From Yellowstone to Austria: 27 hotels you can book for less with Choice Hotels’ Sweet Spot Rewards

Editor’s note: We’ve updated this post to include the new set of properties.

In 2022, Choice Hotels began its Sweet Spot Rewards promotion. This promotion allows Choice members who reside in the U.S. to enjoy discounted award nights at featured hotels during certain stay dates.

The featured hotels and stay dates change every few months. Currently, featured properties have discounted redemption rates for nights stayed between Feb. 1 and April 15.

The current set of Sweet Spot Rewards features properties in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and Austria, including hotels near U.S. national parks and even a casino hotel. Here’s what you need to know to maximize Choice Hotels’ Sweet Spot Rewards.

Choice Sweet Spot Rewards properties

Choice Privileges members can book discounted award nights at select hotels for nights stayed between Feb. 1 and April 15. Here’s a look at the currently featured hotels and their discounted redemption rates through Choice Hotels’ Sweet Spot Rewards:

Property	Location	Sunday through Thursday nightly rate	Friday and Saturday nightly rate
Comfort Inn & Suites Niagara Falls Blvd USA	Niagara Falls, New York.	8,000 points.	10,000 points.
Quality Inn Centre-Ville	Montreal, Quebec, Canada.	8,000 points.	10,000 points.
Clarion Pointe on The Lake Clarksville-South Hill West	Clarksville, Virginia.	8,000 points.	10,000 points.
Quality Inn West Plano – Dallas	Plano, Texas.	8,000 points.	10,000 points.
Comfort Inn & Suites	Brunswick, Georgia.	8,000 points.	10,000 points.
Quality Hotel Vienna	Vienna, Austria.	10,000 points.	10,000 points.
Clarion Pointe Rochester Monroe Avenue	Rochester, New York.	10,000 points.	10,000 points.
Quality Inn & Suites Mountain Home North	Mountain Home, Arkansas.	10,000 points.	10,000 points.
Hillstone Inn, Ascend Hotel Collection	Tulare, California.	10,000 points.	10,000 points.
Comfort Suites	La Porte, Texas.	10,000 points.	10,000 points.
Sleep Inn & Suites Cross Lanes – South Charleston	Cross Lanes, West Virginia.	10,000 points.	12,000 points.
Sleep Inn & Suites Green Bay South	De Pere, Wisconsin.	10,000 points.	12,000 points.
Comfort Inn & Suites Geneva – West Chicago	Geneva, Illinois.	10,000 points.	12,000 points.
Quality Inn Near Grand Canyon	Williams, Arizona.	10,000 points.	12,000 points.
Comfort Inn Virginia Horse Center	Lexington, Virginia.	10,000 points.	12,000 points.
Hollywood Casino Tunica	Robinsonville, Mississippi.	10,000 points.	16,000 points.
Comfort Inn Amish Country	New Holland, Pennsylvania.	12,000 points.	16,000 points.
Comfort Inn & Suites	Brentwood, Tennessee.	12,000 points.	16,000 points.
Comfort Inn City of Natural Lakes	Santa Rosa, New Mexico.	16,000 points.	16,000 points.
The Wallhouse Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection	Walnut Creek, Ohio.	16,000 points.	25,000 points.
Heights House Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection	Houston, Texas.	16,000 points.	25,000 points.
Quality Inn Near Rocky Mountain National Park	Estes Park, Colorado.	20,000 points.	20,000 points.
The Hardiman, Ascend Hotel Collection	Galway, Ireland.	20,000 points.	20,000 points.
Ridgeline Hotel At Yellowstone, Ascend Hotel Collection	Gardiner, Montana.	20,000 points.	25,000 points.
The Pine Lodge on Whitefish River, Ascend Hotel Collection	Whitefish, Montana.	20,000 points.	25,000 points.
The Valley Inn, Ascend Hotel Collection	Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.	25,000 points.	25,000 points.
Halifax Tower Hotel & Conference Centre, Ascend Hotel Collection	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.	25,000 points.	25,000 points.

TPG’s valuations peg the value of Choice points at 0.6 cents per point. This means you can stay in Montreal at the Quality Inn Centre-Ville on Sunday through Thursday nights for about $48 worth of points per night.

As you can see, this promotion includes some hotels near popular destinations.

For example, the Ridgeline Hotel at Yellowstone, Ascend Hotel Collection, is just 1.3 miles from Yellowstone’s north entrance.

The Quality Inn Near Rocky Mountain National Park is in Estes Park, just 5.7 miles from the park’s Falls River visitor center. And the Quality Hotel Vienna is within walking distance of Schönbrunn Palace in Austria.

As is typical when redeeming Choice points, you can book various room types for the same amount of points at many hotels.

For example, at the Ridgeline Hotel at Yellowstone, Ascend Hotel Collection, you can book a room with two queen beds for the same amount of points as a suite with a sleeper sofa and kitchenette.

Choice award rates — Guest rooms and points redemption. CHOICEHOTELS.COM

It’s also worth mentioning that each featured hotel I clicked on had good guest reviews. Choice seems to be using its Sweet Spot Rewards promotion to get well-rated properties some extra attention.

How does Choice price awards?

Choice Privileges doesn’t have a typical award chart, nor does it use standard dynamic pricing. Instead, Choice sets award rates for each property based on the date range and the day of the week that you stay.

As such, Choice may have dropped the award rate for these properties even without the Sweet Spot Rewards promotion. And some of the properties will keep the discounted award rate even after April 15.

For example, the Ridgeline Hotel at Yellowstone, Ascend Hotel Collection, is charging the same award rates from Feb. 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023.

Choice Privileges normally prices award nights between 6,000 points and 35,000 points, although nights can cost as much as 100,000 points in the Asia Pacific region.

How to earn Choice points

You have several options if you want to earn more Choice Privileges points.

First, you can now transfer Radisson Rewards Americas points to Choice Privileges at a 2:1 ratio. You can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards points or Capital One miles to Choice at a 1:1 ratio. And you can transfer Citi ThankYou points to Choice at a 1:2 ratio if you have a Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer open to new applicants). You might also consider buying Choice points.

The information for the Citi Prestige card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you don’t need the points to reach your account quickly, you could open a card that earns the transferable rewards mentioned above and meet the minimum spending requirements to earn the welcome bonus. Alternatively, you could open a Choice Privileges cobranded card and earn Choice points directly.

You also can earn points through various other methods, including the Choice Eat & Earn dining program. If you have an upcoming paid stay with Choice or Radisson, check whether any current hotel promotions can boost your earnings.

Bottom line

It’s worth looking at the Sweet Spot Rewards list each time Choice announces a new set of featured hotels. After all, the featured hotels are often well-rated properties.

If any of the Sweet Spot Rewards properties fit into your upcoming travel schedule, you’ll save some points and likely have a good experience staying at a highly-rated property.