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Originally Posted by Campath
(Post 18694913)
I got 200k points during this current promo for $225 in spending (using BRG's and 10% cashback from TopCashback.com). Also, like I said before, I don't forsee any stays in high-end Radisson's in the near future.
Do you still think that 36k US Air miles are poor value for $225? |
Originally Posted by lwildernorva
(Post 18696860)
There are not many 9000 point properties in the Radisson portfolio, but I know of one on International Drive in Orlando where 63K points would get you a room for a week that would cost you at least $720 otherwise.
Burning 6 x 9K this week after getting in cash nights, one each for the wife and myself, for the 50K each. The Radisson Celebration just dropped from cat 3 to 1 and is a better hotel, I think. Better wifi, better pool, seems newer/fresher, often quicker to get to from Disney. Would have burned there, but no availability. Was chatting with the friendly desk clerk here about Club Carlson point redemptions. He says that 35-40% of their room-nights are 9K redemptions. |
Originally Posted by craz
(Post 18696082)
maybe its just me but I dont get the OP or Campath
why go out spend your $$$ and once you get the pts then 1st ask what are they good for Now, to get the best value out of them ? the supermarket has as a sale today on eggs 10 cents a dz if I dont eat eggs theres no sense in my buying any, nor any sense in buying 12 dz unless I will use them before they spoil. |
Originally Posted by tangey
(Post 18700505)
Its not difficult to understand. Likely they had stays to do anyway. Where made aware of the offer via this forum, knew there was *some* value in the points, might as well place the stays with radisson.
Now, to get the best value out of them ? But what if you are baking 20 cakes, need loads of eggs, the supermarket is giving their loyalty points for eggs (but you are not familiar with the program), the eggs are similiar price as other places, makes sense to buy the eggs there as you need eggs anyway, and know enough to know that there is *some* value in the loyalty points. But you ask assistance from people who have experience with the program in determining the best use of the points. At least I will 1st see what I can use them for before actually getting them. So had the question been before I actually spend $225 is it worth it for me to get these pts that would be something else |
Originally Posted by craz
(Post 18701749)
its like buying DL miles after getting an email telling you they will give you a 100% bonus. So you buy them and then go to FT and ask OK I now have 100K and whats teh ebst use, only to find out finding an Intl tkt in Biz for Saver is almost impossible.
At least I will 1st see what I can use them for before actually getting them. So had the question been before I actually spend $225 is it worth it for me to get these pts that would be something else |
Originally Posted by lkar
(Post 18701783)
I think this is pretty good advice, although the price of these particular points is so low if one uses topcashback and gets good rates that it makes sense to buy them no matter what. Still, I bet Radisson loves the bloggers pumping up this promo -- I bet lots of people went ahead and got the points because it was the thing to do and will have them sit for years without doing anything with them.
I dont know where I will use my pts but it will be in KEF,BGN,OSL places where you find CC but not much else and where the CCs are much better located and where I want to be |
Wow! Can't believe all this flak I'm getting for saying that 200k CC to 36k US Air is a good choice.
Firstly, I did not sign up for the CC promo without any plan for how to use the points. I have a very specific award that I'm saving up for. It's a LH F roundtrip that costs about 140k miles. The CC promo lets me get 1/4 of the way there for just $225. If I offered any of you a LH F roundtrip for $900, I doubt anyone would say no. I know you can buy the same amount of miles directly for about $630 but when this promo saves me over $400, why wouldn't I do it? Secondly, I agree that in most cases using CC points for stays in European Radisson Blu's is probably the best use of points for most people if you go by cpm/cpp, but it has to fit your needs. I don't forsee any Radisson stays in the near future so why should I save my points for it? You guys have been drinking too much of the FT koolaid if you think there is only one good way to use points/miles. This is like assuming that anyone who gets a Hyatt card and does not use his 2 nights in PH Paris Vendome is an idiot. I could argue that I am getting 1/4 of a $15000 ticket for my 200k CC points, but that makes no sense because I would never have paid that amount for a ticket. I think that $500 hotel rooms are overpriced and a complete waste of money. A $70 room on Priceline is perfectly fine IMO. However if you find value in spending 50k CC points on one hotel room then good for you. |
Originally Posted by craz
(Post 18701749)
its like buying DL miles after getting an email telling you they will give you a 100% bonus. So you buy them and then go to FT and ask OK I now have 100K and whats teh ebst use, only to find out finding an Intl tkt in Biz for Saver is almost impossible.
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Originally Posted by Campath
(Post 18704341)
Wow! Can't believe all this flak I'm getting for saying that 200k CC to 36k US Air is a good choice.
Firstly, I did not sign up for the CC promo without any plan for how to use the points. I have a very specific award that I'm saving up for. It's a LH F roundtrip that costs about 140k miles. The CC promo lets me get 1/4 of the way there for just $225. If I offered any of you a LH F roundtrip for $900, I doubt anyone would say no. I know you can buy the same amount of miles directly for about $630 but when this promo saves me over $400, why wouldn't I do it? Secondly, I agree that in most cases using CC points for stays in European Radisson Blu's is probably the best use of points for most people if you go by cpm/cpp, but it has to fit your needs. I don't forsee any Radisson stays in the near future so why should I save my points for it? You guys have been drinking too much of the FT koolaid if you think there is only one good way to use points/miles. This is like assuming that anyone who gets a Hyatt card and does not use his 2 nights in PH Paris Vendome is an idiot. I could argue that I am getting 1/4 of a $15000 ticket for my 200k CC points, but that makes no sense because I would never have paid that amount for a ticket. I think that $500 hotel rooms are overpriced and a complete waste of money. A $70 room on Priceline is perfectly fine IMO. However if you find value in spending 50k CC points on one hotel room then good for you. as for hotel rooms I agree with you most arent worth $500 but when in Europe and you want to be downtown you wont get anything for $70 maybe a bed in a shelter. At best the room will be so small and the toilet and shower in a central bathroom, with maybe enough room for a bed and a small carry-on in the room with you. Although I try to spend as little time in my room so as to be out doing things I dont want to have a closet size room either. |
If you're going to transfer to US, wait for a 50% bonus promo.
As for "but what about spending on an überxpensive hotel"... I've yet to see a way you can Priceline your way into an F cabin for pennies on the dollar the same way you can buy miles at less than a penny a mile (putting the net cost of a C/J redemption at less than $1000) but I've Pricelined/Hotwired into nice hotel rooms many times over the years or done other tricks (this includes getting rooms in Central Hong Kong for $100 a night or less) and Radisson's properties in the US ain't all that. Not everyone generates big mileage balances via CC churn or flying 6 digits of miles in a year |
Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
(Post 18705348)
If you're going to transfer to US, wait for a 50% bonus promo.
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Originally Posted by lwildernorva
(Post 18696860)
Although I understand conversions, I've found the general rule to be that the best value for points/miles earned is in the program you earned (or bought) them through. I even believe that about Wyndham and Sheraton, the two darlings for conversion from hotel points to miles.
I assume a lot of folks don't get the viewpoint that after the flyin', there's gonna be some stayin'. Of course, if you're young, miles/points are few, and at your destination you can stay in a hostel/with friends, then hotel points are of little benefit. But, once you've got a significant other/family/little maturity, you're generally going to be staying in places you must pay for, and many times, the cost once you're on the ground vastly exceeds any flight cost you might have. For instance, even with high airfares this summer, I could get to northern California for $500 or less, but if I'm staying a week in a relatively cheap, safe, clean place that's not in San Francisco (EconoLodge, not a Park Hyatt), I'll match that $500. Raise the standard of the lodging at all, and I'll get to $1000 very quickly. Make the destination San Francisco itself, and I'd be hard pressed to keep the hotel cost under $1400 (don't be fooled by cheap weekend $99 rooms, you'll pay $250 or more for a lot of places during the week). New York, Chicago, Miami, LA, Paris, London, Rome--all places where you can exceed those numbers. I'm sure I miss some sterling conversion opportunities, but I've found it a fairly safe general rule that the best use of almost any earned/bought mile/point is in the original program. There are not many 9000 point properties in the Radisson portfolio, but I know of one on International Drive in Orlando where 63K points would get you a room for a week that would cost you at least $720 otherwise. You know what 36K US miles gets me if I want to go from ORF to MCO for certain dates in August? The need to buy 1.5K more miles. And that's only because I get a 5K discount as a Barclay's US Mastercard holder. I can buy the flight for $292 outright. Sure, that's kind of a tricked up example, but it illustrates the need to consider what you could use hotel points for rather than just blindly asking about conversion rates. 150K Radisson points can definitely get you three nights in an expensive overseas property, returning a much higher value than 36K US miles. I completely agree with the above. Also would people rather fly 6 hours in business class to and from the holiday destination, only to stay in a cheap hotel because they can't afford it, or would you rather take the hit in economy for the flight but stay in a 4* or 5* hotel? Over the last few months I've started to change my preferences a bit and I think it works better for me. There really is some excellent value to be had with Radisson at the minute. |
Originally Posted by Campath
(Post 18704341)
Wow! Can't believe all this flak I'm getting for saying that 200k CC to 36k US Air is a good choice.
Firstly, I did not sign up for the CC promo without any plan for how to use the points. I have a very specific award that I'm saving up for. It's a LH F roundtrip that costs about 140k miles. The CC promo lets me get 1/4 of the way there for just $225. If I offered any of you a LH F roundtrip for $900, I doubt anyone would say no. I know you can buy the same amount of miles directly for about $630 but when this promo saves me over $400, why wouldn't I do it? I could argue that I am getting 1/4 of a $15000 ticket for my 200k CC points, but that makes no sense because I would never have paid that amount for a ticket. I think that $500 hotel rooms are overpriced and a complete waste of money. A $70 room on Priceline is perfectly fine IMO. However if you find value in spending 50k CC points on one hotel room then good for you. Go to the US Airways Forum and read 'Master Bookings Using US Miles'. You will see quickly that LH/LX is BLOCKING ALL F when redeeming US miles. You are getting 1/4 of an UA F ticket for your 200k CC points :) I agree with others - one shouldn't make any moves towards a respective promotion without a plan. I feel very strongly about this, because having miles sit in an account is worthless. I won't signup for a CC (unless its a megabonus) without knowing what availability is like for destinations I want to take. Also, I would like to add that promotions like this are very rare and are an extremely good deal. The only other one where it's possible to get a super good deal is Pointbreaks. You've gotten 4 top-end nights rather easily, where as it would take like 50 nights with a top chain to get this (or more). It's not like this is just going to keep coming back every week....... I will also add that Carlson has outlets like the 2-for-1 and F+F which make a lot of redemptions bad values. There are a lot of hotels (Paris) which don't really work on F+F, but others that do (Rome), making them probably smile even more and more when they see naive bloggers pushing things (without commission!!). |
Originally Posted by andrewsco
(Post 18707257)
I completely agree with the above.
Also would people rather fly 6 hours in business class to and from the holiday destination, only to stay in a cheap hotel because they can't afford it, or would you rather take the hit in economy for the flight but stay in a 4* or 5* hotel? Over the last few months I've started to change my preferences a bit and I think it works better for me. There really is some excellent value to be had with Radisson at the minute. Also, places like HKG are closer to a full DAY of travel for me.
Originally Posted by benzemalyonnais
(Post 18708293)
Well, now that you've explained your intentions, I will help to point you in the right direction.
Go to the US Airways Forum and read 'Master Bookings Using US Miles'. You will see quickly that LH/LX is BLOCKING ALL F when redeeming US miles. You are getting 1/4 of an UA F ticket for your 200k CC points :) |
Originally Posted by eponymous_coward
(Post 18708435)
I can sleep and shower in a $100 hotel room. I can't sleep sitting upright, and it's not like I can leave a plane and go out like I can a hotel room.
Also, places like HKG are closer to a full DAY of travel for me. US isn't the only transfer partner. There's AA, BA, UA and others. The OP is about halfway to a one way to DPS as a UA F award redemption via FRA (and UA isn't blocking LH F). |
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