85,000 Club Carlson Points With the Club Carlson Card
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Update: One or more card offers in this post are no longer available. Check our Hot Deals for the latest offers.You can get 85,000 Club Carlson points from the Club Carlson Premier Rewards card after spending $2,500 within the 1st 90 days.
The best perk of the Club Carlson Premier Rewards card is the free night when redeeming 2 or more award nights.
Club Carlson
Club Carlson is the loyalty program for Club Carlson hotels.
There are Club Carlson brand hotels in the US and over 100 countries. Club Carlson hotels include Country Inns and Suites, Radisson, Radisson Blu, Park Inn by Radisson, and Park Plaza.
Although there aren’t as many Club Carlson hotels in the US, they have lots hotels in Europe, especially in the United Kingdom. Award nights start at 9,000 Club Carlson points and there are no blackout dates.
You can transfer Club Carlson points to airlines at a 10:1 ratio (sign in required), but it’s expensive and not a good deal.
I recently got the Club Carlson card and we are looking forward to trying out the free bonus night, which I’ll explain below.
Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature Card
Link: Club Carlson Premier Rewards Card
You get 50,000 Club Carlson points after your 1st purchase. And you get another 35,000 Club Carlson points after completing the minimum spending of $2,500 within the 1st 90 days on the Club Carlson Premier Rewards card.
With the Club Carlson Premier Rewards card, you get:
- 10X Club Carlson points per $1 spent at Club Carlson hotels
- 5X Club Carlson points per $1 spent on everything else
- 40,000 Club Carlson point annual bonus when you renew your card
- Free Club Carlson Gold elite status
- 1 free night when you book 2 or more consecutive award nights
The $75 annual fee is NOT waived.
“Yearly” 40,000 Club Carlson Points Bonus
It’s worth paying the annual fee because you get 40,000 Club Carlson points every card year renewal. When combined with the free award night, it’s like getting 80,000 Club Carlson points for $75!
Club Carlson normally sells points for 0.7 cents per point (sign in required). You would pay $280 to buy 40,000 Club Carlson points. So you’re saving $205 ($280 cost to buy 40,000 Club Carlson points – $75 annual fee with 40,000 Club Carlson point annual bonus)!
Bonus Club Carlson points post within 2 months of your card renewal.
Gold Status
As a Club Carlson member you get:
- Free internet
- 20 Club Carlson points per $1 you spend on hotel stays
- 20 Club Carlson points per $1 you spend on food and beverages charged to your room
- 5% to 15% discount (depending on elite status) on food and beverages at participating Club Carlson hotels
You get free Club Carlson Gold elite status as long as you have the Club Carlson card.
As a Club Carlson Gold elite member, you get all the benefits of regular membership plus:
- Free room upgrade
- Early check-in and late check-out
- 35% Club Carlson points bonus on paid hotel stays
- Welcome gift
- Your unused qualifying nights rollover to the following year (meaning the nights you stayed this year can count towards elite status next year)
- 72 hour room guarantee (meaning you’re guaranteed a room when you book within 72 hours of arrival)
Foreign Transaction fees
You should NOT use the Club Carlson card outside the US because you’ll pay a 3% foreign transaction fee.
Instead you should use a no foreign transaction fee card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Points Earned for Spending
Club Carlson is generous in the amount of points given on paid hotel stays.
You earn:
- 20 Club Carlson points per $1 you spend on hotel stays
- 20 Club Carlson points per $1 you spend on food and beverages charged to your room
Emily and I sometimes eat in the hotel, but we also order delivery. Because we can earn 20 Club Carlson points for every $1 we spend, we’re more likely to eat at the hotel.
Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature Card
Link: Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature Card
As mentioned above, some folks might get the Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature card which gives you less of a sign-up bonus and less perks. But there’s no way to be certain of which card you’ll get until you apply. I really don’t like it when banks do this!
With the Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature card you also get:
- 6X Club Carlson points per $1 spent at Club Carlson hotels
- 3X Club Carlson points per $1 spent on everything else
- 25,000 Club Carlson point annual bonus when you renew your card
- Free Club Carlson Silver elite status
- 1 free night when you book 2 or more consecutive award nights
The $50 annual fee is NOT waived.
Where You Can Stay With 85,000 Club Carlson Points
Link: Club Carlson Award Chart
Here are a couple of examples of where you can stay.
United States
With 84,000 Club Carlson points, you could stay 3 nights at the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Green Bay East, Wisconsin.
Or you could pay ~$378 to stay 3 nights on December 12, 2014, to December 15, 2014.
England
You could stay 1 night at The May Fair Hotel in London for 70,000 Club Carlson points.
You’d pay ~$450 for 1 night at The May Fair on December 15, 2014.
Paris
70,000 Club Carlson points gets you 1 night at Radisson Blu Hotel Champs Elysees, Paris.
Or you could pay ~$268 for 1 night on December 13, 2014.
But you could get a free night when you book 2 award nights if you have the Club Carlson Premier Rewards Card!
How Can You Use the Free Night?
You can only use the free night on award stays, NOT paid stays.
This perk makes the Club Carlson Premier Rewards Card worth keeping because your Club Carlson points can be worth up to 50% more (if you book your stays 2 nights at a time)!
However, you have to book 2 or more consecutive nights.
You can only get 1 free night per award stay. So if you book 2 award nights, you get 1 free night. And if you book 4 award nights, you still only get 1 free night.
How to Get 2 Free Award Nights on “1 Stay”
If you and your partner both have the Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature card, you could get 2 free nights on 1 stay. You would book the 1st 2 nights in your name using your Club Carlson points. Which gives you the 3rd night free because of the free award night with your Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature card.
The next 2 nights are booked using your partner’s Club Carlson points. And if your partner also has the Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature card, you get the 6th night free.
Bottom Line
You can get 85,000 Club Carlson points from the Club Carlson Premier Rewards card after you spend $2,500 within the 1st 90 days.
The best perk of the Club Carlson Premier Rewards card, and the lesser Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature card, is the free award night when you book 2 or more consecutive award nights.
I recently got a Club Carlson Premier Rewards card because we’ll be traveling to Scandinavia next year.
Where have you used your free night award?
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