Newsletter Wednesday, October 30

Choice Hotels International, Inc. completed its acquisition of the Radisson Hotels America in December 2023. Check out Bankrate’s guide to the Choice Privileges loyalty program for updated information.

The Radisson Hotel Group Americas may not be as popular as some other hotel groups, but it includes major brands like Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza and Country Inn & Suites by Radisson. This means you can book a Radisson Hotels Americas stay in a luxury property or in a family-friendly motel, as well as plenty of properties that fall in between. Plus, Radisson Hotels Americas also offers its own loyalty program, Radisson Rewards Americas, which allows you to earn and redeem points at hotels throughout the Americas.

Below, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the program — including Radisson Rewards Americas vs. Radisson Rewards — along with how to earn, redeem and transfer points, reach elite status and more.

Radisson Rewards Americas basics

Radisson Rewards Americas lets you earn points on hotel stays, with partner bookings and more, which you can then redeem for perks like free nights or airline miles. Award nights on standard rooms start at just 15,000 points, and elite status can be achieved with as little as nine eligible nights or six eligible stays. Of course, the benefits you’ll receive as a Radisson Rewards Americas member continue to increase as you climb the elite status tiers through hotel stays and earning points.

Radisson Rewards Americas vs. Radisson Rewards

In June 2021, Radisson Rewards split into two loyalty programs: Radisson Rewards and Radisson Rewards Americas. This is because Radisson Hotels and Radisson Hotels Americas operate as two separate businesses. The program for Radisson Hotels, called Radisson Rewards, operates in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, while the program for Radisson Hotels Americas, called Radisson Rewards Americas, operates in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.

If you were a member of Radisson Rewards before the split was announced, you will still be a Radisson Rewards member, regardless of your country of residence. However, if you want to earn and redeem points in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America, you will need to create an account with the Radisson Rewards Americas program.

Once you join the Radisson Rewards Americas program, you’ll be able to earn and redeem points at more than 600 hotels in the Americas. And if you then become (or remain) a Radisson Rewards member, you can earn points at over 550 hotels when traveling abroad and transfer them to Radisson Rewards Americas through its Global Points Transfer feature.

How to sign up for Radisson Rewards Americas

Signing up for Radisson Rewards Americas is free and easy. Simply head to the Radisson Rewards Americas website and click “Join” in the top-right corner. Then, enter your personal information such as your name, country of residence, preferred language and email address. You’ll also be asked to set up a password for your account, which you can do directly on this page. From there, you’ll become a member of the program and you’ll receive your member number via email.

Who is Radisson Rewards Americas best for?

The Radisson Rewards Americas program is best for anyone who lives in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean or Latin America, or anyone who plans to travel to these areas and wants to earn points at Radisson Hotels Americas properties. Radisson Rewards Americas is also best for those who travel frequently and prefer to stay at a Radisson Hotels property when they travel.

How to earn Radisson Rewards Americas points

You can earn Radisson Rewards Americas points in a variety of ways, including:

Hotel stays

As a Radisson Rewards Americas member, you can earn up to 35X points on hotel stays. But how fast you’ll rack up points on hotel stays depends on your elite status. For every dollar spent, regular rewards members will earn 20X points, Silver elite members will earn 22X points, Gold members will earn 25X points and Platinum members will earn 35X points.

Car rentals

You can also earn Radisson Rewards Americas points through car rental partners. For Budget, Sixt and Avis you’ll earn 750 Radisson Rewards Americas points per rental, and for Europcar, you’ll earn 1,800 points per qualifying rental.

Partner merchants

Currently, Radisson Rewards Americas has two partner merchants that you can earn Radisson Rewards Americas points with: FTD and Vinesse Wine Club. With FTD, you can earn 2,500 points per eligible purchase, and with Vinesse Wine Club, you can earn 3,000 points on your first shipment, 7,000 points on your second shipment and 5X points per dollar on every shipment after that.

Meetings and events

If you join Radisson Rewards for Business Americas, you can earn 5X points per dollar when you book meetings or events at Radisson Hotels Americas properties. Plus, travel agents can earn 10X points per dollar on booking hotel rooms.

How to redeem Radisson Rewards Americas points

There are quite a few ways to redeem points earned in the Radisson Rewards Americas program, including:

Hotel stays

By far, the best way to use your points is for free hotel stays with Radisson Hotels Americas properties. When you are ready to cash in your points, you can redeem for free hotel nights using the redemption values below. Also, be aware that you can redeem for hotel stays with a combination of points and cash, but note that the amount of points and cash needed may vary depending on the hotel, room and other factors.

Points needed for an Award Night

(Standard room)

15,000 30,000 45,000 60,000 75,000
Points needed for an Award Night

(RewardSaver room)

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000
Points needed for an Award Night

(Premium room)

22,500 45,000 67,500 90,000 112,500
Points + Cash needed for an Award Night 5,000 + cash 10,000 + cash 15,000 + cash 20,000 + cash 25,000 + cash

Hotel services and experiences

Besides redeeming points for hotel stays, you can also redeem points for Express Awards, which include hotel services and experiences. For example, you can redeem points for spa services, food and beverages, room upgrades, parking fees, laundry services and more.

Airline miles

You can transfer your Radisson Rewards Americas points to airline miles, though we wouldn’t recommend this option. With transfer partners like British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and others, you’ll generally only get 200 miles for every 2,000 points you trade in. That makes the points-to-miles transfer ratio 10:1.

Gift cards or prepaid cards

You can also redeem Radisson Rewards Americas points for retail, travel and restaurant gift cards or for a prepaid Visa or Mastercard. Note that gift cards can take two to four weeks to arrive and prepaid cards may take up to five days to be mailed after an order is placed.

TSA PreCheck membership

If you’re interested in a TSA PreCheck membership, you can use your points to get a discounted membership. As a Radisson Rewards Americas member, you can redeem 65,000 points (worth $65) to cover the application fee for TSA PreCheck. A TSA PreCheck membership normally costs $85.

Charitable donations

Another option is to donate your points to charities like American Red Cross and First Climate. For American Red Cross, you must donate points in increments of 1,000 points and donate at least 3,000 points. For First Climate, you must donate your points in increments of 4,000 points.

Points transfers to Radisson Rewards

If you’re looking to redeem your Radisson Rewards Americas points for hotel stays in Europe, the Middle East, Africa or Asia Pacific, you’ll need to transfer your Radisson Rewards Americas points to Radisson Rewards points via Global Points Transfer. It’s free to transfer points between these programs and points will transfer at a rate of 1:1. Note that, to transfer points, your name and email must be the same for both programs.

Radisson Rewards Americas elite status

The Radisson Rewards Americas program has several elite membership tiers that allow members to earn more points and benefits. The following chart shows the requirements for each status tier, how many points you’ll earn on paid hotel stays and the perks you’ll receive.

How to earn it Basic membership 9 nights or 6 stays 30 nights or 20 stays 60 nights or 30 stays
Points earned per dollar on eligible hotel stays and purchases 20X points 22X points 25X points 35X points
Food and beverage discount 5% 10% 15% 20%
Redeem points for free nights
Redeem points with partners
Use Points + Cash
Earn points for meetings and events
Complimentary water
All eligible nights count toward elite status
Rollover nights
Complimentary room upgrades
Early check-in and late checkout
In-room welcome gift
Guaranteed room availability 72 hours 48 hours
Complimentary breakfast
Elite 24/7 customer service line access

How much are Radisson Rewards Americas points worth?

According to Bankrate’s latest valuations, Radisson Rewards Americas / Radisson Rewards points are worth approximately 0.4 cents each. Radisson Rewards Americas points may not be as valuable as points earned in other hotel programs, but at least they are easy to earn and redeem.

How does Radisson Rewards Americas compare to other programs?

When deciding which hotel loyalty program(s) to sign up for, it’s crucial to keep points values in mind. The following chart shows how much points are worth (on average) with each of the major hotel loyalty programs available today:

Radisson Rewards Americas / Radisson Rewards 0.4 cents
Best Western Rewards 0.6 cents
Hilton Honors 0.6 cents
IHG One Rewards 0.7 cents
Marriott Bonvoy 0.7 cents
World of Hyatt 2.3 cents
Wyndham Rewards 0.9 cents

Radisson Rewards Americas transfer partners

You can transfer Radisson Rewards Americas points to most airline partners at a rate of 10:1 (unless otherwise noted below). So, 2,000 Radisson Rewards Americas points will equal 200 airline miles or points. However, note that redemption options are subject to change.

Airline partners

  • Aeroméxico
  • Air Canada
  • Air France / KLM
  • Asiana Airlines
  • Avianca
  • British Airways
  • Delta Air Lines
  • Ethiopian Airways
  • Etihad Airways
  • Frontier Airlines
  • Gulf Air
  • Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
  • InterMiles
  • Kuwait Airways
  • LATAM
  • Malaysia Airlines
  • Philippine Airlines
  • Qantas Airways
  • SAS Airlines (7:1)
  • Saudi Arabian Airlines
  • Singapore Airlines
  • South African Airways
  • Southwest Airlines
  • Turkish Airways
  • United Airlines

Can you earn Radisson Rewards Americas points with a credit card?

Previously, the Radisson Rewards Americas / Radisson Rewards program offered two consumer credit cards, both of which were issued by U.S. Bank: Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature Card and Radisson Rewards Visa Card. However, earlier this year, both cards were discontinued.

As an alternative, you may want to check out other hotel loyalty programs and some of the best hotel credit cards to see if another program or card could be a good fit. Or, you may want to consider one of the general top travel credit cards that would allow you to redeem rewards with a variety of hotel and airline loyalty programs.

FAQs about Radisson Rewards Americas

    • Yes, your points can expire if your Radisson Rewards Americas account is inactive for 24 months.
    • Yes, you can gift points to other Radisson Rewards Americas members. Gifted points must be purchased in increments of 1,000 points, and you can gift a maximum of 80,000 points in a calendar year.
    • Yes, you can buy points. The same terms for gifting points apply: Points must be purchased in increments of 1,000 points, and you can purchase a maximum of 80,000 points in a calendar year.

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