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Earlier this year, Radisson Rewards split in two. Now the Radisson Rewards Worldwide program (outside the Americas) has devaluated several parts of the program. Members earn fewer points, points are worth less, etc. Here's a summary of changes, and what you can do about them.
Let me be clear that this applies to the worldwide half of Radisson Rewards — not Radisson Rewards Americas.
Devaluation of Radisson Rewards
New Membership Tiers
The first big change is in the reward tier benefits for Radisson Rewards members. Formerly, award points were collected as follows:
- Radisson Club members earned 20 points per dollar spent
- Silver elite earned 22 points per dollar
- Gold elite earned 25 points per dollar
- Platinum elite earned 35 points per dollar
The new program only has three status levels and the reward points earned are as follows:
- Radisson Club members now only earn 9 points per dollar spent — a 55% reduction.
- Platinum status (comparable to the old Silver status) earns 27 points per dollar spent.
- The new Radisson VIP status (comparable to the old Platinum status) earns 36 points per dollar spent.
It's a bit confusing that the Radisson Rewards page says Club members earn 9 points per dollar spent, but the chart says only 8 points.
The positive change here is that elite statuses are easier to attain. Formerly, Silver required 9 nights or 6 stays, Gold required 30 nights or 20 stays, and Platinum required 60 nights or 30 stays. Now, Platinum only requires 5 nights or 3 stays, and VIP requires 30 nights or 20 stays.
New Dynamic Award Pricing
The biggest devaluation of Radisson Rewards is in the rewards chart — or rather lack thereof. Here's what the old rewards chart looked like:
Radisson Rewards has now introduced a dynamic award chart, allowing you to redeem a chosen number of points for each stay. When redeeming points, there is a sliding scale for how many you want to use. The more points you use, the more cash amount you still need to pay drops, as low as zero.
Formerly, Radisson Rewards points were valued anywhere from .3 to .45 cents per point. In practice, the new dynamic award pricing puts the value of points as high as .28 cents each, and as low as .15 cents each!
There is no rhyme or reason to how many points you'll have to redeem at each property to get the cash required down to $0, or what the value of each point will be. But it is certain that the value of points isn't nearly as good as before.
Transferring Points to Radisson Rewards Americas
Your Radisson Rewards points are not good at any property in the Americas…unless you transfer your points to Radisson Rewards Americas. This is a very simple thing to do, and probably a good idea with the devaluation of Radisson Rewards. Simply visit this link to transfer your points between programs.
Earlier this year, Radisson Rewards Americas was acquired by Choice Hotels. We have yet to see what will happen with that change, if Choice Privileges will take over, and if there will be a devaluation of Radisson Rewards Americas points.
Our Take
This is hardly a smart move for Radisson Rewards, and I have to wonder at their reasoning. While other rewards programs are working to attract more members, this move is sure to turn members away. At least you can still transfer your points to the Americas program for redemption.
It seems members are almost punished for not having an elite tier. Perhaps it's a balance to make the higher tier level more easily accessible. Either way, it will be interesting to see what people think of the devaluation.
What are your thoughts on the devaluation of Radisson Rewards? Have you tried to redeem your points since the change?
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