From Venice to San Juan: 31 hotels you can book for less with Choice Hotels’ Sweet Spot Rewards
Editor's Note
In 2022, Choice Hotels began its Sweet Spot Rewards promotion. This promotion lets Choice Privileges members enjoy discounted award nights at featured hotels during certain stay periods.
The featured hotels and stay dates change every few months, but the current discounts and property list are available for stays through Jan. 31. The current set of Sweet Spot Rewards highlights properties in the U.S., Canada, France and Italy. Here's what you need to know to maximize Choice Hotels' Sweet Spot Rewards.
Choice Sweet Spot Rewards properties
Choice Privileges members can book discounted award nights at select hotels for stays through Jan. 31. Below are the featured hotels and their discounted redemption rates through Choice Hotels' Sweet Spot Rewards:
| Property | Location | Sunday through Thursday nightly rate | Friday and Saturday nightly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep Inn & Suites | Foley, Alabama | 8,000 points | 8,000 points |
| Quality Inn & Suites | Aiken, South Carolina | 8,000 points | 8,000 points |
| YOU Are Deauville, Ascend Hotel Collection | Deauville, France | 10,000 points | 10,000 points |
| Sleep Inn Denver Tech Center | Greenwood Village, Colorado | 10,000 points | 10,000 points |
| Park Inn By Radisson, Salt Lake City-Midvale | Midvale, Utah | 10,000 points | 10,000 points |
| Country Inn & Suites By Radisson, Cumming, GA | Cumming, Georgia | 10,000 points | 10,000 points |
| Comfort Inn & Suites Panama City Beach - Pier Park Area | Panama City Beach, Florida | 10,000 points | 12,000 points |
| Country Inn & Suites By Radisson, Valparaiso, IN | Valparaiso, Indiana | 10,000 points | 12,000 points |
| Le Noranda Hotel & Spa, Ascend Hotel Collection | Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada | 12,000 points | 12,000 points |
| Comfort Inn & Suites New Port Richey Downtown District | New Port Richey, Florida | 12,000 points | 12,000 points |
| Country Inn & Suites By Radisson, Billings, MT | Billings, Montana | 12,000 points | 12,000 points |
| Abitta Boutique Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 12,000 points | 12,000 points |
| Quality Inn | Leamington, Ontario, Canada | 12,000 points | 12,000 points |
| Hotel Aquarius Venice, Ascend Hotel Collection | Venice, Italy | 12,000 points | 16,000 points |
| Country Inn & Suites By Radisson, Hoffman Estates, IL | Hoffman Estates, Illinois | 12,000 points | 16,000 points |
| Country Inn & Suites By Radisson, Flagstaff Downtown, AZ | Flagstaff, Arizona | 12,000 points | 20,000 points |
| Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown | Detroit, Michigan | 16,000 points | 16,000 points |
| Windsor Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection | Americus, Georgia | 16,000 points | 16,000 points |
| Cambria Hotel Washington D.C. Navy Yard Riverfront | Washington, District of Columbia | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Radisson Panama City Beach - Oceanfront | Panama City Beach, Florida | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Inn On Destin Harbor, Ascend Hotel Collection | Destin, Florida | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Radisson RED Minneapolis Downtown | Minneapolis, Minnesota | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Radisson Hotel Sunnyvale - Silicon Valley | Sunnyvale, California | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| The Waves Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection | Wildwood, New Jersey | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Cambria Hotel Lake Placid - Lakeside Resort | Lake Placid, New York | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Radisson Hotel Portland Airport | Portland, Oregon | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Traditions Hotel & Spa, Ascend Hotel Collection | Johnson City, New York | 20,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Hollywood Casino St Louis | Maryland Heights, Missouri | 20,000 points | 30,000 points |
| Radisson Hotel Santa Maria | Santa Maria, California | 25,000 points | 25,000 points |
| Cambria Hotel Austin Downtown | Austin, Texas | 30,000 points | 30,000 points |
| Cambria Hotel Austin Uptown near the Domain | Austin, Texas | 30,000 points | 30,000 points |
TPG values Choice points at 0.6 cents per point. This means you can stay in Cumming, Georgia, at the recently-opened Country Inn & Suites By Radisson for about $60 worth of points per night. This property is near Lake Lanier, just minutes from where I grew up. It's a great stop for an overnight between Atlanta and the mountains of north Georgia.
As is typical when redeeming Choice points, you can book various room types for the same number of points at many hotels. For example, at the Sleep Inn & Suites in Foley, Alabama, you can book a king bed and Jacuzzi or three queen beds for the same number of points as a standard room.
Many featured hotels have good guest reviews, and some are even award winners. For example, the Hotel Aquarius Venice, Ascend Hotel Collection, in Italy earned a Ring of Honor Award for high "likelihood to recommend" scores from guests. However, not all the hotels on the sweet spots list are highly rated. The Quality Inn & Suites in Aiken, South Carolina, is rated 3.0 out of 5 in guest reviews, and only 51% of guests would recommend the hotel.
Luckily, many of the highlighted properties in this iteration of Choice Hotels' Sweet Spot Rewards are in compelling locations. I've had the Hotel Aquarius Venice, Ascend Hotel Collection, in Italy on my want-to-visit list for a while now, so I'm bummed I won't be able to make it to Italy before the end of January to benefit from the reduced award rates.
Related: Register for Choice Hotels Your Extras to earn gift cards or other perks on weekday stays
How does Choice price awards?
Choice Privileges doesn't have a typical award chart, nor does it use standard dynamic pricing. Instead, Choice sets award rates for each property based on the date range and the day of the week of your stay.
As such, Choice may have dropped the award rate for these properties even without the Sweet Spot Rewards promotion. However, the promotion likely offers a true discount since award rates for most of the current Sweet Spot properties increase after Jan. 31.
Related: Radisson Rewards Americas is now fully integrated into Choice Privileges
How to earn Choice points
If you want to earn Choice points quickly, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points or Capital One miles to Choice at a 1:1 ratio. If you have certain Citi credit cards, you can transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Choice at a 1:2 ratio.
You could also buy Choice points. If you don't need the points immediately, you could open a Choice Privileges card (or one that earns the transferable rewards mentioned above) and meet the minimum spending requirements to earn the sign-up bonus. I like the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® (see rates and fees) to earn Choice points on purchases and get 30,000 bonus points every account anniversary — see our Choice Privileges Select Mastercard review for more details.
Additionally, you can earn Choice points through various other methods, including the Choice Eat & Earn dining program. If you have an upcoming paid stay with Choice, check whether any current hotel promotions can boost your earnings.
Related: Redeem Choice points for a Maldives resort, half-board hotels, suites and more
Bottom line
It's worth looking at the Sweet Spot Rewards list each time Choice announces a new set of featured hotels. The current properties you can book at discounted award rates for stays through Jan. 31 certainly have some appealing options.
Whether you're visiting Panama City Beach, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; or Venice, Italy, there's a property on Choice Hotels' Sweet Spot Rewards list for you.