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Club Carlson has announced that it is undergoing a bit of a transformation and is rebranding effective immediately to Radisson Rewards. The rebrand comes with positive and negative changes and includes changes to tier names, tier earning bonuses and a reduction of the number of nights needed to qualify for Elite status.
New Names for Elite Levels
The first thing to change is the names of the different tiers in the program. Red and Concierge are gone to be replaced by Club and Platinum respectively. The new tier levels and their old equivalents are as follows:
- Club Carlson Red → Radisson Rewards Club
- Club Carlson Silver → Radisson Rewards Silver
- Club Carlson Gold → Radisson Rewards Gold
- Club Carlson Concierge → Radisson Rewards Platinum
Simplified Earning … BUT
Radisson Rewards has simplified its tier earning bonuses for Elites; instead of earning a percentage bonus, elites will earn a greater number of points per dollar spent. The new earnings compare to the old earning rates as follows:
While the system is simpler, after 10 seconds with a calculator, it becomes apparent that this is also a devaluation in earning for Silver and Gold members, while Club and Platinum level members see no change to their earnings with the new system.
Faster Path to Elite Status
Part of the move to Radisson Rewards is a reduction in the number of required nights to achieve elite status. The new qualification thresholds are as follows:
Reducing the number of required nights to achieve elite status is nice, although this change seems to be somewhat arbitrary and lacks a consistent logic. It is highly likely that after studying the number of stays from various members, the required nights were tweaked to keep the overall ratio of Silver to Gold to Platinum members the same as before. This may not have been possible if Radisson Rewards had followed a simple formula and cutting the number of required nights by a set percentage across the board.
Other Changes
There is also a slew of minor changes coming to the program:
- All members will receive two complimentary bottles of water per stay – Having a Radisson Rewards account for this reason alone makes sense.
- Holders of Radisson Rewards co-branded credit cards will now receive up to 3 free nights per year depending on their spend (one night per $10,000 in spend, up to 3 nights/$30,000 in spend). Keep in mind, the limitation of redeeming free night certificates at a property in the U.S. has not changed. The change affects the following cards:
- New card applicants will receive a Radisson Rewards branded card, while current cardholders will have theirs updated when it is due for renewal
- Platinum members will be able to access an exclusive members service line
Things That Have Not Changed
Apart from the above, there is little else that has changed with the new Radisson Rewards program. Award nights still start at 9,000 points per night, and the award chart has not changed. Membership benefits have largely remained unchanged, and Platinum members still receive free breakfast and 48-hour guaranteed room availability, along with other trivial benefits.
Our Take
This really is an exercise in marketing. Yes, you can earn more free nights with Radisson Rewards and their co-branded credit cards and the point earning structure wasn’t decimated, but the core issue of a lack of high-end properties in the U.S. remains.
We’re happy to see a realization that the program needed a rebrand, and we agree that this makes sense. That said, we’ve love to see something happen with their credit cards and loyalty program that put it on par with what we get from Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, and SPG.
Source: Radisson Rewards
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Rebrand means little, promos are important to users.
I don’t mind the rebrand but I hope to see more promos at least.
@Crawford says: “I’m always so keen on trying to maximize all I can from points/miles programs, but over the years I’ve learned Radisson just doesn’t work for me.”
You’re not alone in learning that lesson, unfortunately. 🙁
This is one of those programs that may not be of much value in the US but may have an excellent value for overseas stays. Though the previous poster saying that hotels weren’t offering reward nights in Germany may make this strategy moot. Sometimes hotels that are not strong brands here in the US are very nice in other countries. So it’s always worth earning the points even if , on the surface, you think you’d never choose a reward night there.
We just tried to book some award nights in May in Europe. Many hotels were not taking points and those that were had extremely high point prices. Seems like this once great program is changing rapidly.
It seems an odd paradox to make it easier to achieve elite status while simultaneously de-incentivising paid stays, by reducing the elite earning rate (albeit by only 1-2 points/$1). Overall though, since I very rarely pay to stay at Radisson properties, I suppose I am glad that was the sacrificial lamb, rather than CC perks, again.
Club Carlson has devalued a lot lately, so I hope they will make this programme more attractive apart from changing just the name.
like everyone says, not so nice or many in the USA.
poor stays in the past keep us from wanting to use it anywhere
I’m always so keen on trying to maximize all I can from points/miles programs, but over the years I’ve learned Radisson just doesn’t work for me.
They need a strong rewards presence in Canada.
Unfortunately I lost my interest in Radisson a long time ago. Same story for me, too – property locations lacking.
Can never remember what brands are under club carlson. this might help.
40k points for just renewing the credit card is not terrible
I would rather have the spend on a card that gets more bang for the buck. A free US Radisson night for 10k spend is no bargain, as the points earned on another card would be much more valuable.
That is my struggle. If there were more aspirational properties in the US I’d be 100% behind it, but there just aren’t 🙁
I stayed at a Radisson in Germany and it was amazing! Really much better than any Radisson here in the US. I really wish they would put more effort into their US hotels. Sheesh it even had a personal spa in the bathroom! It made me think about Radisson, at least, in Europe.
I would assume that Chase UR would transfer there soon then or will once this transfer is complete?
I highly doubt we’ll see Chase Ultimate Rewards transferring to Radisson Rewards at any point.
@Juliana, I totally agree. I love the promo’s but there is nowhere for me to take advantage of them unless I want to travel 300 miles. Radisson is ripe for a takeover from another brand.
They seriously need some aspirational properties in the US. I know I sound like a broken record here, but I think EVERYONE agrees!
They need much deeper rebranding. Maybe merge with Hyatt will be best for both of them
I’m curious as to why these changes weren’t emailed out to account holders. I was surprised when my Club Carlson app changed to Radisson Rewards!
I *think* they were. I got a notice in my email.
The lack of a full footprint in the US is problematic for me.
It has been almost a year since I have stayed at a Radisson Hotel. When they changed their top award from 50,000 to 70,000 points and eliminated their second night free I no longer go out of my way to stay with them.
Never got on board with Radisson, although stayed several times with them in various places without any bad experiences.
Hilton and ihg just always get my business because of the footprint and ( usually ) good promos.