(Expired, 2011 promo) Stay One Night at a Radisson, Earn 50,000 Bonus Points
Nov 10, 2011, 9:31 am
#166
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: New Orleans, LA
Programs: DL PM, AA Gold, A3 Gold, WN CP, and lots of points everywhere.
Posts: 344
Msp2msy - thanks for the breakdown, but I think the cash & points amount is low. As Ambraciot pointed out to me earlier (Thanks! BTW), cash and points actually earn points on the cash portion of the rate. I think that you would have to subtract those points for your calculation. When I subtract out the points earned, I am coming up with approx 1 cpp.
So here are my other questions: Does Cash & Points earn a stay credit?
Does cash & points earn the 1,000/2,000 point booking bonus?
So here are my other questions: Does Cash & Points earn a stay credit?
Does cash & points earn the 1,000/2,000 point booking bonus?
Nov 10, 2011, 10:02 am
#167
Company Representative - Radisson Hotels & Club Carlson
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 47
As of 10am CST today, Club Carlson members that have registered for the Radisson Big Night Giveaway are eligible to receive 50,000 Bonus Gold Points ®. We still have some spaces available, so if you haven’t already registered, hurry this offer is limited to the first 50,000 people to register. Registration and full terms and conditions are available at www.radissonbignightgiveaway.com
Nov 10, 2011, 10:11 am
#168
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: SLC
Posts: 392
Thank you very much for posting this analysis! ^
I did a quick survey of a few hotels and figured 0.5 CPP was a decent mid-range estimate and that 1CPP could be achieved in high-price markets (like NY or London). I'm glad to see that someone else has come to a similair conclusion.
I did a quick survey of a few hotels and figured 0.5 CPP was a decent mid-range estimate and that 1CPP could be achieved in high-price markets (like NY or London). I'm glad to see that someone else has come to a similair conclusion.
Valuation
Though your question wasn't directed at me, I'll throw out that I picked a valuation of .6CPP.
Here are 5 data points I used:
With the update suggested by KathinJax, the range opens up a bit more to include 1.2, 1.14 (adj for earnings on C+P stay), .68, .88, .19, .66. I originally said .6CPP and I'd stick with it for now but the top side looks better with two awards over 1CPP (though both Category 1 hotels). Suppose you received 56120 CC (see below), then you get a return value of $336.72
A few comments on my approach:
I used this List of Hotels by Category. I didn't specifically deflate the value for the loss of earnings on awards. I didn't compare to surrounding area hotels so if Club Carlson hotels compared to peers are significantly more expensive, then the fair-market CPP will be lower. I only picked one date for each example and varied it (e.g. a weekend in March for the tier 1, a game weekend for tier 3, and a business day for tier 6). Obviously it's not enough data but I felt comfortable that the spread between what I was paying for the points and what I would ultimately receive was very good for us. I'm also not factoring in lost points left over when you can't bring your account to 0.
What's the cost of the points?
Let's say that you can't actually use the room so it has no intrinsic value. In my case, a $106 room should yield:
50k - Bonus.
2k - First stay bonus.
2k - Online booking bonus
2120 - 20 pts / $.
=56120 Club Carlson points.
$106/56120 = .19CPM. The CPM will rise quickly as you add dollars.
Summary
If you can use the room, that's really great. In my case, we're actually sending my sister and sister-in-law out to get a room. My sister, a single-mom, will love a night away at a nice hotel with a pool for my niece to play in. My SIL & partner may really enjoy a night away from their kids. They'll let me use the points they eventually earn.
Even throwing away the intrinsic value of the night itself (something that pains me but I just don't see us using them ourselves since we're pretty booked up), I'm still getting points that are worth ~.6CPP for .19CPP.
I'm excited... After planning two big BA trips without much regard to lodging, I've come to realize that I've not been focusing on earning hotel points sufficiently nor targeting locations where I can use the points I have. And who knows, Carlson hotels may pick up some real mindshare and not just for awards. I like some aspects of what I've learned about their program so far.
Though your question wasn't directed at me, I'll throw out that I picked a valuation of .6CPP.
Here are 5 data points I used:
- Category 1 (E.g. Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Goodlettsville, TN). 9k/night + $2.50 or $107.74AI/night. 1.2CPP for pure points booking.
As KathinJAX pointed out, a cash+points stay should earn at least 20 points / $ on the cash portion. An online booking bonus may even apply. In this booking, C+P was an option at 5k + $65.65/night. Assuming a 1000CC point bonus for online booking (which is not clear to me yet) and no status, this would net out to $42.09 saved through C+P and a net points cost of 2687 which yields 1.56CPP. Very nice if it works out. Even if you didn't get the 1k online booking bonus, it's still 1.14CPP. - Category 3 (E.g. Country Inn & Suites in Green Bay WI on Sat Dec 10 before a Packers home game). 28k points. $191.82AI. .68CPP. My friend is always telling my how expensive a room in Green Bay is the night before a game, especially this year.
- Category 6 - Top Tier (e.g. Radisson Blu Hotel Cape Town, Std, Award, Tue-Wed mid week with < 30 days notice). 3536ZAR=$443.66AI/night or 50k/night. .88CPP.
- Club Carlson points convert to airline points at 2000CC:250Airline. If we value an airline mile at $.015, then it's .19CPP. Pretty terrible.
- Or a more complex example, suppose you participate in the US Air Grand Slam next year where transferring yielded a hit. Suppose that you were in the 20-24 hit range where you received 10,000 extra US Air miles for that bracket. If a single hit got you 2500 US air miles then the ratio (for that one transfer which requires 8k CC) becomes 8000CC
1000+2500 bonus). This yields .66CPP.
With the update suggested by KathinJax, the range opens up a bit more to include 1.2, 1.14 (adj for earnings on C+P stay), .68, .88, .19, .66. I originally said .6CPP and I'd stick with it for now but the top side looks better with two awards over 1CPP (though both Category 1 hotels). Suppose you received 56120 CC (see below), then you get a return value of $336.72
A few comments on my approach:
I used this List of Hotels by Category. I didn't specifically deflate the value for the loss of earnings on awards. I didn't compare to surrounding area hotels so if Club Carlson hotels compared to peers are significantly more expensive, then the fair-market CPP will be lower. I only picked one date for each example and varied it (e.g. a weekend in March for the tier 1, a game weekend for tier 3, and a business day for tier 6). Obviously it's not enough data but I felt comfortable that the spread between what I was paying for the points and what I would ultimately receive was very good for us. I'm also not factoring in lost points left over when you can't bring your account to 0.
What's the cost of the points?
Let's say that you can't actually use the room so it has no intrinsic value. In my case, a $106 room should yield:
50k - Bonus.
2k - First stay bonus.
2k - Online booking bonus
2120 - 20 pts / $.
=56120 Club Carlson points.
$106/56120 = .19CPM. The CPM will rise quickly as you add dollars.
Summary
If you can use the room, that's really great. In my case, we're actually sending my sister and sister-in-law out to get a room. My sister, a single-mom, will love a night away at a nice hotel with a pool for my niece to play in. My SIL & partner may really enjoy a night away from their kids. They'll let me use the points they eventually earn.
Even throwing away the intrinsic value of the night itself (something that pains me but I just don't see us using them ourselves since we're pretty booked up), I'm still getting points that are worth ~.6CPP for .19CPP.
I'm excited... After planning two big BA trips without much regard to lodging, I've come to realize that I've not been focusing on earning hotel points sufficiently nor targeting locations where I can use the points I have. And who knows, Carlson hotels may pick up some real mindshare and not just for awards. I like some aspects of what I've learned about their program so far.
Nov 10, 2011, 10:52 am
#169
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Gold/1MM, AA EXP, Marriott Plat
Posts: 963
[QUOTE=baxterboy12;17425547]
^ Glad to hear that! Thanks for calling and checking.
Edit: About 2 hours ago I didn't get the 'already registered message' but now I do.
Next Step is knowing for sure if I make the 50k.
*DATA POINT* I just spoke with a rep in the Club Carlson call center @ 888-288-8889. She said that as of 9:08AM CST today, Nov 10, the 50,000 registrant plateau has not been reached yet, so if you registered last night at midnight, or prior to 9:08AM CST today, you will get the 50,000 if you complete the rest of the T&C’s. She didn’t indicate how close to the 50K they were getting. She said that the first screen will change from 50K to 15K once the 50K registrants is reached.
Next Step is knowing for sure if I make the 50k.
*DATA POINT* I just spoke with a rep in the Club Carlson call center @ 888-288-8889. She said that as of 9:08AM CST today, Nov 10, the 50,000 registrant plateau has not been reached yet, so if you registered last night at midnight, or prior to 9:08AM CST today, you will get the 50,000 if you complete the rest of the T&C’s. She didn’t indicate how close to the 50K they were getting. She said that the first screen will change from 50K to 15K once the 50K registrants is reached.
Nov 10, 2011, 10:55 am
#170
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 1,677
I need clarification on two unrelated issues that I see being discussed here:
1. Someone said that you can book through hotels.com and still receive the 50K? I thought that the room Radisson/Blue had to be booked on the Club Carlson website. ??
2. It is being said that if you choose "miles" then you will not get the 50K. And then someone said they checked and you can still get the 50K even if you pick "miles." But where on the Club Carlson website do you have the option of choosing miles or points? I have logged into my account -- do not see this option anywhere...??
Thanks for any info...
And here is a nugget for some people: I am a Gold Elite with Club Carlson. I'm sure I did not attain that status by virtue of completing stays. I must have requested reciprocal status; I am a Hilton Gold, and Priority Club Platinum. So some of you out there may want to inquire with Carlson (whether they still status match) prior to booking your required stay for this promo.
1. Someone said that you can book through hotels.com and still receive the 50K? I thought that the room Radisson/Blue had to be booked on the Club Carlson website. ??
2. It is being said that if you choose "miles" then you will not get the 50K. And then someone said they checked and you can still get the 50K even if you pick "miles." But where on the Club Carlson website do you have the option of choosing miles or points? I have logged into my account -- do not see this option anywhere...??
Thanks for any info...
And here is a nugget for some people: I am a Gold Elite with Club Carlson. I'm sure I did not attain that status by virtue of completing stays. I must have requested reciprocal status; I am a Hilton Gold, and Priority Club Platinum. So some of you out there may want to inquire with Carlson (whether they still status match) prior to booking your required stay for this promo.
Nov 10, 2011, 10:58 am
#171
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 2P, MR LT Plat, IHG Plat, BW Dia, HH Au, Avis PC
Posts: 5,455
If I don't use points, I'm going to use priceline. I think it's reasonable to conclude a Cat 4 hotel would be available for around $85 all-in on priceline much of the time.
For example, a stay I have coming up is being offered for 38k points or 10k + $83.40 cash. If I can get that room for $85 on priceline, the points+cash doesn't make sense. The value of the 38k points then comes out to about 0.2 CPP. Yawn.
If I can earn enough to redeem for airline miles at the 100k points level, and I value miles at 1.5 CPM, then I get closer to 0.3 CPP value. Still not great.
But even with those numbers, this promo still makes a lot of sense. I'll be holding the "book value" of these points at 0.216 CPP. At that number, the 57570 I'll earn from this promo will be worth $124.35. If I subtract off the opportunity cost from not staying with Marriott that night ($24.45) I still have $99.90 left.
So I'll do the promo and hold on to the points. If one of those high payoff redemptions happens or I happen to be in a place with few other hotel options, I'll use them. They'll also be available for GS next year. And if I accumulate too many, I'll just redeem for airline miles at book value.
[/economics]
Nov 10, 2011, 11:18 am
#172
Join Date: May 2005
Location: new jersey
Programs: continental, united premier, hyatt diamond, marriott silver, priority club platinum amb,hilton gold
Posts: 254
I need clarification on two unrelated issues that I see being discussed here:
1. Someone said that you can book through hotels.com and still receive the 50K? I thought that the room Radisson/Blue had to be booked on the Club Carlson website. ??
2. It is being said that if you choose "miles" then you will not get the 50K. And then someone said they checked and you can still get the 50K even if you pick "miles." But where on the Club Carlson website do you have the option of choosing miles or points? I have logged into my account -- do not see this option anywhere...??
Log into club Carlson...Then go to my profile...scroll down to the bottom and you will see a box to choose either points or miles and you can enter in your FF number
Thanks for any info...
And here is a nugget for some people: I am a Gold Elite with Club Carlson. I'm sure I did not attain that status by virtue of completing stays. I must have requested reciprocal status; I am a Hilton Gold, and Priority Club Platinum. So some of you out there may want to inquire with Carlson (whether they still status match) prior to booking your required stay for this promo.
1. Someone said that you can book through hotels.com and still receive the 50K? I thought that the room Radisson/Blue had to be booked on the Club Carlson website. ??
2. It is being said that if you choose "miles" then you will not get the 50K. And then someone said they checked and you can still get the 50K even if you pick "miles." But where on the Club Carlson website do you have the option of choosing miles or points? I have logged into my account -- do not see this option anywhere...??
Log into club Carlson...Then go to my profile...scroll down to the bottom and you will see a box to choose either points or miles and you can enter in your FF number
Thanks for any info...
And here is a nugget for some people: I am a Gold Elite with Club Carlson. I'm sure I did not attain that status by virtue of completing stays. I must have requested reciprocal status; I am a Hilton Gold, and Priority Club Platinum. So some of you out there may want to inquire with Carlson (whether they still status match) prior to booking your required stay for this promo.
Nov 10, 2011, 11:38 am
#173
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: US
Posts: 562
Nov 10, 2011, 11:43 am
#174
Company Representative - Radisson Hotels & Club Carlson
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 47
As of 10am CST today, Club Carlson members that have registered for the Radisson Big Night Giveaway are eligible to receive 50,000 Bonus Gold Points ®. We still have some spaces available, so if you haven’t already registered, hurry this offer is limited to the first 50,000 people to register. Registration and full terms and conditions are available at ww.radissonbignightgiveaway.com.”
Nov 10, 2011, 11:46 am
#175
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 33,747
As of 10am CST today, Club Carlson members that have registered for the Radisson Big Night Giveaway are eligible to receive 50,000 Bonus Gold Points ®. We still have some spaces available, so if you haven’t already registered, hurry this offer is limited to the first 50,000 people to register. Registration and full terms and conditions are available at ww.radissonbignightgiveaway.com.”
Nov 10, 2011, 12:16 pm
#176
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: Gold, plat, diamond and more
Posts: 3,360
As of 10am CST today, Club Carlson members that have registered for the Radisson Big Night Giveaway are eligible to receive 50,000 Bonus Gold Points ®. We still have some spaces available, so if you haven’t already registered, hurry this offer is limited to the first 50,000 people to register. Registration and full terms and conditions are available at ww.radissonbignightgiveaway.com.”
Please review the thread to comment on other questions when you have time.
Thank you.
Nov 10, 2011, 12:16 pm
#177
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Los Angeles & Orange County, CA
Programs: Wouldn't you like to know?!
Posts: 23,822
So, does anyone know for sure if the "advance purchase" rate is eligible?
The rate specifically says:
- Special Advance Purchase Offer
- Must be booked at least 14 days in advance
- Cannot be combined with any other promotional offer
- For individual bookings only
- NON-REFUNDABLE CREDIT CARD PRE-PAYMENT REQUIRED AT THE TIME OF BOOKING FOR THE ENTIRE STAY
- No changes, cancellations or adjustments to the reservation are permitted
- No refunds for cancellations
but it doesn't say that this rate does not earn points.
The rate specifically says:
- Special Advance Purchase Offer
- Must be booked at least 14 days in advance
- Cannot be combined with any other promotional offer
- For individual bookings only
- NON-REFUNDABLE CREDIT CARD PRE-PAYMENT REQUIRED AT THE TIME OF BOOKING FOR THE ENTIRE STAY
- No changes, cancellations or adjustments to the reservation are permitted
- No refunds for cancellations
but it doesn't say that this rate does not earn points.
Nov 10, 2011, 12:26 pm
#178
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
So, does anyone know for sure if the "advance purchase" rate is eligible?
The rate specifically says:
- Special Advance Purchase Offer
- Must be booked at least 14 days in advance
- Cannot be combined with any other promotional offer
- For individual bookings only
- NON-REFUNDABLE CREDIT CARD PRE-PAYMENT REQUIRED AT THE TIME OF BOOKING FOR THE ENTIRE STAY
- No changes, cancellations or adjustments to the reservation are permitted
- No refunds for cancellations
but it doesn't say that this rate does not earn points.
The rate specifically says:
- Special Advance Purchase Offer
- Must be booked at least 14 days in advance
- Cannot be combined with any other promotional offer
- For individual bookings only
- NON-REFUNDABLE CREDIT CARD PRE-PAYMENT REQUIRED AT THE TIME OF BOOKING FOR THE ENTIRE STAY
- No changes, cancellations or adjustments to the reservation are permitted
- No refunds for cancellations
but it doesn't say that this rate does not earn points.
If I booked such a rate on Carlson hotels own websites, I've always gotten the points/credit, although in some cases it required manual intervention. But that's no different than my experience with flexible rate bookings made directly with Carlson hotels websites too.
Nov 10, 2011, 12:49 pm
#179
Join Date: May 1998
Location: australia
Posts: 5,762
Thanks for all the work in the analysis. The only problem I have with the valuation of Club Carlson points is that I have always been able to find availability using the F+F rate when I've needed it at expensive Radisson Hotels including the Radisson Blu Cape Town in which case the value comes down to 80 Euro = $108/50,000 points =.216CPP and the F+F includes breakfast usually whereas an award night does not further lowering the value of the points. I'll have to hope that I need an expensive Radisson and the F+F is not available to really make this bonus worthwhile to chase.
Nov 10, 2011, 1:53 pm
#180
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 368
This is so confusing, when I look at AAA or senior rate and then click on the rate details I don't see anything about gold or about points. The only one I can tell for sure earns points is the double points rate. Do we know what rates will work?