TTT103

I would be extremely surprised if choice absorbed the new hotels into existing choice brands. All of the properties are operated by franchisees, so they could easily leave Radisson/choice and go with a different flag.

GUWonder

This is bad news for me.

I would be very surprised if the Choice program doesn’t get a re-evaluation by management. That could result in award nights at legacy affiliated properties being adjusted to much higher point prices — a devaluation of the points in other words.

Choice is already ok with the semi-staying out of regional markets but having an affiliated brand in the regions in which it doesn’t dive into itself (at least not in the way more typical for Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton to dive in). Look at Choice’s relationship with Choice brand properties in the Nordic region: Nordic Choice is separate from Choice, and Choice keeps a distance from Nordic Choice; but the Choice brands are there anyway, just under Nordic Choice.

GUWonder

I think Radisson knew it was shopping itself and wanted out of a credit card affiliation that was not doing it any favors on the cost-containment side in the run-up to valuation for a sale and a sale.

lwildernorva

Makes sense especially since there were no rumors of a landing place for a Radisson credit card. In fact, other than Barclays, I can't think of an issuer that would likely be interested in picking up the Radisson account

If Choice maintains Radisson as a separate entity, maybe there is eventually a Barclays Radisson CC, but with terms likely less generous than the US Bank version--I held the card because of the 40K points awarded on annual renewal, the 5X earning rate on all puchases, and the free night certificates for domestic properties that required only $10K of spending. That combination of benefits allowed me to earn a free domestic night and more than enough points annually for a Radisson property anywhere in the world. No way Choice will permit any future Radisson CC to offer the same level of benefits, especially in comparison with the much less generous benefits offered by their own card.

Given Radisson's potential for expansion with lots of sub-brands that currently have a small footprint and the trend for competitors to operate/franchise a lot of sub-brands under one umbrella (Marriott, despite criticism of the merged loyalty programs, has done well after the SPG merger even with the multiple brands they offer), I suspect Choice found the intellectual property aspect of this deal as appealing as the existence of Country Inn and Suites, a business that seems similar to the core Choice operations.

lwildernorva

I got another email from Choice today announcing the completion of their acquisition of Radisson Hotels Americas. For the time being, the two companies will operate separately, and you'll still make your Radisson bookings on the Radisson website. Here's a quote about the loyalty programs: "For now, the Choice Privileges and Radisson Rewards Americas loyalty programs will also remain separate. We will make sure to keep you informed of our progress as we combine the two sets of brands." Nothing mentioned about the continuation or the end of transfers out of Radisson Americas to Radisson Worldwide.

GUWonder

If Choice decides to enable status matching between its Choice Privileges program and its Radisson program, I may be in for some additional fun.

nsx

What's the approximate value of a Choice point when redeemed for a Radisson stay?

christianj

ZERO since it’s not something that can be done yet.

Schutzee

I moved 420,000 points to Radisson International leaving about 300,000 in Radisson Americas to hedge my bet. I am assuming they will eventually transition to Choice points. Most Choice properties don't interest me but Ascend Properties look interesting. Any feedback on Ascend?

GUWonder

No definitive information yet on how it will turn out.

My experience with Choice is that when new hotels are brought into the Choice redemption fold, they are more typically being brought in at such poor redemption values for me that I instead stick to using my Choice points for properties that have been in the Choice fold for far longer and have had no recent point price increases. In other words, I don't expect too many great redemption values to happen for me if/when we get to being able to use Choice points for some of the current Radisson properties.

rxgeek

Miles to Memories recommends transfering Radisson Americas points to Choice Privileges while we still can. Radisson Americas points may be freely exchanged between members but Choice points cannot. Pros and cons?

rrgg

That doesn’t sound right. You can transfer between Radisson Americas and Non-Americas right now. Later Radisson Americas will be merged with Choice in some way

GUWonder

Do you mean that the blogger is recommending Radisson members to pool together Radisson points from across multiple Radisson accounts before Radisson Americas points get transferred into Choice Privilege points? That makes sense: fewer accounts to monitor; and a single, bigger Choice account balance means more redemption options than two, smaller Choice accounts.

christianj

Here is a link so people can read the "advise" he is giving...essentially it boils down to pooling points into ONE Radisson Americas account now if you have various Radisson America accounts (between others in the same household) because Choice does not allow this.

https://milestomemories.com/transfer...ericas-points/

If your hope is to use current Radisson Americas points for Choice (and the Radisson Americas properties that will be merged into Choice) then I think it makes some sense to pool your family accounts into one account BUT if you travel outside of the US then maybe pooling points and transferring to Radisson Worldwide makes just as much sense....or more! I think everyone needs to figure out if they want Choice or Radisson Worldwide points and then transfer accordingly.

Happy

Either you misread or you mistype. It is to consolidate the Radisson America accounts before the benefit is taken away.