Alternative Privileges is the rewards program for Alternative Lodges, which incorporates manufacturers resembling Cambria Lodges, Consolation Inn, Sleep Inn and Econo Lodge. Since Choice Privileges fully integrated Radisson Rewards Americas into its program in 2023, Alternative Lodges now additionally consists of manufacturers like Radisson, Radisson Blu and Park Plaza in North America, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

This information will clarify what you’ll want to know in regards to the Alternative Privileges program. As TPG is written with a principally U.S.-based viewers in thoughts, I will talk about the Alternative Privileges program because it applies to U.S. residents.

Elite standing

Alternative Privileges affords 4 standing tiers. You will grow to be a Member when you join a free Alternative Lodges membership. Past that, you may discover three Choice Privileges elite status tiers: Gold, Platinum and Diamond.

Alternative Privileges Member

While you join a Alternative Privileges membership, you may robotically get Member standing and the next advantages:

• Earn 10 factors per greenback spent at most Alternative Lodges properties
• Entry to Member charges and promotions
• Obtain Personalized Weeknight Benefits (often known as Your Extras) on stays that embrace a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night time

Alternative Privileges Gold

You will earn Alternative Privileges Gold standing after finishing 10 qualifying nights in a calendar yr. Solely reward nights and nights that earn Alternative factors depend towards elite standing, and a few stays at extended-stay manufacturers earn fewer qualifying nights. Nonetheless, one simple approach to snag Gold standing is to have the no-annual-fee Choice Privileges® Mastercard® (see rates and fees), which affords cardmembers 10 elite night time credit every calendar yr.

On high of the advantages obtainable to Alternative Privileges Members, Gold members additionally get the next perks:

• Earn 11 factors per greenback at most Alternative Lodges properties (attributable to a ten% bonus on high of what Members earn)
• Welcome present at collaborating lodges
• Early check-in and late checkout, when obtainable, at collaborating lodges
• Room upgrades (as decided by every resort at check-in and topic to availability) at Cambria and Ascend Resort Assortment manufacturers worldwide, and Radisson, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson Assortment, Radisson People and Park Plaza manufacturers in North America, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean
• Elite reserved parking, when obtainable, at collaborating lodges within the U.S. and Canada
• As much as 9 elite rollover nights per calendar yr
• Elite buyer hotline
• Standing match to PENN Play Benefit

Alternative Privileges Platinum

You will earn Alternative Privileges Platinum standing after 20 qualifying nights in a calendar yr. One simple approach to keep Platinum standing is by having the $95 annual payment Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® (see rates and fees), which provides cardholders 20 elite night time credit every calendar yr.

On high of the advantages obtainable to Alternative Privileges Gold members, Platinum members additionally get the next perks:

• Earn 12.5 factors per greenback at most Alternative Lodges properties (attributable to a 25% bonus on high of what Members earn)
• As much as 19 elite rollover nights per calendar yr

Alternative Privileges Diamond

You will earn Alternative Privileges Diamond standing after 40 qualifying nights in a calendar yr. After all, in case you have the Choice Privileges® Mastercard® or Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®, you may get elite night time credit every calendar yr as a cardholder perk. Meaning you will not want to remain as many nights to safe Diamond standing.

On high of the advantages obtainable to Alternative Privileges Platinum members, Diamond members additionally get the next perks:

• Earn 15 factors per greenback at most Alternative Lodges properties (attributable to a 50% bonus on high of what Members earn)
• Complimentary breakfast for you and one registered visitor at collaborating resort eating places throughout stays at Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Blu, Radisson Assortment, Radisson People and Park Plaza properties in North America, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean
• Assured room availability if you name no less than 48 hours earlier than your keep at collaborating Ascend and Cambria lodges worldwide and Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson Blu, Radisson Assortment, Radisson People and Park Plaza lodges in North America, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean
• As much as 39 elite rollover nights per calendar yr
• Standing match to PENN Play Most popular

Find out how to earn Alternative factors

There are numerous methods to earn Choice Privileges points. This is a fast overview of how one can earn Alternative factors.

Resort stays

One good thing about Alternative Privileges membership is that you’re going to earn 10 factors per greenback in your room charge at most collaborating Alternative lodges. Elite members earn 10% to 50% bonus factors based mostly on their standing tier.

Nonetheless, taxes and incidental costs normally will not earn factors. You additionally will not earn factors at WoodSpring Suites properties or in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. Stays of seven nights or longer at MainStay Suites, Suburban Prolonged Keep Resort and Everhome Suites earn 5 factors per greenback, as much as 30 nights. (Subsequent nights will not earn any factors.)

You normally will not earn Alternative Privileges factors except you ebook straight with Alternative Lodges or certainly one of its properties. Particularly, the Choice Privileges rules and regulations state which you could solely earn factors on stays booked via:

• The toll-free categorical reservation line
• The Alternative Lodges web site or cellular app
• Straight with the resort (apart from Ascend Resort Assortment all-inclusive resorts and on line casino areas)

Most stays booked via these strategies are eligible to earn Alternative factors. Nonetheless, the next kinds of stays aren’t eligible:

• Rooms utilizing an ineligible charge plan
• Room charges under $40 per night time
• Sure hotel-initiated promotions
• Reward night time stays and Factors Plus Money reservations
• Complimentary rooms and rooms paid for as a part of a conference or assembly
• Rooms booked via a journey agent or third-party on-line retailer, together with on-line journey companies, wholesale packages and group excursions
• Stays booked utilizing the worker low cost or the chums, household and affiliate low cost
• Stays for which you do not present or fail to remain no less than one night time within the room you booked

You’ll be able to earn additional factors throughout stays via choose Choice Privileges promotions.

Bank card spending

Should you continuously keep at Alternative Lodges properties, chances are you’ll need to get a cobranded Choice Privileges credit card. You’ll be able to earn Alternative factors with each cobranded playing cards as follows:

• Choice Privileges® Mastercard® (no annual payment; see rates and fees): 5 factors per greenback on stays at collaborating Alternative Lodges properties and on Alternative Privileges level purchases; 3 factors per greenback on purchases at gasoline stations, grocery shops, house enchancment shops and telephone plan companies; 1 level per greenback on different purchases
• Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® ($95 annual payment, see rates and fees): 10 factors per greenback on stays at collaborating Alternative Lodges properties and on Alternative Privileges level purchases; 5 factors per greenback on purchases at gasoline stations, grocery shops, house enchancment shops and telephone plan companies; 1 level per greenback on different purchases

Associated: Best hotel credit cards

Switch factors from different applications

You can too earn Alternative factors by transferring rewards from the next transferable currencies:

Purchase Alternative factors

Buying Choice points is one other approach to increase your Alternative Privileges steadiness. Nonetheless, the associated fee per level varies relying on what number of factors you buy and whether or not there’s a low cost supply. And not using a low cost supply, Alternative factors sometimes value 1.03 cents every if you buy no less than 10,000 factors per transaction.

Associated: Current buy points and miles promotions

Earn with companions

With a Alternative Privileges membership, you may earn Alternative factors with the next companions:

Earn when planning occasions

You’ll be able to earn Alternative Privileges factors if you host occasions at Cambria Lodges, Radisson Assortment, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson RED, Radisson People, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson and Nation Inn & Suites by Radisson lodges in america, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. See eligible lodges with assembly area on this Choice webpage.

While you affiliate your Alternative Privileges member quantity along with your group’s reservation, you may earn 3 factors per greenback (as much as 150,000 factors) on assembly area, visitor rooms, and meals and beverage costs.

Find out how to redeem Alternative factors

Now that you understand how to earn Alternative Privileges factors, let’s contemplate the alternative ways you may redeem Choice points. You will normally get essentially the most worth if you use Alternative factors for resort stays, however there are different choices.

Redeem for a free night time

Alternative Lodges properties aren’t aligned into classes, and there is no set award chart. Nonetheless, you could find the present and upcoming redemption charges on every property’s webpage.

Alternative now not caps award nights at 35,000 points, however most award nights nonetheless value between 8,000 and 35,000 factors. Nonetheless, the window for reserving reward nights is comparatively quick. Particularly, you may solely reserve a room utilizing factors 100 days earlier than deliberate arrival.

Since you may ebook premium rooms at some properties utilizing the identical variety of factors as commonplace rooms, you may need to snag these quickly after the reserving window opens.

You’ll be able to ebook Factors Plus Money charges at some Alternative Lodges should you see the choice if you seek for a reward night time. You will not earn factors on the money portion, as you are successfully shopping for factors with the money copay. As such, make sure you’re shopping for factors at a low sufficient charge to make doing so worthwhile. You will be refunded solely in factors should you cancel a Factors Plus Money reserving, and you should purchase as much as 250,000 factors per calendar yr via these bookings.

You can too redeem Alternative factors for stays at collaborating Most popular Lodges & Resorts worldwide. Award nights at Most popular Lodges & Resorts properties value between 20,000 and 87,000 factors per night time. When you log into your Alternative Privileges account, you may test availability and ebook through an online portal.

Redeem for particular experiences

You’ll be able to redeem Alternative factors for particular entry to live shows and sporting occasions, together with college sports experiences and NASCAR tickets with special access. The Choice Privileges Experiences you may ebook with factors change continuously, however you may see what’s at present obtainable on Choice’s Experiences website.

Purchase a present card

You’ll be able to redeem your Alternative Privileges factors for bodily gift cards. For many kinds of present playing cards, you may redeem 8,000 factors for a $25 present card, 16,000 factors for a $50 present card or 32,000 factors for a $100 present card.

Redeeming Alternative factors for present playing cards normally solely yields 0.32 cents per level, so I like to recommend utilizing different redemption choices that present extra worth per level.

Associated: What credit cards should you use to purchase gift cards?

Donate your factors

There are at present six choices if you wish to donate your Choice Privileges points:

• American Pink Cross, Boys and Women Golf equipment of America, Government Management Council, Lodges for Heroes and Operation Homefront: $5 donation for 1,000 factors, $10 donation for two,000 factors, $15 donation for 3,000 factors, $20 donation for 4,000 factors and $25 donation for five,000 factors (0.5 cents per level)
• Polaris Mission: $10 donation for 1,000 factors, $20 donation for two,000 factors, $30 donation for 3,000 factors, $40 donation for 4,000 factors and $50 donation for five,000 factors (1 cent per level)

As you may see, donating your points offers an honest redemption worth. Should you select the Polaris Mission, which works to stop and fight human trafficking, you may get a redemption worth of 1 cent per level.

Associated: The best credit cards to maximize your charitable donation

Alternate your factors for miles

You can too switch your Alternative factors to the next loyalty applications on-line via the Alternative Privileges Rewards Alternate program:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Aeromexico Rewards
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Alaska Airways Mileage Plan
• British Airways Government Membership
• Iberia Plus
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Southwest Speedy Rewards
• Turkish Airways Miles&Smiles
• United MileagePlus
• Velocity Frequent Flyer

You will normally have to switch no less than 5,000 Alternative factors, though the minimums differ relying on this system. The rewards ought to seem in your airline loyalty account inside 48 hours, however it might take as much as seven days.

You can too switch Alternative factors to Spirit Airways Free Spirit by calling Alternative Privileges customer support. Nonetheless, transferring Alternative factors to Spirit might take six to eight weeks.

Redeem for cruise credit score

Lastly, you may redeem Alternative Privileges factors for cruise credit score from Cruises for Choice Privileges (powered by Cruise411). Particularly, you may redeem 85,000 factors for a $250 cruise credit score. This offers a redemption worth of 0.29 cents per level. Or you may redeem 160,000 factors for a $500 cruise credit score, which offers a redemption worth of 0.31 cents per level.

Award reserving course of

To make use of your Alternative Lodges membership and ebook a reward night time keep, go to Alternative’s web site and log in to your account. Then, enter your vacation spot, dates, rooms and friends. Lastly, earlier than clicking “Discover Lodges,” click on on the drop-down for “Particular Fee” and choose “Use Alternative Privileges Factors As a substitute.”

When you click on “Discover Lodges,” you may get a outcomes checklist. You’ll be able to filter these outcomes by facilities, distance out of your vacation spot, manufacturers and worth vary. You can too type the outcomes by relevance, worth, distance, score or low cost.

Click on “See Availability” for a property to view the obtainable room varieties. You will usually see a number of room varieties.

Should you click on “Charges & Particulars,” you may discover a web page the place you may evaluate the award charge with money charges. On this case, you’d get a redemption charge of 1.38 cents per level should you evaluate redeeming 35,000 factors to paying $482 for a charge you may cancel till shortly earlier than your keep.

Should you click on “E book Room” subsequent to the award night time possibility, you may attain a closing web page earlier than confirming your reserving. This web page will present helpful data, together with the cancellation coverage and any extra charges you could pay on-site.

Maximizing Alternative Privileges

Lastly, listed here are a number of methods to get essentially the most worth from the Alternative Privileges program.

Make the most of promotions

The Alternative Privileges program continuously affords promotions. One recurring promotion permits you to earn at least 8,000 points after every two stays. Based mostly on TPG’s July 2024 valuations, 8,000 Alternative factors are value $48.

This promotion normally requires a nightly charge of no less than $40. Nonetheless, you may maximize this promotion should you keep in one-night increments at cheap properties with a nightly charge of $40 or extra.

Candy spot redemptions

There are many alternatives to get outsize worth from Alternative Privileges factors. For instance, in Europe and Japan, you may usually ebook properties for 16,000 factors or much less per night time.

Alternative factors also can present good worth within the U.S. For inspiration, take a look at the lodges at present featured as Choice Hotels Sweet Spot Rewards.

Lowest worth assure

Alternative’s lowest price guarantee applies if you ebook straight with Alternative after which discover a decrease publicly obtainable worth inside 24 hours of reserving. It’s essential to have booked no less than 48 hours earlier than a 6 a.m. arrival on the primary day booked, and you could full the claim form inside 24 hours of reserving.

Inside 48 hours of your declare, a Alternative Lodges consultant will contact you. In case your declare succeeds, Alternative will honor the decrease charge in your keep. Plus, should you’re a U.S. or Canadian resident, you may obtain a $50 reward card after your keep. (Should you’re a global resident, you may obtain the primary night time free.)

Get top-tier Alternative Diamond standing

You probably have elite standing with one other resort loyalty program, you will get top-tier Diamond standing after one qualifying keep at a Cambria Resort. To request Diamond status after your keep, e-mail [email protected] with the next data:

• Your full identify and Alternative Privileges quantity
• Proof of elite standing with one other main resort loyalty program
• A replica or screenshot of a folio/receipt from a points-eligible Cambria keep within the final 12 months

You’ll be able to count on a response in three to 5 enterprise days. In case your request is permitted, you may acquire Diamond standing for the remainder of the yr in case your Cambria keep or your request was between January and June. You will get Diamond standing via the top of subsequent yr in case your Cambria keep and request are between July and December.

Associated: Complete guide to current hotel elite status match and challenge offers

Incessantly requested questions

How a lot are Alternative Privileges factors value?

Alternative Privileges factors are value 0.6 cents every based mostly on TPG’s July 2024 valuations. This valuation considers the worth at which we might buy Choice Privileges points and the redemption worth we will normally get when redeeming them. Nonetheless, as you may see from the above examples, the precise worth you may get when redeeming Alternative factors will differ relying in your particular redemption.

What number of Alternative Privileges factors do you want for a free night time?

A Alternative Privileges reward night time normally prices between 8,000 and 35,000 factors, though some nights might value extra factors.

Do Alternative Privileges factors expire?

Alternative Privileges factors expire should you do not earn, redeem or buy Alternative factors for 18 consecutive calendar months.

Associated: How to keep your points and miles from expiring

Backside line

Through the years, I’ve obtained loads of worth out of the Alternative Privileges program. From inexpensive nights in New York City to nearly a month at an all-inclusive, incomes and redeeming Alternative factors offered me vital worth.

As is commonly the case with factors and miles, the high-value redemptions you will get with Alternative factors have dwindled through the years. Nonetheless, I like redeeming as few as 8,000 factors per night time to remain in lots of Alternative Lodges properties. Even a 35,000-point award night time redemption could make sense in in any other case costly locations. Alternative has additionally added some interesting sports activities and live performance experiences you may ebook with factors, which can present outsize worth in some instances.

Nonetheless, Alternative Privileges elite standing offers comparatively few advantages. So, should you’re on the lookout for precious elite advantages, chances are you’ll need to contemplate a special resort loyalty program.