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Choice Privileges points aren’t just for budget hotels. Through its partnership with Preferred Hotels & Resorts, you can redeem points for stays at more than 350 upscale properties worldwide — often at compelling rates.
The catch? Finding and booking these awards isn’t as straightforward as a typical hotel search.
Here’s how to find Preferred Hotels award availability and book these stays using Choice Privileges points.
Page Contents
How To Search Preferred Hotels Using Choice Points
Finding Preferred Hotels & Resorts award space using Choice Privileges is easier than it's been in the past.
First, log in to your Choice Privileges account. Then, navigate to the Choice–Preferred Hotels partnership page. Once you have logged in, scroll down and click on “Start Booking.” You'll be taken to the hotel search page. Then, enter your location parameters:
We selected the chic Palais de Chine in Taipei and clicked “View rates.” A calendar appears, letting you toggle between months to check award availability. In June 2026, select dates are available for 35,000 Choice Privileges points per night, and the system will indicate whether you have enough points to book.
Related: Current Choice Privileges Promotions
Calendar availability
One thing we noticed in our award searches is that sometimes a property's calendar won't display the points price, although it will still have award availability.
Take the Hotel Metropole Geneve in Switzerland. After you hit “View Rates,” the calendar will look something like this:
But, if you select a specific date, it might be available!
Searching by location or map view
Sometimes you want to visit a location but are flexible with your dates. If you can base your travel plans around availability, you can search by location. For this search, you need to log in to the Choice Privileges page as if you were searching by date.
First, filter by your desired destination. For this example, let's assume you want to visit California sometime this year. Filter your search by country and state, then click on the map view.
Note: No date range has been selected.
The site will then display a map of your selected state and its properties.
At this point, you can explore the map and click on any property. A pop-up window will display its points per night starting price.
To narrow down your date and range, click on the hotel's name, then click “View Availability” before the booking calendar shows all the available dates.
If you already have the points in your account, you can proceed with your booking. Alternatively, you can note your desired dates, boost your points balance and then return to finalize your booking.
Choice notes that award bookings are based on either single or double occupancy, so charges for additional guests may apply.
Choice Preferred Hotels Cancellation Policy
In the award travel space, one perk of a points booking is often the flexibility to cancel a hotel reservation. However, there are some important caveats with a Preferred Hotels & Resorts redemption.
First, your points booking only covers the room rate. You’ll still pay resort fees, incidental fees, service charges, food and beverage costs, and deposits.
Second, the individual hotel's cancellation policy supersedes Choice program rules, so make sure you read up on the hotel's cancellation policy before making an award booking. Here's the full breakdown from the terms and conditions:
The cancellation policy of the selected hotel applies to the Choice Privileges Reward Night and supersedes Choice Privileges program rules. If you cancel your reservation in accordance with the hotel’s cancellation policy stated on your reservation confirmation, all points used for the Reward Night will be re-deposited into your Choice Privileges account after 72 hours. If you are unable to use your room and fail to cancel by the time noted on your confirmation, your Choice Privileges account will not be credited with the points that you redeemed.
Boosting Your Choice Privileges Points Balance
Once you’ve found a redemption, make sure you have enough Choice Privileges points in your account. Preferred Hotels stays can be pricey, so you may need to boost your balance quickly.
Fortunately, Choice Privileges is a transfer partner with several points programs, providing options to boost your balance. Your best option is to transfer Citi ThankYou® Points or Wells Fargo Rewards, which have an excellent 1:2 transfer ratio.
Just note that Citi ThankYou® Points transfer to Choice Privileges at a reduced 1:1.5 ratio effective April 19, 2026.
If you're looking to boost your balance to transfer points to Choice, here are a few card offers to consider:
$95Rates & Fees
- 10X on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked through CitiTravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Restaurants
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 Points per $1 spent on Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 1X – Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
$595Rates & Fees
- 12X – Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com.
- 6X – Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time.
- 1.5X – Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
Choice Privileges enthusiasts should remember that Wells Fargo offers two Choice Privileges co-brand credit cards. Using these, members can worry less about transferring points and instead earn Choice Privileges points directly for everyday spending on their credit card.
Related: Do Choice Privileges Points Expire?
Our Take
If you’re looking for a luxury redemption — and don’t mind navigating a partner site — there’s excellent value in using Choice Privileges points for Preferred Hotels & Resorts stays.
For example, Hotel Metropole Geneve in Switzerland has a nightly cash price of more than $900! That same property could be booked for just 70,000 Choice points.
The booking process has a few quirks, but nothing that should stop you from a high-end award stay.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (Rates & Fees)
