Choice Hotels and Citi announced a partnership that will allow card holders of the Choice Privileges Mastercard to earn points when they stay at any one of their properties in North America. The program will also provide 50,000 bonus points per year to all cardholders on account anniversary for life. This promotion runs through September 14th, 2018.
The “choice hotels near me” is a Citi ThankYou card holders can now use points for Choice Hotels. The cardholders will be able to convert their points into hotel stays, gift cards, and more.
CNN —
CNN Underscored evaluates financial goods like credit cards and bank accounts based on their overall worth, but it does not evaluate all financial organizations or all financial offerings. We may be paid to direct visitors to partner sites like CreditCards.com, and this payment may influence how and where links appear on our site.
One of the most adaptable incentive schemes has recently improved. Citi ThankYou Rewards points may be transferred to the Choice Privileges hotel program starting Monday, Oct. 18. Choice is the only hotel program on ThankYou’s roster of partners, which currently numbers 17 in total.
Here are our best Citi credit cards for everything from travel rewards to balance transfers.
Before we get into the details of the collaboration, keep in mind that credit cards like the Citi Premier® Card and the Citi Rewards+® Card may help you earn ThankYou points. These cards’ ThankYou points may then be transferred to any of the ThankYou program’s partners, which now includes Choice.
Citi
Citi ThankYou’s newest transfer partner is Choice.
While this isn’t normally a hotel program on your radar, there are some hidden jewels. There are plenty of ways to redeem your points since Choice manages over 7,000 locations throughout the globe.
Although most Citi ThankYou partners need you to have a premium card to transfer points straight to a partner program, this new arrangement allows you to transfer points whether you have an annual fee card or not.
Points transfer at a 1-to-2 ratio for annual fee cards like the Citi Premier, meaning you’ll earn 2,000 Choice Privileges points for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points transferred. With the Citi Premier’s current 80,000-point sign-up bonus, you might earn 160,000 Choice Privileges points, which can be redeemed for up to 26 free nights at Choice hotels.
Related: 5 ways to fly for free with the Citi Premier credit card’s 80,000 extra points
Points will transfer at a slightly lower 1-to-1.5 ratio with no-annual-fee cards, such as the Citi Rewards+. This implies that for every 1,000 points switched over, you’ll only get 1,500 Choice Privileges points. You’ll be able to transfer at the greater ratio if you have one Citi ThankYou account for numerous cards, including a premium card.
While cash back earned with the Citi® Double Cash Card cannot be transferred to ThankYou partner programs on its own, you may transfer the points earned to a partner program after first converting your cash back into ThankYou points. Whether you have an annual fee card or a no-annual-fee card linked to your account will determine the transfer ratio.
Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria Hotels, Comfort, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Quality Inn, MainStay Suites, WoodSpring Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge, and Rodeway Inn are all part of the Choice Privileges reward program. Bluegreen Vacation resorts, which are Hotels of your choice’ vacation club hotels, are also part of the Ascend Hotel Collection.
Because hotels aren’t bound to a single category like most other hotel programs, there isn’t a steady redemption rate. Instead, free nights cost between 6,000 and 35,000 points (except in the Asia Pacific area, where incentive nights cost up to 75,000 points), and award rates are only released a few months in advance. Depending on the season and whether you’re staying during the week or on the weekend, the amount of points necessary varies throughout the year.
The needed amount of points may be found directly on the property website. Stays at the Golden Eagle Resort in Stowe, Vermont, for example, will cost between 16,000 and 25,000 points per night from Oct. 15 to Nov. 30, 2021, but will cost between 25,000 and 30,000 points per night from Dec. 1, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022. However, until the calendar for those days is released, we won’t know how many points you’ll need to remain in February or beyond.
Hotels of your choice
An example of a Golden Eagle Resort stay
Unfortunately, with award stays, Choice only enables you to book up to 100 days in advance. If you prefer to plan your travels months in advance, this might be a major stumbling block.
On the positive side, with the same number of Choice Privileges points, you may reserve any accommodation category, even suites. If you choose to stay at a property with numerous bedrooms, which is typical at many of Ascend’s and Bluegreen Vacation’s resorts, you’ll be charged the same amount of points as if you booked a conventional hotel room. This is a wonderful hidden treasure in the software, which my family has taken use of on several occasions.
The Golden Eagle Resort, for example, is located just down the road from the well-known Stowe Mountain. The hotel has a variety of accommodation options, including a two-bedroom suite with a kitchen and fireplace that can accommodate up to eight people. If the accommodation type you choose is available on your trip date, you may book it for the same amount of points as the lowest-level room.
Choice Hotels
The Golden Eagle Resort offers a variety of reward redemption opportunities.
The Choice Privileges reward program also enables you to reserve the same exact accommodation type with a mix of points and cash. You may get 6,000 points plus a cash outlay if you choose this option. To finish the cash component of the stay, you must spend $90 per 1,000 points. If you want to stay at a hotel that needs 25,000 points, you’ll have to pay the cash equivalent of 19,000 points (because you’re already paying 6,000 points), which will cost you $171 to “buy” the extra points.
While this is a great option if you don’t have enough points in your account to book entirely with points, if you cancel a reservation that was partially booked with points and partially booked with cash, the cash portion will be credited to you in the form of points — not cash — at the same $90 per 1,000 points rate.
While most Choice Hotels won’t provide you with the same level of luxury as the Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, or Hilton Honors programs, it does provide a favorable reward chart — particularly if you go during off-peak times — as well as the option to reserve a premium room for no extra points. However, because of the 100-day restriction, it’s preferable to use your Choice Privileges points for last-minute holiday plans.
Finally, this is a welcome addition to Citi’s ThankYou program. ThankYou cardholders now have a new way to redeem their points for free travel thanks to the addition of a hotel transfer partner.
Learn how to combine several Citi credit cards for the best travel rewards in CNN Underscored’s guide.
CNN Underscored Money has the most up-to-date personal financial offers, news, and advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Citi ThankYou points be used for hotels?
A: ThankYou points can not be used for hotels. They are only usable on the ThankYou website and to purchase a gift card from them
How to earn ThankYou points Citi?
A: ThankYou points are earned by using your Citi card. For every $1 spent, you earn 1 point which can be used towards money off of future purchases on the website.
Related Tag
- comfort inn locations
