This is an update to the below post from a couple of days ago to note that this issue has been fixed. All Choice Privileges properties appear to once again be bookable as normal.
Earlier I wrote about how Daily Getaways is selling discounted Choice Privileges points today, so you can acquire them for just under half a cent each, which is an excellent price.
However, there is something to be aware of, which is still very much developing. One of the best uses of Choice Privileges points is redeeming them for properties in Northern Europe.
This is both because hotels there are often expensive if paying cash, and also because Clarion Collection properties often include both breakfast and dinner with the room rate, which can be a great way to save money when traveling.
As several readers have pointed out on the Daily Getaways post, something strange is going on right now. At the moment all Nordic Choice hotels are showing as sold out when redeeming points.
This includes nearly 200 properties in Northern Europe, including in Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. On top of that, all Choice Privileges hotels in Japan are showing as sold out when redeeming points.
We don’t know what exactly is going on here, so I’ll work on trying to figure that out. However, in the meantime this is definitely something to keep in mind if you were considering buying Choice Privileges points for one of these redemptions, which largely represented the best use of Choice points.
Choice Privileges has long been a quirky loyalty program in terms of some of the restrictions they’ve had in place. For example, in the past one major downside to the Choice Privileges program was that they only allowed award redemptions at most 30 days out for US and Canada properties, and 60 days out for other properties. Fortunately Choice modified this policy in 2018, and you can now book up to 100 days out.
I’ll post an update as soon as I have it, though in the meantime “buyer beware.” We’ll see if this is just a temporary glitch, or part of a bigger problem.
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