Choice Privileges Japan: What’s Left After 3 Devaluations
Updated as of 9 Oct 2026. Choice is selling points at up to 40% off until 22 Oct, 11:59 PM US Eastern (9:29 AM IST on 23 Oct). Prices below are from our own search on choicehotels.com on 9 Oct.
In May we called Choice Privileges “the Japan exception”: central Tokyo and Osaka hotels for 8,000 points a night. That’s gone. Choice raised its Japan prices three times between June and August, and we couldn’t find a single 8,000-point hotel left. Here’s what a night costs now, where points still beat cash, and whether the 40% sale changes anything.
TL;DR
- 📉 Three devaluations in 2026 (June, July, August). Central Tokyo went from 8,000 to 20,000–25,000 points a night; Comfort Suites Tokyo Bay is now 30,000.
- 🔎 Cheapest now: 10,000 points, and only at suburban hotels (Chiba, outer Nagoya, outer Fukuoka). City centres are 15,000–25,000.
- 💸 The sale brings points to about ₹0.62 each (best case, after forex markup). A 20,000-point night then costs about ₹12,400.
- 🍁 Still worth it: Kyoto in autumn. One Kyoto hotel was ¥40,850 (about ₹25,000) cash or 20,000 points on the night we checked.
- ❌ Not worth it: most of Tokyo, Osaka and Kobe, where cash is about the same as, or cheaper than, buying the points.
- 🇮🇳 No Indian card transfers to Choice, so for us it’s buy-only. Buy only for one specific booking.
How Choice devalued Japan in one year
| When | What happened | Example (points per night) |
|---|---|---|
| Until May 2026 | Most Comfort Hotels in Japan’s big cities cost 8,000 points | Comfort Hotel Tokyo Kanda: 8,000 |
| Early June 2026 | Round 1: central Tokyo and Osaka more than doubled, without notice. A few hotels got cheaper | Tokyo Kanda 8,000 → 20,000; ERA Tokyo Higashi Kanda 12,000 → 25,000; Tokyo Bay briefly down to 8,000 |
| Mid-July 2026 | Round 2: nearly every Tokyo hotel above 20,000; Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto hotels to 20,000 | ERA Kobe Sannomiya: 20,000 |
| 7 Aug 2026 | Round 3: up to 30,000; Sapporo, Kyoto and Osaka hotels that had stayed at 15,000 went to 20,000–25,000 | Comfort Suites Tokyo Bay 15,000 → 30,000 |
| 9 Oct 2026 (our check) | No 8,000-point hotels left. Floor is 10,000 | Comfort Inn Chiba Hamano: 10,000 |
What a night costs now, city by city
| City | Hotels (points per night) |
|---|---|
| Tokyo | Roppongi, Kanda, Higashi Nihombashi, Kiyosumi Shirakawa: 20,000. ERA Higashi Kanda: 25,000. Comfort Suites Tokyo Bay: 30,000 |
| Around Tokyo | Yokohama Kannai: 15,000. Chiba Hamano: 10,000 |
| Kyoto | ERA Horikawagojo, ERA Toji, Comfort Inn Shijokarasuma: 20,000 |
| Osaka | Geometiq Umeda (Ascend), Shinsaibashi, Shin-Osaka: 20,000. Sakai: 15,000 |
| Kobe / Nara | ERA Kobe Sannomiya: 20,000. Nara: 15,000 |
| Sapporo | ERA Sapporo North, Susukino: 20,000. Chitose (airport area): 15,000 |
| Fukuoka | Tenjin, Hakata: 25,000. Tosu, Munakata, Kurosaki: 10,000. Saga: 15,000 |
| Hiroshima | Otemachi, Kure: 15,000 |
| Nagoya | Sakae, Fushimi, Central Japan Airport: 15,000. Meiekiminami, Shinkansenguchi, Kanayama: 20,000. Suzuka, Kariya, Ogaki: 10,000 |
Where points still beat cash
We priced the same night (16 Nov 2026) in cash and points. The question is simple: is the cash price more than what the points cost you?
| Hotel | Cash (member rate) | Points | ₹ per point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comfort Hotel ERA Kyoto Horikawagojo | ¥40,850 (₹24,970) | 20,000 | ₹1.25 | ✅ Use points |
| Comfort Hotel Tokyo Higashi Nihombashi | ¥28,310 (₹17,310) | 20,000 | ₹0.87 | ✅ Use points |
| Comfort Inn Kyoto Shijokarasuma | ¥24,035 (₹14,690) | 20,000 | ₹0.73 | ✅ Slightly better on points |
| Comfort Hotel ERA Tokyo Higashi Kanda | ¥27,550 (₹16,840) | 25,000 | ₹0.67 | ➖ About even |
| Comfort Hotel Tokyo Kanda | ¥19,950 (₹12,200) | 20,000 | ₹0.61 | ➖ About even |
| Comfort Suites Tokyo Bay | ¥30,400 (₹18,590) | 30,000 | ₹0.62 | ➖ About even |
| Comfort Inn Tokyo Roppongi | ¥18,050 (₹11,040) | 20,000 | ₹0.55 | ❌ Pay cash |
| Comfort Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi | ¥14,250 (₹8,710) | 20,000 | ₹0.44 | ❌ Pay cash |
| Comfort Hotel ERA Kobe Sannomiya | ¥10,640 (₹6,510) | 20,000 | ₹0.33 | ❌ Pay cash |
The pattern: Choice now charges 20,000 almost everywhere in a city, but cash prices move with demand. So points win on peak dates in expensive places (Kyoto in the autumn-leaves season, Tokyo on busy weekends) and lose on quiet nights. Always check both on your exact dates.
One extra: several Comfort Hotels include a free continental breakfast (Tokyo Kanda, Higashi Nihombashi, Kiyosumi Shirakawa and Yokohama Kannai, among others), and Japanese city hotel rooms are small, so check the room size before you book for two.
The 40% off sale in rupees
| Normal price | 1.03–1.28 US cents a point, depending on how many you buy |
| Best sale price | 180,000 points for US$1,112.40, about 0.62 cents a point |
| In rupees | About ₹598 per 1,000 points, or ₹622 per 1,000 with a 3.5% + GST forex markup |
| To get the discount | The full discount needs at least 14,000 points in one purchase. Offers can vary by account |
| Limits | 180,000 points a year. Bought points don’t count towards status |
| Ends | 22 Oct 2026, 11:59 PM US Eastern (9:29 AM IST on 23 Oct) |
For one Kyoto night at 20,000 points, you’d pay about ₹12,400 for points against ₹25,000 in cash. That’s a real saving. For one Roppongi night, you’d pay ₹12,400 for points against ₹11,040 in cash. That’s a loss. Same sale, opposite answers.
Also remember Choice runs a sale every six to eight weeks (35–50% off or bonus in 2026 alone), so there’s no rush unless your booking is close.
Choice from India: the basics
- No card transfers. No Indian bank card converts to Choice Privileges, so buying is the only way in.
- Few useful hotels in India, so you won’t earn much at home either. Choice is a Japan (and US road trip) play for Indians.
- Points + cash starts at 6,000 points, handy if you’re slightly short.
- Book on choicehotels.com with the “Use points” switch on to see reward prices.
What to do
| You are… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Going to Kyoto in Oct–Dec or spring | ✅ Price Choice on your dates. If cash is ¥30,000+ for a 20,000-point night, buy just the points you need before 22 Oct |
| Going to Tokyo or Osaka | ⚠️ Compare night by night; on most dates cash is the same or cheaper |
| Holding Choice points already | ✅ Use them on peak nights in Kyoto or Tokyo; don’t waste them on cheap Osaka or Kobe nights |
| Thinking of stocking up “for Japan later” | ❌ Don’t. Choice changed Japan prices three times in three months with no warning |
FAQ
Are there any 8,000-point hotels left in Japan? None in our search of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Nagoya on 9 Oct. The cheapest were 10,000 points, all outside city centres.
Will prices go back down? Possibly on some hotels; in June a couple got cheaper before rising again. But plan on today’s prices, not May’s.
Verdict
The 8,000-point Japan sweet spot is dead. Choice points are now a peak-date tool: Kyoto in autumn and busy Tokyo nights still give double the value, everything else is about even with cash. Buy in this sale only for a booking you’ve already priced.
Sasta tha, ab sasta nahi; sirf sahi raat pe kaam ka. (It was cheap, it isn’t now; it only works on the right night.)
Planning Japan on points? See our Japan via Kuala Lumpur guide, and compare hotel programmes in our Marriott and Hilton guides.
Sources: Choice Hotels Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto and other city searches (9 Oct 2026), Choice Privileges buy points. FX: US$1 = ₹96.71, ¥1 = ₹0.611 (DealUni sheet, 8 Oct 2026). Point values checked 9 Oct 2026.
