Club Carlson Devaluation
Starting March 15, Club Carlson is changing their program rules. It’s not really a surprise since most of the other major chains have done so in the last year, but it is still disappointing when a program devalues.
The good –
Award stays will now count towards elite status.
Food & Beverage charged to the room on Award stays will earn points.
There will be an easier way to book suites when redeeming points, rather than paying a 50% premium. No word on the exact amounts needed yet though.
Club Carlson will be offering more gift card merchants with redemption rates starting at 7,000 points
The neutral –
Hotel Category changes. Many hotels go up a category, although some go down.
The bad –
Elite point bonuses decrease. Silver goes from 25% to 15%, Gold from 50% to 35%. Concierge stays the same at 75%.
Online booking bonus (currently 2000 points) may be disappearing in the future, as it is mentioned as being on a “promotional basis”.
24/7 Global Concierge for Concierge members ends.
A new Category 7 is being introduced, for the following properties –
– Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dubai
– Radisson Blu Le Dokhan’s Paris
– Radisson Blu 1835 Hotel & Thalasso Cannes
– Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan Paris
– Radisson Blu Hotel Champs Elysees Paris
– The May Fair London
– Plaza on the River London
– art’otel Amsterdam
– Radisson Royal Hotel Moscow
To sum up, I would check the redemption chart to see if any properties I want to stay at will be increasing in value and if so, book now. Especially with those at the new Category 7 level, which will require 70,000 points per night for redemption.
