Register for Choice Hotels Your Extras to earn gift cards or other perks on weekday stays

Editor’s note: This post has been updated with new information.

Whether you frequently use the Choice Privileges program or are only an occasional guest, it’s worth keeping track of the current Choice Privileges promotions.

One promotion worth knowing about, even if you don’t frequently stay at Choice Hotels, is Your Extras. It takes less than a minute to enroll in Your Extras, but then you can get at least a few dollars of extra value on each weeknight stay with Choice Hotels. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Your Extras?

Businessman paying for a hotel room — MARKO GEBER/GETTY IMAGES

Your Extras gives you something extra when you check in on a points-eligible stay that includes a Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night. To start earning Your Extras rewards on eligible stays, you must opt into this program (directions are below) and select which Your Extras reward you want to receive before you check in.

You can only earn one Your Extras reward per qualifying points-eligible stay, regardless of the number of rooms, nights, check-ins and checkouts. In particular, checking out of a hotel only to check back in to the same hotel later that day won’t net you an additional Your Extras reward.

What Your Extras rewards can I choose?

Woman using her cell phone and laptop — MORSA IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

The Your Extras reward options depend on your country of residence. If you’re a U.S. resident, you can choose one of the following:

400 Choice Privileges points, worth about $2.40 based on TPG’s valuations
100 airline miles with participating carriers (including Air Canada Aeroplan, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and United Airlines MileagePlus)
$2.50 Amazon credit
$5 Starbucks coffee card
$3 Uber trip discount

If you’re a Canadian resident, you can choose one of the following:

400 Choice Privileges points, worth about $2.40 based on TPG’s valuations
100 airline miles with participating carriers
CA$2.50 Amazon.ca gift certificate
CA$5 Tim Hortons gift card
CA$5 coffee gift card

If you’re not a U.S. or Canadian resident, you can choose one of the following:

400 Choice Privileges points
100 airline miles with participating carriers

You can change your earning preference at any point. However, you’ll earn a Your Extras reward for each eligible stay based on your account selection when you check in.

Choice Privileges will send Amazon credit, Uber trip discounts and coffee gift cards to your inbox immediately after check-in. Meanwhile, Choice Privileges points will post to your account within 72 hours of checkout, and airline miles will post to your account within four to six weeks of checkout.

How do I register for Your Extras?

Even if you don’t have any weeknight Choice stays planned, register for Your Extras now so you don’t miss out if a stay comes up in the future. Here’s how to do it:

Log in to your Choice account, click your name in the upper right-hand corner and click “My Profile.”
Scroll to the “Your Extras Preferences” section and follow the prompts.

This is also the area of your account to visit if you want to change your selection for Your Extras.

Select Your Extras rewards — Your Extras reward choices for U.S. residents. CHOICEHOTELS.COM

You only need to register once for Your Extras. However, you must set your earning preference to Choice Privileges points in your online account to earn Your Extras rewards (even if you want to earn airline miles through the Your Extras program). Here’s how to set your earning preference to Choice Privileges points:

Log in to your account, click your name in the upper right-hand corner and select “My Profile.”
On the right-hand side of the page in the “Loyalty Programs” tile, click “Edit.”
Select “Choice Privileges® Reward Points” as your earning preference and then click “Save Earning Preference.”

Finally, note that WoodSpring Suites locations, all-inclusive resort properties, casino properties, some MainStay Suites locations and some Ascend Hotel Collection locations don’t participate in the Your Extras program.

Bottom line

If you have a Choice Privileges account, you should register for Your Extras. Earning Starbucks coffee cards will provide the best monetary value for most guests. But, I prefer to earn Choice Privileges points to avoid trying to remember to redeem a gift card.

The Your Extras program may not significantly change your travel habits. But it’s a good tie-breaker if you’re considering two hotels for a weeknight stay. In short, it’s certainly worth spending a minute or two to opt into the Your Extras program.