Radisson Rewards Offering 100% Bonus On Purchased Points

Through November 27, 2018, Radisson Rewards is offering a 100% bonus on purchased points.

Radisson Rewards lets you buy up to 40,000 points per account per calendar year, and the 100% bonus applies even if you buy just 1,000 points.

Factoring in the 100% bonus, you can buy a maximum of 80,000 points through this promotion. The 80,000 points would cost you $280, meaning they’re charging ~0.35 cents per point.

Radisson Rewards doesn’t sell points as often as they used to. Typically when they do they offer a 75% bonus at most. Only about once a year do we see a 100% bonus, so this is the first time in a year we’ve seen such an offer.

If you’re in the market for Radisson Rewards points, this is as good as it gets. However, do keep in mind that buying Radisson Rewards points isn’t quite as useful as it used to be, given the two major ways in which the program has been devalued a few years back (when the program was still known as Club Carlson):

• The second night free benefit was eliminated on Club Carlson’s co-branded credit card
• The cost of redemptions at many of Club Carlson’s top hotels increased, due to some award category adjustments

It goes without saying that the biggest devaluation was them eliminating the second night free benefit on their co-branded credit card, since it was essentially a way to double the value of your points.

Personally I value Radisson Rewards points at ~0.4 cents each, so I guess I should be a buyer at that price, but I’m not. So maybe that means I should adjust my valuation down.

Here’s the Radisson Rewards award chart:

As you can see, the top properties go for 70,000 points per night. If you’re buying points for 0.35 cents each, that’s like paying $245 per night for a stay at a top hotel, which could represent a good value in some cases.

Also keep in mind that while you’re limited to purchasing 40,000 points (pre-bonus) per account per calendar year, you can always purchase points for multiple accounts, and then combine the points in those accounts for free. All members can combine points within a household, and elite members can combine points with anyone. Those with the Radisson Rewards co-branded credit card automatically get elite status.

The purchase of Radisson Rewards points is processed by points.com, so wouldn’t qualify as hotel spend for the purposes of your credit card. Therefore you’ll want to use a credit card on which you’re trying to reach minimum spend, and then use a card that maximizes your return on everyday, non-bonused spend, like The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, Chase Freedom Unlimited®, etc.

Radisson Blu Polar Hotel in Longyearbyen, Norway

Bottom line

Bonuses on purchased Radisson Rewards points don’t get better than this, so if you’re in the market for some points, this is a great opportunity.

However, this isn’t a rate at which I’d pick up points without a particular use in mind. I’d say this is generally ideal if you want to top off an account for a redemption, especially given that even buying just 1,000 points would qualify for the 100% bonus.

Do you plan on buying Radisson Rewards points with a 100% bonus?