Perfect for a road trip: Earn 8,000 Choice points or a $50 gift card for every 2 hotel stays

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.

Whether you’re looking to take a national park vacation or travel to see loved ones, there’s likely a Choice Hotels property where you’re going.

You can maximize your stays with Choice during the next few months with a new Choice Privileges promotion. Specifically, you’ll earn at least 8,000 Choice points for every two stays — up to eight stays in total — between June 3 and Aug. 5. You can also redeem Choice points earned through this promotion for select gift cards at a rate of 8,000 points per $50 gift card through Oct. 5.

Let’s take a closer look at this promotion.

Register for the promotion

Register for this Choice Privileges promotion at this link before checking out from your first stay. This promotion is only available for Choice Privileges members residing in the U.S. and Canada.

When I tried registering, I got an error message saying, “Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again.” So, you’ll want to try again before your first stay if you get a similar message.

Book and stay

To earn Choice Privileges points, you must book a qualifying rate through a qualifying method for a participating property. Qualifying booking methods include the Choice website, mobile app or phone booking center. Stays directly booked through Book by Google are also eligible if you add your Choice Privileges number to your reservation before check-in.

Most rates that typically earn Choice Privileges points are qualifying rates. However, the following types of stays aren’t eligible:

Rooms booked at rates below $40 per night
Certain hotel-initiated promotions
Reward night stays
Complimentary rooms
Rooms paid for as part of a convention or meeting
Rooms booked through a third-party online retailer, including online travel agencies
Wholesale packages and group tours
Stays booked using the employee discount or the friends and family discount
Reservations through Egencia’s Preferred Rate Program
Stays in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia
Stays at WoodSpring Suites, Mainstay Suites, Everhome Suites, Suburban Studios and Ascend Hotel Collection all-inclusive resorts

After each pair of qualifying stays (up to four pairs of stays), Choice will award you between 5,000 and 8,000 bonus points. The number of bonus points depends on the base points earned from the two qualifying stays. However, the total base points plus bonus points awarded across the two stays will be at least 8,000 points.

If you want to participate in this promotion, ensure your earning preference is Choice Privileges points (not airline miles).

Comfort Inn Dollywood — Comfort Inn & Suites at Dollywood Lane in Tennessee. CHOICE HOTELS

Redeem for gift cards

One highlight of this promotion is that you can redeem points earned through the promotion for discounted gift cards through Oct. 5. Specifically, select $50 gift cards are available at a discounted redemption rate of 8,000 points during this promotion.

Click here to redeem points earned through this promotion for discounted gift cards. Then, log in to your Choice Privileges account and choose one of the discounted gift cards. If you haven’t earned enough points through this promotion, you won’t see discounted gift cards and will instead see $25 gift cards for 8,000 points. So, make sure you see the discounted price before redeeming.

Although I value Choice points higher, TPG’s latest valuations give 8,000 Choice points a value of $48. So, if you’d get value from one of the gift cards offered, redeeming Choice points for discounted gift cards could be a good deal.

Bottom line

This new Choice Hotels promotion is well suited for a road trip. After all, you can maximize this promo with one-night stays at inexpensive hotels. This promotion is worth remembering when booking travel, whether you want to earn Choice points or gift cards.