Bonus Point Packages
 

I was checking out the choice site to see what the new promo would be, but I see there is nothing yet.
I started digging around and noticed a link to bonus points offers. It took me to here:
http://www.choicehotels.com/en/hotel...Li.2lo63g7ir.5
You basically enter the city and state, and it shows what and where the bonus points are offered.
After looking at a few, they seem to be 1,000 bonus points.

Is this new or have I just been missing it?

Also, I wonder if you have to book starting at that page in order to get the bonus points. From what I have seen, one might have to.

Any thoughts?

I presume the Bonus Package is a rate type.

So the problem with it is that it's probably not a good deal if you are normally using a discount rate (SOS or even something like AAA), because the package rate precludes using a discount rate.

I haven't tested this at Choice, but that's the way it works at every other program where I've seen bonus points packages.

So the bonus points packages are typically only good if you would otherwise book the "best available rate" (which is actually the worst available rate :) in that it's the non-discounted rate). If you would otherwise book a discounted rate, you have to pay up so much to earn just 1000 bonus points that it makes no sense to me.

(That is, of course, if you pay for your stay. I guess the bonus points package is mostly designed for those whose stays are paid by work and whose work doesn't require booking a discount rate. It's only if someone else is playing and doesn't care what rate you pay, as long as it's below a threshold, that the bonus points packcages I've seen might make sense.)