Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Review 2023

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If you stay with Choice Hotels frequently and want to earn more Choice points from your travels and everyday spending, the new Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Product Name Only should be on your radar. For a limited time, it's offering Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Intro Bonus. There's an annual fee of Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Annual Fee, so you can try it out for 12 months at no cost.

Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Review: Is It the Best Credit Card for You?

The Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Product Name Only is the more premium version of the two new Choice Hotels credit cards, with a bigger welcome bonus, higher earning rates, and more benefits.

Cardholders earn 10x points on Choice stays, 5x points on gas, groceries, home improvement stores, and phone plans, and 1 point per dollar on all other spending. They also get a decent range of perks, including Platinum elite status, 30,000 points each card anniversary, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit, and cell phone protection. 

Those perks, particularly the anniversary points, can make the card worth keeping year after year, even after the annual fee kicks in. And it makes more sense to open this card instead of the no-annual-fee Choice Privileges® Mastercard® - Product Name Only, since neither charge an annual fee the first year.

If you don't stay with Choice that often (but still want a way to earn Choice points), another option is to open a card that earns transferable points. American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Capital One all partner with Choice Privileges, so you can move points over whenever you need to top up your account.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Rewards

Choice Privileges Select card welcome bonus offer

The welcome bonus offer on the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Product Name Only is quite impressive for a mid-tier hotel card. New cardholders can earn Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Intro Bonus.

That's worth around Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® - Featured Reward Value in hotel stays, based on Insider's points and miles valuations, which peg Choice points as worth 0.7 cents apiece, on average.

Looking at it a different way, because Choice award prices start at 8,000 points per night, this bonus is worth up to 11 free nights at Choice Hotels.

How to earn rewards from Choice Privileges Select card

You'll earn the most points from the card when you use it at Choice Hotels, but there are other bonus categories that can make it a rewarding card to use for other spending. You'll earn:

• 10x points on stays at participating Choice hotels
• 5x points at gas stations (including automated fuel dispensers and electric vehicle charging stations)
• 5x points at grocery stores (including supermarkets, delis, and bakeries)
• 5x points at home improvement stores (including hardware stores, nurseries and garden supply stores, furniture and household appliances stores, home accessories stores, floor, glass, paint and wallpaper stores, lease/rental services for furniture and household appliances, swimming pool sales and supplies, contractors, and specialists for providing home improvement services)
• 5x points on phone plans (landline and cellphone providers)
• 1x point on all other purchases

How to use rewards from Choice Privileges Select card

Choice Privileges is the loyalty program of Choice Hotels, with nearly 7,500 properties across 13 brands in 47 countries. You'll find Choice hotels just about anywhere, and they're particularly handy if you travel to smaller towns and cities that don't have a lot of big-chain hotels. If you're a road-tripper, you've probably seen plenty of Choice brand properties in your travels!

Award nights at Choice Hotels start at 8,000 points and go up to 35,000 points (with a few exceptions that can cost 75,000 points or more). For example, you could use the card's welcome bonus for:

• Three nights at the Kohea Kai Maui, an Ascend Collection Hotel (normally $400+ per night)
• Four nights at the Quality Inn Anaheim Maingate near Disneyland (normally $150 per night)
• Seven nights at the Comfort Hotel Paris Porte D'Ivry (normally $105 per night)
• 11 nights at the Comfort Hotel Tokyo Kanda (normally $130 per night)

There's also a new option for redeeming Choice points. Choice Hotels recently completed its acquisition of Radisson Hotels Americas, adding 600 more hotels across the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. While you can't yet use Choice points to book these hotels directly, you can transfer Choice points to Radisson Hotels Americas at a 1:2 ratio to book stays at the following brands:

• Radisson
• Radisson Blu
• Radisson Red
• Radisson Collection
• Radisson Individuals
• Radisson Inn and Suites
• Park Plaza
• Park Inn
• Country Inn and Suites

You'll almost always get the most value from your points when you redeem them for free nights, but there are other ways to cash them in that might suit you better, including:

• Points and cash bookings
• Gift cards
• Charity donations
• Transfers to airline frequent flyer programs
• Cruise credits
• Magazine subscriptions
• Golf

Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Benefits and Features

The Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Product Name Only isn't packed with travel and purchase protections like some of the best travel rewards credit cards offer, but it's still got a good selection of benefits that can save you money and make your travels more comfortable.

20 elite night credits (Platinum elite status)

Cardholders automatically receive 20 elite night credits each year, which is enough to qualify for Choice Platinum elite status. That's Choice Privileges' middle elite tier, and it comes with fairly standard perks, including:

• Welcome gift on arrival
• Early check-in and late checkout when available
• 25% points bonus on paid stays
• Elite reserved parking at participating hotels
• Avis Preferred Plus elite status

Anniversary points bonus

Each year on your card anniversary, you'll receive 30,000 Choice points (worth around $210 in stays based on our valuations, or up to three free nights). While most of the best hotel credit cards offer an anniversary free night, earning points instead is much more flexible. You can choose to redeem your anniversary points however you want — you could spend them all in one go at an upscale hotel, or stretch them out for more stays at budget-friendly brands.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit

Once every four years, cardholders can receive a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit when they use the card to pay the application fee for one of these trusted traveler programs. If you've already enrolled, you can always use the card to pay for a loved one's application fee and still receive the credit.

Cell phone protection

Like other Wells Fargo credit cards, the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Product Name Only includes built-in cell phone protection. When you use the card to pay your monthly wireless bill, you can be covered for up to $800 per claim (with a $25 deductible) and a maximum of two claims per 12-month period.

This makes the card a solid choice for paying your cell phone bill, since it also earns 5x Choice points on phone plans.

World Elite Mastercard benefits

Because it's a World Elite Mastercard, the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard - Product Name Only includes access to additional discounts and perks, including:

• Concierge services
• Merchant discounts and benefits (DoorDash, Lyft, Hello Fresh, Fandango, Shoprunner)
• Mastercard ID Theft Protection and Zero Liability
• Mastercard Global Emergency assistance
• Priceless Cities Offers and Experiences
• Mastercard Airport Concierge
• Mastercard Travel and Lifestyle services
• Mastercard Golf
• Private Jet Program and Private Car Service

Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Annual Fee and Other Costs

The Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® - Product Name Only has an annual fee of Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® - Annual Fee, so you won't pay anything out of pocket the first year unless you carry a balance or incur fees for other situations. A Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® - Regular APR APR applies to any balance you carry, so it's best to pay off your card in full every month.

There are no foreign transaction fees, so this is a good card to bring if you're traveling abroad.

Other fees that may apply include:

• Balance transfer fee: 5% for each balance transfer, with a minimum of $5
• Cash advance fee: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each advance, whichever is greater
• Late payment fee: Up to $40

How the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Compares

Choice Privileges Select vs other Wells Fargo cards

Choice Privileges Select vs other hotel credit cards

*Bonus points at Choice, Marriott, and IHG hotels are in addition to the points members would normally earn from a stay

***the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless™ Credit Card offers an annual free night award each year after your account anniversary for participating Marriott Bonvoy properties that cost up to 35,000 points

****the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card offers an annual free night award each year after your account anniversary for participating IHG properties that cost up to 40,000 points

Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What credit score do you need for the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard?

You'll have the highest likelihood of getting approved for the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® - Product Name Only if you have a good credit score or better; that is, a FICO score of at least 670.

Which Choice credit card is better?

For most people, the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® - Product Name Only is a better choice, because even with its annual fee you can get much more value by keeping the card. Since the annual fee is waived the first year, it makes more sense to open this card instead of the no-annual-fee Choice Privileges® Mastercard® - Product Name Only, which has a smaller bonus, lower earning rates, and fewer benefits.

Can I have both Choice credit cards at the same time?

Probably not, or at least you won't earn a bonus from both. The terms and conditions say "You may not be eligible for an introductory bonus rewards offer if you opened a Choice Privileges Mastercard Credit Card or a Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Credit Card within the last 15 months from the date of this application and you received an introductory bonus rewards offer — even if that account is closed and has a $0 balance."

What if I have the old Barclays Choice Privileges Visa?

Before Wells Fargo took over issuing Choice Hotels credit cards, Barclays issued the Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card - Product Name Only (no longer available to new applicants). If you have this card, it will no longer work after April 30, 2023, and you should receive a new Choice Privileges® Mastercard® - Product Name Only that you can activate on or after May 1, 2023.

Methodology: How we reviewed the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard

We compared the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® - Product Name Only to similar travel and hotel cards from Wells Fargo and other banks, and evaluated several factors, including:

• Ease of use — Is it easy to earn and use points? Are there multiple redemption options?
• Rewards earning potential — Is the welcome bonus offer competitive, and are there bonus spending categories that appeal to a broad range of consumers? Are any categories limited to a certain amount of spending?
• Annual fee — If there's an annual fee, is it worth it when you consider the card's rewards and benefits?
• Benefits — Are the card's perks (especially travel/hotel benefits) useful? Are there any features that stand out?

You can read more about how we rate credit cards at Insider for a closer look at our methodology.