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Radisson Rewards Splits Rewards Program for North America and International Markets

Radisson Rewards will create a new loyalty program for travelers based in North America, scheduled to launch in June 2020. While Radisson Rewards will continue to offer points for travelers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Radisson Rewards Americas will rewards travelers in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Radisson Rewards will break into two programs in June 2021, separating rewards for travelers in North America and the rest of the world. The company announced they will launch Radisson Rewards Americas to offer loyalty rewards for travelers in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Programs Will Split Based on Traveler’s Home Countries and Stays

According to the hospitality company, the new program will create two separate-but-equal programs “to deliver a more localized experience.” Those who live in North America will automatically be enrolled into the Americas program, with all of their Radisson Rewards points rolling over into the new program.

Which program travelers will earn points in is based on where they live, and where in the world they stay. By default, travelers in North America staying in North American hotels will earn points in Radisson Rewards Americas, while international travelers staying outside of North America will earn in Radisson Rewards. To earn points for stays outside of their home region, members will have to join the opposite program.

While the points will be valid for stays at all participating Radisson Rewards hotels, travelers will be forced to transfer between programs for certain redemptions. For example: if international Radisson Rewards members want to redeem points for a stay in North America, they will have to use the “Global Points Transfer” process to move from their current account to a Radisson Rewards Americas account. The converse is also true for Americas members who want to use their points for international hotels.

Members can also match their status between the two programs. If a member has elite status in their Radisson Rewards program, they can call Member Services to request a match to the other program.

Radisson Rewards Bucks Trend of Making Status Easier to Earn

While Radisson Rewards is splitting their programs and arguably making it harder to redeem points, other programs are using 2021 to make it easier for travelers to earn points and status. Both Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt cut elite status requirements in half to encourage guests to stay at their locations.

Featured image courtesy: Radisson Hotels

8 Comments
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Grog April 9, 2021

Changes at RADisson would've make me MADisson, But nope, I can be GLADisson and not just a TADisson, Because I haven't joined RADisson, and won't deal with this FADisson. And that's not BADisson. I'm out.

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strickerj April 8, 2021

I got the email about this but I must say it's still pretty vague... I initially figured there would be different programs based on residency, but it seems it's actually based on where you stay. For someone whose points are all in the Americas program who want credit for a stay in Europe, all it says is details to follow... And FWIW, the email does say "Americas", not "North America" as in the headline.

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florin April 8, 2021

Yay bean counters! Like many hotel and other travel related businesses (including airlines), they have realized that the domestic US market is very different from the rest of the world. They clearly haven't thought about this for too long, IMO; there are other ways to make the program work, some that are far less annoying to customers.

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SUPERTRAVEL April 7, 2021

Well, this is just.....stupid. Who though up this brilliant move?

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BudgetJetsetter April 7, 2021

This seems to be making things much more complicated for users of the program. Stay in NYC, earn in one program. Stay in Paris, earn in their other program which you have to sign up for? No thanks.