I’ve just finished my bookings for the Radisson/Country Inn/Park Inn “Big Night Giveaway” promotion and wanted to share with you how I’m spending $171 taking my kids on a 3 night trip to Amish Country while pocketing almost $2K in free travel.
Lots has been written about the details of the promotion. I suggest this post by Loyalty Traveler on Boarding Area for the specifics. The takeaway is that you earn between 44k and 50k points for single stays at each of the hotel chains before July 15. You have to register and registration is limited, but not so limited that you can’t get in if you try. I’ll remind you when each opens up. Also, don’t forget to get your Club Carlson #s before the promotion starts, Loyalty Traveler also tells you how to get 4,500 bonus points for a free account.
I chose Amish Country because it’s somewhere the kids have never been and because it’s the only location nearby that allows me to stay at all three hotel chains in one trip. I could have just as easily booked a night at the Radisson in Baltimore like I did last time, but with our large vacation in July and Memorial Day weekend booked I decided to bang them all out at once.
I’m booked one night at the Park Inn in Harrisburg, PA, the next night at the Country Inn and Suites in Hershey, and the last at the Radisson in Harrisburg. This trip is during the week, so it’s just me and Deal Kids (unless your family wants to come too!).
Is it a pain moving to three hotels in three nights? A bit, but the Deal Kids are learning to love hotels as much as I do and will not complain as long as there is lots of pool time involved. I chose “points and cash” rates as I still have most of my points from the last bonus, so my math for the three nights came to:
Total spent: $173.28
Total points earned: 148,200
Here are some of my ideas on how to redeem:
Level 1: Radisson Orlando I Drive: $121.38 X 16 nights=$1942.08
Level 2: Park Inn Nottingham (as is Robin Hood), England: $190 X 10 nights=$1900
Level 3: Country Inn and Suites at the Panama Canal (Deal Mommy Tested…this view is CRAZY! You’re right at the edge of the Panama Canal!) 5 nights= $702 (maybe not as high as the others, but like I said, this is literally one of my top 10 views of my life!)
Level 4-6: Radisson Blu Champs Elysses, Paris3 nights =$1065.30
Hmmm…Decisions, Decisions!
Are you sure you can get the bonus using points+cash reservations?
The good news is that they’re cancel-able just in case, but Loyalty Traveler (who I’ve linked to above) verified with a Carlson rep. that they were. Of course, we should all give the T&C a good read-over tomorrow morning.
Are you sure you can get the bonus using points+cash reservations?
The good news is that they’re cancel-able just in case, but Loyalty Traveler (who I’ve linked to above) verified with a Carlson rep. that they were. Of course, we should all give the T&C a good read-over tomorrow morning.
The T&Cs are out, and Points + Cash WILL qualify as you earn points on the cash portion. “A “Qualifying Stay“ is defined as a stay of one or more consecutive nights in the same room at a Participating Hotel regardless of the number of check-ins or check-outs on a rate for which Gold Points® are awarded in accordance with the Club Carlson Program Terms and Conditions .”
The T&Cs are out, and Points + Cash WILL qualify as you earn points on the cash portion. “A “Qualifying Stay“ is defined as a stay of one or more consecutive nights in the same room at a Participating Hotel regardless of the number of check-ins or check-outs on a rate for which Gold Points® are awarded in accordance with the Club Carlson Program Terms and Conditions .”
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