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Choice Privileges has a genuine blind spot on paper: no five-star brands of its own, mostly midscale and economy properties. And yet Choice points can book you into a private-island resort in the British Virgin Islands or a boutique hotel steps from Big Ben — through a partnership most Choice members have never heard of. Here’s how Preferred Hotels & Resorts redemptions actually work, and which properties give you the most value per point right now.
What Preferred Hotels & Resorts Actually Is
Preferred Hotels & Resorts isn’t a Choice-owned brand — it’s an independent global alliance of luxury and boutique hotels, the kind of association a five-star property joins to get distribution and loyalty-program reach without giving up its own name and identity. Choice Privileges has a partnership with that alliance covering over 300 properties worldwide, letting Choice members redeem points at hotels the program could never build or acquire on its own.
For years this only worked over the phone. That changed with an official update from Choice in April 2024 that moved Preferred Hotels redemptions onto choicehotels.com directly, making it realistic to search and book these stays yourself instead of calling in.
How Redemption Pricing Actually Works
Choice doesn’t publish an award chart for any of its hotels, Preferred properties included — each one has its own fixed point price that Choice sets and can change at any time. Across the portfolio, that price typically runs from 20,000 points on the low end to 150,000 points at the very top, though most bookable nights land well under that ceiling. The pricing is fixed rather than dynamic: unlike programs that charge more for a Saturday in July than a Tuesday in February, a given Preferred property costs the same points regardless of which night you book.
Two things worth knowing before you get attached to a number:
- Points cover the room rate and taxes — not everything. Resort fees and incidentals still get charged to a card at check-in, the same as they would on a cash booking.
- The same hotel can also be bookable through I Prefer (Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ own loyalty program), often at a very different point price. When a property is bookable both ways, Choice is typically the cheaper redemption — worth a quick comparison before you commit points to either program.
The Search Quirk That Trips Up First-Timers
Preferred properties don’t show up in Choice’s award search the way a normal Comfort Inn or Ascend property does — a Preferred hotel only appears in your results if your account already holds enough points to book it. If you’re short by even a few thousand points, the hotel simply won’t show up, which makes it look unavailable when it’s really just priced above your current balance.
The practical fix: don’t rely on Choice’s search to discover what’s bookable. Check preferredhotels.com or the property’s own site first to confirm the hotel is a current Preferred partner and get a general sense of room rates, then transfer or earn enough Choice points to clear that specific threshold before you go looking on choicehotels.com. One option that won’t help here: Points Plus Cash, which works well at standard Choice-brand hotels, isn’t available at Preferred properties — these are points-only redemptions, full stop.
The 10 Best-Value Preferred Hotels to Book With Choice Points
Value here is measured in cents per point (CPP): (Cash Rate ÷ Points Required) × 100.
Choice points are worth roughly 0.6–0.8 cents each in typical redemptions, so anything clearing 1.0 cent per point is a genuinely strong use of your balance — and a few properties on this list go well beyond that.
| Property | Location | Choice Points/Night | Approx. Cash Rate | Value (CPP) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last Word Franschhoek | South Africa | 27,000 | ~$520 | 1.92¢ |
| Peter Island Resort | British Virgin Islands | 150,000 | ~$2,070 | 1.38¢ |
| The One Palácio da Anunciada | Lisbon, Portugal | 27,000 | ~$380 | 1.40¢ |
| The Londoner | London, UK | 55,000 | ~$655 | 1.19¢ |
| Virgin Hotels New York | Manhattan, NoMad | 50,000 | ~$500 | 1.00¢ |
| Palazzo Dama | Rome, Italy | 65,000 | ~$650 | 1.00¢ |
| Salamander Middleburg | Virginia | 74,000 | ~$700 | 0.95¢ |
| Huntley Santa Monica Beach | California | 60,000 | ~$515 | 0.86¢ |
| The Fullerton Hotel Singapore | Singapore | 45,000 | ~$375 | 0.83¢ |
| The Capitol Hotel Tokyu | Tokyo, Japan | 71,000 | ~$520 | 0.73¢ |
A few of these are worth a closer look. Last Word Franschhoek tops the list at nearly 2 cents per point — a boutique South African wine-country property that most Choice members have never considered, redeemable for less than the cost of many midscale U.S. hotel nights. Peter Island Resort is the outlier on raw points (150,000 is the ceiling of the entire chart), but at over 1.3 cents per point on a private-island BVI resort, it’s arguably the single best redemption Choice offers, full stop. And The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, a landmark colonial-era building on the Singapore River, is proof the list isn’t only obscure boutique finds — it’s bookable at a genuinely reasonable 45,000 points despite being one of the most recognizable Preferred properties in Asia.
Getting Enough Points for One of These Redemptions
Most Choice members don’t organically stay enough nights to bank 60,000-150,000 points for a single splurge — which is where transfer partners matter. Amex Membership Rewards and Capital One miles both transfer to Choice at a 1:1 ratio, and Wells Fargo transfers at an unusually generous 1:2 — meaning 30,000 Wells Fargo points becomes 60,000 Choice points, enough on its own for several properties on the list above.
If you’d rather earn Choice points directly, the Choice Privileges credit card is a no-annual-fee option worth stacking alongside a transferable-points card rather than relying on hotel stays alone to get you there.
Pro Tips Before You Book
- Confirm the property is still a Preferred partner before transferring points. Choice can change fixed prices, and hotels can leave the Preferred alliance — verify on preferredhotels.com first, since transfers into Choice are generally one-way.
- Know your booking window before you plan too far ahead. Choice lets you book reward nights up to 50 weeks out, and Preferred properties follow the same window — but remember it’s counted from your checkout date, not check-in.
- Budget separately for resort fees. A 150,000-point redemption at Peter Island can still carry a meaningful daily resort fee charged in cash — factor that in before assuming the stay is fully “free.”
- Check I Prefer pricing too if you’re not committed to Choice. The two programs price the same hotel independently, and occasionally I Prefer comes out ahead despite usually running more expensive.
- Don’t transfer points speculatively. Move points into Choice only once you’ve confirmed a specific property, date, and price — fixed pricing can still change, and transfers can’t be reversed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you really book luxury hotels with Choice Privileges points?
Yes. Through a partnership with Preferred Hotels & Resorts, an independent alliance of luxury and boutique properties, Choice Privileges members can redeem points at over 300 upscale hotels worldwide — properties Choice does not own or operate itself.
How many points does a Preferred Hotels redemption cost?
Pricing is fixed per property (not dynamic by date) and generally ranges from about 20,000 points on the low end to 150,000 points at the very top of the portfolio, with most bookable nights well under that ceiling.
Why don’t Preferred hotels show up when I search on Choice’s website?
Preferred properties only appear in Choice's award search if your account already holds enough points to book that specific hotel. If you're short on points, the hotel won't show up at all, which can make it look unavailable when it's really just priced above your current balance.
Do points cover the entire cost of a Preferred Hotels stay?
Points cover the room rate and taxes. Resort fees and incidentals are still charged to a card at check-in, the same as on a cash booking — and Points Plus Cash, which works at standard Choice-brand hotels, is not available for Preferred Hotels redemptions.
What’s the best way to build up points for one of these redemptions?
Transferring from a flexible rewards program is usually faster than earning through hotel stays alone. Amex Membership Rewards and Capital One miles both transfer to Choice at 1:1, and Wells Fargo transfers at a notably generous 1:2 ratio.
Final Thoughts
Choice Privileges will never be mistaken for a luxury hotel program on its own merits — but the Preferred Hotels & Resorts partnership is a genuine, underused way to redeem otherwise modest-value points for five-star and boutique-luxury stays most members assume are out of reach. The catch is real: search quirks, resort fees on top of points, and pricing Choice can change without warning. For the small number of members willing to work around those, though, this is one of the stronger luxury redemptions hiding inside any mainstream U.S. hotel program right now.
