How ‘Discount Booster’ and new app-only deals let you save at Radisson hotels

I know that many HfP readers have given Radisson Rewards a wide berth since the ‘no notice’ devaluation of October 2022, which led to many losing hundreds of pounds of value from their points balance.

However, you may often find yourself with little choice but to use Radisson and it is worth knowing about recent pricing developments.

Many readers also now have two years of top-tier Radisson Rewards VIP status. Radisson recently offered it for free to SAS EuroBonus elites and we have a lot of those after the recent status match for British Airways Executive Club members. VIP members get free breakfast and good upgrades.

There are two ways to make significant extra savings on Radisson (and Park Inn, artotel and Park Plaza) bookings which you may not be familiar with.

Discount Booster

Members of Radisson Rewards get a discount when they book, in the same way as member of most other hotel programmes. There’s nothing special about this.

However, if you have Premium or VIP status, you can switch on ‘Discount Booster’ in your profile. You save even more BUT you receive far fewer points:

• for a Premium member, your earnings drop from 27 points per $1 to 9 points per $1

• for a VIP member, your earnings drop from 36 points per $1 to 12 points per $1

(It is VERY easy to become a Premium member. Got American Express Platinum? It is one of the card benefits. For everyone else, you only need to stay five nights or complete three stays in a membership year.)

We value a Radisson Rewards point at 0.15p. This means that you are giving up (if Premium) 18 x 0.15p x $1.32 to the £1 = points worth 3.6% of your ex-tax spending if you turn on ‘Discount Booster’. The ‘Discount Booster’ saving is usually SUBSTANTIALLY higher than 3.6%.

If the extra discount is more than 3.6% of the pre-tax cost of your room, it makes sense to use ‘Discount Booster’. In any event, since there is no real value in sitting on points now, it is worth keeping it on permanently in my view. After all, what is the value in earning points to get a discount on a future stay when you can get a discount on your current stay?

Here’s an example from my recent booking at the new Radisson Blu Sheffield. This is a booking with full points earning (36 per $1) at £170:

…. and with ‘Discount Booster’ enabled, earning fewer points (12 per $1) but only costing £151:

I save £19 in return for giving up around £7 of points. This is a good deal. It is also a genuine discount over anything else available online.

Radisson is now offering extra ‘app only’ discounts

A more recent development is two tier pricing. You will now pay less for your Radisson hotel room if you book it via their app.

Here is an example for Radisson Blu Sheffield again. The room which is £151 in the example above is £146 when booked via the Radisson app.

You are saving an additional 3%+.

Let’s summarise how Radisson’s different pricing ends up for my Sheffield example, which is a real booking I made.

For a Superior room:

• £189 – base flexible rate, as charged by Hotels.com and the Radisson website to non-members

• £170 – the flexible ‘Member Rate’ if you book at radissonhotels.com

• £151 – the flexible ‘Member Rate’ if you turn on ‘Discount Booster’ (for Premium and VIP members) and book via their website

• £146 – the flexible ‘Member Rate’ if you turn on ‘Discount Booster’ and book via the Radisson app

This is a substantial discount – 23% – between what you’d pay on a third party booking site and what you’d pay booking direct.

The £146 rate earns you some (but not the full rate, due to ‘Discount Booster’) points back towards a future stay. You will also get free breakfast if you are a Radisson Rewards VIP member and should get an upgrade to the ‘best non-suite room’, with suites offered at ‘selected properties’.

Whilst Radisson Rewards points may now be relatively worthless, the scheme still has some value if you know which levers to turn. Our full review of Radisson Rewards is here if you want to learn more.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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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.