Choice Privileges Mastercard

Earning Rates

Key Benefits

All Benefits

• $0 annual fee on the Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard, the entry-level no-fee version of Choice's co-brand portfolio (the $95 Choice Privileges Select Mastercard is the premium sibling product; verified verbatim on the Wells Fargo issuer comparison page header at creditcards.wellsfargo.com/wells-fargo-choice-privileges-credit-cards/)
• Welcome offer: earn 60,000 bonus Choice Privileges points after spending $1,000 in net purchases in the first 3 months from account opening (Choice frames this as enough to redeem for up to 7 reward nights at select Choice Hotels properties subject to availability; bonus points are made redeemable within 60 days after they are earned per footnote 1 on the Wells Fargo issuer page)
• Earn 5X Choice Privileges points per $1 spent on qualifying stays at participating Choice Hotels properties booked directly through choicehotels.com, at the property, or by calling the Choice Hotels Service Center (this 5X is 1 base point plus 4 bonus points on the card and stacks on top of the points the Choice Privileges loyalty program awards on the same stay; verified per Wells Fargo footnote 3)
• Earn 5X Choice Privileges points per $1 on direct purchases of Choice Privileges points made on the card account (verified per Wells Fargo footnote 4)
• Earn 3X Choice Privileges points per $1 at retailers whose Mastercard merchant code is classified as gas (gas stations, automated fuel dispensers, EV charging stations), groceries (grocery stores, supermarkets, delis, bakeries), home improvement (hardware stores, nurseries, furniture/household appliances, paint and wallpaper, contractors and home-improvement specialists), or telephone plans (landline and cell phone providers); verified per Wells Fargo footnote 3
• Earn 1X Choice Privileges point per $1 on all other net purchases (cash advances and cash equivalents of any kind do not earn points per Wells Fargo footnote 3)
• Dining is NOT a bonus category on this card: Wells Fargo footnote 3 enumerates only gas, groceries, home improvement, and telephone plans for 3X; restaurants earn 1X base (do not confuse with the Wells Fargo Autograph, which is the issuer's dining-bonus card)
• Automatic Choice Privileges Gold Elite status: cardholders receive 10 Elite Qualifying Nights deposited into the linked Choice Privileges account within 14 days of account opening, then again within 14 days of January 1 each subsequent calendar year as long as the card account remains open on December 31 of the prior year (verified per Wells Fargo footnote 8)
• Fast-track higher elite tiers using points earned on the card toward Elite Qualifying Nights, and earn ongoing Milestone Rewards (bonus points or gift cards earned more frequently throughout the year as cumulative card spend hits thresholds) on the Choice Privileges program side per Wells Fargo footnote 10
• No foreign transaction fees and no foreign currency conversion fee on purchases converted to U.S. dollars (verified on the Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard issuer page benefits section)
• Cellular Telephone Protection: up to $800 of cell phone protection against damage or theft when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with the card, subject to a $25 deductible (verified per Wells Fargo footnote 12; standard Choice Privileges Mastercard Guide to Benefits coverage rules apply)
• World Elite Mastercard network benefits: Mastercard ID Theft Protection, World Elite Mastercard concierge, exclusive offers, Priceless Cities experiences, and travel and lifestyle services (verified per Wells Fargo footnote 14 and the World Elite Mastercard Guide to Benefits)
• Authorized users at no additional annual fee, with all authorized-user spending earning Choice Privileges points to the primary account (consistent with the $0 AF positioning of the product)
• Contactless EMV chip Mastercard with tap-to-pay support and digital-wallet provisioning (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay) consistent with Wells Fargo's standard issuance
• Application restriction: not eligible for the introductory bonus if you opened a Choice Privileges Mastercard or Choice Privileges Select Mastercard within the last 15 months from the application date, even if that prior account is closed and has a $0 balance; and you may not be eligible for a Choice Mastercard product if you currently have an open Choice Privileges or Choice Privileges Select Mastercard account (verified in Wells Fargo Other things you need to know)
• Choice Privileges points redemption: standard awards run roughly 6,000 to 35,000 points per night at most participating Choice brand properties, with RewardSaver rates at participating Radisson Hotels Americas locations starting as low as 6,000 points per night (per One Mile at a Time Choice Privileges program coverage); The Points Guy values Choice Privileges points at approximately 0.6 cents per point, making the 60,000-point welcome offer worth roughly $360 in TPG valuation
• Booking window: Choice Privileges members can book reward nights up to 50 weeks in advance, a program improvement rolled out in 2025 that benefits cardholders planning international and seasonal stays (per One Mile at a Time Choice Privileges program update)
• Anniversary bonus points: Not offered on the no-annual-fee Choice Privileges Mastercard (the 30,000-point anniversary bonus is exclusive to the $95 Choice Privileges Select Mastercard per Wells Fargo footnote 7; the comparison row for the no-AF card on the issuer page reads not applicable)
• Automatic Platinum Elite status: Not offered on this card (Platinum Elite via 20 Elite Qualifying Nights is exclusive to the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard per Wells Fargo footnote 9; the no-AF Mastercard only confers Gold Elite via 10 EQN)
• Global Entry / TSA PreCheck / NEXUS application fee credit: Not offered on the no-annual-fee Choice Privileges Mastercard (the up to $120 every-four-years Trusted Traveler statement credit is restricted to the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard per Wells Fargo footnote 11; the comparison row for the no-AF card on the issuer page reads not applicable)
• Airport lounge access: Not offered (no Priority Pass, no airline lounge access, no Mastercard Travel Pass benefit; this is a $0 AF entry-level hotel co-brand, not a premium-lounge card)
• Airline statement credits and broader travel incidental credits: Not offered (no annual airline credit, no Uber credit, no dining credit, no streaming credit, no hotel portal credit; the no-AF Choice Privileges Mastercard is a one-purpose Choice Hotels earner)
• Trip cancellation/interruption, lost luggage, and baggage delay insurance: Not enumerated on the Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard issuer benefits section (the benefit grid lists only Cellular Telephone Protection, no foreign transaction fee, and World Elite Mastercard network features; cardholders requiring trip protections should consult the Choice Privileges World Elite Mastercard Guide to Benefits, which is the authoritative legal coverage document referenced from issuer footnotes)
• Purchase protection, extended warranty, and return protection: Not enumerated on the Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard issuer benefits section (these benefits are conspicuously absent from the issuer comparison grid; the card carries the standard World Elite Mastercard benefit menu rather than an upgraded Wells Fargo purchase-coverage layer)
• Transferable-currency partner network: Not offered (Choice Privileges points earned on this card stay inside the Choice Privileges program; they are NOT Wells Fargo Rewards points and cannot be pooled into the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey for airline transfers; transfers from external transferable currencies into Choice run 1:2 from Citi ThankYou and Wells Fargo Rewards under separate program terms — see the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey for Choice Privileges as a Wells Fargo Rewards transfer partner)
• Hotel anniversary night certificate: Not offered (no annual free-night certificate on either Choice Privileges Mastercard tier; the Select tier substitutes a 30,000-point anniversary bonus per footnote 7 and the no-AF tier offers no anniversary benefit at all)