bonjurkes

I was really excited and actually tried hard (thanks to double nights) to get gold elite status on CC, just to use 4-4-2 rate deal.

I am just checking hotels in Europe - any country - and I just realized that it's really hard to find hotels that offer this rate. So the only hotels offer this rate is either Park Inn hotels which are mainly a bit far from city center, or super expensive Radissons.

So if you just think about it like this: We are using this rate to stay for cheaper (compared to other hotels) price for 4 days, and also earn eligible nights to keep/improve our Elite status, just to get some extra benefits which is total luck (like room upgrades, or in welcome gifts etc).

I am sure I can find a lot better deals by 3rd party sites for staying much cheaper prices - in same classes - but just sticking because I am "loyal" customer looks like cause me to pay much more money to CC hotels without getting anything good in return.

Probably I am not frequent flyer like most of you are, I mainly stay at CC hotels because of my company's agreement. So just to count my experiences with 25 days hotel stay at mainly Russia and few Europe hotels is: getting room upgrades in 1 specific hotel because I am the only one that visits that hotel from our company and that nice reception lady always offer room upgrades (CC level doesn't matter, got it while I was Red also) and keeps saying "hope to see you next time". Other reception stuff doesn't really care. And other hotels are always like : we are almost %100 full so we can't offer you room upgrade. And 1 time I managed to stay 5 days in a hotel with my gold points which was quite nice.

Of course there are other options but I stick to CC (At least for this year) because I have gold elite and because of my company's agreement. I don't know if other programs like Hyatt, SWG offers much better deals for same or cheaper price but on the other hand at least I don't want to start from scratch with another program.

craigthemif

If you can find better prices on 3rd party sites for the hotels you are staying at, then you should consider doing a best rate guarantee claim. The process can be tricky, but if successful you get the rate matched with a further 25% discount. And of course you then still get your status credit.

As for 4-for-2 availability, I've had no problem booking it whenever I want. I suspect it is easy to find in business destinations, where occupancy at the weekend is going to be lower. In cities with lots of weekend tourism, I imagine the hotels are just as full - if not more - at the weekend, and therefore less inclined to offer the 4-for-2 rate.

Other chains have better status benefits IMO. Hyatt, Hilton, Starwood, Marriott... but your choice depends on hotels in your price range in the cities you visit and if those happen to be Radissons then CC is going to be your choice.

bonjurkes

They actually made it almost impossible to use best rate guarantee claim. On their website, they offer free cancellation till 6 PM at date of arrival. No other 3rd party site (like booking or hotels.com) offers cancellation till 6 PM. Latest is free cancellation till 24 hours earlier. As a result, they just deny the claim saying that conditions are not same.

The only chance is comparing their non refundable rates with other sites. But I don't think anyone will be brave enough to make reservation for non refundable rate, just because to try best rate guarantee claim.

I don't do much leisure travelling (maybe 2-3 times a year) so I hardly believe that I will gain anything by myself if I use other loyalty programs. Just like I said, if my company leaves Radisson, I will have to do the same.

Gagravarr

How far in advance are you looking? Typically there aren't many rooms released on these rates, so they go quite quickly (and at very busy times won't exist at all).

Normally you can get the website to bring up the calendar of available dates for that 4-4-2 rate at a hotel, and you can see how far in advance you need to book. Unless the hotel is very quiet, expect to need to book several months out to snag the rate.

bonjurkes

I have checked till December 2015 for most of the hotels. I managed to find few hotels offer this rate.

Delectatio

I have good experiences with the BRG, last August it was accepted for the RB Berlin and only a few weeks ago I had a BRG claim approved for the RB Düsseldorf so it definitely is possible.

murilix

I have lots of 4-4-2 and 2-4-1 bookings in line, and all are excellent value. Next month I'll be staying at Art'Hotel Budapest at 33 EUR per night, which is very good even for Budapest, where you usually can get the Hiltons for 65, or IC for 90.

One hotel where I use 4-4-2 every year is Park Plaza Utrecht, which becomes a killer deal at 50 EUR per night, as hostel beds in Utrecht go for 25 EUR.

Remember, once you are gold, you are also supposed to get a room upgrade on top of the 4-4-2 or 2-4-1 rate. That makes for an ever better deal. You just need to look in advance, I recommend at least t 4 or 5 months.

FFlash

I use these rates all the time and find locations/properties which are a bit underwhelming offer these rates constantly, whereas top-end locations/properties are difficult to find. Don't expect to get Paris/NYC for example.