required bonus offers (typically "Stay 2, get 8,000 bonus points" style) almost every quarter. They only credit if you registered before your stay.
- Link your Bilt Rewards account if you have one. As of April 2026, Bilt added Choice Privileges as a transfer partner at a 1:2 ratio, meaning 1,000 Bilt points becomes 2,000 Choice points.
Status Tiers and How to Earn Them
Choice Privileges has five levels. Here's what each one requires and what it gives you in 2026:
Member (entry level)
- Requirements: just sign up
- Earn rate: 10 points per dollar on qualifying stays
- Perks: member-only rates (typically 5-15% off), free Wi-Fi, early access to promotions
Gold (5 nights or 10,000 credits)
- Earn rate: 10% bonus points on qualifying stays
- Perks: elite reserved parking, early check-in and late checkout, an elite welcome gift, the elite customer hotline, room upgrades at participating upscale brands, milestone rewards, and points that don't expire while you hold status (perks where available)
Platinum (15 nights or 30,000 credits)
- Earn rate: 25% bonus points on qualifying stays
- Perks: all Gold perks
Diamond (35 nights or 70,000 credits)
- Earn rate: 50% bonus points on qualifying stays
- Perks: guaranteed room availability with 48-hour notice at participating upscale hotels, complimentary breakfast for you and a guest at participating Radisson upscale brands, all lower-tier perks
Titanium (55 nights or 110,000 credits)
- Earn rate: 50% bonus points on qualifying stays
- Perks: an annual Titanium Travel Award, a coupon for 50% off a reward night stay of up to 7 nights at select properties, plus all Diamond perks
A "qualifying night" means a paid, eligible-rate room night. Award nights and most discounted promotional rates don't count. The credits-based qualification path matters because someone who concentrates spend at higher-rate Cambria or Radisson properties can hit a tier on dollars without needing all the nights.
There's also a fast-track path most members miss: holding a Choice Privileges co-branded credit card grants automatic status. Wells Fargo says the no-fee Choice Privileges Mastercard gives you 10 Elite Qualifying Nights each calendar year, guaranteeing Gold, and the $95-fee Select Mastercard gives you 20, guaranteeing Platinum. If you stay at Choice properties even four or five times a year, the math on the Select card tilts in your favor before you account for the earning rate.
How to Earn Points: Five Channels Worth Knowing
1. Paid Stays (the Foundation)
The base rate is 10 points per dollar on the qualifying portion of your room rate (taxes and incidentals don't earn). Elite bonuses stack on top of this.
2. Co-Branded Credit Cards
Wells Fargo issues two Choice Privileges Mastercards. Specifics shift over time, but the structure as of September 2026:
- Choice Privileges Mastercard (no annual fee): 5X points on stays at participating Choice Hotels properties, 3X at gas stations, grocery stores and home improvement stores and on phone plans, and 10 Elite Qualifying Nights each calendar year, which guarantees Gold status.
- Choice Privileges Select Mastercard ($95 annual fee): 10X points on stays at participating Choice Hotels properties, 5X at gas stations, grocery stores and home improvement stores and on phone plans, 30,000 bonus points every account anniversary, and 20 Elite Qualifying Nights each calendar year, which guarantees Platinum status. This is the card for a casual Choice guest who wants Platinum without the nights.
Confirm the current sign-up bonus and benefits on the issuer's product page before applying. We update our Choice Privileges Select review when terms change.
3. Bilt Transfers (New for 2026)
Bilt Rewards added Choice Privileges as a transfer partner in early 2026 at a 1:2 ratio. If you pay rent through Bilt, you can convert those points into Choice points right before booking an award night.
Practical workflow: don't transfer until you're ready to book. Transfers are typically instant but not reversible, and Choice's dynamic award pricing can move on you. Confirm award availability in a separate browser tab, then transfer the exact amount you need.
4. Partner Activity
Choice has a dining program (Eat & Earn) that pays 1-3 points per dollar at participating restaurants once you link a card, plus a shopping portal with rotating offers. Both are minor income streams; treat them as gravy on top of stays and card spending, not a strategy.
The car rental partnerships with Avis and Budget pay points on rentals and offer member discounts, which is actually useful when you're already booking a road trip that includes a Choice stay.
5. Promotions
The big lever most members underuse. Choice runs targeted bonus promotions almost continuously: stay-and-get bonuses, brand-trial bonuses (book a Cambria, get extra points), and seasonal road-trip campaigns. Two rules apply: you have to register before the qualifying stay, and you have to credit the stay to your member number. Set a calendar reminder to check the offers page on the first of every month.
How to Redeem Your Points
Redemption value varies wildly across the program. Here's the day-to-day playbook.
Free Nights: Usually the Best Value
Award nights start at 6,000 points, though Choice says most start at 8,000 or more, and the price varies by location, brand and time of year. The program uses dynamic pricing tied to cash rates, but with floors and ceilings that keep the math friendlier than other dynamic-pricing programs.
A few practical patterns worth knowing:
- RewardSaver nights start at 6,000 points. Choice sometimes offers reward nights at a reduced price through RewardSaver, so look for it when you search.
- Standard awards in the 8,000-15,000 range are where most travelers will spend points. A Comfort Inn or Quality Inn on a typical weeknight tends to land here.
- Premium and upscale awards (Cambria, Ascend, Radisson Blu) cost more points but often deliver strong per-point value when paid rates are high.
- No blackout dates. If a standard room is bookable in cash, it's almost always bookable on points.
- Premium room upgrades at no extra cost. Choice lets you redeem the same point total for a suite or premium room when one is available. This is a quietly excellent feature most members never check.
- Points + Cash starts at 6,000 points plus as little as $17. It's US only, and Choice's rules let you buy the rest of a reward night's points as long as you use at least 6,000 points a night.
Beyond Choice Properties
Your points also work at Preferred Hotels & Resorts (luxury independents worldwide), Bluegreen Vacations resorts, and PENN Entertainment casino hotels. Per-point value at Preferred properties can be very strong for short luxury stays; the others are more of a niche use case.
Gift Cards and Merchandise
Choice offers gift cards for retailers like Amazon and Target plus a merchandise catalog. Both redeem at roughly 0.5 cents per point. That's about a third of the value you'd get from a free night. Use these only if you have an expiring balance you can't otherwise spend.
Airline Transfers
You can move Choice points to several airline partners, but the transfer ratios are unfavorable (typically 5,000 Choice points for 1,000 airline miles). Almost never worth it unless you need a tiny top-up on an airline account.
Avoiding the Common Pitfalls
A short list of mistakes that quietly cost members points and free nights:
Letting points expire. Points don't expire while you hold elite status. For everyone else, the 18-month inactivity clock resets with any earn or redeem activity, including a small Eat & Earn dining transaction. If you have a balance and aren't traveling, link a single dining card and let a $10 lunch keep the account alive.
Booking through third parties. Stays booked on Expedia, Booking.com, or similar OTAs don't earn Choice points and don't count toward status. The same room booked directly on ChoiceHotels.com almost always matches the OTA price and does both.
Forgetting to register for promotions. Most Choice bonus offers require pre-registration. If you book first and register after, the bonus doesn't credit, and customer service won't override it.
Transferring Bilt points speculatively. Choice's dynamic pricing can move while you're sitting on transferred points. Always confirm award availability and price before pulling the trigger.
Ignoring the no-cost upgrade option at award booking. If a suite or premium room shows the same point cost as a standard room, take the upgrade. This is a posted feature, not a glitch.
Not using points sharing. Choice now lets members transfer points to another Choice Privileges account at no cost, through the Choice Privileges website. The sender needs at least 5,000 points, both accounts must have been open for at least 30 days, and a transfer doesn't count as activity for expiration. Plan whose account earns and redeems before you book.
Reservation-glitch risk on the day of arrival. If a property tells you they don't see your reservation or your status, call the Choice Privileges line directly rather than trying to sort it at the front desk. The phone agents have access to the booking system the front desk doesn't.
Pro Tips for Day-to-Day Use
A handful of habits that separate members who get real value from members who let points languish:
- Concentrate stays inside the portfolio when you can. With more than 7,100 properties, Choice has a credible option in most secondary markets and along most U.S. interstates. Splitting loyalty across three programs almost always means none of them deliver real value.
- Use the Select card for all Choice spend. The earn rate plus automatic Platinum status changes the math on every single stay.
- Save Bilt transfers for award nights you've already priced. The 1:2 ratio is too good to waste on speculative balances.
- Check the promotions page on the first of each month. Two minutes of checking can be worth 5,000-15,000 bonus points per qualifying stay.
- Use the mobile app for check-in and digital keys. Available at most upper-midscale Choice properties as of 2026, and elite members get first access to better rooms when they check in early through the app.
- Track your status mid-year. If you're close to Gold or Platinum at the end of November, a single deliberate stay can push you over and lock in next-year benefits.
Choice Privileges isn't going to win awards for the flashiest perks or the splashiest properties. It wins on accessibility: low award floors, friendly expiration rules, a co-branded card that's actually worth carrying, and now a Bilt transfer partnership that lets renters pool earning across rent and travel. For a beginner trying to get more value from hotel stays without the complexity of luxury programs, this is one of the cleanest places to start.
Updated September 30, 2026: We corrected the elite tiers and thresholds, reward night prices, the property count, points sharing and elite points expiry from Choice Hotels' benefits page and program rules, and the co-branded cards, which are Wells Fargo Mastercards, from Wells Fargo's card page.
Updated October 1, 2026: We removed a brand count and a booking window that Choice does not publish on its own pages.
