I'm new to Choice, but here is what I'm seeing. In Three Rivers near a national park in CA, a weekday rate next week is $175 or 30,000 point (is that the max points for Choice) or 6,000 point + $180 (that isn't a typo....)
My wife and I are planning to stay 2 weekdays the last week in September. That rate is $113 or 20,000 points or 6,000 points + $105 (again, not a typo).
I posted this in another thread, but if you click on the name of the hotel and scroll down, you can actually see the posted reward night points required and when they are supposed to change.
Here is what is interesting, my wife and I are staying at the Ascend Collection in Oakhurst CA the last week of September after Oakhurst, there points were 20,000/night (no additional for weekends) and the rate was $180ish/night.
We live in DC, the 2 Choice hotels here are 30,000 points or from $220 to $280 for a mid-week stay next week. In Manassas VA (about 30 miles away), you can stay at a Quality Inn for 8,000 points or $90.
So, in some instances, the rates to points seem to follow about 1,000 points per $10. In DC, both the Cambria and Comfort Inn are 30,000 points ( is Cambria the premium Choice brand??) However, what I'm seeing at Three Rivers is what the OP experienced, very high rewards rates in relation to the cost. I'm new to Choice, so perhaps others can let us know how this compares to past.
Would be interesting to know who sets the points (does Choice HQ decide for the hotels/motels unilaterally).