The last word information to redeeming Alternative factors

It’s relatively easy to earn Choice Privileges points through stays, promotions and transferrable currencies. However, once you have a stash of Choice Privileges points, you might wonder how to redeem them.

As with most points and miles, the value you’ll get when redeeming Choice points will vary. TPG values Choice points at around 0.6 cents each, so we typically recommend aiming for at least that value when you redeem Choice points.

That being said, here’s everything you need to know about redeeming Choice Privileges points.

You’ll typically get the most value from Choice Privileges points when redeeming them for hotel stays. There are three primary ways to redeem Choice points for hotel stays: reward nights, points plus cash stays and Preferred Hotels & Resorts stays.

It’s worth noting that you can only redeem Choice points for stays that will occur within the next 100 days. That might be limiting if you like to book your travel well in advance.

Reward nights

You can book Choice Privileges reward nights at most Choice locations for between 6,000 points and 35,000 points. Here’s an example of a stay you can book for just 6,000 points per night:

Best of all, you can book more than just the base room type at many properties. For example, on select dates, you can book a three-bedroom apartment at the Quality Suites Huka Falls in New Zealand for just 20,000 points per night.

Choice Privileges reward nights can cost up to 75,000 points in some regions. Check the paid rates before booking to ensure a good redemption rate.

You can book far more than just Choice-branded hotels with Choice points, though. For example, you can use Choice Privileges points to stay at select Bluegreen Vacations properties. Check here for the list of eligible properties.

Most Bluegreen Vacations properties cost between 20,000 and 30,000 points per night. Availability can be difficult to snag at some properties, but last-minute bookings are often possible.

Use can also Choice points to book select casino hotels and resorts. Most casino hotels and resorts cost 30,000 points per night or less. Check here for the current list of casino hotels and resorts bookable with Choice points.

You can also book all-inclusive resorts with Choice Privileges points. When searching the Choice Hotels website, you can see the current options by selecting all-inclusive resorts as the hotel type.

As of this writing, Choice Points are redeemable at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Nightly rates range from 25,000 to 50,000 points per night.

Award availability can be difficult to find at some resorts. Still, I found ample availability at the Emotions All Inclusive Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, where I once stayed an entire month. Reward nights at this resort now cost 30,000 points, but you can still book various room types, including rooms with direct pool access and rooms with a sitting area, balcony and whirlpool.

The Choice Hotels website also lists an all-inclusive resort in Dominica. However, there’s no award rate listed for this resort, and I couldn’t find any award availability.

Finally, keep an eye on Choice Privileges Sweet Spot Rewards. Choice frequently discounts award rates at top select properties through this program.

Related: Hotels you can currently book for less with Choice Hotels’ Sweet Spot Rewards

Points plus cash

Choice also offers points plus cash rates if you have at least 6,000 Choice points in your account. Search for a reward night and select a result that shows a points-plus-cash rate.

Once you click “See Availability” for the property you want to book, you can compare the reward night, points plus cash and paid rates.

In the above example, you could pay 20,000 points, $286 cash or 16,000 points plus $119 per night for a rate that allows you to cancel until shortly before your stay. If you redeem 20,000 points, you will get a redemption rate of 1.43 cents per point. If you redeem 16,000 points plus $119, you’d use fewer points but only get a redemption rate of 1.04 cents per point.

Related: Register for Choice Hotels Your Extras to earn gift cards and other perks on weekday stays

Preferred Hotels & Resorts

U.S. Choice Privileges members can redeem Choice points for stays at participating Preferred Hotels & Resorts properties. For single or double occupancy, you can expect to redeem 25,000 to 55,000 points per night, worth $150 to $330 based on TPG’s valuations.

You can see the participating hotels and check availability online at this link, but you must call 877-803-7701 to book.

Related: What I’d like to see in an updated Choice Privileges program

Transfer Choice points to travel rewards partners

You can use the online Choice Privileges Rewards Exchange to transfer points to the following partners:

• Air Canada Aeroplan: Convert at a ratio of 5,000 Choice points to 1,000 Aeroplan points.
• Alaska MileagePlan: Convert at a ratio of 5,000 Choice points to 1,000 Alaska miles.
• Qantas FrequentFlyer: Convert at a ratio of 2,000 Choice points to 800 Qantas points.
• Radisson Rewards Americas: Convert at a ratio of 1,000 Choice points to 2,000 Radisson Rewards Americas points.
• Southwest Rapid Rewards: Convert at a ratio of 6,000 Choice points to 1,800 Southwest points.
• United MileagePlus: Convert at a ratio of 5,000 Choice points to 1,000 United miles.
• Velocity Frequent Flyer: Convert at a ratio of 2,000 Choice points to 800 Virgin Australia points.

You can also call Choice Privileges to transfer points to several other programs, including Aeromexico Club Premier, Czech Airlines OK Plus and Spirit Airlines Free Spirit.

Related: Choice Privileges and Radisson Rewards Americas points transfers are live

You can’t convert Choice points to cash via Bakkt anymore, as the consumer app was discontinued in early 2023. However, you can still get cash-like value from Choice points when you redeem them for gift cards.

The types of gift cards — and even whether you can redeem Choice points for them — varies based on where you reside. However, U.S. residents have a large selection of gift cards, most of which are worth $25 and cost 8,000 points.

You can also redeem 5,000 points for a one-year AARP membership or 12,000 points for a three-year AARP membership.

You can redeem Choice points for up to four cards of the same dollar amount per transaction, but you can only make one gift card transaction every 48 hours.

If you redeem 8,000 Choice points for a $25 gift card, you’ll get a redemption rate of 0.3125 cents per point. This redemption provides well below TPG’s valuation of 0.6 cents per point, so we typically don’t recommend redeeming Choice points for gift cards.

Related: How to use points and miles to give gifts with $0 out-of-pocket cost

U.S. residents can redeem Choice points for magazines through the MagsForPoints program.

The cost in points for most magazines is reasonable, so it’s worth looking at the current options before starting a subscription through other means.

You can also redeem Choice points for cruise credit when you book by phone with Cruises for Choice Privileges (powered by Cruise411) at 800-596-0451. You can redeem 85,000 points for $250 in cruise credit or 160,000 points for $500 in cruise credit.

If you redeem 16,0000 points for a $500 credit, you will get a redemption rate of 0.3125 cents per point. This redemption rate is well below TPG’s valuation of Choice points (0.6 cents per point), so we don’t recommend this option.

Related: How to book a cruise using points and miles

Redeem Choice points for college sports experiences

In 2022, Choice Privileges introduced the ability to redeem points for select college sports events and experiences. However, when I wrote this post, I found no available events on Choice’s college sports experiences page.

We expect Choice may load some new experiences as the next college sports season approaches. For now, check out our guide to redeeming Choice points for college sports experiences to see some options available last winter.

You can redeem Choice points for golf tee times and merchandise through Golf by Choice. While writing this article, I checked a few tee times at a nearby golf course.

I could pay $25 or 8,333 points for a 4:54 p.m. tee time for a single golfer. A 5:12 p.m. tee time costs $13 or 4,333 points. So, I’d get about 0.3 cents per point when redeeming Choice points for tee times.

You can also redeem Choice points for merchandise. For example, I could buy a TaylorMade Spider GT Roll Back Single Bend putter for $199.99 or 66,663 points, giving me a 0.3 cents per point redemption rate.

Donate Choice points

Finally, you can also donate Choice points to select charities.

Choice will donate $5 per 1,000 points redeemed to most charities. However, if you donate your points to Polaris, Choice will donate $10 per 1,000 points.

Related: How you can donate your points and miles to charity

To get the best value from your points, we recommend calculating your redemption rate and ideally only redeeming when you can get at least 0.6 cents per point (TPG’s valuation of Choice points).