Decent Club Carlson and Avis promotion

Club Carlson, the Radisson etc hotel loyalty scheme, has launched a decent long-term promotion with Avis.  See here for details.

Until the end of 2013 (not 2012), you will earn 7,500 Club Carlson miles for a 3-day Avis rental.  Most parts of the world participate, but please take careful note of the geographic restrictions and black-out dates listed in the small print.

6,000 Club Carlson points gets you 750 Avios.  8,000 gets you 1,000 Avios (and you could send some American Express Membership Rewards points across to top them off, at 1:3).

This is, admittedly, not a lot more generous than crediting to Iberia (300 Avios per day) but it gives you extra flexibility.  Club Carlson partners with over 20 airlines, not just Avios.  And, of course, you could also redeem your points for hotel stays if you did multiple rentals.

This won’t suit many people, but if you do a lot of 3-day car rentals then it might be worth focussing on this deal throughout 2013.

How to earn Radisson Rewards points and status from UK credit cards (December 2021)

Radisson Rewards does not have a dedicated UK credit card. However, you can earn Radisson Rewards points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.  These include:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 60,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with two free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 90,000 Radisson Rewards points

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 15,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:3 into Radisson Rewards points which is a very attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 3 Radisson Rewards points.

Even better, holders of The Platinum Card receive free Radisson Rewards Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here.

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)