London Radisson Blu Hotels Radisson Rewards

London with Club Carlson points and Club Carlson credit card

by Ric Garrido
October 20, 2014
5 Comments
676 Views

It may come as a no-brainer that the best hotel deals for an American in London are using Club Carlson points as a U.S. Club Carlson Visa card member. This article examines the value of Club Carlson points in London for a U.S. resident Club Carlson U.S. Bank Visa card member.

Club Carlson Visa card members get a great deal as Americans in London with one free reward night on reward stays.

Club Carlson is a major hotel player with 18 properties in London with the Radisson Blu Edwardian and Park Plaza brands.

There is an interesting aside in the Radisson Edwardian brand due to its family ownership having a recent legal battle in the UK: Father of £800million Radisson Blu boss loses High Court battle with his son for a share in the wealth from luxury hotel business they built together.

Note the UK story title in The Daily Mail states ‘luxury’ hotel business. The Radisson Blu Edwardian hotels of London are one of the crown jewels of the Carlson Rezidor Hotels Group. These hotels are a different world from the Radisson brand and Country Inns & Suites prevalent across the USA.

Hotel Credit Cards and Club Carlson Visa card free reward nights deal

Club Carlson has a compelling credit card benefit with far more value than other hotel loyalty credit cards. Club Carlson Visa card members receive one night free on all reward stays of two or more nights. This benefit can be used for up to 50 free reward nights per year.

I booked three 2-night stays at Radisson Blu and Park Plaza hotels in London for our trip next month and only paid points for three nights. I saved 170,000 points compared to the cost for these six hotel nights for a Club Carlson member without the Club Carlson Visa credit card. The three free nights represent over $1,000 in hotel rate savings for one trip.

The three specific hotels I booked using Club Carlson points is not relevant since there are 11 Radisson Blu Edwardian, five Park Plaza hotels, the Plaza on the River residential style hotel and luxury lodging with The May Fair to choose from with Club Carlson points among 18 hotels in London. 50,000 points per night is the standard reward night rate for most of the hotels with May Fair and Plaza on the River at 70,000 points. Four hotels are 44,000 points per night.

Club Carlson Visa card members can book a two night stay and pay points for one night only. This reduces the cost per night at 18 London hotels to 22,000 or 25,000 or 35,000 points per night. Nearly all hotels offered standard reward nights during November 2014 dates checked.

The red box message comes up for Club Carlson credit card members to show this 2-night reservation cost 50,000 points total instead of the standard reward rate of 100,000 points. That is 25,000 points per night on a two-night stay. I booked three 2-night stays in London at three different hotels with Club Carlson points. I paid 170,000 points and saved 170,000 points on the regular rate as a Club Carlson Visa card member.

How Club Carlson points are Earned

Club Carlson members earn 20 points per $1 in hotel spend at Radisson Blu, Radisson, Country Inns & Suites, Park Inn and Park Plaza brand hotels.

Club Carlson Visa card members can earn a total 37 points per $1 for hotel stays paid with the credit card (bonus 10 points/$1 for Carlson hotel stays) and bonus 7 points/$1 as a Gold elite member, one of the credit card’s other benefits.

50,000 points for a 2-night stay can be earned after spending $1,352 at Carlson hotels.

The published room rate for my two night stay at one of the Radisson Blu Edwardian London hotels was $822 for the two nights.

For U.S. residents the opportunity to earn Club Carlson points with the Club Carlson Visa card and hotel stays makes a compelling offer to earn Club Carlson points for travel in London and much of Europe.

Club Carlson promotions

Club Carlson occasionally offers triple points or 60 points per dollar. Earning 77 points for every dollar spent at a Carlson hotel including Radisson, Country Inn and Park Inn means $650 in hotel spend earns 50,000 points, which can be used for two nights in London for free hotel reward stays at $400 per night hotels.

Club Carlson Earn 3,000 points per Carlson mobile app booking Sep 8 to Nov 16, 2014. Bonus may be earned unlimited times during promotion period.

Loyalty Traveler – 3,000 points for Club Carlson mobile app bookings Sep 8 to Nov 16, 2014 (Sep 22)

Club Carlson – Take Off with More Miles: Earn 7,500 miles with American Airlines AAdvantage or Aeroplan after two Radisson Hotel stays Sep 15 to Dec 15, 2014. This offer is a double dip that allows members to earn points and earn miles. Warning Note: Do not change your Club Carlson earning preference to miles or all points in your account will be converted to miles.

Club Carlson 7,500 AAdvantage or Aeroplan miles Sep 15-Dec 15, 2014 (Sep 22)

Club Carlson BIZTIME rate Triple Points for stays Sunday to Thursday nights to November 30, 2014. This is a rate offer bonus and you need to compare the BIZTIME3 rate to the otherwise lowest rate for your stay to determine if the extra 40 points/$1 is worth the higher rate.

Loyalty Traveler analysis: Club Carlson Triple Points BIZTIME3 rate for weekday nights to Nov 30 (Sep 22)

Club Carlson Visa offers incredible value for U.S. residents staying in hotels when in London.

The next analysis shows how Club Carlson points for hotel reward nights in London compare to reward night value for other hotel chains including Club Carlson Standard Reward rates for travelers without a Club Carlson Visa.

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5 Comments

UAPhil October 20, 2014

This is an awesome deal (too good to last). Last summer we did the same thing – stayed 8 nights in London (going back and forth between properties every two nights) for a total of 200,000 points. Since I value Club Carlson points at 0.5 cents each, I figure I paid $125 a night for very nice Leicester Square/Covent Garden hotels that would have cost well over $400/night at revenue rates. Or, from another perspective – $40,000 in Club Carlson credit card spend bought me 8 award nights in excellent London properties. I’m planning to do it again in 2015!! (Also, I’m going to qualify for Concierge level in 2014 so I get free breakfast with those stays!!)
Ron October 20, 2014

I dunno…

Certainly, I see your point that this strategy represents a good value for staying in hotels affiliated with major chains.

Yet, there is the inconvenience, and waste of time, involved with changing hotels after every 2 night stay.

There are pretty good, affordable private properties throughout central London where you can stay without this inconvenience. They almost certainly will not be as luxurious. Yet, how much time will you spend in a hotel room while visiting London?
Ric Garrido October 20, 2014

@Ron – I do not see changing hotels two times over six days as too inconvenient. This strategy saves $1,000 in hotel rates.

There are so many good London hotels available with Club Carlson that I want to stay in more than one hotel for the trip.

In my job, being in more hotels is an advantage. I set up our hotel stays near museums we want to visit so it just means stopping by the hotel to drop off luggage on our way to the museum.

Some people do not spend much time in their hotel. We tend to spend more than 12 hours a day in the hotel when we are visiting a city on an extended stay.
IMH October 20, 2014

Ron may also not be aware that some of these properties are *very* close to one another.

Great posts so far this week, Ric.
Soren October 22, 2014

Like you, apart from biz and family, I go for the flavor of central London and the Art. The National gallery offering amazing Art for free…is 10 mins walk across Waterloo bridge from the Park Plaza Westminster and the adjacent Park Plaza County Hall.
From your booking strategy I am guessing you are staying 2 nights at the Mayfair in your mix.
I stayed at 4 Rad Edwardian Properties last year. None was an experience I wish to repeat until their remodel are completed.
Thx for analysis.