Choice Privileges is back with a familiar opportunity to earn 8000 points after every two stays. The promotion period is unfortunately rather brief, ending May 2, 2021, but it’s a good chance to earn points if you’ll be staying at any Choice hotels in the next little while. If you don’t have any stays coming up but have your eye on a high value future redemption, there is also a 40% bonus on purchased points that goes to April 27, 2021.
Promotion Details
This is the same points promotion we’ve seen many times from Choice Privileges. Interestingly, it’s only for Canadian residents. The US promotion is different as you can see from the info shared on this Flyertalk thread.
- Register for the promo
- Make 2 qualifying stays between April 6 and May 2, 2021
- Receive 8000 points
Note that 8000 will be the minimum points you’ll receive from the two qualifying stays after combining bonus points with the base points – it’s not a flat 8000 on top of the base points. For all the details, see the full terms and conditions at the end of the post.
Important Reminders
There is no stated limit on the number of bonuses you can receive so if you have 4, 6, 8 etc. stays within the eligibility period, you can earn the bonus multiple times.
If you currently have your account set to earn points in another program, like Aeroplan, change the setting to Choice Privileges before registering and making any bookings.
Although it says you’ll earn a “free night”, it’s really just 8000 points which won’t actually get you a free night at most Choice hotels (and they mention this fact in the fine print). Still, building up your stash of Choice points is a smart move if you have any plans to travel to Scandinavia or certain other destinations in Europe. There can also be some decent-to-excellent options in Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand but the nordic properties are generally where the program shines the most.
40% Bonus When You Buy Choice Points (ends April 27, 2021)
Due to the existence of various sweet spot redemptions, it can occasionally make sense to go ahead and buy Choice points. If so, the best time is when they’re having a sale which is usually a 30% discount or a 40% bonus as is the case with the current offering. Until April 27, 2021, you’ll receive 40% more when you buy at least 3000 points. Just remember that points are priced in USD and Canadian residents must pay HST.
(Outside of those periodic sales, the best time to buy points is during the annual US Travel Association Daily Getaways sale but there is no sign of one happening this year.)
Bonus Point Package Rates
If you have a high value future redemption in mind, it might also be worth booking a bonus point package rate for an upcoming stay. I’ve looked at these previously and the 4000 point packages cost around $35 on top of the best flexible rate. So, if you had a couple of stays and earned the 8000 point bonus plus an additional 8000 from two 4000 point packages, you could, for example, redeem them for an otherwise pricey suite at the Hotel Aquarius Venice, Ascend Hotel Collection which has reward rate as low as 16,000 points per night, depending on the season.
Promotion Terms and Conditions
From the Choice Privileges website:
*Registration required at www.choicehotels.com/free-night before the first qualifying check-out. The promotion is only available to members of the Choice Privileges® Rewards Program who register for this promotion, and then make two separate qualifying stays at participating hotels (WoodSpring Suites® hotels, Ascend Hotel Collection® all-inclusive resorts, Ascend Hotel Collection® casino hotel and resort destinations , among others, are not participating) with arrival between April 6, 2021 and May 2, 2021. A “stay” is any number of consecutive nights at one hotel regardless of check-ins or check-outs. A “qualifying stay” is a stay that is during this promotion at a participating hotel through a qualifying channel (see Qualifying Channel, below) that is eligible to earn Choice Privileges points. Most stays are eligible to earn Choice Privileges points EXCEPT: rooms booked at rates below $40 USD per night, certain hotel initiated promotions, reward night stays, complimentary rooms, rooms paid for as part of a convention or meeting, rooms booked through a travel agent or third party online retailer including online travel agencies, wholesale packages, group tours, and stays booked using the employee discount or the friends and family discount. You must maintain an address in Canada to be eligible.
Registered members will be awarded a minimum of 5,000 to a maximum of 8,000 bonus points after the second qualifying stay. The number of bonus points awarded depends on the number of base points earned from the two separate qualifying stays, with points varying by hotel. The total of base points plus bonus points awarded, however, will be at least 8,000 points, which is the number of points required for a future free night at over 1,000 Choice® hotels worldwide (see Free Nights, below).
Some provinces and local jurisdictions are imposing restrictions on hotels accepting guests due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which are subject to change at the discretion of state and local authorities. Please check with your destination hotel prior to departing for the hotel to confirm the status on any hotel guest restrictions.
Qualifying Channel: Members must book stays via ChoiceHotels.com, the Choice Hotels mobile app, or 800.4CHOICE. Stays directly booked through Book by Google are also eligible, if the member adds his/her Choice Privileges number to the reservation prior to check-in. Corporate travelers may book through their online booking tool, GDS, or with a travel agent; however, reservations booked through Egencia’s Preferred Rate Program do not qualify for promotional bonus points. Choice Privileges member number must be provided upon check-in. To be eligible to earn bonus points, members must set their earning preference to Choice Privileges points in their online account. Any change made to earning preference will remain in effect after the promotion has ended, unless the member changes it. Allow 72 hours from check-out for points to post. Request for bonus points made by members who did not register for the promotion will only be considered up to 60 days after the promotion ends; request thereafter will be automatically denied.
Free Nights: There are no blackout dates, but rooms are subject to availability. Restrictions, taxes, and fees apply. There are over 1,000 Choice hotels with reward nights available at 8,000 points or less. A free night at most Choice locations requires more than 8,000 points; reward nights at locations worldwide are available from 6,000 to 30,000 points (excluding Asia-Pac, where reward nights require up to 75,000 points). Point requirements may vary based on time of year.
Choice Hotels reserves the right to amend these terms or terminate this promotion at any time. For Choice Privileges program details, eligible rates, eligible countries and point redemption rules, visit www.ChoiceHotels.com/CPrules. Hotels are independently owned and operated.
Conclusion
This “Stay Twice, Earn a Free Night” promotion from Choice Privileges is a good one and it’s nice to see it back again. It’s just too bad that it only lasts a few short weeks. The Atlantic Bubble is set to reopen on April 19th so there isn’t that much time to take advantage of the promo around the region. However, it’s at least a bit reassuring to see a worthwhile points-earning opportunity be offered so hopefully there will be more of those to come.
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