Attention, college football fans: Bidding is now open with Choice Privileges for four VIP game-day experiences. But this news is about much more than just four experiences, as Choice plans to offer 40 VIP experiences with 15 different teams this college football season. So, here’s what you need to know.
Choice Privileges college football experiences
Choice has announced the first set of VIP college football game-day experiences this fall for which you can redeem Choice points. Here are the college football games with experiences that are currently available for bidding:
- University of Texas at Austin versus Ohio State University on Aug. 30 (Platinum experience with access to Ohio State)
- University of California, Berkeley versus Oregon State University on Aug. 30 (Silver experience with access to Oregon State)
- University of California, Los Angeles versus University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Sept. 6 (Silver experience with access to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
- University of Michigan versus University of Oklahoma on Sept. 6 (Platinum experience with access to the University of Oklahoma)
Although two teams play in each game, these experiences give you access to just the hosting team. As such, it’s advisable to be a fan of the team hosting the experience instead of the away team. Here’s a list of all the teams hosting experiences at select home games this season:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- Ohio State University
- Oregon State University
- Texas A&M University
- University of Alabama
- University of Arkansas
- University of Florida
- University of Kansas
- University of Louisville
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- University of Oklahoma
- University of South Carolina
- University of Wisconsin
Each of the 40 VIP experiences will be either a Silver or Platinum experience. Here’s a look at what each Platinum experience includes:
- Two pregame hospitality passes
- Two pregame sideline passes
- Two-night hotel stay at a Choice-branded hotel at the following featured games: Comfort Suites Grove City – Columbus South for University of Texas at Austin versus Ohio State University on Aug. 30; Sleep Inn & Suites Norman Near University for University of Michigan versus the University of Oklahoma on Sept. 6; Comfort Suites Gainesville Near University for University of Texas at Austin versus University of Florida on Oct. 4; Comfort Inn & Suites Downtown Near University for University of Tennessee versus University of Alabama on Oct. 18; and Cambria Hotel Columbia Downtown, the Vista for University of Alabama versus the University of South Carolina on Oct. 25
- Two game tickets
- One parking pass
- $100 team store gift card
- $1,500 in travel gift cards ($750 per person)
And here’s what Silver experiences include:
- Two pregame hospitality passes
- Two escorted sideline passes
- Two game tickets
- $50 team store gift card
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As mentioned above, Choice will add more VIP experiences throughout the college football season with the 15 participating teams. In a press release, Nandika Suri, vice president of loyalty with Choice Hotels International, said: “Many of our members are passionate college sports fans. Last season, they redeemed nearly 6 million points to bid on our gameday experiences. With a broad range of hotels located within 10 miles of the stadiums hosting this year’s featured matchups, we’re the ideal pick to help fans experience all the action. This kind of unique program value—one that brings them closer to the teams they love—is something we’re proud to deliver year after year. As we kick off our fourth season, we’re excited to keep rewarding our members and continue making Choice Privileges a gateway to their most unforgettable moments.”
How to bid on Choice Privileges Experiences
Go to the Choice Privileges Experiences website to see which games you can currently bid on. Click on the “Bid Now” button to view more information about the experience and place a bid. Before placing a bid, you must log in to your Choice account and be a U.S. or Canadian resident.
Your bid won’t be accepted if you don’t have enough Choice points in your account to cover the bid. However, you must keep enough points in your account until you have won the experience or someone else has outbid you.
Once you bid, you’ll want to monitor the experience and its current highest bid. If someone places a higher bid, you can submit a new bid if you still want a chance to win the experience.
If you win an experience, you must be the one to attend; you can’t transfer the experience to someone else. You can bring one guest, but there may be age restrictions. If you win an experience that includes lodging, Choice will book and determine your lodging. You’ll get a standard room (to be shared by the winner and any guests).
How to earn Choice points
There are plenty of ways to earn Choice points. For example, you can earn points through stays with Choice or by spending on a cobranded Choice Hotels credit card, such as the Choice Privileges® Mastercard® (see rates and fees) or the Choice Privileges® Select Mastercard® (see rates and fees).
If you need to earn Choice points quickly to bid on an experience, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Capital One miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards points or Wells Fargo Rewards points to Choice Privileges. It could also make sense to buy Choice Privileges points. However, remember that your bid might not be high enough to win the auction.
Bottom line
Redeeming Choice Privileges points for college sports experiences can provide excellent value for your points. The winning bids on some of the experiences available this fall are likely to be sky-high, so keep your expectations in check. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on the experiences offered and putting in a bid if you see an experience you believe would provide more value than the points you’d redeem.
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