Bits: 100% Club Carlson bonus, Cathay to leave oneworld?, Radisson and Park Inn hotel sale

News in brief:

Get a 100% bonus when you buy Club Carlson points

Club Carlson, the loyalty scheme for Radisson, Park Plaza and Park Inn, is offering a 100% bonus when you buy points, however few or many you buy.

The link to buy points is here.  The offer runs TODAY (Tuesday) ONLY.

This deal does potentially offer value if you redeem in the right places on expensive nights.  

The maximum number of points you can purchase is 80,000 (40,000 + 40,000 bonus) for $280.  This is £209.  The key London hotels such as Park Plaza Westminster Bridge – a modern London property with a pool and next to the London Eye, London Dungeon, London Aquarium etc (photo below) – are 70,000 points per night, so £182.  I reviewed the hotel here.

The May Fair (which I reviewed here, and didn’t like much) is also 70,000 points.  The new Park Plaza Waterloo is 50,000 points which would be £130, and you don’t get much in London for £130 these days.

At the more prosaic end of the scale, there are various Park Inn budget hotels around the UK for 9,000 points per night.  Under this promo, 9,000 points would cost you just £23 based on the pro-rata price of 80,000.

Remember that you can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards points at the 1:3 rate if you need a few extra points for a planned redemption.  That said, as you would only be getting 0.78p per Amex point based on the bonus price, buying points today may be a better deal.

You can buy points via this page of the Club Carlson site. Remember that this deal is for TODAY, Tuesday, only.

Cathay Pacific to leave oneworld, China Southern joining?

As per this article from the South China Morning Post, speculation is mounting that a reshuffle of the big three global airline alliances in Asia is on the cards.

China Southern Airlines, based in Guangzhou (on the Hong Kong border) is believed to have decided that it is getting little benefit from its membership of the SkyTeam alliance – dominated by Delta and Air France / KLM – and would be better off alongside British Airways and American Airlines in oneworld.

American Airlines took a small equity stake in China Southern recently, and any attempts to set up code sharing arrangements or deeper partnerships would be easier if the two companies were in the same alliance.

At the same time, Air China is the 2nd biggest shareholder in Cathay Pacific.  Air China is currently a member of Star Alliance and would benefit if Cathay moved across to Star.

It is very unlikely that both Cathay Pacific and China Southern could co-exist inside oneworld, as neither would want a competing hub in the same alliance so close together.

If anything does happen, it is likely to take 2-3 years to complete.  There is no need for British Airways flyers to panic about losing their access to the Cathay Pacific lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3 just yet …. although the opening of the new Qantas lounge this week may now take on more significance.

Radisson Blu and Park Inn launch ‘Dream Deals’ hotel sale

Speaking of Club Carlson, as we were, Radisson Blu and Park Inn have launched their latest ‘Dream Deals’ sale.  The sale covers 350 hotels across the Europe, Africa, America and the Middle East.

Participating brands are Radisson Blu, Park Inn, Park Plaza, Quorvus Collection and Radisson RED.

The home page for the sale is here.

The standard saving is 30% off Best Available Rate, although your actual saving will be lower as these are non-refundable rooms and you should really compare it to the previous non-refundable price.

The discount for participating Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotels in London and the May Fair Hotel London may vary between 10 and 30%.

You need to be a Club Carlson member (free to join) to get the full 30% discount – the non-member discount will be 20%. The stay must be paid for in full at time of booking.

Even better, Club Carlson members get 2,500 bonus Goldpoints per stay in addition to the standard 20 Goldpoints per $1 spent. We would value these bonus points at £7-£8 which makes a real extra impact on cheap one-night bookings.

These “Dream Deals” need to be booked before 3rd December. You need to stay between 27th November 2017 and 28th February 2018, except for stays at Park Plaza which must be completed between 27th November 2017 and 8th April 2018 and stays at Radisson Blu Edwardian which must be completed between 27th November 2017 and 7th May 2018.

You can find out more about Dream Deals on the sale website here.

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How to earn Radisson Rewards points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 150,000 Radisson Rewards points

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• 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. You can apply here.

Got a small business?

You can get free top-tier Radisson Rewards VIP status with the new Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card for small business. Clck here to apply.

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review