The Offer
[Direct link doesn’t show the statement credit, see below for how to find it]
- Receive a sign up bonus of 32,000 Choice points after you spend $1,000 on the Barclaycard Choice Privileges credit card
- Receive a statement credit of $25 after your first purchase
How To Find The Offer
- Search for any hotel on https://www.choicehotels.com
- Select a room and click book
- On the page that says “Make Your Reservation” scroll down to credit card information, below that you’ll see this:
Note: Neither the application link or the terms & conditions mention the $25 statement credit. Not sure what’s going on here.
Card Benefits
- No annual fee
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 15 points per eligible $1 spent at over 5,500 Choice Privileges locations
- 5 points per eligible $1 on additional Choice Privileges points or Choice Hotels gift card purchase
- 2 points per eligible $1 spent on everyday purchases
- 8,000 anniversary points if you spend more than $10,000 in the previous calendar year
- Elite gold status:
- Ability to book free nights 50 days in advance instead of 30 days
- A 10% Elite points bonus for eligible stays, plus an exclusive reservations phone number
Our Verdict
Previous best on this card was 32,000 points without the $25 statement credit, an extra $25 isn’t much and it’s not clear if it’ll actually work since the landing page and terms & conditions don’t specifically mention it – but you have nothing to lose if you were going to apply for this card anyway. Choice is a bit interesting in that most of their properties in the United States really suck, but their international properties in Europe are much nicer (especially those in Scandinavia).
I think this is a good option if you have a specific redemption in mind or if you have paid stays with Choice (due to the 15x points at Choice). Two things to keep in mind though:
- Can only book 30 days in advance (50 days with this credit card)
- Their points expiration policy used to suck (it’s a little better now, but still not great)
If you have any questions about Barclaycard and before you apply for this card, I’d strongly recommend you read our post:Â 25 Things You Should Know About Barclaycard Credit Cards.
Hat tip to Million Mile Secrets
Current offer available is 40,000 points after $1,000 in spend in first 90 days, offer available through 5/31/17: https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/Landing.action?campaignId=2272&cellNumber=6&referrerid=PTRBACHHTRI40K317
Damn, missed this one. Sorry, John!
There are some gems to be found in the US as well. For instance, the best rated hotel in Rapid City, SD (for visiting the Bad Lands and Mount Rushmore) is a Choice Hotels and you can get a 1 bedroom suite with a King and 2 Queen beds and a sofa bed for just 8,000 points per night.
There are some others scattered around Europe. Comfort Inn Bolivar in Rome is close to all the main attractions and is 8-10k per night. I spent $2k for my initial signup bonus to get 36k points to use for 4 nights in Rome in April for 36k points and $40 (6k +40 for the 4th night points and cash) when the hotel was going for $200 a night – sold out now. Not a great hotel, but good location and there aren’t many hotels in Rome from the chains with points, especially not ones that would give you 4 nights in a good location for your initial signup bonus.
Yes, this worked. I signed up using this offer. My first purchase was on October 3, my 32,000 points posted about two weeks later, and $25 credit posted shortly after that.