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Club Carlson (Radisson, Park Inn, Park Plaza) still offering status matches

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Club Carlson, the Radisson Blu / Park Inn / Park Plaza programme, launched a status match programme back in June which is still running.

If you have elite status with another hotel group, it is worth taking a look at this.  It will only take a few minutes and it may come in handy.

Status will, presumably, run until February 2017.  Note that Carlson only seems to match accounts once, ever, so if you have ever done this before you cannot do it again – at least on the same account.

Club Carlson for hotel page

Carlson is only matching to its middle and bottom tiers, which are Gold and Silver.  If you have an American Express Platinum card you will already have Club Carlson Gold status so there is nothing here for you.

There is one little ‘quirk’ with Radisson hotels which makes having status worthwhile.

Most Radisson hotels have something called a ‘Business’ room, outlined on their website here.  This has a defined set of benefits which are pretty good:

  • Free breakfast
  • Daily newspaper
  • Nespresso machines with an assortment of coffees
  • Free pay TV movies
  • Lifestyle magazines
  • Fluffy bathrobe & slippers

In my relatively modest experience, you have a decent chance of being upgraded to a ‘Business’ room at a Radisson if you have Gold status.  (Some readers disagreed with me when I wrote this back in June, but it my experience it has worked well.  It seems to be hotel-dependent.)  This means that you are getting a good number of extra benefits.  Note that this is not a guaranteed upgrade though.

Radisson also an exellent weekend promotion for elite members.  If you are Gold, you can book ‘241’ or ‘442’ packages on cash rates over the weekends at selected hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa – I explained this deal here.

This can lead to genuine savings.  I remember once combining a 241 with an upgrade to a Business room which meant that, for the cost of one night in a basic room, I got two nights with all of the extra benefits above including breakfast.

Full details of how to get your Club Carlson match are given here.

This is what you need to send them:

“Your full name

Club Carlson membership number

Name of other frequent guest program

Membership number and tier level of the other frequent guest program

Copy of your membership card from the other frequent guest program (PDF or JPG files only)“

The email address and other details can be found here.

Matches appear to be processed promptly.  Full details of Club Carlson tier benefits can be found here.  As a Silver member you will receive:

  • Complimentary room upgrades, upon availability
  • 15% point bonus on all Eligible Stays
  • 10% discount on food and beverage purchases at participating in-hotel restaurants
  • Early check-in or late checkout
  • Access to an Elite Member Services line

…. which isn’t much but better than nothing.  The stated Gold benefits are:

  • Complimentary room upgrades, upon availability
  • 35% point bonus on all Eligible Stays
  • 15% discount on food and beverage purchases at participating in-hotel restaurants
  • Early check-in or late checkout
  • Access to an Elite Member Services line
  • In-room welcome gift

…. and, in practice, I’ve generally found the upgrades reliable at Radisson properties, albeit off a low base.  I even managed to get my appalling initial room at The May Fair upgraded to something decent when I reminded the staff that I had status.

How to earn Radisson Rewards points and status from UK credit cards

How to earn Radisson Rewards points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

Radisson Rewards does not have a dedicated UK credit card. However, you can earn Radisson Rewards points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:3 into Radisson Rewards points which is a very attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 3 Radisson Rewards points.

Even better, holders of The Platinum Card receive free Radisson Rewards Premium status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here.

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)

Category

Radisson Rewards

Comments (28)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Philip says:
    21 Sep21 September 06:51

    I’m a Club Carlson Gold member via my Amex Platinum and use these benefits all the time.

    I have never not been upgraded to a Business Class room at a Rad Blu, sometimes (rarely) they forget to do it proactively and you have to ask but they do honour it if there is availability.

    I also frequently make use of the 241 and 442 offers. These are available across the brands but not all hotels make this rates available.

    We are often able to combine these benefits and will often get two nights in a nice Rad Blu Business Class room for £79… Once you consider the free breakfasts, 2x bottles of beer, 2x bottles of wine, 2x newspapers, access to a nice pool, sauna, gym and the stash of points you get (especially when there is a 2x or 3x promo on) it almost feels like we are being paid to stay at the hotel.

    It won’t last forever but we’ll enjoy while it lasts.

    • James67 says:
      21 Sep21 September 10:18

      Philip, is the upgrade to business room available across all brands? I was unsure if Rob was being general or specific in referring to radits on in this context.

  • Dave says:
    21 Sep21 September 08:31

    Looking for Marriot Status Match if you have any ideas?
    Cheers

    • Raffles says:
      21 Sep21 September 08:43

      Are you BA Gold?

      • Dave says:
        21 Sep21 September 10:00

        Not BA Gold.
        I do have AA Platinum

        • Rob says:
          21 Sep21 September 10:52

          Ok, sorted then. Google how to get a United 3-month status match. Once done, use your United status to get – via their Marriott partnership -upgraded to Marriott Gold immediately.

          • Rob says:
            21 Sep21 September 15:53

            It does seem to say that.

            That is annoying. It 100% did work, because I did it myself last year before our first visit to the JW Marriott in Venice.

      • AndyGWP says:
        21 Sep21 September 16:12

        Hi Raffles – what would the significance of BA Gold be?

        I’m likely to lose my BA Gold status in Feb, so interested in whatever I can exploit from it first (even if I rarely stay in Marriotts 😀 haha)

        • Rob says:
          21 Sep21 September 16:30

          As per the other comment, you could use it to get trial United stated which gave you automatic Marriott Gold status. It seems, looking at the link quoted, that this no longer works though.

    • Brian says:
      21 Sep21 September 19:52

      I tried to get a Marriott Status Match when I went to the States. The best they would offer was a challenge. I completed the challenge, but wouldn’t bother again – in Europe, I find Marriotts are overpriced compared to the competition and offer little or nothing to make one want to choose them.

  • Phil G says:
    21 Sep21 September 08:47

    Hilton matched my gold IHG status in July (until October 2016) but have since emailed to extend it March 2017

  • BigDave says:
    21 Sep21 September 08:59

    thanks will give it a go…

  • Nori says:
    21 Sep21 September 09:09

    Carlson matched my Accor Gold to Carlson Silver only and explained that this is their equivalent.

    At Radisson Blue they were reluctant to upgrade the room saying that they normally don’t do that for silver members but eventually did upgrade.

  • Alex says:
    21 Sep21 September 09:11

    The link to the match details does not work, it says:

    This page can’t be displayed
    •Make sure the web address https://ad.doubleclick.net is correct.
    •Look for the page with your search engine.
    •Refresh the page in a few minutes.

    • Rob says:
      21 Sep21 September 09:41

      Works fine, but you have over-aggressive security and spam prevention software on your (presumably office) machine!

  • Tobeman says:
    21 Sep21 September 10:03

    OT, but hotel promo related: I am looking to book a few rooms in the first week of January 2017 but I see all the current promos for bookings finish either during, or at the end of, December. Is there usually a rough date when promos for the start of January begin?

    • Rob says:
      21 Sep21 September 10:51

      Some chains, like IHG, tend to leave a 1-2 week gap. Hilton tend to go back to back. No guaranteed pattern though.

      • Tobeman says:
        21 Sep21 September 14:04

        Thanks Raffles. Presumably thats for the dates in which you stay, what about the booking window? Leaving it till end of Dec seems to be cutting it a bit fine! Or is it just a popular time for the hotels and so they tend not to run promotions for that time of year?

        • Rob says:
          21 Sep21 September 15:55

          Apart from Accor, the other chains generally don’t care when you book. Hilton never does. IHG rarely does although part of Accelerate last time (an app booking bonus) did require you to have booked after the start of the promo.

          If you’re not booking Accor I wouldn’t be too worried.

  • James67 says:
    21 Sep21 September 10:09

    I got gold via amex platinum in July which presumably expires February 2017 although I cannot see expiry date on my account. What happens if I use this to book a 241 or 442 for a date beyond expiry of my gold status? Thanks.

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