What I’m going to argue maybe absurd, but I believe the best use of Club Carlson points is redeeming them for category 1 hotels.
If you have Hyatt points it is only 22,000 points for a night at the top Hyatt property – like the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome and the Park Hyatt Sydney. These properties typically charge over $1,000 for one night in a stand room. Compare that to using 5,000 Hyatt points for their tier 1 properties which are typically worth $60 to $100 a night.
The math is simple, even 5,000 points for a $100 hotel is a value of 2 cents per point and much less for a $60 property.
But 22,000 points for a these $1,000+ Park Hyatts is a value of 4.5 cents+ per point.
However, if we compare the top tier Radissons to the bottom, we see that the value is better redeeming points for a category 1 hotels.
The Radisson Blu in Sydney is $300 a night and costs 50,000 points a night – a value of .6 cents a point. However, the Radisson Blu in Alexandria is $140 a night and costs 9,000 points a night – a value of 1.5 cents per point. In this case you get nearly triple the value out of the category 1.
Even a category two hotel like the Radisson Blu in Ankara, Turkey is a $140 hotel that costs 15,000 points – a value of .9 cents per point.
There are actually 3 Radisson Blu Hotels in Egypt that are category 1 hotels (and therefore only 9,000 points).
So what’s wrong with my argument? Well, the three in Egypt are the only “Radisson Blu” Hotels that are category 1s, and you tend to want to use your hotel points in expensive cities like Sydney, London, New York, etc… Also, there are a few really great category 6 redemptions – like the May Fair in London (a $500 hotel) and the Radisson Royal in Moscow (a $600 hotel).
But over all, I think these really high end Radisson Hotels are more the exception than the 4 star hotels being on the category 1 & 2 lists. As much as I loved the Radisson Blu in Sydney, it was actually only going for $250 and was no Park Hyatt and I loved the Radisson Blu in Shanghai for only 15,000 points.
I have one more argument: the three Radisson Blu Hotels in Egypt come with breakfast and 5 star hotels do not. Why is that a big deal? Those of us who have elite status with Hyatt, already have breakfast and lounge access. In other words, luxury hotels become even more luxurious. But with Radisson, most of us only want to complete their big promos and not actually chase elite status and therefore do not have elite status with Club Carlson. And that basically sums it up: Club Carlson is basically good for free nights, not extreme luxury. The exception is just a couple hotels (in Moscow and London) and if one were going for exceptions, choose a cheaper exception. Why not take the example in Egypt, Radisson Blu Hotels which offer luxury and more nights?
Hi Drew!
Your logic with regards to use of Club Carlson points for lower category hotels (versus Hyatt for higher category) makes total sense!
As always, enjoyed your posts.
Thanks! Though, we’ll see if there’s a gap between what is practiced and preached. :-p
I think a lot of it really depends on what you value, and as always, how many points you’re working with. For me, in most places a $500 a night hotel adds only a little to what a $150 a night facility provides. So redeeming for the lower category places makes a lot of sense when that’s an option. (Or using Priceline or a local non-chain place when that’s not an option.) But others feel differently – the whole point to some is to stay in luxuriously places they would never pay for but love to experience.
For me and my family, Club Carlson points are always a value. We don’t use them everywhere we go, but sometimes we might be in a stop over city (like in Chicago we stayed at the Radisson Blu for 50,000 per night) and because we have so many points, it was worth it, as we had to get 2 rooms (a family of four). We also stopped over in Quito (ok) and Lima San Isidro (loved it) in the summer and then did an awesome stay in Istanbul on the Bosphorus, and a not great stay at the Radisson in in Aqaba, Jordan. We matched our status with Starwood and so get suites/or apartments in each place we stayed. But you are probably right that the luxury high end properties are not with Club Carlson.