The end to Bonus Award Night benefit with the Club Carlson Credit Card
All good things must come to an end and sadly an amazing benefit of Club Carlson credit cards is next on the chopping block, though luckily there’s still time to take advantage of it.
Beginning June 1, 2015 Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature and Club Carlson Business Rewards Visa cardholders will no longer receive the Bonus Award Night Benefit, which awards you with a free night when you redeem your Gold Points for a stay of at least two consecutive nights. In the beginning of February, we wrote about the various perks of the Club Carlson Premier Visa and called out this benefit as the one that really makes this card shine so its unfortunate to see it going away.
Instead of receiving a free night on award stays, as of June 1st you will now only receive a free night valid only at US properties after $10,000 spent within a year. This benefit is in addition to the current 40,000 bonus points you receive each year when you renew your card and Club Carlson is offering 30,000 Gold Points to current card members on your next eligible stay at a Carlson Rezidor hotel, valid until August 31, 2015.
As FrequentMiler reported, it seems the last day to take advantage of the Bonus Award Night benefit will be May 28th (potentially May 30th), so if you’re a current cardholder who is planning some upcoming Club Carlson stays, make sure you complete your booking before this deadline.
While it’s disappointing to see this perk go, the sign-up bonus is still strong at 85,000 points – 50,000 after first purchase and an additional 35,000 points after $2,500 on your card within the first 90 days. Instead of sulking and crying over the negative changes, I suggest maximizing the bonus award nights as much as possible until it’s gone.
In the past I’ve gotten several half-price Club Carlson awards by booking two night award stays at expensive properties like the Radisson Blu Madrid Prado which at the time was going for over 330 Euro or 50,000 points per night. The bonus award night saved me 50,000 points and brought my per point value up to .86 cents.
Here are some other top destinations to take advantage of with your Gold Points before May 28th:
Radisson Blu Edwardian Bloomsbury Street Hotel: Nightly rates are normally between $400 and $500 or 50,000 points per night. With the Carlson Premier Visa or Business Visa you can get two nights valued at $915 for 50,000 points total – a value of 1.8 cents per point.
Radisson Blue Aqua Hotel, Chicago: Rates in September are $381.60 per night or 50,000 points. The Bonus Award Night will get you two nights valued at $763 for 50,000 points – a value of 1.5 cents per point.
The Radisson Blu Waterfront Cape Town, South Africa: Rates are regularly between $300-400, but you can get rooms for 50,000 points per night. So with my cardholder discount, I’d get two nights for a total of about $714 for 50,000 points – a value of 1.4 cents per point.
Even though my Club Carlson Premier Visa is losing its greatest perk, I’m still going to keep the card after June 1st because the annual 40,000 bonus points and free night after $10,000 is worth far more than the $75 annual fee. I have a few trips coming up this summer and I plan to max out the bonus award nights as much as I possibly can, and I suggest you do the same!
Will you be keeping or canceling your Club Carlson Credit card after June 1st?
Thanks Points Guy for the tips!
Learn more about the Club Carlson Credit card on their website and apply.
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