Changes on the way at Radisson Rewards via its new Chinese owners, Jin Jiang
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Big changes are coming to Radisson Rewards, it seems.
Chinese group Jin Jiang, which you have probably never heard of, is actually the 2nd largest hotel chain in the world.
It recently acquired Radisson / Park Inn from struggling Chinese conglomerate HNA and already owns Golden Tulip and some other minor brands. The main strength of the group is in China, where it is the largest hotel group.
Jin Jiang has its own loyalty programme, J-Club. J-Club was a British Airways Executive Club partner for many years as we noted in 2014.
According to this report of a conference speech given by John Kidd, the CEO of Radisson Hospitality, Radisson Rewards is to be merged with J-Club during 2019.
Given that J-Club is seven times bigger than Radisson Rewards in terms of members, you can take a wild guess as to which programme will come out on top.
I am NOT suggesting that you rush out to spend your Radisson Rewards points today. I would, however, be cautious about making any undue effort to earn more if you are not planning to spend them in the short term as there is a risk of major changes and potentially devaluation.
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:
- 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.)
