Club Carlson has put into place its 2012 hotel category changes. There were 177 hotels in the Americas that shifted categories, compared to 69 in Europe, Middle East and Africa and 24 in Asia Pacific. Over 1,000 hotels participate in the Club Carlson program, so around 27 percent of participating properties moved into either higher or lower categories this year. Most dropped or jumped only one category but there were some that moved two or even three categories. For example, the Country Inns & Suites in San Jose, Costa Rica dropped from a Category 3 (28,000 points) to a Category 1 (9,000 points) and the Country Inns & Suites in Coon Rapids, Minn. dropped to a Category 1 (9,000 points) from a Category 4 (38,000 points).

A couple of properties that moved up include the Radisson Blu Hotel Milan and Radisson Hotels and Suites Sydney, which are both Category 5 (44,000 points) from Category 4 (38,000 points) hotels. Visit http://insideflyerus.wpengine.com/link/?6574 to view the entire list.

Bottom line: Hotel loyalty programs regularly change the categories for their hotels based on the current market. If you plan to take advantage of Radisson’s current 50,000 bonus points offer, check out the list and see how far your points can take you. You may find that you can now stay more nights for free at your desired destination or you may find that where you want to go will now cost you more points.