Thinking caps on – how can you maximise Carlson’s ‘free Fridays’ promo?

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Club Carlson, the Radisson / Park Inn / Park Plaza / Quorvus chain, has launched a very interesting new promotion.

This could be very lucrative if you are prepared to ‘play the game’, although it will require some flexibility in both earning and redeeming.

Details of the offer, including the registration page, are here.

In simple terms, this is how it works:

For every two stays you make before 1st July and 30th September, you will receive a free Friday night at ANY Club Carlson hotel worldwide.

Alternatively, you can have 10,000 bonus points, but I only value those at £35 and the free night could be worth a lot more.

The small print is quite small:

Your free Friday night stays must be taken between 6th October 2017 and 26 January 2018

You can earn up to three free Friday night vouchers or three x 10,000 bonus points

You must decide at the point of registration whether you want the free Friday vouchers or the 10,000 bonus points and this cannot be changed

Only cash stays – not points stays or ‘points and cash’ stays – count towards the free night

It is not clear what the availability rules are for booking your ‘free Friday’. Does it require just basic cash rooms to be available, or must there be a reward night?

How to maximise this opportunity

It doesn’t take a genius to work out that there are ways of maximising this promotion to your advantage.

Club Carlson has some very cheap hotels, primarily Park Inn hotels in the UK regions. I found Park Inn Nottingham at £43 for Friday and Sunday nights in August, for example.

For every two cheap stays you do, you would be earning a ‘free Friday’ voucher which you could use for an expensive Friday night stay at a high end Park Plaza, Radisson or Quorvus Collection hotel. Many of the better London properties are over £200 on a Friday night.

Think it through though ….

You need to be practical about this offer, however.

Do you have a use for a free Friday night hotel stay, however luxurious the hotel? After all, if you are going away for the weekend, you would still need to stay somewhere on the Saturday – either paying the same Club Carlson hotel or moving to a different property.

Whether the answer is ‘yes’ depends on your own personal travel plans between October and next January.

Club Carlson is also a lot stronger in some countries than others. With only a few exceptions, Radisson in North America is not a premium brand. In Europe, and especially Scandinavia, they have some excellent properties. Similarly, whilst October to January is not the peak travel period in Europe, it would be useful in, say, the Middle East where Radisson is well represented.

If you can move some stays to Club Carlson anyway as business trips, then this is certainly one to consider closely. As a ‘mattress run’ (booking nights, checking in and leaving immediately) it is not so clear cut, but it may well work out well for some.

You can learn more about the offer, and register, here.

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.)

Category

Radisson Rewards

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Kris says:

29 Jun29 June 10:11

Looks like some more terms, two nights may not immediately result in e-cert being issued until the end of qualifying month, so may impact booking timing. Presumably, a stay in July will roll in counting to a stay in August to then get a very at end of august.

Terms and Conditions
By participating in the “Stay 2, Earn a Free Friday Night or 10K Points” offer, you may only select one of the following offers (either the “Free Friday Night” promotion or the “10K Points” promotion) during the Promotion Period in accordance with these terms and conditions.

You must be a Club CarlsonSM member to participate in the “Free Fridays” Promotion (“Promotion”). Promotion is valid for Eligible Stays only. An “Eligible Stay(s)” is one or more consecutive nights reserved at an Eligible Rate booked through an eligible booking source, as defined in the Club Carlson Terms and Conditions, and consumed between July 1, 2017 and September 30, 2017 (“Promotion Period”). Both the check-in and checkout dates of the Eligible Stay must take place within the Promotion Period. To be eligible to earn the Free Friday Night E-Cert (“Friday E-Cert”) for every two Eligible Stays, you must: (i) register online for the Promotion and make your reward selection at clubcarlson.com/freefridays; and (ii) then provide your Club Carlson member number at the time of reservation or at check-in. Members are not able to switch their reward choice after registration and the selection is for the entirety of the Promotion. Once registered, you will earn a Friday E-Cert with two Eligible Stays at Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu®, Radisson RED, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn® by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM hotels worldwide during the Promotion Period.

Friday E-Cert earnings for the entire Promotion (Free Fridays) will be capped at three awards per member – three Friday E-Certs. Stays or nights paid for by using Points or Points + Cash are not eligible for this Promotion. You only need to register once, but you must register before checkout of your first Eligible Stay for that stay to count for this promotion. Requests for free nights or bonus points for stays prior to Promotion registration will not be honored.

Friday E-Certs are valid for reservations on a single Friday night at any Quorvus Collection, Radisson Blu®, Radisson RED, Radisson®, Park Plaza®, Park Inn® by Radisson and Country Inns & Suites By CarlsonSM hotels worldwide for stays between October 6, 2017 and January 26, 2018. Each Friday E-Cert is valid for a new reservation booked on a Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group website using the unique Friday E-Cert code provided. Separate reservations may be made for additional nights before and/or after the Friday night reservation. The Friday E-Certs will expire on January 26, 2018 and cannot be extended. Friday E-Certs used on a reservation that is cancelled within the hotel’s cancellation policy and before the expiration date may be re-used. All incidental charges, such as gratuities, parking, resort fees, room service and room entertainment are excluded. Friday E-Certs are not valid for existing reservations and may not be used in conjunction with packages, promotions, group, convention or discounted rates, or used in combination with other gift certificates, e-certificates or vouchers. Friday E-Certs must be reserved by the earning member, may only be used once, and may not be assigned, transferred, brokered, bartered, sold, posted online or altered in any way. Friday E-Certs have no cash value. Void where prohibited by law.

Friday E-Certs will be awarded three times throughout the Promotion, 1) by Aug. 15 for E-Certs earned in July, 2) by Sep. 15 for E-Certs earned in August and 3) by Oct 15 for E-Certs earned in September. You will be notified you have a Friday E-Cert via email and awarded Friday E-Certs will be visible under ‘My Account’ when you are logged in on clubcarlson.com.

The Promotion is subject to all Club Carlson Terms and Conditions. Club Carlson reserves the right to add, modify, or discontinue the Promotion without notice. Club Carlson is not responsible for any technical failures/interruptions, internet accessibility problems, incomplete or inaccurate registration information, or other errors of any kind that may affect your registration for this Promotion. Other exclusions may apply. Void where prohibited by law. By participating in this Promotion, you agree and consent to these terms and conditions.
RussellH says:

29 Jun29 June 10:59

Registration confirmation page is VERY unclear.

It says, in bold, “The offer you selected is: Stay 2 nights, earn 10,000 bonus points”

We are booked for three nights at a Radisson 1 – 4 July, which is better than 2 nights, but only one stay, as defined in the Ts+Cs. Clear as mud.
- Pangolin says:
  
  29 Jun29 June 11:33
  
  It’s badly worded on the selection tab but ALWAYS go by the T&Cs if there is any doubt or disparity in wording between different elements of the site.
  
  The T&Cs state that you earn an e-cert “for every two Eligible Stays” and Eligible Stay is defined as “one or more consecutive nights reserved at an Eligible Rate booked through an eligible booking source”.
  
  So consecutive nights (like your booking) will only count as 1 stay.
- RussellH says:
  
  29 Jun29 June 12:00
  
  While the confirmatory e-mail says “10,000 Gold Points for every 2 Stays”. Maybe I should have kept a copy of the registration page and tried to make a fuss?
  - Joe says:
    
    29 Jun29 June 12:39
    
    “2 Stays”
    
    You currently have ONE (1) stay.
    
    Can we move on now?
- Jonny says:
  
  29 Jun29 June 16:14
  
  alternate single-night stays between yourself and your partner – then will count as 2 stays for you.
Crafty says:

29 Jun29 June 13:22

Will this stack with the bonus 2,500 points per stay offer that also runs until 30 September?
- Joe says:
  
  29 Jun29 June 13:29
  
  Don’t see why not….