Radisson launches another hotel at Zurich Airport

The second Radisson hotel in Europe has opened near Zurich Airport.

‘Wait’, I hear you say. ‘Surely there are many Radisson hotels in Europe?’.  Not really.  The European hotels are branded as Radisson Blu, Radisson RED or Radisson Collection.  The stand-alone Radisson brand is not used.

One reason is that the quality of Radisson hotels in the US is very poor.  Recently opened properties use the Radisson Blu branding to distinguish them.  This leaves the question of why they believe that any international travellers would want to stay in one ….

Previously a Park Inn, the Zurich Airport property has been completely refurbished and features conference rooms, a gym and an Italian restaurant.  It complements the existing Radisson Blu at the airport – which is probably why the hotel was forced to use the ‘Radisson’ brand – and is a 7 minute shuttle-bus ride away.  Full details are on the Radisson website here.

Radisson Blu has also launched a new summer promotion.  New bookings from now until 2nd June will enjoy complimentary breakfast, 10% off and 2,500 bonus Radisson Rewards points.  Stays must be between 1st July and 31st August, fitting in nicely with the school holidays.  You must book via this link.

Given our notional value of 0.33p per Radisson Rewards point, 2,500 bonus points are worth approximately £8.  This is not a bad deal on short, cheap stays.

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.)