I’m a big fan of Club Carlson and think the program can be extremely valuable in conjunction with their credit card, as I wrote about here. Mileage transfers aren’t the best use of Club Carlson points, though they have offered the ability to transfer points at the following ratios:
It appears as if overnight — with no advance notice whatsoever — they’ve devalued the mileage transfer ratios to the following:
So previously the best ratio was 100:18, while now it’s 100:10. That’s a huge devaluation to make overnight with no notice. Shame on Club Carlson for this one, and here’s to hoping any other program changes they make come with a bit more advance notice…
(Tip of the hat to Gary)
I think saying this is a "huge devaluation" is a bit sensationalistic. Relatively, it is significant to what it was previously, but the mile transfer wasn't a particularly compelling deal before. They have not (yet) devalued redemption for their hotels which is what you bloggers have been touting as the "value" in their program when pushing their cards anyway.
shame on club carlson. had planned to stay 2 nights before 7/21/2013 for 10,000 points promotion (plus double points promotion). now, decide to cancel my plan.
fortunately, i transferred 100,000 points (i earned by my stay) into AA miles in feb. after i picked up the club carlson visa signature card last month, i have piled up anoother 100,000 points. based on lucky's analysis and prediction, i guess i had better burn these points asap....
shame on club carlson. had planned to stay 2 nights before 7/21/2013 for 10,000 points promotion (plus double points promotion). now, decide to cancel my plan.
fortunately, i transferred 100,000 points (i earned by my stay) into AA miles in feb. after i picked up the club carlson visa signature card last month, i have piled up anoother 100,000 points. based on lucky's analysis and prediction, i guess i had better burn these points asap. however, to best utilize cpub carlson points, i need to design reward stays at any place for 2 nights only -- no longer or shorter.
Having just gotten the Club Carlson cc, with it’s very generous terms for points awards, I have to wonder if one day soon, without notice, I will find that the points required for award stays have doubled. Or the second award night free has been canceled. Or both… :(
I'd been planning on using this cc extensively, now that HHonors has been so devalued. I’m now questioning how much spend beyond the required minimum spend to put on this card.
I think in general, you have to be warry of companies selling points at a discount. Companies like Club Carlson can devalue overnight. That's why most bloggers recommend not buying points/miles unless you will redeem right away. This is why I plan on transferring my Choice points out ASAP.
Nice, Club Carlson.
Sell a lot of points on Daily Getaways & flash sales. Devalue points one week later.
Didn't have the decency to make (or announce) the imminent change prior to selling the miles to your customers?
Blogged about this earlier, they were selling points with big bonuses in flash sales last week, obviously wanted some cash in before 30th June.
I can understand the need for rates to evolve over time, but cutting them virtually in half overnight without notice is not a credible policy for a serious loyalty programme. Unless they provide us with a grace period.
While you might be able to get better value out of them at...
Blogged about this earlier, they were selling points with big bonuses in flash sales last week, obviously wanted some cash in before 30th June.
I can understand the need for rates to evolve over time, but cutting them virtually in half overnight without notice is not a credible policy for a serious loyalty programme. Unless they provide us with a grace period.
While you might be able to get better value out of them at hotels, many of us were saving them for dumping into airline schemes, including schemes we had limited opportunities to earn bulk quantities of.