If you want to make the most of your Choice Hotel stays, the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® should be on your radar (rates and fees). It's offering 60,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first three months from account opening. There's an annual fee of $95 . You'll also get a points boost on your card anniversary, bonus elite night credits, and automatic Choice Privileges hotel loyalty status.
$95
N/A
19.99%, 24.24%, or 29.24% Variable
Earn 60,000 points
Good to Excellent
- Generous welcome bonus offer
- Automatic Platinum elite status
- Strong benefits including anniversary bonus, cell phone protection, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit, and no foreign transaction fees
- Has an annual fee
- No travel insurance or purchase protections
Wells Fargo has two Choice Hotels credit cards, and the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® is the most rewarding of the pair with automatic elite status, and points on your card anniversary.
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard- Apply Now to take advantage of this offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - enough to redeem for up to 7 Reward nights at select Choice Hotels® properties. Additional fees may apply.
- Earn 10X points on stays at participating Choice Hotels® properties.
- Earn 5X points on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and on phone plan services. Plus earn 1X points on other purchases.
- $95 annual fee.
- Up to $800 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.
- Receive 20 Elite night credits qualifying for at least Platinum level status each calendar year.
- No foreign transaction fee.
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Overview
The Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® is the more premium version of the two Choice Hotels credit cards, with a bigger welcome bonus, higher earning rates, and more benefits.
Cardholders earn 10 points on stays at participating Choice Hotels® properties, 5 points on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and on phone plan services, and 1 point on other purchases. They also get a decent range of perks, including Platinum elite status, 30,000 points per card anniversary, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® application fee credit, and cell phone protection.
If you don't stay with Choice that often (but still want a way to earn Choice points), another option is to open a card that earns transferable points. American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Capital One all partner with Choice Privileges, so you can move points over whenever you need to top up your account.
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Rewards
Welcome Bonus
The welcome bonus offer on the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® is quite impressive for a mid-tier hotel card. Cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in purchases within the first three months from account opening.
That's worth around $420 in hotel stays, based on Business Insider's points and miles valuations, which peg Choice points as worth 0.7 cents apiece, on average.
Looking at it a different way, because Choice award prices start at 8,000 points per night, this bonus is worth up to 7 reward nights at Choice Hotels®.
How to earn rewards from the Choice Privileges Select card
You'll earn the most points from the card when you use it at Choice Hotels®, but there are other bonus categories that can make it a rewarding card to use for other spending. You'll earn:
- 10x points on stays at participating Choice Hotels® properties
- 5x points at gas stations (including automated fuel dispensers and electric vehicle charging stations)
- 5x points at grocery stores (including supermarkets, delis, and bakeries)
- 5x points at home improvement stores (including hardware stores, nurseries and garden supply stores, furniture and household appliances stores, home accessories stores, floor, glass, paint and wallpaper stores, lease/rental services for furniture and household appliances, swimming pool sales and supplies, contractors, and specialists for providing home improvement services)
- 5x points on phone plans (landline and cellphone providers)
- 1x point on all other purchases
How to use rewards from the Choice Privileges Select Card
Choice Privileges is the loyalty program of Choice Hotels, with nearly 7,500 properties across 13 brands in 47 countries. You'll find Choice hotels just about anywhere, and they're particularly handy if you travel to smaller towns and cities that don't have a lot of big-chain hotels. If you're a road-tripper, you've probably seen plenty of Choice brand properties in your travels!
Award nights at Choice Hotels start at 8,000 points and go up to 35,000 points (with a few exceptions that can cost 75,000 points or more). For example, you could use the card's welcome bonus for:
- Three nights at the Kohea Kai Maui, an Ascend Collection Hotel (normally $400+ per night)
- Four nights at the Quality Inn Anaheim Maingate near Disneyland (normally $150 per night)
- Seven nights at the Comfort Hotel Paris Porte D'Ivry (normally $105 per night)
- 11 nights at the Comfort Hotel Tokyo Kanda (normally $130 per night)
There's also a option for redeeming Choice points. Choice Hotels recently completed its acquisition of Radisson Hotels Americas, adding 600 more hotels across the US, Canada, the Caribbean, and Latin America. While you can't yet use Choice points to book these hotels directly, you can transfer Choice points to Radisson Hotels Americas at a 1:2 ratio to book stays at the following brands:
- Radisson
- Radisson Blu
- Radisson Red
- Radisson Collection
- Radisson Individuals
- Radisson Inn and Suites
- Park Plaza
- Park Inn
- Country Inn and Suites
You'll almost always get the most value from your points when you redeem them for reward nights, but there are other ways to cash them in that might suit you better, including:
- Points and cash bookings
- Gift cards
- Charity donations
- Transfers to airline frequent flyer programs
- Cruise credits
- Magazine subscriptions
- Golf
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Benefits and Features
The Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® isn't packed with as many travel and purchase protections as some of the best travel credit cards. But it still comes with a good selection of benefits that can save you money and make your travels more comfortable.
20 elite night credits (Platinum elite status)
Cardholders automatically receive 20 elite night credits each year, which is enough to qualify for Choice Platinum elite status. That's Choice Privileges' middle elite tier, and it comes with fairly standard perks, including:
- Welcome gift on arrival
- Early check-in and late checkout when available
- 25% points bonus on paid stays
- Elite reserved parking at participating hotels
- Avis Preferred Plus elite status
Anniversary points bonus
Each year on your card anniversary, you'll receive 30,000 Choice points (worth around $210 in stays based on our valuations, or up to three reward nights). While most of the best hotel credit cards offer an anniversary reward night, earning points instead is much more flexible. You can choose to redeem your anniversary points however you want — you could spend them all in one go at an upscale hotel, or stretch them out for more stays at budget-friendly brands.
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
Once every four years, cardholders can receive a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® credit when they use the card to pay the application fee for one of these trusted traveler programs. If you've already enrolled, you can always use the card to pay for a loved one's application fee and still receive the credit.
Cell phone protection
Like other Wells Fargo credit cards, the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® includes built-in cell phone protection. When you use the card to pay your monthly wireless bill, you can be covered for up to $800 per claim (with a $25 deductible) and a maximum of two claims per 12-month period.
This makes the card a solid choice for paying your cell phone bill, since it also earns 5x Choice points on phone plans.
World Elite Mastercard benefits
Because it's a World Elite Mastercard, the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® includes access to additional discounts and perks, including:
- Concierge services
- Merchant discounts and benefits (DoorDash, Lyft, Hello Fresh, Fandango, Shoprunner)
- Mastercard ID Theft Protection and Zero Liability
- Mastercard Global Emergency assistance
- Priceless Cities Offers and Experiences
- Mastercard Airport Concierge
- Mastercard Travel and Lifestyle services
- Mastercard Golf
- Private Jet Program and Private Car Service
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Annual Fee and Other Costs
The Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® has an annual fee of $95 . A 19.99%, 24.24%, or 29.24% Variable APR applies to any balance you carry, so it's best to pay off your card in full every month.
There are no foreign transaction fees, so this is a good card to bring if you're traveling abroad.
Other fees that may apply include:
- Balance transfer fee
- Cash advance fee
- Late payment fee
Compare the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard®
The Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® has some serious competition in the hotel co-cobranded cards space. Here are two apples-to-apples comparisons that may help you evaluate your options.
Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® vs. Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card
The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card has a $95 annual fee. In exchange, cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of 3 Free Night Awards, each valued up to 50,000 points, after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first three months from account opening, plus earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within six months of account opening.
This card earns 6x on eligible purchases at participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels, 3x at grocery stores, gas stations, and on dining (on up to $6,000 in combined purchases per year), and 2x on everything else.
Cardholders also get the following benefits:
- 15 elite night credits each calendar year
- One elite night credit for every $5,000 spent on the card
- Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Silver elite status
- Annual free night award***
- Car rental insurance (secondary in the US, primary otherwise)
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Baggage delay insurance
- Purchase protection
- Extended warranty
- Travel and emergency assistance services
- Visa Signature concierge
- No foreign transaction fees
Read more in our Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card review.
Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® vs. IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
The IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card has an annual fee of $99. New cardholders can earn 140,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
This card earns 10 points per dollar on purchases at IHG Hotels and Resorts, 5 points at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants, and 3 points per dollar on everything else. It also offers the widest range of benefits out of the three options evaluated here:
- IHG Platinum Elite status
- Annual free night award worth up to 40,000 IHG points
- Fourth reward night free when you redeem points for a stay of three or more nights
- Global Entry, TSA PreCheck®, or NEXUS application fee credit
- 20% discount when you purchase points with your card
- 10,000 bonus points after you spend $20,000 on purchases and make one additional purchase each account anniversary
- Car rental insurance (secondary in the US, primary otherwise)
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Baggage delay insurance
- Travel and emergency assistance services
- Purchase protection
- Extended warranty
- No foreign transaction fees
Read more in our IHG One Rewards Premier credit card review.
Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Frequently Asked Questions
What credit score do you need for the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard?
You'll have the highest likelihood of getting approved for the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® if you have a good credit score or better; that is, a FICO score of at least 670.
Which Choice credit card is better?
For most people, the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® is a better choice, because even with its annual fee you can get much more value by keeping the card.
Can I have both Choice credit cards at the same time?
Probably not, or at least you won't earn a bonus from both. The terms and conditions say "You may not be eligible for an introductory bonus rewards offer if you opened a Choice Privileges Mastercard Credit Card or a Choice Privileges Select Mastercard Credit Card within the last 15 months from the date of this application and you received an introductory bonus rewards offer — even if that account is closed and has a $0 balance."
What if I have the old Barclays Choice Privileges Visa?
Before Wells Fargo took over issuing Choice Hotels credit cards, Barclays issued the Choice Privileges Visa Signature Card (no longer available to new applicants). If you have this card, it stopped working after April 30, 2023, and you should have received a new Choice Privileges® Mastercard® as a replacement.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard
We compared the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® to similar travel and hotel cards from Wells Fargo and other banks, and evaluated several factors, including:
- Ease of use — Is it easy to earn and use points? Are there multiple redemption options?
- Rewards earning potential — Is the welcome bonus offer competitive, and are there bonus spending categories that appeal to a broad range of consumers? Are any categories limited to a certain amount of spending?
- Annual fee — If there's an annual fee, is it worth it when you consider the card's rewards and benefits?
- Benefits — Are the card's perks (especially travel/hotel benefits) useful? Are there any features that stand out?
You can read more about how we rate credit cards at Business Insider for a closer look at our methodology.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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