My Thoughts/Opinions/Reactions to the New Club Carlson Changes
(Hat Tip to every other travel blogger)
Earlier today, Club Carlson sent out an email about new changes to the Club Carlson reward program. Here are my thoughts on the changes…
Right off the bat, “MEMBER BENEFITS UPDATE” does not sound like good news. Keep reading… they are giving me 5 qualifying nights toward Concierge Elite status after 1 eligible (paid) stay between now and March 19. That is so generous Club Carlson, what’s the catch?
Another red flag is “many exciting new benefits.” Full me once twice three times I can’t keep track anymore (United, Marriott, SPG, Hyatt, Hilton, Southwest, etc.), shame on you, fool me again, shame on me. Oh wait, this is good news. I can now book premium rooms with Club Carlson Gold Points and I can also redeem points for retail merchant cards (I call them gift cards) starting at 7,000 points.
Last sentence says they will create a new Tier 7 (70,000 points per night) for their “most luxurious hotels.”
Here are some of the awesome gift cards you can redeem your Club Carlson points for:
- $10 Gift Card / 6,500 Club Carlson Points = 0.15 cents per point, hmm…
- $100 Saks Fifth Avenue Gift Card / 58,000 Club Carlson Points = 0.17 cents per point
- I recently stayed at the Radisson Blu in Amsterdam for 2 nights for 50,000 points and the Radisson Blu Rome for 2 nights for 44,000 points, which I think was worth a lot more $100 to Saks Fifth Avenue, but hey, that’s just me…
Back to some more good news… Eligible (paid) Stays and Award Nights will now count toward Elite Status. Plus I can earn Club Carlson Gold Points on all my food and beverage purchases which really comes in handy because Club Carlson refuses to give me complimentary breakfast on award stays even though I am such a loyal Club Carlson member.
Back to the bad news… they will no longer offer the 2,000 Club Carlson bonus for online bookings, except when they decide to run the online booking promo. Lastly, instead of receiving a 50% bonus on earned points, you will now only earn 35% bonus.
Lastly I circled squared continued membership because I am not sure if my membership is worth of such a prestigious and honorable program. Only time will tell.
On a serious note, earning 70,000 Club Carlson points for a 2 night stay will cost only $55.30, instead of $40, based on the principles and VRC purchases from this post. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
It’s “fool me”, not “full me”. Just an FYI.
Do they still offer the book one night get the next free? That’s a hell of a deal.
Yes, you are right. I fixed the ‘fool’ mistake. The BOGO nights is still in place, thank goodness!
The difference between 50k and 70k is one trip to cvs.
Yes, that’s a great way to look at it. I had 100,000 CC points, burned 94,000 CC points and am now rebuilding my balance. How many CC points are you currently sitting on?
I booked 4 nights at the Copenhagen Royal using my wife’s points and then mine for a total of 100k pts a few weeks ago and another 50k for 2 nights at the Chicago Blu so my stash is pretty depleted. I’m just hoping my anniversary 40k pts hits before March so I’ll have 50k pts and enough for 2 nights at the Mayfair.
Very impressive. I might be in Copenhagen in a few months. How’s the CC there? How many points/night?
I don’t know. I’ve only read the reviews. People say it is near the train station and a lot of the tourist attractions. We are taking a cruise that departs from the port located in Copenhagen so that’s why we are staying there. It’s 50k for 2 nights if you have the CC credit card.
Thanks for the info. I’ll look into that
Is there a list of Carlson hotels with NO change in required points?
I think all of them stayed at their current level except the few that went to the top tier.
I already know that A LOT of them moved up or down. I just can’t see which did NOT change.
This post should be exactly what you are looking for: http://www.clubcarlson.com/offers/displayDetail.do?offerId=7768765&hotelBrandCode=&
Thanks. It only showed two blue hotels that didn’t change points. One in India and one in NJ.
I’m amused by the two Europe hotels shown as being in China.
The list was for 2013 not for 2014.