StringerBell2020

Any idea when we’ll be able to sign up for a choice credit card again?

ChoiceHotels

Hey, there. That is a great question. We appreciate your interest in Choice Privileges Visa Card; please know that we no longer have a partnership with them. However, you can find more perks at www.choicehotels.com. If you need further assistance, do not doubt to send us a message. -Kathy

DaveH

Katie Genter at TPG, one of the best bloggers I've seen covering Choice Hotels (along with Ric at Loyalty Traveller), has useful details on what's happening with Choice Hotels credit cards here:

https://thepointsguy.com/news/new-we...s-card-launch/

Highlights:

-Wells Fargo is launching a no-fee Choice Hotels Mastercard by May 1.
-Current Choice Visa cardholders will be converted to this product when it launches
-There are changes to the earning and bonus structure (detailed in the piece).
-We don't yet know what the new welcome bonus will look like.

One detail Genter does not cover: Will converted accounts retain the date of opening of the original account (as they should), or will Wells start them over? ChoiceHotels , any idea on this?

jebr

1x on non-bonused spend is pretty poor, and even 3x on the bonused categories (gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores, and phone plans) is pretty mediocre. Citi Double Cash + Citi Premier would beat the earnings rate on all those categories, though with a $95 annual fee. Given that points often go on sale for less than a penny per point, even just buying points and using a cash-back card would be a better value for most of those categories.

The most interesting to me is phone plans, since the card also includes cell phone insurance. There's other options for that but this isn't a particularly bad one for no annual fee.

Also LOL at this quote from the press release:

Not sure how much additional value is being added, and certainly is not a best-in-class credit card program.

ChoiceHotels

Hello, there. Thank you so much for sharing your point of view. It saddens us that this transition has left you with these impressions. Our goal is to provide our members with the best benefits, and we always take comments like these by heart. So, my team will certainly forward your feedback to the appropriate parties within Choice Hotels for review. For more details regarding the card, we kindly advise you to visit https://sites.wf.com/choice-conversion-faq/. Please know our inbox is always available for you to share your inquiries. Kindly regards, -Mei

mtbiker99

I just received a packet in the mail about Barclay Choice Hotels Visa becoming a Wells Fargo Choice Hotels MasterCard. This will be the 2nd credit card company change for me. Back in Aug 2010, Choice Hotels credit card was from Bank of America. Bank of America just switched the Choice Hotels card to one of their other B of A credit card, and you had to sign up for a new Choice Hotels credit card with Barclays. The way I'm understanding it is the Barclay account will transfer over to Wells Fargo, no signing up for a new credit card. Also, I'm guessing I will no longer have a credit card at Barclays. I will miss the 2 pts per dollar, but I like the 'no foreign currency conversion fee'.

GUWonder

if this WF Choice MC has a sign up bonus, will these persons with transferred accounts have the same access to the cards SUB as is to be available for those who never had a Choice credit card?

ChoiceHotels

Thank you for reaching out to us with your concerns. We understand the importance of getting your bonus points accordingly. My team and I would like to have an opportunity to look more into this for you. When time allows, please send us a private message to [email protected] with your Choice Privileges account number, email, and home address. Once we get this information, we'll follow up accordingly. -Sal.

jebr

There's a 60K sign-up bonus for the new card, along with a 90K SUB for a new Choice Privileges Select card.

The Select card is a bit more interesting:

• 10x on spend at Choice hotels
• Platinum Elite status
• 5x instead of 3x on the bonus categories (gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and phone plans from landline and cell phone providers)
• 30,000 points each account anniversary
• $95 annual fee (currently waived for the first year)

The 5x bonus categories are better, though they're still a bit weak for a $95 annual fee card, especially since other spend is still only at 1x. The 30,000 points each year is pretty lucrative, though.

DaveH

Yes. There are a few open questions for ChoiceHotels :

-Can a holder of the new card upgrade it to the Select card (which I agree is the better value)?
-Is someone able to hold both flavors of this card?
-If so, do the status nights stack?

ChoiceHotels

Thank you for your interest, Dave. To learn more about the Choice Privileges Mastercard, the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard, and the latest offers, please visit the following link https://www.choicehotels.com/choice-...&pagename=home. We hope this helps. If we can be of any additional assistance, let us know. -Zaira

DaveH

Zaira, the link you sent comes up "Error: Offer Unavailable
The offer you selected is not valid."

But even if it didn't, the link that does work does not answer the questions in my above post. Would you or your supervisor kindly ask about them for us, please? Thank you!

ChoiceHotels

Hello, Dave. We apologize the link did not work. You can visit our website for more information or visit this link: https://sites.wf.com/choice-conversion-faq/. Should you have more questions, please reach out. Have a good day. -Kathy.

jediwho

Do those Elite nights from the two card stack? So, would I get 30 Elite nights if held both Wells Fargo cards?

ChoiceHotels

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Choice Privileges Mastercard and the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard. To better address your inquiries, please visit the following link https://sites.wf.com/choice-conversion-faq/. You can also access our website (www.choicehotels.com) to learn more. Regards, Zaira.