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The Radisson Rewards loyalty program has undergone substantial changes over the past several years. First, the program rebranded. Then it was split into two: Radisson Rewards Americas and Radisson Rewards (also known as Radisson Rewards International).
Initially, the two programs remained largely identical. But that changed when Choice Hotels acquired Radisson Hotels Americas and folded it into its Choice Privileges program. Today, Radisson Rewards covers only properties outside the Americas and uses a dynamic award pricing model where the value of points has plummeted.
In this guide, we'll walk through how to earn and redeem Radisson Rewards points, the perks you can enjoy as a Radisson elite, and how to maximize the program's remaining value.
Radisson Rewards Background
Radisson Hotels is a collection of more than 1,400 hotels across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
Radisson hotel brands
The Radisson Hotels portfolio includes:
- Art'otel: Upscale hotel brand for the creative at heart with city-center locations.
- Country Inn & Suites: Mid-tier hotel brand with complimentary hot breakfast for all guests.
- Park Inn: Mid-tier, modern hotel brand.
- Park Plaza: Upscale hotel with designs tailored to the hotel location.
- Prize by Radisson (formerly prizeotel): Economy hotel brand with bold designs.
- Radisson: Upscale hotel brand, the flagship line, that uses local influences in its hotel decorations.
- Radisson Blu: Upscale brand with personalized service.
- Radisson Collection: Unique luxury hotels in the premium brand of the hotel group.
- Radisson Individuals: Upscale, unique hotels in key destinations.
- Radisson RED: Upscale hotel brand focusing on urban locations and informal services.
How To Join Radisson Rewards
If you're not yet a Radisson Rewards member, you can do so here. You'll need to provide your name, email, phone number, country of residence, and preferred language. You'll also set an account password. The signup process is free and takes only a few minutes. Once enrolled, you can start earning and redeeming points.
Once you've created your new loyalty program account, make sure to link it to your AwardWallet account. Don't have an AwardWallet account yet? Sign up for free and track unlimited rewards programs and travel plans.
U.S. residents who were part of the previous program (before the split) would have had a Radisson Rewards Americas account after the split. If you're in this boat, you'll need to create a new Radisson Rewards account. Members in the region covered by the Radisson Rewards “international” program will have kept their accounts.
Add your Radisson Rewards account to AwardWallet
Make sure to add Radisson Rewards to your AwardWallet account. AwardWallet will track your reservations, points balance, expiration, elite status, and any credits or promos associated with your account.
If your points or elite status are set to expire soon, AwardWallet will email you a series of reminders. You can also use AwardWallet to log in to your Radisson Rewards account with just one click.
AwardWallet Plus members also see their program earnings, redemption history, and progress toward the next tier of elite status.
You can also track accounts for friends and family with AwardWallet. Log in to AwardWallet through a web browser or the AwardWallet app (iOS, Android) to add a second account or a different program. Then click the “Add Award Program to Track” button and enter the program's name.
Ways To Earn Radisson Rewards Points
Compared to other hotel loyalty programs, Radisson Rewards offers generous earning rates, especially for elite members. However, because the program uses dynamic award pricing and points aren't particularly valuable, those high earning rates don't necessarily translate into outsized rewards.
You can earn Radisson Rewards points in several ways beyond hotel stays. Let's walk through all the ways to grow your Radisson Rewards balance.
Hotel stays
You'll earn 8–36 Radisson points per $1 spent on Radisson room rates and food and beverage charges billed to your room. Here's how many Radisson points you can earn during your stay, based on your elite tier:
- Club member: 8 points per $1
- Premium member: 27 points per $1
- VIP member: 36 points per $1
Earnings really jump for Premium elite members. Based on an average value of 0.41 cents per point, Premium members receive roughly an 11.1% return on eligible spending, while VIP members receive roughly 14.8%.
Note that earning rates at Prize by Radisson properties are 50% of what you get at all the other brands.
Premium and VIP members can activate Discount Booster to save up to 20% on eligible bookings. However, doing so sharply reduces the points earned on the stay: Premium members earn 9 points per $1 spent instead of 27, while VIP members earn 12 instead of 36.
Earn points with partners
Current ways to earn with Radisson Rewards partners include:
- Rent a car with Sixt or Europcar: Earn 750 Radisson Rewards points per Sixt rental, plus save up to 15%. As a Radisson Rewards member, you'll earn up to 300 points per day with Europcar, up to a maximum of 1,800 points per rental.
- Shop at Bicester Village: Earn 10 points for every euro or pound spent at any of the nine Bicester Villages in Europe. There are also two villages in China where you can earn 10 points for every 10 yuan spent. Present your Radisson Rewards membership card and receipts at the Village Information Center to receive points.
- Book a Radisson Rewards Experience: Book a tour, activity, or other experience through Radisson Rewards and earn 15 points per $1 spent.
- Host a meeting or event at a Radisson property: If you join Radisson Rewards for Bookers and Planners, you'll earn 10 points per $1 spent on eligible room bookings made for others. You can also earn 5 points per $1 spent on meetings or events, up to a maximum of 250,000 points per booking. Being a Booker and Planner is also a fast track to Premium tier elite status, as you'll receive an upgrade after completing your first booking.
- Shop at Avolta duty-free stores: Link your Radisson Rewards and Club Avolta accounts to earn 1 Radisson Rewards point for every €1 (or local currency equivalent) spent at participating Avolta duty-free stores worldwide. You can also match your Radisson Rewards elite status to Club Avolta to unlock additional shopping benefits.
Related: How Far in Advance Can You Book Hotel Reservations?
Credit card transfer partners
Radisson Rewards is not a transfer partner with any major points program, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards.
U.K.-based Amex cardmembers can transfer their Membership Rewards points to Radisson Rewards.
Transfer points between Radisson Rewards members
Members can transfer points to as many as five other Radisson Rewards members per month. A member can receive no more than 100,000 transferred points from up to five accounts each month, and both accounts must be more than 30 days old.
Can you earn Radisson points with a credit card?
There is no longer a U.S.-issued Radisson Rewards credit card, and Radisson Rewards is not a transfer partner of a major U.S. credit card rewards program. As a result, U.S. travelers cannot earn Radisson points directly through credit card spending.
Related: Best Hotel Credit Cards With No Annual Fee
Buying points
We don't recommend buying Radisson points. At $5.90 per 1,000 points (0.59 cents each), they generally cost more than they're worth. Even a 100% bonus only drops the price to about 0.3 cents per point. That could make sense for a specific, high-value redemption, but we generally wouldn’t recommend buying Radisson points speculatively.
AwardWallet tracks Radisson Rewards points purchase promotions, but we don't recommend buying them.
Earning points through promotions
Radisson Hotels occasionally offers promotions that let you earn bonus points for nights or stays. For the latest, see our current Radisson Rewards promotions.
Redeeming Radisson Rewards Points
Hotel stays
Even with dynamic pricing, redeeming Radisson Rewards points for hotel stays is likely the best value for your points. To book an award stay, search for your hotel and dates as you normally would. Since award prices fluctuate with the cash rate, the number of points required can vary from one stay to the next.
Here's what the redemption process looks like.
Example hotel redemption
First, head to radissonhotels.com and choose your destination and dates. We'll search for a hotel stay in London.
Select your preferred room rate, then choose “Redeem your points on this stay” or “Redeem your points for a discounted rate” at checkout. Radisson lets you redeem enough points to cover your entire stay or use fewer points to reduce the cash price.
The downside is that comparing award values isn't easy. Because award pricing is tied to the cash rate, you won't see the points cost or redemption value until you're nearly ready to complete your booking. And unless you already have points in your account, you can't view award pricing at all.
Convert Radisson Rewards to airline miles
You can transfer your Radisson Rewards points to several airline loyalty programs. However, we don't recommend doing so, as the transfer ratios provide poor value. Most transfers are at a 10:1 ratio, with SAS EuroBonus as the exception at 7:1.
You can transfer points in the following increments:
- 2,000 Radisson points for 200 miles (10:1 ratio)
- 50,000 Radisson points for 5,000 miles (10:1 ratio)
- 100,000 Radisson points for 10,000 miles (10:1 ratio)
- Exception: SAS EuroBonus points (redemption ratio of 7 Radisson Rewards points to 1 SAS EuroBonus point)
Participating airline loyalty program partners are:
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- SAS EuroBonus
Other redemption options
Here are more ways to redeem Radisson Rewards points:
- Redeem for a Priority Pass membership. Redeem 160,000 Radisson points for a one-year membership that includes 10 free visits. Additional visits cost $35. Since memberships start at $329, redeeming 160,000 points is worth 0.21 cents per point. For most, it makes more sense to get Priority Pass access through a credit card.
- Donate points to SOS Children's Villages. You must donate at least 3,000 points; there is no maximum.
- Redeem points as a carbon offset for your stays. The cost is 325 points per night.
Radisson Rewards Elite Status
Earning and redeeming points is only part of the program. Radisson Rewards also offers elite status with additional benefits. Here's how to qualify and what each tier offers.
Radisson Rewards elite status tiers
- Club member: Join Radisson Rewards; no night or stay requirement.
- Premium member: Earned after five nights or three stays within a 12-month period.
- VIP member: Earned after 30 nights or 20 stays within a 12-month period.
Achieving Premium status is not all that difficult, and the benefits you receive are decent for what it takes to earn. Things get even better if you become a VIP member. Here are the perks you'll enjoy at each status level.
Club member
- Base level for program members.
- Earn 8 points per $1 spent on eligible stays and food and beverage charges billed to your room.
- Save up to 15% through members-only rates.
- Priority check-in line at select hotels.
- Receive a 10% discount at participating hotel restaurants.
- Participate in members-only promotions.
Premium member
- All of the Club member benefits, plus these additions/replacements:
- Earn 27 points per $1 spent on eligible stays and food and beverage charges billed to your room — a massive increase over what Club members earn!
- Complimentary room upgrades — subject to availability and limited to the next room category.
- Free early check-in and late checkout on request, subject to availability.
- Discount Booster to receive up to 20% off your bookings.
- Ability to receive exclusive benefits at a selected “favorite hotel” (includes priority room assignment, luggage storage, and ability to request a “favorite room”).
- 24-hour exclusive Premium and VIP contact center lines.
VIP member
- All of the Premium member benefits, plus these additions/replacements:
- Earn 36 points per $1 spent on eligible stays and food and beverage charges billed to your room.
- Receive a 15% discount at participating hotel restaurants.
- Room upgrades may include suites.
- Complimentary daily breakfast for two.
- Free ironing of one piece of clothing at select brands.
- Exclusive access to VIP areas at select hotels.
Lifetime elite status
While other hotel programs, such as Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors, allow earning lifetime status, Radisson Rewards does not. You must continue meeting the qualification requirements to maintain your status.
Comparing elite benefits to other programs
Radisson Rewards heavily favors elite members. Club members earn just 8 points per $1 spent, which doesn't amount to much given the program's low point value. Fortunately, Premium status is relatively easy to earn — you just need five nights or three stays — and boosts your earning rate to 27 points per $1 spent.
VIP members earn even more points and receive valuable perks like complimentary breakfast, but the jump in benefits isn't as significant as you'll find with programs like Hyatt or Hilton. Combined with Radisson's smaller global footprint, that makes it difficult to justify long-term loyalty unless you frequently stay at Radisson properties.
Radisson Rewards Rules and Policies
Change and cancellation policies
The change and cancellation policy for your stay, including award stays, is spelled out in the rate during the booking process. Some rates are non-refundable after booking while others allow free cancellation until a specified deadline.
If you cancel after the deadline, you may be charged a cancellation fee, forfeit the points redeemed, or both. Unlike many hotel loyalty programs, Radisson doesn't automatically offer free cancellation on award bookings.
Related: Hotel Free Night Award Change and Cancellation Policies
Points expiration
Radisson points will expire if there is no activity on your account for 24 months. Qualifying activity to keep your points active includes earning points from a hotel stay or a partner, as well as redeeming for a stay.
Track your points and miles expiration for 650-plus accounts and get email alerts before your miles expire by signing up for a free AwardWallet account.
Best online rates guarantee
If you book a stay directly through Radisson Hotels online and find a lower rate, Radisson will match it and give you an additional 25% off your stay. There are, of course, some qualifiers:
- The comparison rate must be found on a publicly available website other than Radissonhotels.com within 24 hours of booking your hotel room on Radissonhotels.com. It cannot be a qualified discount rate (e.g., AAA, government, etc.), group rate, or other exclusive rate.
- You must find the comparison rate at least 48 hours before midnight local hotel time on your arrival date.
- The comparison rate must be for the same hotel, same reservation date(s), same room type (i.e., room size and amenities), same number of guests, and same currency as your confirmation email.
- The same advance payment, refund, and restriction policies must apply to the reservation.
- Customer Care must be able to find the rate when they validate the Best Online Rate Guarantee claim.
- The rates will be compared net of any taxes, gratuities, or other fees associated with the room rate. Disparities attributable to rounding and/or currency exchange rate differences are excluded.
To make a claim, visit the guarantee page and use the contact form, following the instructions to submit your claim.
Related: What's a Hotel Best Rate Guarantee and How Can It Save You Money?
Final Thoughts
Dynamic pricing has significantly eroded the value of Radisson Rewards. Years ago, many mid-tier properties made for solid redemptions. Additionally, Radisson used to have co-branded credit cards that provided enough points for at least one annual free night. These also earned points at a rate that offered a reasonable return.
All of that has gone by the wayside. Other hotel loyalty programs offer far more value — not to mention a much bigger global footprint.
Radisson Rewards can still make sense, though, if you regularly stay at its properties. But it's difficult to recommend as a long-term loyalty program.
Are you a fan of Radisson Rewards? How have the program changes impacted your loyalty?
