26
Mar
Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London has prime location for stepping outside directly into the vicinity of the iconic sites of London.
View of Big Ben and Houses of Parliament from hotel room.
That’s Big Ben out the window. This is not even the preferred location for a room in the hotel, although better than many other locations in the hotel. Best location is a room on the front side, Thames River facing side of the 12-story hotel. Read More…
Triple Club Carlson points for stays worldwide from January 8 to March 15, 2013 is a high value promotion in my opinion. In my review of hotel loyalty promotions of 2012 for InsideFlyer magazine, I realized the 60 points per dollar offer from Club Carlson last year was one of the best promotions that I did not earn.
Club Carlson offers a standard earn rate of 20 points per dollar for Radisson, Radisson Blu, Park Plaza, Park Inn and Country Inn & Suites brands. Triple points adds 40 bonus points/$1 for a total earn rate of 60 points/$1. Elite bonus points, online booking points, and credit card points, if applicable, are additional bonus points for stays. Read More…
Club Carlson Visa cards will be available December 1, 2012. The webpage shows three credit card offers through U.S. Bank.
No other details yet.
Club Carlson stays of 2 nights or more at Asia-Pacific hotels from July 17 to September 30, 2012 will earn 10,000 bonus points. This bonus can be earned multiple times. Stay must be completed by Sep 30 to qualify.
Club Carlson 10,000 Bonus points promotion registration is required.
Club Carlson is offering half-priced reward stays at 47 Radisson, Park Plaza and Park Inn hotels in Europe, Middle East and Africa from August 1 to September 30, 2012.
Offer must be booked using your Club Carlson member number and promotional code 50REDEEM at clubcarlson.com or by phone with Member Services available at +44 207 949 0378. Read More…
Club Carlson has rolled out a 50,000 points bonus promotion for a single Park Plaza stay for the first 20,000 members to register and stay at a Park Plaza hotel from June 28 and completed by August 28, 2012. This is a fourth high-bonus promotion for Club Carlson’s fourth hotel brand.
After the first 20,000 members register, the bonus will be 15,000 points for for additional registrants after a single stay. Read More…
Club Carlson for Business recently launched for small to medium size businesses. This hotel loyalty program for businesses offers the ability to register with Club Carlson as a business partner and receive a 5% discount on standard rates at Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn and Country Inns & Suites hotels globally. In addition to discount rates the business account bookings earn 10 points per dollar when made through Carlson Hotels websites.
The best part of Club Carlson for Business is the employee guest staying in the hotel room still earns 20 points/US$1 in a personal Club Carlson account for stays booked through Club Carlson Business account.
Club Carlson Business Qualification
Must be a company with a government issued Tax ID number from one of the following countries:
More countries are anticipated to join in the future.
The Club Carlson for Business program is open to companies that do not currently have an existing Preferred Corporate Rate (PCR) with Carlson Hotels.
Club Carlson for Business Enrollment Request form.
This seems to be a great deal for a small business with frequent travelers. A company with $10,000 in hotel travel among a few employees staying at Carlson Hotels can pull in 100,000 points for a company account. That is 2 to 10 nights worth of points with Club Carlson Hotel rewards.
And if you are a frequent traveler for your own business then Club Carlson for Business can mean a potential 30 points per dollar for Carlson Hotel stays. You will find that to be the fastest earning free hotel nights of any hotel loyalty program.
You need to spend only $1,667 to earn 50,000 points when earning 30 points per US$1. Promotion bonus points and elite status reduce that spend even more. Club Carlson for Business looks like a rewarding way to faster points.
Turns out the Club Carlson Double Points promotion I analyzed two days ago was not the actual Club Carlson Double Points worldwide promotion that rolled out yesterday. An email I received today reveals a very different offer with favorable terms and conditions for Club Carlson members to earn 40 points/$1 for hotel stays worldwide from July 27 through September 15, 2011 on any normally eligible rate for earning Club Carlson points including AAA rates, senior rates and advance purchase rates.
I apologize to Club Carlson and my readers for the previous post. The earlier post was based on analysis of Double Points hotel rates that required a higher rate than otherwise available. I am leaving the previous post up since I think it does illustrate that paying higher rates may negate the value of double points. Fortunately, the current Club Carlson Double Points promotion does not require paying higher rates.
Club Carlson Double Points Promotion registration link: https://www.clubcarlson.com/secure/offers/4340574.
Loyalty Traveler Analysis:
In my previous post I showed the higher cost of a Double Points hotel rate canceled out the value of Club Carlson double points. Since the Double Points promotion offer running July 27 to September 15 is applicable on any eligible points-earning rate, then there is no higher cost to earn double points. Club Carlson members earn 40 points per US$1 on rates including AAA and senior rates.
Another way to look at this Double Points offer and illustrate the high value of 40 points per US$1 on stays at Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn and Park Plaza is to compare the base earn rate of points to the cost for award nights in Club Carlson and other major hotel loyalty programs.
The highest category hotel in Club Carlson is 50,000 points per night for a Category 6 hotel like the Radisson Martinique on Broadway, New York City. This hotel for August 16, 2011 has a AAA discount rate of $327.20 or $375.49 after tax.
The current double points promotion makes the cost of earning 50,000 points only $1,250 in hotel spend. Getting $375 future value out of $1,250 in hotel spend is a decent 30% return on your hotel travel dollars.
Club Carlson spend needed to earn free nights during Double Points promotion (July 27-September 15)
Now compare the Club Carlson base hotel spend above to the cost to earn a free night in some other hotel loyalty programs.
Lowest tier Hyatt Category 1 = 5,000 points = $1,000 at 5 points/$1.
Highest tier Hyatt Category 6 = 22,000 points = $4,400 at 5 points/$1.
Hyatt Gold Passport does not have any lucrative bonus points offers currently, but maybe something coming August 4?
Lowest tier Starwood Preferred Guest category 1 = 3,000 points (weekday) = $1,000 in hotel spend.
High tier Starwood Preferred Guest category 5 = 12,000 points (weekday) = $4,000 in hotel spend for an upper upscale property. Starwood hotels in the luxury category tend to be 20,000 to 30,000 points per night.
Hilton HHonors Tier 3 hotel = 25,000 points = $1,667 in hotel spend for Points & Points earner. HHonors Category 3 is near the bottom of Hilton tiers in practical terms since so few hotels are actually located in category 1 or 2 for HHonors. The current double points promotion with HHonors means 25 points/$1 and reduces the hotel spend to $1,000. In contrast a Club Carlson category 3 hotel, likely a comparable hotel class, takes only $700 in spend to earn 28,000 points.
Marriott Rewards Category 5 = 25,000 points = $2,500 in hotel spend. These hotels are typical Marriott and Renaissance hotels in secondary cities and some major cities. Club Carlson members can earn two free Category 6 nights for the same amount of spend as earning one night for a comparable Marriott reward night.
Loyalty Travler conclusion:
Club Carlson double points promotion is a 4-key offer out of five keys. Double points is a high value rebate on future hotel stays with Carlson properties. This is a good opportunity to branch out to another program if you find a Carlson property is in your area at a reasonable price. The ability to earn sufficient points for a free night with relatively little hotel spend is something to keep in mind when searching hotels for your upcoming trips.
Country Inn & Suites are positioned throughout the U.S. and Radisson hotels are worldwide. This is a good promotional offer since double points is applicable when paying lowest rates like AAA, senior and advance purchase rates.
Club Carlson Double Points Worldwide July 27-September 15
Big announcement at Carlson Hotels global conference in D.C today.
Club Carlson will replace goldpoints plus March 31, 2011.
Club Carlson will have three elite tiers with a new Concierge elite tier at 75 nights or 30 stays a year.
[Update: Feb 15, 2011 9amPST - After the Club Carlson session today I also learned there will be a change to the points earning system:
All brands in Club Carlson earn 20 points per US$1. Gone will be the differential between points earning in Country Inn & Suites (currently 15 points/$1) and gone is the Euro base points. All hotels will offer 20 points/$1.
Category 1 hotel rewards are being reduced in cost from 15,000 points to 9,000 points. I am still trying to get information on the full category reward night chart which was not provided in the presentation.]
Club Carlson Concierge elite level is expected to have about 4,000 members when Club Carlson replaces goldpoints plus next month.
Club Carlson Concierge Benefits include:
Free internet will be a benefit for all Club Carlson members at all Radisson hotels worldwide and all hotel brands in North America.
Other major change to loyalty program is elite rollover nights.
Carlson Hotels Press Release Feb 14, 2011: http://www.carlson.com/news-and-medi…p?article=2005
There are new partnerships with Club Med for points redemption at 80 all-inclusive resorts and a partnership with (Carlson Wagonlit Travel) CWT Vacations to offer U.S. members points redemption opportunities at hundreds of independent hotels and cruises.
There are also mobile booking applications launched and a small business loyalty program component.
There is a 10 million dollar budget for the new loyalty program launch.
I am interested to see the spring 2011 loyalty promotions.
I will have more specific details after a full session tomorrow on Club Carlson at the Carlson Global Conference at Gaylord National on the Potomac Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
Loyalty Traveler Disclosure
Disclosure Notice: My standard room at the Gaylord National on the Potomac Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland (not a Carlson Hotels property) was paid by Carlson Hotels as a press media attendee of the Carlson Hotels global conference 2011. I paid my own airfare.
Goldpoints plus is offering bonus points for extended stays in Europe, Middle East and Africa region at Radisson Blu, Radisson Edwardian and Park Plaza hotels with bookings by Dec 15 for completed stays by Dec 28.
Stay a little longer and earn up to 30,000 bonus points!
Book via goldpointsplus.com for stays between 17th November and 28th December 2010 at Radisson Blu, Radisson Edwardian or Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa.
Combined with your online booking bonus of 1,000 or 2,000 points, you can earn:
- 1 night: 1,000 or 2,000 bonus points
- 2 consecutive nights: 3,000 bonus points
- 3 consecutive nights: 4,000 bonus points
- 4 consecutive nights: 5,000 bonus points
- 5 consecutive nights: 15,000 bonus points
- 10 consecutive nights: 30,000 bonus points
Loyalty Traveler Analysis:
The wording of this promotion ‘combined’ with the promotion display shown here is confusing.
Combined with your online booking bonus of 1,000 or 2,000 points, you can earn:
This appears to show there is actually no additional promotion bonus for a one-night stay since 1,000 goldpoints is what any goldpoints plus loyalty program member earns when booking a Carlson Hotel online. And 2,000 points is what a goldpoints elite member normally earns for booking online.
On a 2-night stay does the general goldpoints member get an additional 2,000 points bonus while the elite member only gets an additional 1,000 points bonus on top of the online booking bonus?
Or do all goldpoints members earn 3,000 bonus points in addition to the online booking bonus?
Goldpoints plus customer service had me on hold so long that obviously the terms are confusing on their end too. The Terms and Conditions of this promotion do not even match the promotion webpage advertisement. The webpage ad states this offer is valid for stays through December 28, yet the terms and conditions fine print states December 15.
Did anyone from goldpoints plus proofread the details of this offer?
Bottom line: There is a goldpoints bonus for extended stays in EMEA region. You will find out exactly how it works once you have earned the bonus.
Update Nov 25, 2010: The goldpoints promotion webpage was amended and clarified later in the day after I published this Loyalty Traveler post.
