Radisson Rewards Program Major Devaluation 2023 Discussion [non Americas]
 

no details yet, just some sort of announcement that changes are coming to the non-Americas program.

https://loyaltylobby.com/2022/10/05/...coming-in-2023

It will be interesting to see if the refresh includes a relationship with Choice Hotels/Radisson Americas.

Sounds like dynamic pricing, or even worse changing reward points to a fixed value like Accor

One more thing I read in their email is that there will be one less status level in the new version of the program. There will be only 3 instead of 4 levels.

The main Scandinavian competitor programs to Radisson in the region have three elite levels. They also — at least primarily — don’t do the Accor thing with fixed point value.

Unfortunately, Radisson EMEA is more non-Scandinavian hotels than Scandinavian hotels; and so the benchmark may end up being something other than the Scandinavian hotel programs.

https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us...ram-updateEven if fewer tiers won't mean fewer benefits for top tier members, I imagine access to upgrades will be reduced as more people will compete for them. It's already a problem in some regions where Platinum upgrades suck because there's too many of eligible guests.

"Access to VIP areas" - does that mean lounges are coming to Radisson? I can't imagine that happening.

Maybe they will increase the top tier qualification requirement to slim down the number of members in the top tier?

Some Radisson hotels had an executive lounge, maybe some still do. Wasn’t there even one such lounge at a Radisson in Gothenburg before the pandemic?

Scandinavia Gothenburg still has a lounge. But the access is not possible based on status, not even when one gets and upgrade to an eligible room.

I'm currently staying in Astrid Antwerp and there are still some signs pointing to the lounge but it doesn't seem to be operational anymore.

Edit: I can't imagine them decreasing number of tiers and increasing qualification requirements for the top tier at the same time.

I recall the Radisson in Bucharest having a lounge too

I’ve heard Radisson Plaza in Helsinki has a lounge and that you will get access when upgraded to an eligible room. Perhaps I am able to check that on my next visit to Helsinki.

One of the Park Plazas in London had a lounge 3-4 years ago when I stayed there. Thanks to the status upgrade I also got entrance to that lounge.

Should the title of this thread be renamed the Radisson Lounge thread? 🤷‍♂️

Details are now public

Club
Entry
8 pts/$

Premium
5 nights or 3 stays
27 pts/$

VIP
39 nights or 20 stays
36 pts/$

Doesn't seem bad at first look but I think the gap between qualifying for Premium and VIP is too large. The big thing most US based members will want to know is that transfers between the Worldwide and US program are staying in place based on the website....at least for now.

Was trying to see if points requirements changed for a stay I have coming up in Frankfurt but there are no points options listed yet. I wonder if this will update shortly or what the deal is. Definitely want to see how the award costs are impacted.

UPDATE!!! One of the German travel bloggers is saying that the redemptions will be fixed at $0.02 per point which would really SUCK and be a huge devaluation. Not sure that a reader telling him that this is what they saw is reliable but we shall see. For those that can read German here's the blog link:

https://youhavebeenupgraded.boarding...ogramm-ist-da/

I am seeing $0.0027 per point US. This overstates the value though because you are now using points to offset taxes as well. BTW if you are confused why you don't see a points redemption option you have to select a cash rate and them start the confirmation process you will be offered the option to pay with points and you can do your own value calculations (you may need to be logged in). That said looking at redemptions I was considering next March in Europe when cash rates were low this is actually an improvement! I am likely just going to burn up my points next spring in Europe and be done with this program.