In June I wrote about a Club Carlson offer for 20,000 bonus points for a two-night stay from Thursday to Sunday at participating hotels in Europe, Middle East and Africa. With my travel plans taking me to Scandinavia, I did not even bother checking rates around Norway for a Club Carlson Europe weekend 20,000 points bonus since all the hotels are primarily in the $170+ per night range.
Then, yesterday I picked up the InsideFlyer magazine from my mail box and thumbing through the pages I saw the Club Carlson 20K promotion mentioned.
My hotel travel planning for Norway is coming up short on Choice Privileges points after booking several hotels at 16,000 and 20,000 points per night. It looked like I would need to use Club Carlson points for two nights of my trip or pay for a hotel room.
I checked Oslo for hotel rates over a weekend during my trip.
As I expected, the usual suspects for Oslo were going to cost about $350 for a weekend stay that earns 20,000 bonus points. That is too rich for my travel budget.
Then I found what appeared to be a mistake rate. But it was not.
Radisson Blu Park Hotel Oslo $72.50 per night.
Oslo, one of the world’s most expensive cities, showed the Radisson Blu Park Hotel Oslo for $72.50 per night!
There are some warning signs like 2.5 circles out of 5 for TripAdvisor reviews when nearly every other Radisson and Park Inn has 4 circles.
I checked the hotel reviews to learn the property is being remodeled. There are many negative reviews of the old rooms that have not yet been remodeled. The other drawback is the hotel is a few miles west of downtown Oslo. On the upside, this TripAdvisor review resonated with me:
The hotel is surrounded by fjords and woods. A great and relaxing environment for walking and running! Away from the pollution and bustling noises of the city hotels!
My hotel research the past few days for Norway and Sweden has revealed to me that Booking.com is one of the best resources for traveler photos of hotels and the hotel area.
Booking.com photos of Radisson Blu Park Hotel Oslo.
Room Rate Analysis
Two nights at Radisson Blu Park Hotel Oslo = $145.
- Flexible rate may be canceled with no penalty up to day of arrival.
- Free breakfast.
- $145 x 20 points/$1 = 2,900 points.
- EMEA 20K weekend bonus = 20,000 points.
Rather than spending 50,000 points for an award stay at one of the more centrally located Oslo hotels, I can earn 23,000 points on a low cost hotel stay in an Oslo suburb near a nature reserve.
Club Carlson sells points for $7 per 1,000 points. By that measure, 23,000 points are worth $161. Even if points are valued at half that, say $3.50 per 1,000 points, this effectively is two nights in Oslo at about $30 per night considering the 23,000 points earned for the two-night $145 paid hotel stay will be a rebate with real value on a future Club Carlson hotel reward stay.
Thanks InsideFlyer for reminding me of this 20,000 bonus points offer with a Club Carlson weekend stay in Europe that fits well within my travel budget.
Loyalty Traveler – Club Carlson runs Europe 20,000 points weekend special again (June 26).
Club Carlson EMEA 20,000 bonus points promotion. Registration required by August 31 and qualifying stay completed by September 15. This bonus may only be earned one time per member during promotion period.
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Ric Garrido of Monterey, California is writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler.
Loyalty Traveler shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. Check out current hotel loyalty program offers across all the major chains in Loyalty Traveler’s monthly hotel promotions guide.
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