Club Carlson Asia Pacific Promotion “Two Nights. 10,000 Points” – 10K Bonus Points For Stays Of Two Nights Or Longer

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Jul 18, 2012

Club Carlson is just starting to roll out their new promotions. You can earn 10K bonus Club Carlson points for stays of two nights or longer at any of their properties in Asia Pacific. This promotion is valid for stays between July 17^th and September 30^th, 2012. You can earn the bonus points unlimited times.

You need to register for this promotion prior to your stay or before the points for the stay have posted.

Here are the full terms and conditions of this offer:

The “Two Nights. 10,000 Points.” Promotion (“Promotion”) is only available for Club Carlson^SM members for Eligible Stays at Radisson Blu, Radisson, Radisson^®, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson^SM, Park Inn by Radisson and Park Plaza^® hotels in Asia Pacific (“Participating Hotels ”). To enroll as a Club Carlson member, please visitwww.clubcarlson.com.The Promotion is subject to all Club Carlson program rules and conditions (“Program Rules”).

Members who register online for the Promotion at clubcarlson.com/10000points (“Registration”), provide their Club Carlson member number at the time of reservation or check-in, and pay for their stay will earn 10,000 bonus Gold Points^® (“Bonus Points”) per Eligible Stay. An “Eligible Stay” is a stay of two or more consecutive nights on a Gold Points eligible rate at a Participating Hotel, regardless of the number of check-ins or check-outs during the stay, beginning on or after July 17, 2012 and completed September 30, 2012 (“Promotional Period”). Both the check-in and check-out dates of the Eligible Stay must take place within the Promotional Period.

Bonus Points are in addition to the standard 20 points per U.S. Dollar spent earned for the Eligible Stay. Bonus Points are awarded on a per stay basis for each Eligible Stay regardless of the total number of nights stayed. There is no limit on the number of Eligible Stays each Club Carlson member can complete during the Promotional Period. Bonus Points and standard points are only awarded on Gold Point eligible stays and regular eligibility rate rules apply. Only one Club Carlson account may be credited with Bonus Points for each Eligible Stay and the same Club Carlson account must be used for corresponding standard points (if applicable). Allow 6-8 weeks for bonus Gold Points to post to your account. Elite member bonus points and other bonus point earnings do not apply to, or qualify for, Bonus Points awarded under this Promotion.

Members only need to complete Registration in advance of check-in, or prior to check-out for their first Eligible stay and do not need to register for subsequent Eligible Stays. In connection with the Registration, Club Carlson is not responsible for interrupted or unavailable network, server, or other connections miscommunications, failed telephone or computer hardware or software or telephone transmissions or technical failures, Internet Service Provider/network/website inaccessibility or unavailability, garbled or jumbled transmissions or other errors of any kind, whether human, mechanical, or electronic; including without limitation the incomplete, incorrect, or inaccurate capture of Registration information.

Room rates do not include state/local taxes and may vary for each night of the Eligible Stay. This Promotion may not be used in conjunction with any other package, promotion, discounts or bonus points programmes. Participating Hotels are subject to change without notice. A limited number of rooms may be available for this Promotion and the Promotion is subject to room availability. To the fullest extent permissible by law, Carlson Hotels, Inc. reserves the right to amend, add, modify, or discontinue Promotion at any time without notice. Void where prohibited by law. By participating in this Promotion, you agree, accept and consent to these terms and conditions.

Hotel Changing Flags or Is Reflagged – What Happens to Paid/Award Reservations?

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John Ollila

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Jul 7, 2012

3 Comments

When hotel changes flags or is reflagged, it is rebranded as other chain hotel, or the hotel is becoming independent non-affiliated hotel. This happens numerous times per year at all chains. Both the individual hotel in question and the chain are often contractually not allowed to inform about possible change before it actually happens or at most couple of weeks prior.

Here’s what you need to consider if you are holding a paid or award reservation at a hotel that is changing flags/reflagged.

Status benefits

The status benefits that you might have had with the original brand no longer apply. If the hotel is reflagged under other global brand with which you have status with, there is no necessarily change i.e. Starwood affiliated hotel moves to Hilton chain and you have Hilton Gold/Diamond status.

Reservation

If you no longer wish to stay at the hotel, you should work with the hotel and request them to cancel the reservation without any cancellation fees. You can always argue that the reason why you chose them in the first place was the affiliation with the previous global brand, and that the change thus is significant.

Prepaid Reservation

This could be bit trickier as the hotel already has your money, but they tend to be flexible if you decide to cancel. You need to work this out with the property. If the reservation department is inflexible, I would escalate the issue all the way to the General Manager of the hotel.

Award Reservation

This is somewhat trickier and there are really two different ways how these are normally handled:

1. Your award reservation is honored, but you won’t receive any possible status related benefits.

2. Your award reservation is canceled, but the chain is trying to accommodate you at their other nearby property. If the number of required points is higher, this is usually waived.

Conclusion

Normally the first sign, that something is going on, is when your reservation disappears from your upcoming reservations display. You might also get a call from the customer service regarding the award reservation you have.

Personally, I do care about the miles and points and the benefits that I receive from the programs that I participate to i.e. suite upgrades, club access, early & late checkouts. I really have hard time staying at hotels, where I don’t get any of these benefits.

You have to consider all the options on hand and proactively suggest options that suit you best. Hotels and chains are normally very eager to work with you to find an acceptable solution for both parties in a situation like this.

July Hotel Promotions Update: Accor Hotels, Best Western, Carlson Hotels, Choice Hotels, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Starwood & Wyndham

by

John Ollila

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Jul 1, 2012

There are number of very good hotel promotions going on at the moment. Club Carlson has better than free night promotions in each of their four different brands. Marriott Rewards has their summer Mega Bonus for extra points or free night certificates. Best Western is offering a free night certificate after three stays.

Le Club Accorhotels

There are no current promotion for Accor. Sign up for our email alerts to be notified when they launch a new global promo.

Best Western Rewards

Best Western Rewards is offering a free night certificate after three stays. This promotion started on June 17th and ends on August 19th. You can only earn ONE free night certificate.

Best Western Rewards Summer Bonus Offer SUM12 – Free Night Voucher After Three Stays

The alternate promo is 2000 Air Canada Aeroplan miles per stay for up to three stays. The bonus is 1750 miles per stay.

Best Western Rewards Aeroplan Bonus Offer – 2000 Miles Per Stay for up to 3 Stays

Carlson Hotels – Club Carlson

Carlson has come up with the most exciting summer promotion this year. You can register for four different promotions and earn enough points for a free night and then some from each one of them. You only need to register and try out each of their different brands once.

You can get 50000 bonus Club Carlson points by registering for their Big Night Giveaway and have a stay at any Radisson or Radisson Blu property worldwide

Radisson Big Night Giveaway Promotion Is Now Live

Then there is the Country Inns & Suites version of this promotion. You can get 44000 bonus Club Carlson points by registering for their Stay 1 Get 1-promotion and staying a night at any of their Country Inns & Suites.

Country Inn & Suites by Carlson Stay 1 Get 1 Promotion – 44000 Club Carlson Bonus Points

And Club Carlson’s third promotion is for the Park Inn-brand. You will get 44000 bonus points after registering for their Stay One Get One-promotion and staying at any of the Park Inn locations by July 22nd.

club-carlson-park-inn-stay-1-get-1-sign-up

Club Carlson Park Inn by Radisson Promotion Get 44K Bonus Points for a Stay

The newest of the four is the promotion for the Park Plaza-brand. You can get 50000 bonus points after a paid stay. You need to register and watch the video first.

Club Carlson Park Plaza Ultimate Night Giveaway – Earn 50K Bonus Points

If you are new to the Club Carlson, you can read about the various status levels with the program and the status match opportunities:

Club Carlson Red, Silver, Gold, & Concierge Status Levels Explained

Carlson Hotels – Club Carlson Status Match

Choice Hotels – Choice Privileges

Choice is offering 8000 Choice Privileges points for every two stays that you can redeem for $50 gift cards with number of retailers. Note that the definition of a stay is TWO nights at select Choice properties.

Choice Hotels Summer Promotion – Stay Two Separate Times & Earn $50 Gift Card

Hilton HHonors

Hilton’s 3rd quarter promotion is for double points for weekday stays and triple points for weekend ones. Please note that the number of properties that have opted out of this promo is rather long.

Hilton HHonors 3rd Quarter “Triple Your Trip” 2012 Double or Triple Points Promotion

You can also get 2000 bonus Hilton HHonors points for your first Home2 Suites stay.

You can read about getting a status match with Hilton HHonors:

Hilton HHonors Gold & Diamond Status Match & Challenge & Fast Track Offer

Hilton HHonors Gold VIP Fast Track Offer Through MVP Program. Gold Status After Four Stays or Nine Nights During 90 period

Instant Hilton HHonors Gold Status for Visa Infinite Card Holders

Hyatt Gold Passport

Hyatt has teamed up with number of airlines; Air China, Air France-KLM, ANA, American Airlines, British Airways, China Eastern, Delta Air Lines, Etihad, Lufthansa, Qatar, Southwest, and United to offer up to five times the miles or points.

Hyatt Gold Passport Summer 2012 Promotion for up to Five Times the Miles

Hyatt also offers status matches/trials. You can read more about them here:

Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond Status Match – Hyatt Diamond Trial Challenge As Of 2012

InterContinental Hotels Group – Priority Club

As always, Priority Club has number of promotions that you should sign for.

Last week, I wrote about eight Priority Club bonuses that one should sign up for. These were offers that were emailed to a number of Priority Club members and are supposedly “targeted”. With Priority Club these targeted offers are open for anybody, however.

Quarter 3 Stay bonuses

These started on July 1^st and end on September 30^th, 2012. You should sign up for an offer that you know that you can achieve

Priority Club Summer Promotion 1000 Bonus Points Per Night

You can get 1000 bonus Priority Club points per night (capped at 20K) for stays until September 3rd.

15K Bonus Points + Gold Status for 6 InterContinental Nights

This is a nice bonus points promotion for InterContinental stays in the Americas. You need to get the stays in by the end of July, 2012.

5000 Bonus Air Canada Aeroplan Miles for a Stay

This is a nice bonus for a stay in Canada. You need to have the stays by December 30^th, 2012 to be eligible for the bonus miles.

Summer Bonus of up to 20K Priority Club Bonus Points

You will get 1000 bonus Priority Club bonus points per nights + 250 points per stay for booking online. This offer is valid until September 3^rd, 2012.

Priority Club Vacation Pay Offer

You can get a $75 prepaid MasterCard after a rebate for a two night weekend stay. This offer is valid until September 3^rd, 2012.

5K/10K/15K Bonus Points for 3/5/6 InterContinental Nights

This promotion cannot be combined with the 15K Bonus + Gold after 6 stays. This offer is valid until the end of July, 2012.

$50 Travel MasterCard for Two Night Weekday Stay

This is similar to the weekend offer, but is valid for weekday stays. This offer is valid until August 2^nd, 2012.

2000 Bonus Points for Priority Club Surveys

You can get couple of thousand bonus points for completing bunch of short quizzes.

Marriott Rewards

Marriott summer promotion started on June 1st and is valid until August 31st. You needed to register by June 30th. There are number of variations of the offer.

Marriott Summer Promotion of Free Night Certificates or Bonus Marriott Rewards Points

Marriott also has a MegaMiles promotion from July 1st to October 31st, 2012 for triple airline miles with selected airlines. Note that you need to change your earning from points to miles before you can sign up for this.

Marriott Rewards MegaMiles Promotion – Earn Triple Airline Miles

Marriott also offers status matches or taste of Platinum/Gold. You can read more about the procedures of getting one here:

Marriott Rewards Gold & Platinum Status Match – Taste of Platinum & Gold Challenge

If you haven’t been targeted to any of the promotions or you would like to change to another one, you can follow the instructions to get the promotion fixed for you.

Changing Targeted Marriott Promotions

Ritz-Carlton Rewards

Ritz-Carlton has exciting Extraordinary Returns promotion starting on July 15th and ends on October 15th, 2012. You can get 30000 bonus points for a stay of 4 days or longer.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards Extraordinary Returns – 30000 Bonus Points for a Four Night Stay

Starwood Preferred Guest

Starwood launched their much anticipated SPG Nice Choice promotion on May 1st that hasn’t gone down too well. You can read about the initial leak, my ability to confirm that the leaked information was real, and the strategy that you should take. Essentially, this is a double or triple Starpoints promotion that is very weak compared to free night promotions that SPG was running during 2010 and 2011. Note that you needed to choose what you would like to earn and when by June 30th, 2012.

You can get 1000 Delta SkyMiles or US Airways Dividend Miles for booking a special (expensive) rate plan.

1000 Bonus Delta SkyMiles or US Airways Dividend Miles for Sheraton Club Bookings

Starwood doesn’t offer straight status matches, but they can offer you a challenge:

Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum Status Match – Platinum Challenge

Wyndham Rewards

Wyndham has two promotions. One is for North America (US, Canada, and Mexico) and the other one is for rest of the world. In my opinion the rest of the world is better. Both of these promotions are ending on July 8th, 2012.

Wyndham Rewards Spring 2012 Promotion – Stay 2 Get 2 – Double Points or Miles + Up To 4 Movie Tickets

Wyndham Rewards Spring 2012 Promotion (non-North America) 10000 Bonus Points Every Two Stays – Max 30000 Bonus Points

Club Carlson Park Plaza Ultimate Night Giveaway – Earn 50K Bonus Points

by

John Ollila

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Jun 27, 2012

4 Comments

Now Club Carlson has included their fourth brand Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts to their summer promo line up. You can earn 50K bonus Club Carlson bonus points for a stay by August 28^th, 2012.

HERE IS HOW IT WORKS:

Register for the Promotion by clicking on the “Register and book your stay today!” button below, you’ll need to be a Club Carlson^SM member to register. Not a member? No problem, it is free to join. Just follow the “Join Club Carlson” link after the video.

Watch a short video showcasing Club Carlson and complete the short online form.

Complete a qualifying stay at any Park Plaza hotel around the world between 28 June 2012 and 28 August 2012.

The 50,000 bonus Gold Points will be deposited into your Club Carlson account within 6 – 8 weeks of completing your qualifying stay. That’s enough points for a night at any Park Plaza hotel around the world.

You need to register for the promotion at www.parkplazaultimatenightgiveaway.com after watching a short promotional. You will receive an email confirmation after the registration.

There are quite a few Park Plaza hotels in Europe and Asia. There is only one location in each of North America (Minneapolis), South America (Sao Paulo), and Middle East (Tel Aviv). There are none in Africa or Australia/Oceania. I am going to check out the two locations next week in Bangkok. You can search for closest Park Plaza location for you at www.parkplaza.com/destinations/.

There are three other Club Carlson promotions going on at the moment; Radisson Hotels & Resorts Bight Night Giveaway for 50K bonus points, Country Inns & Suites Stay One – Get One for 44K bonus points, and Park Inn by Radisson Stay One – Get One for 44K bonus points. These are absolutely the best hotel promotions for the summer of 2012.

Club Carlson redemptions start at 9K points per night, although the properties you actually want to stay at are more expensive. You also have option of using Points & Cash option to pay for stays that is considered a qualifying stay for promotional purposes also.

I wrote a piece about different status levels that Club Carlson has and also how the status match program works. You can also read about my experience and points earnings from a Radisson stay for the Radisson version of this promo. Radisson Blu is the highest brand of the group and I stayed at their property Radisson Blu Denarau Fidi back in February this year.

Here are the terms and conditions of this promotion:

The Park Plaza^® Ultimate Night Giveaway Promotion (“Promotion”) is available only to Club Carlson^SM members. To be eligible for the Promotion, members must register online for the Promotion at www.parkplazaultimatenightgiveaway.com (“Promotion Registration”), provide their Club Carlson member number at the time of reservation or check-in of the Qualifying Stay, and then complete one Qualifying Stay at any Park Plaza hotel worldwide (“Participating Hotels”). Guest must check in for the Qualifying Stay on or after June 28, 2012 and check out must be completed no later than August 28, 2012 (“Promotion Period”). A “Qualifying Stay” is defined as a stay of one or more consecutive nights in the same room at a Participating Hotel regardless of the number of check-ins or check-outs on a rate for which Gold Points are awarded in accordance with the Club Carlson Program Terms and Conditions. Guest must be present at the Participating Hotel at both the time of check-in and check-out, enrolled in Club Carlson at or before the time of check-in, and registered in the Promotion no later than the time of check-out (to enroll in Club Carlson, visit www.clubcarlson.com). The first 20,000 guests who complete the Promotion Registration will receive 50,000 Bonus Gold Points after the completion of their Qualifying Stay. After the first 20,000 Promotion Registrations, every guest who completes the Promotion Registration will receive 15,000 Bonus Gold Points after the completion of his/her Qualifying Stay. These Bonus Gold Points are in addition to the standard Gold Points awarded for a stay. Only one Club Carlson account per Qualifying Stay will be credited with the Bonus Gold Points. Maximum of one Bonus Gold Point award will be credited to a member with a Qualifying Stay under the Promotion regardless of the number of Qualifying Stays completed by the member during the Promotion Period. Allow 6-8 weeks for the Bonus Gold Points to post to the member’s account. The Promotion and Gold Points are subject to all Club Carlson Program Terms and Conditions. Rates for each night of a Qualifying Stay may vary and Promotion is subject to availability. Promotion void where prohibited by law. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Park Plaza reserves the right to add, modify or discontinue these terms and conditions or the Promotion at any time with or without notice. Park Plaza is not responsible for: interrupted or unavailable network, server or other connections, miscommunications, computer hardware or software or technical failures, Internet Service Provider/network/website accessibility or availability, garbled or jumbled transmissions or other errors of any kind, whether human, mechanical or electronic; including without limitation the incomplete, incorrect or inaccurate capture of Promotion Registration information and any late, lost inaccurate or misdirected Promotion Registration information.. By participating in this Promotion, you agree and consent to these terms and conditions.

Club Carlson 3 Day Sale: Radisson, Country Inns & Suites & Park Inns

by

John Ollila

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Jun 13, 2012

This should be of interest to those that are taking part of any or all of the current Club Carlson promotions for the free nights: Radisson/Radisson Blu, Country Inns & Suites by Radisson, and Park Inn by Radisson. I already fulfilled the Radisson part last week in Bangkok and got quite a few points.

There are actually right now two different rate promotions. There is this 3 Day sale that is valid in North American and in Canada. The promotion code for this offer is LMD25OFF. This is for selected dates between June 13^th and June 30^th, 2012.

The other rate promotion is an advance purchase rate that needs to be booked at least 14 days in advance prior to your stay. The promotion code for this offer is ADVPURCH.

You can book using the direct links above, but then you would lose the 10% cashback that you could get through TopCashBack. You can just go through the TopCashBack or any other cashback mall and pull up the promotional rates using the promotional codes that I have listed above.

Here are the terms and conditions of the 3 day sale offer:

The 3-Day Sale Offer (“Promotion”) is available for new reservations made between June 13, 2012 and 11:59 PM (CT) June 15, 2012 for Eligible Stays at select Radisson^®, Country Inns & Suites By Carlson^SM and Park Inn by Radisson hotels in the United States (“Participating Properties”).

An Eligible Stay is defined as a booking at a Participating Property arriving beginning June 13, 2012 and completed by June 30, 2012 and for which the consumer specifically requested the 3-Day Sale Offer at the time of the reservation.

Guest who books and completes an Eligible Stay will receive 25% off the standard room rate for each night of the Eligible Stay. Excludes taxes and other incidental charges (such as resort fees, room service and room entertainment).

Rates for each night may vary.

Only standard rooms (single or double occupancy) are eligible for the Promotion. Extra person charges may apply if exceeding double occupancy.

Promotion is not valid for existing reservations and may not be used in conjunction with any other package, promotion, group or convention rate, or any other discounted rate.

Participating Properties are subject to change without notice.

Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By Carlson reserve the right to add, modify or discontinue these terms and conditions or the Promotion with or without notice.

Void where prohibited by law.

By participating in this Promotion, you agree and consent to these terms and conditions.

Promotion is subject to availability and the number of rooms available may be limited and will vary by Participating Property. Blackout dates may apply.

Club Carlson members earn 1,000 bonus Gold Points^®
Silver and Gold Elite members earn 2,000 bonus Gold Points^®
Concierge Elite members earn 3,000 bonus Gold Points^®

Here are the terms and conditions of the advance purchase rate:

ADVANCE PURCHASE/NON-REFUNDABLE RATE:
Advance Purchase offer valid at participating hotels only and requires an advance purchase period of 14 days. Non-refundable credit card prepayment for entire stay is required at the time of booking. Reservations cannot be cancelled, amended or adjusted after booking. If you do not arrive on the reservation date, your reservation will be cancelled without refund or credit. Offer discount of 15%, 20% or 25% off the standard rate varies by hotel and is subject to change. Rates for each night may vary. Offer cannot be combined with any other promotional offer. This offer is available for individual bookings made with the advance purchase rate only. Name on the reservation must be the same as the credit cardholder’s name and same individual must check-in for the stay. Club Carlson^SM members can earn Gold Points^® with this offer. Offer is subject to availability and blackout dates may apply. Participating hotels are subject to change at any time without notice and the number of rooms available for this offer may be limited and may vary by hotel. This offer may be changed or discontinued at any time. Subject to applicable law and void or not applicable where prohibited by law.

Club Carlson EMEA Offer 15K Bonus Gold Points Per Stay (Targeted?)

by

John Ollila

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Jun 12, 2012

2 Comments

Just received an email from Club Carlson offering me 15K bonus Club Carlson points per stay in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa between June 12^th and July 12^th, 2012. The email says that this offer is targeted, but the terms and conditions do not. There is no registration link, however.

This is a great offer if you are participating to the other three “free” night promotion that the Club Carlson is having. There is one for Radisson/Radisson Blu brand for 50K bonus Club Carlson points, another one for Country Inns & Suites by Radisson for 44K bonus points, and finally also a Park Inn by Radisson variant for another 44K bonus points.

If you do all of the three and manage to get this 15K bonus as well, you would be looking at around 200K Club Carlson points from these promotions + base points. Not too shabby at all.

Here are the terms and conditions of this promotion:

This offer (“Offer”) is available only to Club Carlson^SM members. To enrol in Club Carlson^SM, visit clubcarlson.com

This offer is subject to all Club Carlson^SM Program Terms and Conditions. To view these Terms and Conditions, pleaseclick here

Bookings based on this Offer must be made via clubcarlson.com or by calling the customer service centre at
+44 207 949 0378.

Rooms may be booked based on this Offer from until for stays from until .

This Offer is subject to availability and only available at Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts, Radisson Edwardian Hotels, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Country Inns & Suites and Park Inn by Radisson Hotels in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa.

Rate must be eligible to earn Gold Points^®. For ineligible Room Rates and other exclusions see the Club Carlson^SMProgram Terms and Conditions Please contact the individual hotel directly or go the individual website for detailed cancellation and guarantee policy.

Please present your Club Carlson^SM card upon check-in to earn extra Gold Points^®. Extra Gold Points^® are subject to all Club Carlson^SM Program Terms and Conditions Only one Club Carlson^SM account per booking will be credited with the Gold Points^®. Extra Gold Points^® are automatically credited onto your account after your stay. Allow 6-8 weeks for the triple Gold Points^® to appear on your account.

This Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other package, promotion, group or convention rate, or any other discounted rate.

This Offer is not valid for existing reservations.

Club Carlson^SM reserves the right to add, modify, or discontinue this Offer before booking with or without notice. The Offer is void where prohibited by law. By booking this Offer, you agree and consent to these terms and conditions.

My Experience with Club Carlson’s Big Night Giveaway

by

John Ollila

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Jun 10, 2012

2 Comments

Last year, I didn’t have a time to take advantage of the Radisson’s similar offer. But when they announced to have a promo this summer with their three different brand’s; Radisson/Radisson Blu Big Night Giveaway, Country Inn & Suites By Radisson Stay 1 Get 1, and Park Inn By Radisson Stay 1 Get 1, I decided to participate.

After I had done a status match to Gold level with Radisson and familiarized myself with the status benefits, I made a reservation for the Radisson’s only property here in Bangkok. I was offered number of different eStandby upgrade options (NOR1) that I declined. I will post a review of the hotel later, but overall it was about the same level as the Starwood’s Four Points hotel here in Bangkok.

club-carlson-radisson-bangkok-earning

The points for the stay with the appropriate bonus points posted within two business days. Also, the stay is tracking for the cash back bonus on TopCashback.com. I think that it is good to have Club Carlson on the loyalty program portfolio that I participate to as they are quite well covered on the lower quality level of hotels, but it probably wouldn’t be my first choice.

club-carlson-radisson-bangkok-topcashback

Club Carlson eStandby Upgrade Option (NOR1) At Radisson Hotels

by

John Ollila

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Jun 9, 2012

1 Comment

When you make a booking at www.clubcarlson.com or any of the brand specific websites, you may be presented an option for eStandby upgrade for cash. There are typically several offers available at variable price points and one of them is complimentary based on the status you have with Club Carlson.

club-carlson-estandby

The company behind this eStandby is called Nor1. They have licensed the technology for hotels to better manage their upgrade inventory and get cash for it. The upgrades are NOT guaranteed in advance, but rather at the time of check in. I have seen these previously at Hyatt and Hilton hotels and have written several pieces about them that you can access them here, here, here, here & here.

club-carlson-bangkok-nor1-options

So, I was presented several upgrade options at the time when I made the booking for Radisson Suites hotel in Bangkok. One of them was “complimentary” for Club Carlson members. It didn’t specify if this was due to the Gold status, however.

club-carlson-bangkok-nor1-options-confirmation

When you choose the all three, you are then presented with a list of requests that you just made. I canceled the whole thing at this point.

radisson-suites-bangkok

At check in they had one of these photo frames advertising upgrades to the Premier Suite for 400 THB. The eStandby price for this upgrade would have been 1500 THB.

The upgrade that I received was the one bedroom suite. Overall, I have found these eStandby upgrades to be a total waste IF you have a status with the chain. If you don’t have any status, you MIGHT be able to get an upgrade for less money than what it had cost to book the upgraded room/suite in the first place. Even then, you may be able to negotiate a lower charge for the upgrade when checking in.

June Hotel Promotions Update: Accor Hotels, Best Western, Carlson Hotels, Choice Hotels, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Starwood & Wyndham

by

John Ollila

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Jun 3, 2012

There are currently promotions going on with number of chains. My personal choice for the June are the three Club Carlson promotions, Marriott’s promotion of a free night for every two stays capped at three free nights, and the InterContinental Hotels Group due to number of stackable promotions. The very confusing SPG promotions is going on depending what is the earning period that you will choose (no need to choose until the end of this month). Hyatt’s airline related bonuses are very good as well.

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