Why I Can’t Quit the Radisson Reward Card
Ariana Arghandewal April 05, 2018
Last month, Club Carlson officially became Radisson Rewards. The rebranding was out of the blue, but definitely necessary. One of the new program changes people weren’t so happy about? The stipulations regarding the free night certificate. Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature cardholders can earn a free night certificate after spending $10,000 per year – up to three times!
Why did it upset people? Because the free night is only valid at U.S. Radisson Rewards hotels. Needless to say, the pickings are slim. Yet, despite all of my qualms with Radisson Rewards, I still don’t plan on canceling my Radisson Rewards card.
It all started two years ago, when I decided I’d had enough and canceled my U.S. Bank-issued Club Carlson card. Then, seven short months later, I decided to re-apply for it. I found myself making plans to travel to Europe and thought, “Those Club Carlson points would really come in handy.” Diversifying your rewards portfolio is super important and just because Radisson Rewards seemingly sucks stateside, that doesn’t mean they’re not valuable abroad.
The chain has some impressive hotels – my series on the best Radisson Rewards hotels is a testament to that. More importantly, the points required relative to amount spent is low compared to other hotel chains.
In terms of earning free nights via credit card spending, the Radisson Rewards Premier Card continues to be one of the best out there. It earns 5 points per $1 spent, which means you only have to spend $14,000 to earn a free night at a top-tier hotel. Compare that to programs like Hyatt, where you’d have to spend $30,000 on the co-branded credit card to earn a free night.
For that reason alone, I can’t quite get myself to part with the Radisson Rewards credit card. Yes, the new free night benefit is ridiculous because I literally can’t think of a single one of their hotels I’d want to stay at in the U.S. (and I’ve researched all of them). However, the 150,000 points earned from putting $30,000 worth of spending on the card is rewarding in itself.
Putting aside my antagonism towards the uselessness of the free night reward, the Radisson Rewards credit card continues to be a great tool for earning free hotel nights. And those nights don’t have to be spent in squalor, since their hotels in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa are pretty impressive. As for the free nights I’ll earn for every $10,000 spent? Maybe I’ll give that to a friend or family member I don’t care for. ;)
You also never know when you might get stuck at an airport and the Radisson doesn’t look that terrible in a line-up of decaying properties facing the tarmac. Ignore this one annoyance regarding the free night and the Radisson Rewards card is actually not that bad. It’s why it will continue to have a place in my wallet.
I keep both the personal and business version open and pay the annual fee only for the annual 40k renewal bonus points and have redeemed those points for some real value in Europe.
I still have the card but honestly don't know why. I guess I'm just a sucker for hoarding points.
Nope. Sorry, there are many other programs that do a better job to incentivize me to spend with them rather than Radisson.
Wow. There's nothing wrong with Radisson but their market niche caters to those with very little money to spend. Radisson is a budget product and $30K annual spend gets much better value with other hotel programs' credit cards. So yes, the credit card IS that bad. And just for yucks, I looked up the closest Radisson/affiliate to LAX. 10.7 miles away. This is not a hotel chain that will appeal to many people.
It's "actually not that bad" seems an odd reason to put a lot of spend on a card. The opportunity cost of doing that is real/substantial.