Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Bregenz, Austria
Programs: AA, BAEC, Alaska, Flying Blue, United, IHG, Hilton
Posts: 2,950
Looking for my new program
I have been an IHG man for some 20 years, but for various reasons, I am looking for a new home and Choice seems to be fitting the bill.
I am semi-retired and travel an average of around 12 weeks a year, so obviously hotels are by far my biggest expense.
About 6 of these 12 weeks are likely to be spent in North America. The other 6 are often split between South Africa and various random places around the world. I nearly always travel solo and do a lot of road trips, often with 1-2 night stays.
The main things I am looking for in a program are:
Good points earning.
Low redemption rates.
Decent promotions (the 8k per 2 stays looks good).
Not too frequent devaluations.
All of my travel is self funded and essentially I am trying to get more bang for my buck, i.e. more time on the road for less $ and as many free nights as I can get.
I am not bothered about high end hotels or city locations. As long as a property is clean and secure and I have a comfortable bed and a hot shower, I am happy. I am also a smoker and prefer to have a smoking room, although motel rooms with outdoor access are also acceptable.
I know Choice is not a truly global chain, but I am hoping I can do well from it for my American trips. I can probably fill in the rest by cherry picking IHG Accelerate promos, mixed with hotels.com and Hilton points from my credit card.
Wyndham was another option I considered, but I am put off by the flat 15k redemption rate (I would rather have 2 free nights at an Econo Lodge than 1 at a Ramada).
Is there any reason why Choice should not be my new primary program?