Radisson cardholders recently received a letter informing them that the Radisson Rewards Premier Card will automatically be converted into the US Bank Altitude Go as of May 2022. This was a surprising announcement and there wasn’t a reason given as to why the card is being discontinued. There was also no word as to what’s happening with existing business cards. The Radisson Rewards Business Card is being converted to the US Bank Triple Business Rewards.
The Radisson Rewards Visa is getting buried in May
Key Details
- The Radisson Rewards Visa’s 40,000 Radisson Rewards points anniversary bonus will be discontinued as of April 30, 2022.
- Only spending through April 30th will qualify toward free night certificates.
- The Radisson Rewards Visa annual fee will be credited back on a prorated basis (for up to 12 months depending on anniversary date.
- Cardmembers will receive their new US Bank Altitude Go Visa in June.
- Radisson Rewards expire after 24 months of inactivity, so without the credit card it will be important to keep an eye out to make sure that current rewards don’t expire 24 months after the last card earnings.
Quick Thoughts
This announcement took most of us by surprise. There wasn’t any hint that US Bank would be discontinuing the cards and it’s unknown who initiated the change and also if/when Radisson will partner with another issuer. Radisson does have a much better reputation in Europe, so it could be that US Bank was an awkward fit.
It’s a shame to lose the card though, as the annual fee was more than covered by the anniversary bonus, and many folks found the ability to generate free night awards with 5x rewards everywhere to be very useful.
The US Bank Altitude Go is a no annual fee card that earns:
- 4x points on dining
- 2x points on grocery stores, gas stations, and streaming services
- 1x points on everywhere spending.
The Altitude Go doesn’t have an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee, but the points are only worth 1 cent each, effectively making it a decent cashback card for dining. It’s a strange conversion from the Radisson card (albeit US Bank isn’t exactly flush with options).
A more interesting option is that the conversion could be a backdoor way of getting approved for the US Bank Altitude Reserve. For many, the Altitude Reserve is a very worthwhile card. The points are worth 1.5 cents each and the card earns 3x on mobile wallet payments, effectively making this a 4.5% cashback card when using that payment method. While the card does have an annual fee of $400, it offers $325 in travel/dining credits per membership year, taking a big chunk out of the total fee.
The problem is that US Bank can be very difficult to get approvals with, especially for multiple cards. The only card that is eligible for product change to/from the Altitude Reserve is the Altitude Go, so my assumption would be that these converted cards will be eligible as well. Normally, the card needs to be open for 12 months before a product change, so it’s unknown if that calendar will restart upon product change or if the history the Radisson Visa will carry over. Either way, this could be a very good option for folks standing on the outside looking in at the Altitude Reserve and a silver lining to the demise of the Radisson Visa.
R.I.P. Radisson Premier, we’ll miss you.
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