Estate planning as a Choice Privileges account holder

Choice Privileges is the loyalty program for Choice Hotels International, covering brands including Comfort, Quality, Sleep Inn, Clarion, Cambria, Ascend Collection, and Radisson (Americas). The Rules and Regulations effective January 1, 2026 rebuilt the program: a new top Titanium tier (55 qualifying nights or 110,000 Elite Qualifying Credits), lower Elite thresholds (Gold 5 nights, Platinum 15, Diamond 35), milestone rewards, and no point expiration for members who hold Elite status. The Rules state that points "do not constitute property of the Member" and are "non-transferable," and they contain no death, deceased-member, or estate provision at all — Choice publishes no process for what happens to a balance when a member dies. A member-to-member points sharing feature was announced by Choice in November 2025 as "coming later in 2026"; it is not in the current Rules and has not launched.

Under Choice Privileges's terms, points are not property of the account holder and are forfeited when the account closes at death. No estate planning document—will, trust, or otherwise—can override this forfeiture.

Choice Privileges offers a gift purchase option for points. Members can buy points for others or redeem their own points to benefit family and friends.

What happens at death

Choice Privileges points are forfeited in practice, but not because Choice says so at death — because Choice says nothing at death. The Rules and Regulations effective January 1, 2026 contain no death, deceased-member, estate, or inheritance provision of any kind, and Choice publishes no bereavement or estate-claims channel. What the Rules do establish is that the currency cannot move: under Points Policies, "Choice Privileges points in a Member's account do not constitute property of the Member. Points have no fixed value, are non-transferable, and are not redeemable for cash or any other form of credit. Points have no value until presented by the Member for redemption in accordance with these Terms and Conditions." The Rules add that "You may not sell or barter points," limit each member to one account, and provide that Choice "will not transfer or reimburse you for any points in additional Accounts." A dormant account then expires on its own: "If a Member is not active for eighteen (18) consecutive calendar months, that Member forfeits all accumulated points and their account becomes inactive." (Members holding Gold, Platinum, Diamond, or Titanium status are exempt from expiration while they hold status in good standing; if all Elite status is lost, the expiration date is set 18 months out from the loss.) So a deceased member's balance is non-transferable by contract, has no beneficiary mechanism, and lapses on the inactivity clock. Unlike several other major hotel and airline programs, Choice has no published discretionary transfer-on-death path — no documented exception, no fee schedule, no named process. Any credit to a survivor is therefore a pure goodwill request that Choice decides at its discretion, with nothing in the Rules obliging it to consider one.

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