Choice Hotels are next up in our O Canada series that looks at deals, offers, promotions, everyday value and more for travelling within our great nation!
Right now, when you book and stay with Choice Hotels in Canada you can earn 10% cash back on those stays via the cash back app, Paymi. This is over and above the points you will earn on these stays for being a Choice Privileges member and the points/miles/cash back from your credit card as this is a card linked offer.
Paymi card linked offers work just like AIR MILES Card Linked offers and RBC Avion Select Card Linked offers in that you actually don’t have to make any purchase through Paymi. As long the card you use to pay for the Choice Hotels stay is linked to your Paymi account you’ll get the cash back shortly after the charge posts to your credit card account.
Earning the 10% cash back, Choice Privileges points and more!
If you are already a Paymi user and have your credit card(s) linked you can simply go ahead and book your stays at Choice Hotels (Canada)*
There is a minimum spend requirement of $100 to receive the cash back so a one night stay in small town Canada may not meet this, so do be aware!
You’ll also want to join Choice Privileges if you are not a member yet as then you will get member pricing for your stays (be sure to also check CAA pricing etc.) and you’ll earn Choice Privileges points on your stays.
Those points can then be used to redeem for free night awards, gift cards or converted to airline miles/points in programs like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Club and numerous others. Or, you can choose to set your Choice Privileges account to earn points/miles with Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, AeroMexico Rewards, Spirit Airlines Free Spirit,, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Virgin Australia Velocity.
Once you’ve joined be sure to update your preferences for your Choice Privileges Extra Rewards. This is an extra benefit provided to all members on midweek stays (Sun-Thu). You get to pick from one of five options:
And finally, before you do book make sure you also check RWRDS Canada’s Choice Privileges bonus points listing for any bonus points opportunities.
For example, at the time of posting this article Choice Privileges is offering 2x points on all stays until May 14, 2025. You will earn these bonus points on the stay(s) that you also earn the cash back on from Paymi since you are booking direct with Choice Hotels. Click here to register for the 2x points offer
Not a Paymi user yet? You can download the app and join here! (This is our referral link) and then follow the all steps as detailed above!
* The links to Choice Hotels in this article are our affiliate links – you will still earn your Paymi cash back and Choice Privileges points on bookings made via these links all the while supporting RWRDS Canada by doing so. In the end you’re supporting two Canadian companies (RC & Paymi) and in most cases Canadian hotel owners as well!
Choice Privileges Elite Status Match
If you have elite status with another hotel chain such as Marriott, Best Western, Hilton, Hyatt, Coast Hotels and the list goes, you can get a match to elite status in Choice Privileges and then you’ll earn even more points, and based on availability or location you can receive early check-in, late check out, room upgrades and more. Click here for more details
Who the heck is Choice Hotels?
For those unfamiliar with Choice Hotels or Choice Privileges we don’t fault you – there are no actual hotels with the name Choice. It is the conglomerate name of the parent company whose actual hotel brands include Comfort Suites, Quality Inns, Econolodge, Radisson (Americas only) and numerous others. Choice Hotels are in fact the second largest hotel chain in Canada after Wyndham with over 350 properties in all 10 provinces and two of the three territories.
The best cards to use for travel purchases like Choice Hotel stays
If you can, you will want to use a card with travel accelerator (it’s been ages since we had a Choice Privileges credit card in Canada) for your Choice Hotels purchase and just make sure you have that card linked in your Paymi account.
Some of the best options for cards with travel accelerators are:
- The Platinum Card from American Express (2 points per dollar valued at 2% to 4% or more)
- Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege Card (3 points per dollar valued at 3%)
- Desjardins Odyssey World Elite Mastercard (3% back in BONUS DOLLARS)
- BMO Ascend World Elite Mastercard (5 points per dollar valued at 3.34%)
- ATB World Elite Mastercard (Residents of Alberta only – 8 points per dollar at some but not all Choice brands valued at 4% – see the list of eligible brands here)
You can even redeem points for your stays that earn the cash back!
If you use a credit card that lets you redeem points for any travel charges you can even use them towards these stays as well! Once the charge for the hotel stay shows up on your account simply redeem away! Examples include Amex Membership Rewards Cards, BMO Rewards Cards and Scotiabank Scene+ cards.
Recommended reading Credit Cards Ranked: Any Travel Anytime Rewards – The best credit card rewards for booking any type of travel at anytime
Images via Choice Hotels and Paymi