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Editor's note
The Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card is no longer available. See our Best Travel Credit Cards page for other offers.If you’re a frequent traveler, you’re probably aware that hotel stays can easily add up to thousands of dollars over the course of every year. But what you may not be aware of is just how quickly you can rack up points and get rewarded for the money you’re spending.
With the Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card, you’ll earn 5X points for every dollar spent on eligible Choice Hotels — that’s more than 7,000 hotel locations worldwide. And you can redeem those points for free hotel nights or gift cards to your favorite restaurants and retailers.
Sound interesting? Keep reading this Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card review to find out if this is the best hotel credit card for you.
Who should get this card?
The Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card is a great option for anyone who travels frequently and likes to stay at hotels in the Choice Hotels family of brands. These include hotel brands like Ascend, Cambria, Comfort, Quality Inn, EconoLodge, and more.
In addition to 5X points on spending at eligible Choice Hotels, you’ll get 2X points on all other eligible purchases. That last one is a generous earnings rate for a no-annual-fee rewards card.
Card basics
| Card Type | Travel |
| Card Issuer | Barclays |
| Recommended Credit Score | Excellent, Good |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | 3% |
Top card benefits
- Anniversary bonus points: For every year that you use your card to make $10,000 in purchases, you’ll receive 8,000 bonus points.
- Ongoing rewards on all purchases: You’ll receive 5X points at eligible Choice Hotels, and 2X points everywhere else.
- Exclusive member rates: When you book directly on the Choice Hotels site or mobile app, you’ll get access to exclusive discounts.
- Gold status: As an automatic Elite Gold member in the Choice Privileges loyalty program, you’ll earn a 10% point bonus on your stays, get early check-in and late check-out, have access to reserved parking, and more.
Earning & redeeming
Best ways to earn
You can rack up points fast by using your Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card to pay for stays at eligible Choice Hotels.
With your Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card, you’ll also enjoy immediate Gold status in the Choice Privileges loyalty program, which gets you a 10% point bonus with every stay. That makes it easy to rack up points faster. It also includes things like early check-in and late check-out, reserved parking, and a welcome gift. And if you stay 20 nights in a calendar year, you’ll level up to Platinum status, which gets you 25% more points. The highest membership level is DIamond status, which gets you a 50% point bonus. The best part is your points never expire.
It’s also a good idea to use this card to earn points on everyday . Just make sure you use all your credit cards strategically. For example, if you already have another rewards card with a better earning rate for dining and flights, continue using that card for those purposes, and use your Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card for groceries, gas, or other frequent purchases.
Maximizing your redemptions
While you can use your points for gift cards to restaurants and retailers, you’ll likely be better off putting them toward hotel stays. That’s because you can access exclusive rates by booking on the Choice Hotels website or app, which means your points will stretch further.
Pro Tip: You can use Google Hotels to find dates with the cheapest rates and then search for those same dates on the Choice Hotels website or app to get the best value.
Common questions
What are Choice Privilege points worth?
A free night at a Choice Hotel ranges from 6,000 to 35,000 points, excluding Asia-Pac hotels. According to travel experts, Choice Privilege points are worth 0.6 cents each. That means 6,000 points are equivalent to spending $36.
Do Choice Hotel points expire?
No. As long as your account stays open, your points will not expire. The only exception is if your account becomes seriously delinquent or you otherwise default on your agreement.
How many points do you get per stay at Choice Hotels?
If you book a stay at eligible Choice Hotels with your Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card, you’ll get 5X points per dollar spent. So if your stay costs $1,000, you’ll receive 5,000 points.
How do I know how many Choice Privileges rewards points I have?
You can view your point balance at any time by logging into your online account. Once logged in, click the “Stay Activity” link on the left-hand navigation.
Is a Choice Hotel membership free?
Yes. The Choice Privileges Program is completely free to join. You’ll just need to create a username and password and provide your name, physical address, email address, and phone number.
Other cards to consider
While the Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card has many benefits, it’s not the right choice for everyone. If you’d prefer to stay at different hotel brands or have more flexibility in redeeming your points, here are a couple other cards to consider.
If you’re loyal to the Hilton brand, the Hilton Honors American Express Card card could be the perfect choice for you. It has a $0 annual fee and you can earn 7X points at participating hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio; 5X points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets, and U.S. gas stations; and 3X points on all other eligible purchases. This makes it easy to rack up points toward free nights.
In addition, there’s even a generous welcome offer: Earn 80,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after spending $2,000 in purchases in the first 6 months.
If you want more flexibility in your travel rewards, consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. You’ll earn 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases. And your points will be worth 25% more when you use them towards travel on the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
For example, you’ll receive 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months, which is actually equal to $750 toward travel bookings through the portal, instead of the 1 cent value in other possible redemptions.