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Hotels in Japan have long been one of the best uses of Choice Privileges points. With widespread redemption pricing at 8,000 points, travelers could get reliable value at these properties. And these high redemptions are a major reason AwardWallet users have historically redeemed Choice Privileges points at an average of 1.24¢ per point.
Now that value has just taken a huge hit. Earlier this month, Choice spiked the award pricing for its Japan properties by as much as 200%. And, unlike some previous Choice pricing issues, this increase doesn't seem to be a bug.
Here's what we know so far.
Choice Increased Award Pricing in Japan
As first reported by LoyaltyLobby, Choice increased the nightly award price across many of its Japanese properties.
For example, Comfort Suites Tokyo Kanda was previously 10,000 Choice points per night:
Now, that same property is 20,000 Choice points per night — a 100℅ increase:
Across central Tokyo, most properties now cost at least 20,000 Choice points per night. The Comfort Inn Tokyo Roppongi now costs 30,000 points per night! The only good news is that you can still find 8k awards further out in the city.
However, it appears the price spikes are not as widespread as initially feared, for now at least. For example, we found only two properties at the 20,000-point mark in Osaka. The rest of the properties in that general area cost between 8,000 and 10,000 Choice points per night.
In Fukuoka, we found just one property at the 25,000-point mark. However, properties in neighboring areas cost just 8,000 Choice points:
We reached out to Choice for comment on these award pricing changes but did not hear back.
How to Earn More Choice Points
If you're still eyeing a stay at these Choice properties but don’t have a stash of Choice points yet, you can consider earning them through spending on the Choice Privileges® Mastercard® (Rates & Fees) and Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®(Rates & Fees).
$0On Wells Fargo's website
Rates & Fees
- 5x points on stays at participating Choice Hotels® properties plus on Choice Privileges point purchases
- 3x points on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and on phone plan services
- 1x points on other purchases
$95On Wells Fargo's website
Rates & Fees
- 10x points on stays at participating Choice Hotels® properties plus on Choice Privileges point purchases
- 5x points on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, and on phone plan services
- 1x points on other purchases
And, you can also transfer Citi ThankYou points to Choice at a 1:1.5 ratio or Wells Fargo Rewards to Choice at a 1:2 ratio. That means a 20,000-point Choice property would still only cost you 10,000 in Wells Fargo Rewards.
Related: Current Buy Points and Miles Promotions
Bottom Line
Choice Privileges points are still useful in Japan, but this devaluation makes them much less of a slam dunk — especially in central Tokyo.
The good news is that this doesn’t appear to be a blanket increase across Japan, at least for now. You can still find properties pricing at 8,000 to 10,000 points per night in Osaka, Fukuoka, and some areas outside central Tokyo. And with Wells Fargo Rewards still transferring to Choice at a 1:2 ratio, some of these redemptions can remain a very good deal.
But the easy-value days of reliably booking well-located Tokyo hotels for 8,000 or 10,000 Choice points seem to be fading. Before transferring points to Choice, check award pricing for your exact dates and compare the cash rate. At 20,000 to 30,000 points per night, some Japan redemptions will still make sense — but not nearly as often as they used to.
We’ll continue monitoring whether Choice expands these award pricing increases to more properties across Japan.
Have you used Choice points for a hotel stay in Japan? What do you think about these changes?
