"*Rate restrictions: Subject to availability, the rate is 20% off Best Available Rate. Must be a Choice Privileges member. This is a prepaid rate that may be canceled for a refund up to three days (72 hours) before arrival. Rooms at this discount are limited. Offer is not applicable to groups and cannot be combined with any other discounts, special offers or promotions except for the "Stay Twice. Earn a Free Night" offer. Offer may be changed or discontinued at any time. All Choice Hotels properties are independently owned and operated."
Yesterday or the day before, Choice instituted the above promo rate on on their website. It's theoretically an advance purchase rate, but at many hotels it's available the day of arrival, though at some hotels by midday they tend to sell out of this rate (in some cases, hotels which usually don't sell out have sold out of all rooms presumably because of this great rate!). You don't have to select this rate, it selects itself automatically.
And if you parse the double negative in the T&Cs above correctly, you'll that it
does stack with the "stay twice, earn 8000+ points" promo.
Also, when hotels sell out of this rate, but have other rates, unfortunately the goofy Choice Hotels website does not realize this, and in the list of hotels it still gives this rate for every hotel (that's not sold out completely), then you click through to the hotel to find that there no rooms at this rate, only at higher rates now. As the day goes on, this happens with more and more hotels.
And now if I try it in the evening for tonight (west coast time), every hotel click through says "sorry, an unexpected error occurred".
(Doesn't say SOLD OUT, but doesn't show any rooms either.
)
So on the one hand, this rate is nice when you can snag it, on the other hand, it seems to be causing some problems for the Choice Hotels website which might make legitimate last-minute booking attempts (not necessarily trying to get this rate even) fail possibly.