Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street Hotel, London
Join me in a little walk down Radisson memory lane. All I can say is what a long strange trip it’s been!
Over the years, I’ve stayed at many Radisson hotels (fka Club Carlson) around the world and thoroughly enjoyed each and every stay, be it Madrid or Capetown or Brussels or Lima or Dubai or Helsinki or London or Reykjavik (and many more).
Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Sydney
It all began many years ago when there was a Club Carlson Visa credit card from US Bank which offered award stays of two nights for the price of a one night award. Although that lucrative benefit ended a few years ago, I continued to stay at many Radisson brand hotels internationally, but rarely domestically. I note that Radisson frequently ran very good promotions.
Radisson Blue Madrid Prado
Two years ago, Radisson Hotels split into two hotel groups: Radisson Americas and Radisson International. I moved all of my points to Radisson International since this was the side of the chain that I had always found most useful. I also asked Radisson International to match my premium hotel status (carried over from the above credit card) from Radisson Americas, which it did.
Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront, Cape Town
In the interim, it was announced that Choice Hotels had acquired Radisson Americas (see Developing Story – Radisson Hotels Americas to be Acquired by Choice Hotels!). (note: I’m still learning about Choice Hotels).
Then sometime last year, Radisson International changed the pricing of it’s awards from fixed amounts to dynamic pricing. I sampled the awards for a few hotels and was flabbergasted. I no longer saw the value of keeping my 500,000 Radisson Reward points with Radisson International, so I moved the points back to Radisson Americas, especially knowing that, as Choice Hotels, there may be new opportunities.
Radisson Blu Royal, Brussels, Belgium
Fast forward: the transition of Radisson Americas to Choice Hotels will become a reality this month.
I received an email from Radisson International summarizing various key updates to Radisson Rewards Terms and Conditions, effective July 18, as follows:
- We have updated our policy, allowing you 12 months to maintain your tier status or upgrade to the next tier level.
- All the Premium and VIP members will keep their tier level until 18 July 2024. Nevertheless, if a member upgrades before that date, a new qualification period will start.
- Due to the integration of Radisson Rewards Americas with Choice Privileges Loyalty program from 18 July 2023 onwards, the tier match and transfer of points functionality between programs will no longer be available.
The two key points here are: (1) you can no longer transfer points back and forth between Radisson Americas and Radisson International (were they talking to me????), and (2) if you have Radisson Rewards status that was set to expire on December 31, 2023, the expiration date of that status has been extended to July 18, 2024.
So, if you have elite status with Radisson International, check your account to see if your status has been extended to July 2024.
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.
I am wondering how you “sampled the awards for a few hotels” in Radisson International. I have never been able to check points prices on their website. They don’t have a ‘points/cash’ switch like IHG. How can I see what a specific hotel costs in points on a specific date?
Not sure now but previously when you dug into the pricing for a particular hotel, they normally showed the price in points as an option as well.
you have to do a phantom booking until almost the end….
Radisson International sucks. There isn’t even a way for you to see how much a particular hotel would cost in points. I haven’t been able to easily see how many points any property is. There isn’t even an option to check!
you have to go through a phantom booking – at the end it shows you how many points. Uch.