How I Booked Strawberry (Nordic Hotels) with Choice Privileges Points

Background & Booking

This summer, I booked two hotels with Choice Privileges Points and I think I got quite a good deal. I booked the THIEF in Oslo, Norway as well as the Nordic Light Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden.

Choice Hotels has a master franchise agreement with Strawberry (formerly Nordic Choice Hotels), and since the THIEF & Nordic Light Hotel is part of Strawberry, it’s also part of Choice Hotels’ Ascend Hotel Collection. The major plus is that you can use Choice Privileges points to book these Strawberry properties. I was able to book nights for 20,000 points apiece, which I found to be a good deal as you can often buy Choice points at a discount when they are running a sale. This is around 0.80 cents a piece (sometimes lower, sometimes higher).

So by buying 20,000 points at say 0.80 cents a piece it equated to each night being $160. This was a good discount during my summer dates, as rates were over $300 a night. I was able to get a Standard Room at the THIEF, and I was actually able to book a “suite” category for the same points rate, at the Nordic Light Hotel. Note: buying points takes about a day/24 hours to post, so I know sometimes that can be a bit stressful for availability.

Choice has already increased redemption rates for other parts of the globe but as of October 2024, I am still seeing these 20k redemptions available. Not sure how long they will last. If you don’t want to purchase points, you can also transfer from AMEX &  Captial One at 1:1 and Citi & Wells Fargo Rewards at 1:2.

How to Book

Frequent Miler has a few posts that have helped me tremendously in booking these two stays.

Nordic Light Hotel- Stockholm, Sweden

For the Nordic Light, I just logged into the Choice Privileges portal to book. Note: when booking hotels with points through Choice’s website, you can only book stays within the next 100 days.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Nordic Light isn’t available with Choice points anymore, but you could stay at their more upscale sister property, At Six for just 20,000 points.

The THIEF- Oslo, Norway

There are two ways to book the THIEF. First, you can book it via the same Choice website above, but you’ll be limited to stays less than 100 days in advance. Or, since it is part of Preferred Hotels and Resorts, you can book it on that website and still use your Choice points! Frequent Miler has a more detailed post that I’ll link here, but below I have the very TL;DR version.

Usually, booking directly through Choice is cheaper than with Preferred Hotels & Resorts, which Frequent Miler details here, BUT with the THIEF, it is the same 20,000 points, AND you can book up to a year in advance!

To book via Preferred Hotels & Resorts, navigate to this website here: www.choicehotels.com/ascend/preferred-hotels

Then log into your Choice Privileges account, click “Start Booking”, filter to “Norway” and you’ll find the THIEF. Click “View Rates” and you’ll find the rate calendar.

You’ll have to have enough points in your account before being able to click past this page, but if you do have enough then you should be able to book!

The Verdict

Overall, using Choice Privileges points at Strawberry (Nordic Hotels) can be a great deal. Not sure how the current redemption rates will last before the next devaluations, but if you have a Nordic trip coming up, this could be a great avenue to purchase/transfer points to Choice Privileges. If you’re curious about my hotel reviews of both properties, you can see them here for the THIEF, and here for the Nordic Light.

Have you used Choice Privileges points to book Strawberry (Nordic Hotels) before? Which properties did you stay at? Share below!

Cheers,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!