I have been a Diamond for about 3 years now, and the extra perks are hit or miss but improving. The offering of a property amenity has improved over previous years, and I have been offered the appropriate drink/snack or points about 75% of the time so far this year. I am signed up for the Starbucks Card "extra," and that is almost always in my email immediately after check-in, even at economy properties. Early check-in / check-out is where things get dicey. At a Comfort Inn in Washington DC and an Econo Lodge in Orlando, I tried to check-in around noon when I arrived in town. In both cases, I was told that a room was ready, but I would have to pay a fee to check-in early. So, "based on availability," I should have been entitled to check-in. However, in both cases, despite politely informing them that I was a Diamond and eligible for early check-in, they still said they had to charge the early check-in fee.

In many non-resort areas, my experience is that most Choice hotels will let you check-in early if a room is ready whether you have status or not. Therefore, in its current implementation, I think this benefit is kind of pointless if it is not going to be enforced. Also, in my experience, the Elite Customer Hotline is just a virtual construction that is not substantially different from the regular customer service line. In my experience, it has the same agents and the same wait times as the regular line.