Choice Privileges Select Mastercard

Earning Rates

Key Benefits

All Benefits

• Earn 60,000 bonus Choice Privileges points after spending $3,000 in net purchases in the first 3 months from account opening; issuer markets this as 'enough to redeem for up to 7 reward nights at select Choice Hotels properties' (verified verbatim on the Wells Fargo issuer product page footnote 1)
• $95 annual fee, billed in the first statement cycle and renewing every 12 months (verified on issuer product page; no first-year waiver)
• Product is now branded the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard World Elite (NOT a Visa Signature card despite the legacy 'Visa Signature' designation in some older write-ups); issuer product page and Guide to Benefits title both confirm 'Choice Privileges Select World Elite Mastercard Credit Card'
• 10X total points per $1 (1 base + 9 bonus) on qualifying stays at participating Choice Hotels properties booked via choicehotels.com, directly with an eligible Choice hotel, or via the Choice Hotels Service Center (verified per issuer footnote 2)
• 10X total points per $1 on qualifying net purchases of Choice Privileges points made directly with Choice (verified per issuer footnote 3)
• 5X total points per $1 (1 base + 4 bonus) on net purchases at merchants classified by Mastercard as gas stations / automated fuel dispensers / EV charging stations, grocery stores / supermarkets / delis / bakeries, telephone-plan providers (landline and cell), and home-improvement stores / hardware / nurseries / garden supply / furniture and household appliances / floor / glass / paint / wallpaper / contractors (verified per issuer footnote 2)
• IMPORTANT CATEGORY CORRECTION: The 5X tier on the current product is gas + groceries + phone plans + home improvement; dining/restaurants is NOT a 5X bonus category on the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard (verified directly on the issuer product page; older 'gas + groceries + dining' descriptions reflect an earlier version of this card or a different product)
• 1X point per $1 on all other net purchases (base rate; cash advances, cash equivalents, balance transfers, fees, and gambling do not earn points per footnote 2)
• Bonus categories require a Mastercard merchant code match; purchases via third-party payment accounts, online marketplaces, mobile/wireless card readers, or mobile/digital wallets may not qualify for bonus points (per issuer footnote 2)
• Anniversary bonus: 30,000 Choice Privileges points awarded every account anniversary year that the account remains open, not delinquent, and not in default at the time of award; issuer markets this as 'enough to redeem up to 3 reward nights at Choice Hotels properties' (verified per issuer footnote 4); this is a POINTS award, not a Free Night Certificate room-category cap
• ANNIVERSARY BENEFIT CORRECTION: The Choice Privileges Select Mastercard awards 30,000 anniversary points (not a Free Night Certificate); Choice Privileges' co-brand portfolio does not use Free Night Certificate awards in the Marriott/Hilton/IHG sense, so any 'Anniversary night reward' framing should be expressed as the 30,000-point top-up
• Automatic Choice Privileges Platinum Elite membership for cardholders; Platinum Elite earns a 25% base-point bonus on qualifying Choice Privileges stays (WoodSpring Suites excluded; MainStay/Suburban/Everhome cap at 10 pts/$ for stays of 6 nights or fewer, 5 pts/$ for 7-30 nights) per issuer footnote 5
• 20 bonus Elite Qualifying Nights (EQNs) deposited into the linked Choice Privileges account within 14 days of account opening and again within 14 days of January 1 each subsequent year the card is open as of Dec 31 prior; the 20 EQNs guarantee Platinum Elite status floor each calendar year (verified per issuer footnote 6)
• Fast-track to higher Choice Privileges Elite status: card spend earns Elite Qualifying Credits (EQCs) that count toward the next tier above Platinum; only base points from points-eligible stays plus card-spend points count toward EQCs (Elite Stay Bonus Points and promotional points are excluded per issuer footnote 7)
• Milestone Rewards eligibility: cardholders earn Milestone Qualifying Credits (MQCs) from card spend in addition to Milestone Qualifying Nights (MQNs) from stays, unlocking bonus points or gift card milestones throughout the calendar year; bonus EQNs from the card do NOT count toward MQNs (per issuer footnote 7)
• Trusted Traveler Program statement credit: up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for one Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application or renewal fee charged to the card; credit posts within 60 days of the qualifying transaction; the first posted TTP transaction is the one credited (verified per issuer footnote 8) - note this $120 ceiling exceeds the current $100 Global Entry fee and the $78-$85 TSA PreCheck fee
• No foreign transaction fees on purchases converted to U.S. dollars (verified on issuer product page; standard World Elite Mastercard benefit honored by Wells Fargo on this card)
• Cellular Telephone Protection: up to $800 per claim against damage or theft, less a $25 deductible, maximum of two paid claims per 12-month period; coverage activates the first day of the calendar month following the month you first paid your cell phone bill with the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard; does NOT cover lost or mysteriously disappeared phones and does NOT cover electronic or software failure (verified per issuer footnote 9 and Guide to Benefits)
• CELL PHONE BENEFIT CORRECTION: This card carries the $800 per-claim cell phone protection tier, NOT the $600 'Wells Fargo standard' tier seen on Active Cash and Autograph; the higher World Elite Mastercard ceiling is verified directly on the issuer product page footnote 9
• Mastercard World Elite benefits: 24/7 concierge, travel and lifestyle services, exclusive offers, and additional security benefits as enumerated in the Mastercard World Elite benefit suite (referenced on issuer product page footnote 10 and the Choice Privileges Select World Elite Mastercard Guide to Benefits)
• Welcome-offer eligibility restriction: cardholder is not eligible for the 60,000-point intro bonus if a Choice Privileges Mastercard or Choice Privileges Select Mastercard was opened within the last 15 months from the application date, even if closed with a $0 balance; cannot hold an open Choice Privileges Mastercard simultaneously with a Choice Privileges Select Mastercard (verified per issuer product page 'Other things you need to know')
• Choice Privileges point valuation context: Choice Privileges points typically value at 0.5-0.7 cents per point (rewardztravel internal valuation: ~0.6 cpp), making the 60,000-point welcome bonus worth roughly $360 in hotel-night value and the 30,000-point anniversary bonus worth roughly $180 in hotel-night value at typical free-night redemption rates
• Choice Privileges award nights have no blackout dates at most participating brands; standard reward night pricing ranges from 6,000 to 35,000 points per night depending on brand, location, and season (per Choice Privileges Rewards Program Rules and Regulations referenced from issuer footnote 5)
• Choice Privileges transfer-out partners (program-side, not card-side): Choice Privileges transfers to several airlines at roughly 5,000 Choice points to 1,000 airline miles, including Southwest Rapid Rewards, American AAdvantage, Alaska Mileage Plan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and others - making this card a back-door way to earn airline miles at the 5,000-Choice-to-1,000-mile ratio (per Choice Privileges Rules & Regulations)
• Airport lounge access: Not offered (no Priority Pass, no Mastercard lounge access, no airline lounge access; this is a $95 hotel co-brand card, not a premium-lounge card)
• Free Night Certificate (room-category capped): Not offered (Choice Privileges does NOT issue annual Free Night Certificates in the Marriott/Hilton/IHG sense; the anniversary benefit is delivered as 30,000 Choice points, not a free-night cert)
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance and lost luggage reimbursement: Not enumerated on the issuer product page or Guide to Benefits for the Choice Privileges Select Mastercard (this card carries cell phone protection, no FX fee, and Trusted Traveler credit but does NOT carry the full trip-protection suite seen on the Autograph Journey)
• Purchase protection, extended warranty, and return protection: Not enumerated on the issuer product page (the only protection benefits explicitly listed are Cell Phone Protection and the Mastercard World Elite security benefits)
• Statement credits beyond Trusted Traveler: Not offered (no Choice Hotels statement credit, no Uber credit, no dining/streaming credit; the card's economic value rests on the 10X Choice category, the 30,000-point anniversary bonus, automatic Platinum Elite status, the 20 bonus EQNs each calendar year, and the $120/4-year Global Entry credit)