Club Carlson for business one more thing

15

I don’t really want to keep writing about Club Carlson for business, but I can’t seem to avoid it.  I opened this can of worms in my post “When 138000 points is not enough” where I showed how to maximize the latest Club Carlson promotions through a variety of techniques including setting up a business account.  Since then I learned that getting extra points for a business account is not as straightforward as it seems.  I had hoped I had written my last post on the subject when I wrote “Club Carlson for Business final word (I hope).”  In the comments of that post, though, reader Asen commented “If you are club carlson gold or higher, you will not get the 2000 point online booking bonus using this method.”  Uh oh…

I checked with Club Carlson and they confirmed Asen’s assertion.  Normally, when you book a Club Carlson stay, you get bonus points for booking online.  Regular members earn 1000 points, Silver and Gold members earn 2000 points, and Concierge members earn 3000 points.  This is a great perk, especially for one night stays.  For example, suppose you book a $100 stay: 1000 bonus points is equivalent to 10 extra points per dollar.  Silver and Gold members get the equivalent of 20 extra points per dollar.  For cheaper stays, the points per dollar equivalent is even higher.

In the post “Club Carlson for Business final word (I hope)” I showed how to earn extra points for your business account by logging in through your business account to make reservations.  When you do this, though, you won’t earn the bonus points for booking online.  Unless you book an expensive stay, the extra points earned for your business (10 points per dollar) will not make up for the loss of the bonus points.

To try to simplify things, here are a set of rules that should help:

Initial research

  • Always start by going through TopCashBack to Radisson for an additional 10% rebate for your stay.
  • Log in with your personal Club Carlson account.
  • Check prices with and without your business ID in the “Corporate Account ID” box.

If the corporate rate is the best rate:

  • Book the room from your personal account after making sure that your business ID is in the Corporate Account ID box.  This will automatically give you 5% off of the standard room rate.

If a promotional rate is the best rate:

If you find a promotional rate (e.g. AAA rate, B&B package, etc.) that is better than the corporate rate, then you need to make a decision based on your elite status level:

  • No status: If you have no status with Club Carlson, then book the room from your personal account unless the entire stay will cost more than $100.  If the stay will be more than $100, then book the stay with your business account.
  • Silver or Gold status: If you have Silver or Gold status with Club Carlson, then book the room from your personal account unless the entire stay will cost more than $200. If the stay will be more than $200, then book the stay with your business account.
  • Concierge status: If you have Concierge status with Club Carlson, then book the room from your personal account unless the entire stay will cost more than $300. If the stay will be more than $300, then book the stay with your business account.

In general, if you plan to limit yourself to one night stands stays throughout these promotions, then it is almost always better to book from your personal account even though that may mean losing out on business points.

After booking

Search the web (Kayak, etc.) for better rates for the same hotel and night.  If you find a better rate, submit a claim with Club Carlson’s best rate guarantee.  If you’re lucky, you’ll get 25% off that better rate! (Hat tip to Mommy Points)

Related Posts and Links

 

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