Choice hotels, You just done pissed me off.

 So I’m into travel hacking as my hobby lately. Not that I’m traveling as much as I want or will be in the near future. Traveling on the cheap just fascinates me. I mean honestly I would be the guy who puts a bed in the back of my mini van and would do an entire road-trip using our van as our sleeping quarters. Unfortunately my wife would not be on board at all so I have to go to plan B which is to get reasonable clean, good reviews, lodging at a decent price. Thus comes in travel hacking where you use credit card points and miles to get hotels at a decent price.

I mean for example, I’m used to paying about 135 for a hotel. Well for that same hotel using points you can get it at and equivalent exchange rate at around 80 bucks a night. At times it can even be lower at around 65 bucks a night. At the extreme if you want a no frills experience you can get a hotel at equivalent 40 bucks a night

THEN

I find out about choice hotels. I am just fascinated that for 40 dollar equivalent in points I can get a decent room. In fact! I can get a room at a raddison that has multiple floors and a full kitchenette for 40 bucks equivalent!

Ok if you are confused I’ll break it down for you

Citi credit card pays me 2% cash back.

I earn 40 dollars in cash back. 

Still with me?

I can transfer 40 dollars from citi to choice and receive 8000 points.

8000 points used to pay for a decent hotel room.

But now choice has just done pissed me off!

They have devalued their points so much they are beginning to look like pesos! Actually I thinks pesos are more valuable!

 

What used to be 8000 for a decent hotel night went up to 10000 and now is up to 12 or even 16K!

What’s worst is those same rooms are priced lower on the cash end!

12000 point rooms are priced at 42 dollars!

Let’s take this example.

This room is priced at 12000 points.

The cash price is 40 bucks (45.65 with taxes and fees)

So let’s say I have 60 dollars cash back through my citi card. Why would I pay 60 bucks for 12000 points to purchase this room when I can cash out that 60 bucks, use my citi custom cash to book the room and receive and additional 5% cash back?! I mean it doesn’t make sense.

Let’s do another example.

This hotel just 2 months ago was advertised at 8000 points. It’s now DOUBLE!

Unfortunately this hotel is not allowing bookings through points at this time so I wasn’t able to prove my point. And actually the points would have been cheaper than the cash price. 

The main point being. Check both but still the question remains. Why are choice points being so devalued?

My last example is the Radisson I mentioned above. Again just a few months ago you could get a room here with 2 floors at 8000 points.

Now it’s 25000 points! Now the room price is 143 so if your doing the math like I am buying points to book this room would be a better option. But then again I’m still asking. Why are the points so devalued?

Take this room at the same Radisson

Ok, 25000 points or $125 dollars worth of points.

Check out the cash price.

Great job Choice hotels. If your mission was to devalue choice points, you have done well. 

I regret using my citi points to purchase points. I did that when the illusion was I could get a decent hotel at 8000 points.

Then choice devalued them.

Last example. Idaho falls Idaho. 

I have been eying this particular place for a while and again just 3 months ago it was 8000 points.

1 month ago it was 10000

Now it’s 12000

Now I will say. The points price is still lower than the cash price at 93.06 (cash to points price being 60)

But still they are really devaluing there point program which hurts loyal point earners

Lastly I want to mention there is one reason the points program really helps. I have never had to buy a hotel due to demand going up last minute but there are areas that experience demand and demand causes prices to inflate to unreasonable levels. For example there was this Stupid pumpkin festival in my town. The first ever! That weekend the hotel prices shot up 300 percent! A clarion inn which normally goes for 98 bucks wanted over $325. One of the worst rated hotels wanted that same price! But the points to book the hotel remained the same. A quality inn was 16000 and a clarion was 20000 so buying points would have been between 80-100 bucks while others were paying 3 times the price.

So Clarion gets a an F RATING in my book. For devaluing there points so quickly.

Last thoughts: I would always check the cash price vs the points price and choose the cheaper one. I’m seeing it go both ways.

To Choice hotels, add more options for 8000 point nights. Hell even Hyatt still has hotels for 3500 points. 

You can’t add a clarion or a quality inn here and there for 8000 points?

Come on!