While this is niche, here’s a promotion that I took advantage of, and which caused me to empty out my Choice Privileges account. I’m not saying it’s the best deal on earth, but in my specific situation, I think it made sense.
In this post:
Choice Privileges to Air France-KLM Flying Blue transfer bonus
Choice Privileges lets members convert hotel points into airline points, and typically these transfers are at a 5:1 ratio. However, between March 24 and April 24, 2026, you can receive a 100% bonus when you move Choice Privileges points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. So that means you get 2,000 Flying Blue miles for every 5,000 Choice points, or put another way, each Choice Privileges point gets you 0.4 Flying Blue miles.
There aren’t many restrictions associated with this, and you should automatically see the correct transfer ratio reflected when you move points.
Why I took advantage of this transfer bonus
I had a balance of 217,000 Choice Privileges points, which have just been sitting around for years, and they were three months from expiring. Long story short, back in the day I had the Radisson Rewards credit card, which offered a bunch of points annually just for paying the annual fee, and the math checked out. I never actually redeemed them much, but I still thought it was worth it.
Then when Choice acquired Radisson in the Americas, points moved over to Choice Privileges. There’s no denying that there are some good uses of Choice Privileges points, especially in parts of Europe, though we have also seen lots of devaluations over time. I just haven’t gotten around to redeeming the points, though.
Meanwhile I constantly use Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles, so with a 100% bonus, I figured this was as good of an opportunity as any. Given the 5:2 transfer ratio, I could convert 217,000 Choice Privileges points into 86,800 Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles.
So that’s basically enough for 1.5 business class tickets from the United States to Europe at the saver level, and I definitely think that will get me the most immediate value from those points.
So if you’re a fellow points old timer who also has lots of Choice points sitting around from the Radisson days, maybe this is an offer worth considering.
Bottom line
It’s possible to earn a 100% bonus when moving Choice Privileges points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. Rather than the typical 5:1 ratio, this means you get a 5:2 ratio. While not some incredible deal everyone should take advantage of, if you do have some Choice Privileges points that have been collecting dust for some time, I do think this is worth considering.
Anyone else take advantage of this 100% transfer bonus?
I don’t remember the exact details but Ben posted an article way back about a choice priveleges bonus to buy points that you could instantly convert to miles… maybe transferred to united? I went all in and bought fo a very cheap price.
You were about half my age when I first met you at a UA event 20 years or so ago. To see you call yourself an old-timer is painful!!
Had to go back into the archives but looks like you paid $75 per 40,000 for the points. So $75 per 16,000 FlyingBlue. Well played.
At that rate, the 350,000 mile redemption for a LP ticket would be ~$1,640. Nice price for AF first!
Maybe take Greg D-K to lunch and ask him how to use Choice Privileges to its fullest. I know they aren’t the rosewood but here you go
https://frequentmiler.com/book-preferred-hotels-with-points/
Have you ever seen any IHG > airline transfer promotions? I rarely use IHG anymore and have a lot of points. I'd rather use them for airfare, but struggle with the 5:1 devaluation.
I love it when you go all-in!