By: Jenn McCue

• As of April 19, 2026 Citi will update their transfer ratios to Choice Privileges® and I Prefer.
  • 1,000 ThankYou Rewards Points are transferable for 1,500 Choice Privileges® points (reduced by 500 points)
  • 1,000 ThankYou Rewards Points are transferable for 2,000 I Prefer Points (reduced by 2,000 points)

If you’re looking to unlock unique award hotel stays — especially boutique or luxury properties — you may have heard of Preferred Hotels & Resorts and their loyalty program, I Prefer Hotel Rewards.

What makes this particularly interesting for points collectors is that you can often book the same hotel using two different points currencies:

• I Prefer Hotel Rewards points
• Choice Privileges® points

Both have different transfer partners, transfer ratios, and award pricing — meaning one route may be better than the other depending on your situation. Confused? Hang with me.

What is Preferred Hotels and Resorts?

Preferred Hotels and Resorts is a unique collection of ~600 hotels in over 80 countries. Some of these are bookable with with the Choice Privileges Points.

Keep in mind, not all properties are even bookable with points. But don’t worry. When you search by points price, you’ll see what’s available for award stays.

The Basics: Two Ways to Book Preferred Hotels

Option 1 — Book With I Prefer Points

The I Prefer program is the official loyalty program for Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ portfolio — a collection of independently branded boutique and luxury hotels.

Here’s what you should know:

• You must be an I Prefer member to earn and redeem points. (Just sign up for a free account.)
• Points can be earned from stays (when you include your I Prefer number).
• You can book Reward Nights or Reward Nights Plus (points + cash).

You can also transfer certain transferable points into I Prefer:

• Alaska Airlines Atmos™ Rewards: 1:2 BTW, I don’t recommend transferring Alaska points to I Prefer.
• Capital One Miles: 1:2
• Citi ThankYou® Rewards: 1:4 (1:4 ratio for Citi Strata Elite℠, Citi Strata Premier®, Prestige®, or AT&T Access More cardmembers) This is a very strong transfer ratio. Highly recommend! Other Citi ThankYou® Rewards earning cards transfer at 1:2.8.

💡 Why this matters:
Because one hotel might cost (significantly) fewer I Prefer points than Choice Privileges points, especially when transferring from Citi at a favorable ratio.

Here are some of my favorite cards that earn points that transfer to I Prefer:

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Capital One Venture X Business Card

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

Option 2 — Book With Choice Privileges Points

Preferred Hotels & Resorts also partners with Choice Hotels’ Choice Privileges — meaning you can redeem Choice points for stays at select Preferred properties.

Choice Privileges points are easier to earn from a variety of credit cards and transfer partners, especially when you can transfer from bank programs such as:

• American Express Membership Rewards → Choice at 1:1
• Capital One Miles → Choice at 1:1
• Citi ThankYou® Rewards → Choice at up to 1:2
• Wells Fargo Rewards → Choice at 1:2

Once you have Choice points, you can book a reward night at participating Preferred Hotels through Choice’s award portal — or by searching the Choice site for Preferred Hotels with points.

📌 Note: If you book a Preferred Hotel using Choice points, you generally will not earn Choice points for the stay, and you won’t earn I Prefer points either. So basically- if you’re booking with Choice, I’d only book award stays. Unless it was a killer cash deal!

Here are some of my favorite cards that transfer to Choice Privileges:

Citi Strata Elite℠ Card

Citi Strata Premier® Card 

Point Price Differences

One of the trickiest parts of booking Preferred Hotels is that the cost in points varies between I Prefer and Choice Privileges — and the best option isn’t always obvious.

Here’s why:

Transfer Ratios

• Citi → I Prefer: 1:4 (very strong)
• Credit card transfers to Choice: often 1:1 (Amex, Capital One) or 1:2 (Citi/Wells Fargo)

If you’re transferring from Citi, you might find booking through I Prefer much more efficient on a per-night basis — but award availability and point rates still matter. In my research, it was usually cheaper to book with I Prefer when transferring to Citi.

Award Pricing Isn’t Standardized

Unlike traditional hotel chains with award charts, each Preferred Hotel sets its own points price. That means one hotel may be cheaper through I Prefer and another through Choice. Makes zero sense, right?

This is where comparison shopping pays off. Search both I Prefer and Choice Privileges availability before committing your points. Don’t worry, I’ll show you how in a minute.

Partial Overlap in Bookable Hotels

Not all Preferred Hotels that are bookable with Choice points are available through I Prefer, and vice versa. There’s some overlap. I’d search both programs directly to look for the best deal on the property you’re interested in.

How to Search & Compare

Because of these differences, the search method matters.

Here’s a simple workflow:

• Log into your I Prefer account and search for your hotel and dates.
• Search on the Choice Privileges portal for the same hotel/dates.
• Compare the points required in each program.
• Decide which offers better value based on your points transfer ratios and transfer costs.
• Transfer and redeem only when you’re confident you have availability.

Searching I Prefer

It’s not super intuitive to find award nights. Here’s how you’re going to search. Log into your I Prefer account. Click “Offers” in the upper right corner and click “Redeem Nights”. This seems to be the easiest way that I’ve found to always bring up hotels with award nights available.

Now you can search for hotels! You can easily search by region and narrow it down as specific as you want to. Keep in mind that when you’re transferring from a premium Citi card, you earn 4 I Prefer points for each ThankYou Reward – meaning the hotel in the photo below would cost only 25,000 points. Not too shabby.

Booking directly through I Prefer gives you the option to book solely using points (I Prefer Reward Nights) or using a combination of points + cash (I Prefer Reward Nights Plus). As always, I’d do the math to see what is the best option for you.

Also, while taxes will be included in your stay, it’s likely that you’ll have resort fees tacked on to your nightly bill. Just something to keep in mind.

Searching Choice Privileges

When searching the Choice Privileges site, you’ve got to go to the right place to search Preferred Hotels. Once you log in, you’ll see this midway down on the screen. “Redeem Points” That’s where you begin your hotel search.

Now you’ll be able to search award stays within Preferred Hotels and Resorts. It’s easy to search by destination and any hotel with award nights available should show up.

When booking with Choice, taxes will be covered with the points but you’ll still be responsible for resort fees. Note in the example below, I’d pay 50K Choice points per night + $48.00 per night. Of course, if you’re transferring your point from Citi or Wells Fargo, you’ll only pay 25K per night with the 1:2 transfer ratio.

Things to Watch Out For

Award Inventory Can Be Spotty

Even when a hotel shows as bookable with points, actual availability may not show up once you get into the booking calendar — especially on I Prefer. This requires patience and flexible dates.

A few times I’d attempt to search on I Prefer and award nights were unavailable on the nights chosen – even though the search results yielded them. I had much better luck when I searched with flexible dates.

Cancellation Rules Can Differ

Okay this can get a little confusing. But properties don’t seem to have a uniform cancellation policy.

Choice Privileges reward nights at Preferred Hotels follow Choice’s rules (e.g., cancellation timelines and point redeposit policies).

Booking made directly with I Prefer seem to follow whatever the hotel’s cancellation policy is – typically 48 to 72 hours prior to the reservation. But I’d save any confirmation emails just to be safe.

No Points Earned on Booking Other Programs’ Stays

Booking a Preferred Hotel with Choice points won’t earn you Choice points for the stay. Similarly, booking with I Prefer points means you won’t earn points from the Choice program.

Additionally, if you happen to have Choice Privileges elite status, it won’t be recognized when booking Preferred Hotels and Resorts properties.

Dynamic Pricing

Like many boutique and independent properties, award costs can vary widely by season, demand, and event dates — so doing your homework pays off.

When Each Option Makes Sense

Use I Prefer if:

• You’re transferring from Citi at 1:4.
• Award pricing is significantly better on I Prefer.
• You want to stay at a boutique or luxury property.

Use Choice Privileges if:

• You have abundant Choice points or earn them easily.
• A property is only available via Choice redemption.
• The point price is better even at a lower transfer ratio.

Some Unique Properties

Biltmore Hotel: Coral Gables, FL

Chatham Bars Inn: Cape Cod, MA

Kilkea Castle: Castledermot, Ireland

Halepuna Waikiki: Honolulu, HI

Aspen Alpin Lifestyle Hotel: Grindewald, Switzerland

Bottom Line

Preferred Hotels & Resorts (and their I Prefer program) offer a unique way to use your hotel loyalty and credit card points — but since there are two separate ways to book, it pays to be strategic.

Compare both programs, understand your transfer ratios, and don’t just assume one is cheaper than the other. With a bit of planning, you can unlock stays at boutique and luxury properties that might otherwise be priced well beyond reach.

If you’d like help comparing specific hotels or maximizing points for a getaway, drop a message here.