As I mentioned last month, Club Carlson is re-shuffling their hotels starting March 15 and adding another category. That means that TODAY, Friday March 14 is the last day to book a hotel under the current awards chart. Remember, Club Carlson hotels include: Radisson, Radisson Blu, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites.
Category 7 addition: This new category will require 70,000 points for a free night! That is a boat load of points, in my opinion, so if you are looking to stay at one of these hotels make sure to lock in your reservation by March 15th! These properties include:
- Radisson Royal Hotel, Dubai
- Radisson Blu Le Dokhan’s Hotel, Paris Trocadero
- Radisson Blu 1835 Hotel & Thalasso, Cannes
- Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan Hotel, Paris Eiffel
- Radisson Blu Hotel Champs Elysees, Paris
- The May Fair, London
- Plaza on the River, London
- art’otel, Amsterdam
- Radisson Royal Hotel, Moscow
Other hotels changing categories: Other hotels are moving up and down in category, so make sure to check out this list to see if any desired hotels are moving up. If so, make sure to lock in the reservation by March 15th. Some desirable hotels that are moving up include:
- Radisson Hotel, Fisherman’s Wharf (moving from a category 5 to 6, from 44,000 points/night to 50,000 points/night)
- Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Orlando Universal (moving from a category 2 to 3, from 15,000 points/night to 28,000 points/night)
- Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Ithaca (moving from a category 4 to 5, from 38,000/night points to 44,000 points/night)
- Park Inn by Radisson Uno City, Vienna (moving from a category 3 to 4, from 28,000 points/night to 38,000 points/night)
- Radisson Blu Resort, Arc 1950 (moving from a category 5 to 6, from 44,000 points/night to 50,000 points/night)
- Radisson Blu Hotel, Edinburgh (moving from a category 5 to 6, from 44,000 points/night to 50,000 points/night)
- Radisson Blu Resort, Split (moving from a category 5 to 6, from 44,000 points/night to 50,000 points/night)
- Radisson Blu Beke Hotel, Budapest (moving from a category 1 to 2, from 9,000 points/night to 15,000 points/night)
- Radisson Blu St. Helens Hotel, Dublin (moving from a category 4 to 5, from 38,000/night points to 44,000 points/night)
- Radisson Plaza Resort, Tahiti (moving from a category 4 to 5, from 38,000 points/night points to 44,000 points/night)
- Radisson Blu Hotel, Cebu (moving from a category 3 to 4, from 28,000 points/night to 38,000 points/night)
Positive changes to the program starting March 15:
- You will be able to redeem points or premium rooms, which will of course require more points I am assuming. As of right now the premium award chart has not been announced.
- You will be able to earn points on food and beverage purchases if charged to the room.
- All stays, regardless if paid or award night stays, will count towards elite status
Negative changes to the program starting March 15:
- You will no longer receive a bonus for booking your stay online. For those that stayed at Club Carlson properties often, this was a great way to increase your account balance – you could earn up to 3,000 bonus points as a Concierge member!
- Bonus points for those with elite status will be decreasing. Those with Gold elite status will go from earning a 50% point bonus to a 35% point bonus. Those with Silver elite status will go from earning a 25% point bonus to a 15% point bonus. Those with Concierge elite status will still receive their 75% point bonus.
Overall, the main devaluation is the addition of a category 7 hotel. Fortunately though, not too many hotels were placed in this category, but I’d hate to see Club Carlson put others there over the next few years. London and Paris, for example, got hit hard with this.
Remember though, you can still get a free night on EVERY award stay with the Club Carlson credit card. So while a 20,000 point increase is a lot from a category 6 to category 7 hotel, if you are staying 2 nights on an award, for example, the 2nd night is still FREE!
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