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Radisson Rewards has launched a Black Friday points sale and, unsurprisingly, it’s the best sale that the loyalty program usually publishes. Most points purchases made through 2 December will earn a 100% bonus and as that values Radisson’s points at just 0.35 cents each and as Radisson has boosted the maximum number of points its members can buy in a year, this opens up the opportunity for significant savings at some of the hotelier’s best properties.
The Sale
They don’t get much simpler than this: Buy 5,000 points or more and get a 100% bonus.
Key Terms
- The “Purchased Points 100% Bonus” offer (the “Offer”) is valid for Radisson Rewards Points (“Points”) purchased between November 23, 2020 through December 2, 2020 (“Offer Period”) only.
- Radisson Rewards Members (“Members”) will receive a point bonus of 100% for purchases of up to 120,000 Points.
- Members can purchase points up to an annual maximum of 120,000 points during the Offer Period (up from the annual max of 80,000-point limit).
- A minimum of 5,000 Points must be purchased to qualify for the bonus.
- Maximum bonus Points awarded is 120,000 points.
- Bonus points will not be applied to the yearly point purchase maximum.
- Bonus points and purchased points will be posted to the member’s Radisson Rewards account as one transaction within 24-48 hours of purchase.
- Offer does not apply to Points purchased as a gift.
Full terms are available on the sale page.
The Math
A very nice thing about Radisson Rewards points sales like this one is that it doesn’t matter how many points you buy (as long as you buy at least 5,000) as you’ll always be buying points at the best rate the promotion offers. Whether you buy just 5,000 points…
…or if you buy the full 120,000 points that this sale permits…
…you’ll always be buying points at 0.35 cents each.
Quick Thoughts:
- With a 100% bonus on offer, this is the best deal that we generally see Radisson Rewards offering and with an increased cap of 120,000 points (excluding any bonus), there’s clearly scope to book some great value 3+ night stays at some of Radisson’s better properties.
- At the end of September, Radisson stopped offering free cancelations on all of its rates (some of the cheaper rates are no longer as flexible as they were in the summer) so with award bookings offering an incredible amount of flexibility, using points from a sale such as this one rather than paying with cash may make a lot of sense if your plans are uncertain.
- A top-tier Radisson property costs 70,000 points/night and buying enough points in this sale to book one of these top-tier properties will cost $245. When considering how much some of Radisson’s top-tier properties cost (especially in Europe) this can be an excellent deal.
Here are two Radisson properties in Rome displaying the cost of an award night for a random night next summer:
Buying enough points in this sale to book these hotels would cost $245 (Palazzo Montemartini) and $154 (Radisson Blu GHR).
Here are the cash prices for the same hotels for the same night:
Buying points in this sale and then using those points to book this particular night would save a Radisson Rewards member $163 or $239 depending on the property being booked…and that’s just for one night!
Here’s Radisson’s top property in London costing 70,000 points for a night on 12 June 2021 (70,000 points would cost $245 in this sale)…
…and here’s the cash cost for the same night:
Buying points in this sale and then using them for this reservation (instead of using cash) would save a Radisson Rewards member over $172.
Will this work every time? Of course not. There will be times where the cash rate at a property you’re looking to book will be sufficiently low to make it uneconomical to buy points in this sale with the view of making a booking, and that’s why it’s important to do the math.
No one should be buying Radisson rewards points speculatively (my golden rule applies as always) and no one should be buying points without checking that the rate at which they’re buying points will save them money when it comes to making a booking…but this is a genuinely good sale and it’s the best sale we’re likely to see from Radisson this year.
Don’t Forget
Radisson Rewards points sales are processed by Points.com so you’re not going to get a credit card travel/hotel category bonus if you buy points in this sale.
What this means is that this is a good opportunity to use a credit card on which you’re working towards a welcome bonus (this would be a very easy way to lock in the $200/20,000 points being offered by the new and fantastic Freedom Flex card)…
…or to use the excellent (and very recently refreshed) Chase Freedom Unlimited Card which will earn you 1.5% cash back (or 1.5 points/dollar)
Bottom Line
Radisson Rewards is currently selling points with a 100% bonus which values the currency at just 0.35 cents/point. This is the best sale that Radisson Rewards usually offers and, with a bit of diligence and research, it can be used to save you a considerable amount of money.
I’m stuck with a half million Radisson points but whenever I look for hotels anywhere I can’t find better than .25 cent per point against Rack Rate …….and nobody pays Rack Rack anyway. (Plus Radisson lost the Alcorn in Prague !)
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