Radisson certainly did lay an egg with the ValueMags promotion. Poorly conceived and abysmally executed.

I doubt we will see that level of incompetence again, Certainly we will see ultra-generous promotions from time to tome from companies who want to get our attention and who, unlike Radisson, are fully aware of the cost of running a promotion and are willing to pay it to promote their brand. For example, Hilton's 50k bonus for 4 stays was awfully nice, and it made me switch hotel preference for the foreseeable future.

But as to huge bonuses for buying a product outside the main business of the company running the loyalty program (e.g., the Inside Flyer promo): no, I do not expect to see another promotion like that. That kind of giveaway went out of style with the dot-com crash.