Because the Radisson hotel chain is owned by a Chinese company, the US government has demanded that it ring fence US customer data from its Chinese parent. Although the logical choice might well have been to sell its US hotels, Radisson has decided to split itself (and its loyalty program, Radisson Rewards) into two.
Radisson Rewards members whose address is set in the United States will automatically become a member of Radisson Rewards Americas. Your points balance, elite status, current reservations will all migrate automatically over to the new loyalty program.
Going forward, you will ONLY be able to earn points with hotels in the USA, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
To earn points in Europe, the Middle East, Africas, and Asia Pacific, you will have to sign up separately for the global version of Radisson Rewards.
You WILL be able to move points back and forth between the two programs, on a 1:1 basis, but it appears unlikely that you will be able to earn elite status credit by combining your worldwide stays from the two programs. However you should be able to status match between Radisson Rewards and Radisson Rewards Americas.
The End of Radisson as a Relevant Option?
To be frank, most people walked away from Radisson Rewards when a few years ago they removed the “stay two nights, pay for one” perk for credit card holders using points. It was still possible to find some value from Radisson – for example when buying points at a steep discount -, especially in Europe, where most of the chain’s nicer Radisson Blu options are located. But I can’t remember the last time I heard anybody say something nice about a Radisson hotel in North America.
Yes, you will still be able to earn points worldwide by signing up for both versions of Radisson Rewards. But is it going to be worth the effort? Not unless Radisson Rewards decides to become more generous with its earn/burn ratio and elite status benefits.
More details are coming in June. Until then, you can read the limited information provided by Radisson (click here).
