This morning, at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, Germany, Carlson Rezidor announced that, effective today, the newly rebranded Radisson Hotel Group has a new loyalty program, Radisson Rewards™ (taking the place of Club Carlson).
Radisson Rewards™ revamps and replaces Club Carlson as the hotel chain’s loyalty program
The press release issued this morning by Radisson Hotel Group states that:
. . . Radisson Hotel Group™ introduces a refreshed loyalty program, Radisson Rewards™, replacing Club Carlson SM. Radisson Rewards will align with the hotel group’s new corporate identity and will make it easier for members to associate their benefits with all brands and initiatives. The updated program comes with some exciting enhancements including making status more accessible for members. All current members account numbers and point balances remain the same.
“Embedding the Radisson name into the heart of our program, will help us instantly boost the global brand awareness of our loyalty program. Radisson is a name that’s instantly recognizable, respected and stands for award-winning, innovative hospitality,” said Eric De Neef, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Commercial Officer, Radisson Hotel Group. “Our refreshed program will serve as a powerful driver of our commercial and brand awareness strategy, and build a stronger relationship with our members. The Radisson affiliation across the entire global brand portfolio and all markets, will ensure that our members worldwide can easily associate their rewards with the hotels where they earned their valuable points.”
With more than 1,100 hotels in operation worldwide, members of the Radisson Rewards program enjoy member only rates, access to exclusive benefits including room upgrades, early check-in/ late check-out, and points towards free nights across these Radisson Hotel Group hotels: Radisson Collection™, Radisson Blu®, Radisson®, Radisson RED®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn® by Radisson and Country Inn & Suites® by Radisson.
Radisson Rewards Tier Names and Levels and Qualifying Nights/Stays
The press release introduces the new loyalty tier names, the tier structure and the new thresholds. Radisson Hotel Group claims this new structure will be beneficial to members and provide a faster and more accessible path to elite status.
Of course, what counts is what is necessary to acheive these levels and the benefits that each of these levels offer. Here’s the chart:
Comparing the new requirements to the former requirements, it should be easier under Radisson Rewards to achieve elite status than it was under the Club Carlson program. Moreover, the new enhanced thresholds will be applied in 2018 based on 2017 activity, so some guests may find themselves at a higher tier than expected.
For a list and chart of the benefits of each membership level see HERE (this website page just went live this morning, so further examination will follow).
I looked up a few individual hotels on the reservation booking site and it appears that the award booking structure, including points and points and cash as well as the number of points needed to be redeemed for a given hotel, has not been changed. There were already quite a few point redemption changes for many hotels earlier this year, so I wouldn’t think that any immediate further changes are planned (see, Point Increases and Decreases 2018 for Club Carlson Hotel and Resort Properties).
New Website, New Apps and a Dedicated Call Center
According to the press release:
Radisson Rewards also has a new digital home. Members can book direct and access their membership data at [the Radisson Hotels Website] and with the Radisson Rewards mobile app (available for Apple and Google devices). Radisson Rewards Platinum guests will also have dedicated 24/7 access to call center agents.
Radisson Rewards Visa Card
Concerning the Club Carlson (now Radisson Rewards) Visa card:
U.S. Radisson Rewards Visa cardholders can now earn up to 3 free award nights upon renewal, on top of the points they already earn for spend.
According to Radisson Rewards:
What will happen to the existing Club Carlson credit card? Will it be converted over? Will US Bank still issue the Radisson Rewards card?
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Current members will not receive a new card until their current Visa card expires. The card will continue to be valid and earn points within the program.
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New members applying for the card after March 5, 2018, will receive a Radisson Rewards branded card.
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New members who applied before March 5, 2018 but did not receive their card prior to March 5 will receive a Radisson Rewards branded card.
Radisson Rewards™ for Business
Radisson Hotel Group formerly had three Business to Business programs. Now they will be streamlined under one umbrella program: Radisson Rewards™ for Business. According to the press release, there are no changes to the current structure and Radisson Rewards for Business members will continue to earn points as before.
New Website Link
This is the new Radisson Rewards Website Link. It remains to be seen whether the new program is merely a cosmetic modernization of Club Carlson or is really an overhaul. The website is only live as of right now, so more details about the big picture of this new program will come to light in time and upon further review.
NEW PROMOTIONS
Club Carlson was known for some generous promotions, and I’m hoping that the new and improved loyalty program will do the same.
The Radisson Rewards Website is being rolled out this morning. It is a work in progress, so to speak. It looks like there are many promotions planned, including points for completing a first transaction with any of the “Extras Partners” including iTunes, eBay, Groupon and more. According to the website:
Extras Partners are located in the Radisson Rewards™ mobile app under the “Extras” section when you are logged in using your Radisson Rewards account. Partners will be displayed based on your location. Be sure to activate your location services when using the mobile app.
There appear to be a few more promotions in the works. See, for example this page for additional point redemptions and benefits (also just rolled out this morning). Some pages are not yet complete, so we have to wait and see.
Easy 3000 points by booking on Radisson Rewards app?
An easy 3,000 points? Just book and complete your first stay with the Radisson Rewards App? See Details here. But, ummm, the fine print says the stay must be completed in 2017? I’m hoping this is one of those promos in the works, and will be updated for current stays.
And that’s it for now. . . .
A New York frequent flyer who elegantly combines her passions for worldwide travel, running a gazillion marathons all over the globe and staying fit ... without sacrificing her fancy for good wine and food.
Currently Club Carlson credit card holders have Gold Elite status. I hope that doesn’t change for the worse. Lots of folks ditched the card when the 2 for 1 award night benefits disappeared, but we kept one Business and one Personal card in our household because we’ve gotten terrific upgrades and other generous benefits from that status when I alert the hotel that both guests checking into the room are Golds. Here’s hoping that continues.
I had the same concern initially, since I just paid my renewal fee on the business CC card 4 days ago. I even put that concern in a prior version of the blog post. However, in not so many words, I was assured that Radisson does not intend to reduce the status one gets from having the credit card. So, I”ll keep my fingers crossed too.
From an email I just got:
“Club CarlsonSM is now Radisson RewardsTM
Our name has changed, but our priorities remain the same—to provide you with an elevated experience from booking to checkout and every moment in between.
you are Gold
Congratulations on your Gold status and thank you for being a Radisson Rewards Visa® cardholder.
Earn up to three Free Night E-Certificates when you spend up to $30,000 per year.† You’ll also earn 10 points per U.S. dollar spent on eligible stays and food & drink purchases on your Radisson Rewards Visa credit card—that’s in addition to the 25 points per U.S. dollar spent you already earn on eligible stays with your Gold status.”
The only change I saw was…drumroll…we now get 2 bottles of free water!!!!
I got the same email – was about to send it to you!
Looks like the points earning algorithms are a little bit different too for Golds and Platinums.
yes.
What does this mean : “Earn up to three Free Night E-Certificates when you spend up to $30,000 per year”?
Is this for purchase on one card?
for each $10,000 charged on the Credit Card, you receive one free night, up to a max of 3 nights.
The problem I’ve had with CI&S’s rewards program wasn’t the spiffs or promotions available for the “elite” status, it was with using the points. I racked up over a million points in 2014, and played hell using any of them during the following year. I would check availability and no reward availability showed. I’d check again as if I was booking a room with my credit card and lo and behold: there were rooms available.
This happened a lot all over the country, and I finally got tired of calling about it. End result? I don’t stay at CS&I hotels (or whatever they are calling them now) anymore unless the location and the cost justify it. If there is a Hilton or a Marriott in the same area and within a few dollars of the room rate, I will book with them. I don’t typically have trouble using my points with either of their programs.