How to match your existing hotel status to Club Carlson (Radisson, Park Inn, Park Plaza)

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.

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.

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

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 60,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 120,000 Radisson Rewards points

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 30,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for life.

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.)