Choice Privileges® Mastercard® review: Solid rewards for a no-annual-fee card

Choice Privileges® Mastercard®

Bankrate Score

Rating: 3.4 stars out of 5

3.4

See Rates & Fees

Apply now

on Wells Fargo's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

40,000 bonus points

Earn 40,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - enough to redeem for up to 5 reward nights at select Choice Hotels® properties. Additional fees may apply.

Rewards rate

1X - 5X

Earn 5X points on stays at participating Choice Hotels® properties. Earn 3X points on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, home improvement stores and phone plan services. Plus earn 1X points on other purchases.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5

4.1

See Rates & Fees

Apply now

on Capital One's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

20,000 miles

Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel

Rewards rate

1.25 Miles - 5 Miles

5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 1.25 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card

Bankrate Score

Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5

4.1

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Earn 80,000 Bonus Points

Earn 80,000 Bonus Points after spending $2,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.

Rewards rate

2X - 17X

Earn up to 17 total points per $1 spent when you stay at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Earn 3 points per $1 spent on purchases on monthly bills, at gas stations, and restaurants. Earn 2 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)

A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.

• Choice Privileges Mastercard vs. Capital One VentureOne

  The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card also has no annual fee (See Rates & Fees) and offers 1.25X miles on all your purchases, without caps. You also earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars when you book through Capital One Travel. While this card doesn’t offer any additional bonus categories, its slightly elevated rate on all purchases can add up quickly. It also offers similar travel and purchase protections like travel accident insurance and extended warranty**.

  But the most attractive advantage of this card is its flexibility. Not only are you not tied to a single brand when redeeming rewards, but you can transfer your miles to more than 15 partner loyalty programs, including Choice Privileges. If you value flexibility, then a card like the VentureOne Rewards might better suit your needs. 

• Choice Privileges Mastercard vs. IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card

  The IHG One Rewards Traveler is another co-branded credit card, but it offers a higher rewards rate and perks like earning 10,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 each calendar year. Its tiered categories also include everyday purchases. You earn 3X points on utilities, internet, cable, phone and select streaming services, gas and dining. And with automatic Silver Elite status, you can earn up to 17X points on IHG hotel stays.

  What stands out is its higher base rewards rate — 2X points on all general purchases. While you still have to commit to a brand with this card, you may be able to earn rewards more quickly than with the Choice Privileges Mastercard.

• Chase Freedom Unlimited®

  The Chase Freedom Unlimited charges no annual fee and offers terrific reward rates. You can earn 5 percent cash back on Chase Travel purchases, 3 percent back on dining and at drugstores and 1.5 percent back on general purchases. With this card in your wallet, you can rack up rewards easily and still save on travel expenses that might fall outside of the Choice Privileges Mastercard.

• Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

  If you prefer a flat-rate cash rewards card, the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card offers one of the highest rates on the market. You can earn unlimited 2 percent cash rewards on purchases. As an all-purpose card, you won't have to keep track of bonus categories while still earning decent rewards. For instance, spending $10,000 on your card in a year can earn you $200, which you can redeem both travel and non-travel purchases.

• Frequent travelers

  As a frequent traveler who exclusively books at Choice Hotels®, you'll be able redeem your rewards to enjoy free rewards nights, potentially saving you on travel costs. It also won't be hard to accumulate rewards with this card's boosted rates on Choice Hotel® stays. 

• Choice Hotels® loyalists

  If you are already dedicated to Choice Hotels®, then you don't want to miss out on earning rewards with this card. Even if you travel occasionally, you can still stock up on rewards points with everyday purchases like gas and groceries, and then redeem them at your favorite Choice Hotel® for your next vacation.

• Rewards value

  The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

  To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

  Based on this data, we determine a “chargeable” spend (which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards). This includes the following spending by category:

  • Groceries: $5,200
  • Dining out: $3,000
  • Entertainment: $2,500
  • Gas: $2,100
  • Apparel and services: $1,700

  Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 23 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

  This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value

  With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

• Rates and fees

  We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

  To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

  We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

  We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

  With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

• Flexibility

  We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

  Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners.

• Perks

  We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

  We break down these tiers as follows:

  • Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
  • Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
  • Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
  • Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
  • Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

  How we rate our cards

• What credit score do you need for the Choice Privileges Mastercard?

  For the best chances for approval, you might need a good to excellent credit score (FICO score between 670 and 800). However, approval is based on a variety of factors.

• Is the Choice Privileges Visa the same as the Choice Privileges Mastercard?

  No, the Choice Privileges Visa has been discontinued. Choice Privileges Visa cardholders have been automatically converted to the Mastercard, which has access to unique Mastercard Elite benefits. 

What cardholders think

Choice Privileges® Mastercard®

4.0

74 ratings

In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers.

76% of customers recommend this card

Score breakdown

5 stars

49%

4 stars

27%

3 stars

11%

2 stars

7%

1 star

7%

Score by category

Overall 4.0 / 5

Extra perks 4.2 / 5

Customer service 4.3 / 5

Online portal or mobile app 4.1 / 5

Intro APR length 4.4 / 5

Intro APR value 4.1 / 5

In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.