May 18, 2012
Is it possible to earn Club Carlson business points for stays booked with promotional rates?
In the post “Club Carlson for Business: not as great as it sounds,” I said no, you can’t use a promotional rate and get business points. I then followed up with “Club Carlson business account guesses and clarifications” where I said maybe. In today’s post, I’ll say yes. Let’s hope I’m right this time!
I called Club Carlson three times to ask the question “is there some way to earn business points and use promotional rates at the same time?”. Each time I was told “no”. In the meantime, I received forwarded emails from two readers who heard from Club Carlson that the answer was “yes”. The funny thing is that one of the Club Carlson reps who emailed a “yes” was the same person who told me “no” over the phone! Hmmm. OK, so I tried the email approach and this time I got a “yes” as well! Since I have a written e-record of this, I feel somewhat OK in giving this out as advice. I specifically asked via email if the approach listed below is correct and I was told yes.
If, after following the advice below, you don’t end up getting points for your business account, just remember to email Club Carlson for help instead of calling!
Two accounts and an ID
When you signup for a business account with Club Carlson, you’ll get two things: a 6 digit business ID, and a 16 digit business member number.
When you receive your business member number, you are invited to activate your membership number online. If your personal account uses the same email address as your business account, then activating your business account will be a challenge. You need to first change your personal account’s email address to something else and then activate your business account.
Once you have activated your business account, you should now have two accounts (one business and one personal), and a business ID.
Using the Business ID
The 6 digit business ID can be used at the time of booking and can be used by anyone. If they use the ID, they’ll save 5% off the standard room rates, and your business account will receive up to 10 extra points per dollar for the stay. The individual will continue to get the same points they would have normally.
To use the business ID, you may have to first click “More Search Options”:
Then, add your corporate ID and search again:
The problem with this approach is that there seems to be no way to use a promotional rate (AAA, for example) AND the business ID. Some readers have attested to being able to do so in the past, but Club Carlson reps have steadfastly denied this possibility (over the phone, anyway).
How to get it all
The trick to using promotional rates and getting business points is to log into your business account, but book rooms for your personal account. For example, I logged into my business account and setup a fake booking and was taken to this screen:
On the above screen, there is space to put in personal account information: name, address, Club Carlson number, etc.
By entering your personal account information here, you can use a promotional rate AND get extra points for your business even though you never put your business ID in the reservation. You should also receive whatever elite benefits you are due.
Combining Points
Once you have points in various accounts, you can call Club Carlson and have your points moved from the business account to a personal account or vice versa.
Club Carlson Big Night Giveaway promotions
Make sure your personal account is registered with each of the Club Carlson promotions. It won’t hurt to register your business account, just in case, but I don’t think it will help either.
Feedback
As you stay at Club Carlson hotels and receive points (or not), please let me know what works and what doesn’t. Hopefully we can learn from each other quickly and resolve mistakes while there’s still time.
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Cross Finger they are cool with this double dipping.
Do you know if the $75 two consecutive weekend is May 18, 19, or May 18, 19, and 25,26. The former is one weekend -2 nights, latter is two weekend – 4 nights
Mark: I don’t know what you’re referring to. $75 two consecutive weekend? Are you thinking of the IHG promotion where you can get a $75 gift card for a weekend stay?
Hey, now we know where some former DMV employees now work…. A different answer every time. The kicker is the employee who said no on the phone and yes via email! It’s like getting answers from one of those ‘magic’ 8-balls…..
@Steelsnow, ha ha. Now there is an interesting company policy…..hand out magic 8 balls.
Steelsnow: LOL. Rather than a magic 8 ball, I think they have a simple Paul Revere-ish decision chart: “yes” if by email, “no” if by phone…
yea..sorry. got the two messed up.
That Q.. was referring to IHG
You know the answer to that?
CC Business question/musing – I have registered myself and wife for both of the first two promotions(potential 188000 points) and also received a CC Business account which I registered for both promotions. If I book another night under the business CC # will that account receive 50000 as well? Thanks for any input.
Mark: you can see the T&C of the IHG deal here: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/ihg/hotels/us/en/global/offers/offers/get75?cm_mmc=IMMerch-_-6C2_US_en-_-get75-_-vanity_vacationpay
James: I don’t think so. Who’s willing to risk trying that?
I emailed the CC Business address. We will see what they say. If its a yes then that would be around 414000 points!
i emailed at least 6 times to match my account to gold as i have platinum on pc club and no response for 2 days.
CCare@carlsonrezidor.com
what’s their phone number?
do i get 5 points per dollar on ink bold for shopping at HPDIRECT.COM? I bought some inks. The chase UR mall site has 2 points per dollar but i used external coupons so i don’t get that part .
05/16/2012 Pending HP HOME STORE $53.07
@ram +1 (888) 288-8889
Dan: I don’t know. Let us know once you get your monthly statement.
If you are club carlson gold or higher, you will not get the 2000 point online booking bonus using this method
Asen: Do you know this for a fact? That would really take away the benefit of going this route unless you spend more than $200 on your stay.
If also granted Gold match for PC Plat + SPG Gold and I get Business, how do I get my wife to stay with me at Radisson LHR at the single rate – a Gold benefit?
I did change my business account email address in order to activate and successfully made a reservation. However, today, I see that Club Carlson changed the business account email address to match my personal account email address…Looks like they may have sensed the potential for double dipping in the context of this promotion….Let me know if you have similar experiences….Thanks
Can you get points in your business account after a stay that has already credited your personal account (without the 8x business points)? This was booked by a third-party TA.
Ken Y: I don’t think so