[UPDATE: The 50,000 point bonuses are now expired.  You can still get in on this deal for 15,000 points in each of the programs.  For those who got in under the wire, congratulations!  You've learned the importance of taking action!]

First off, Jo and I would like to greet all the amazing moms out there an Awesomely Happy Mother’s Day!  We’re a day ahead here in Bangkok, so today is the day!

Last post, we wrote about adventure and how it can help you find out who you really are.  On that note we wanted to pass along an incredible deal we found that could help you go on your own mini-adventure somewhere.

The Club Carlson Hotel Group(which includes The Radisson, Country Inns & Suites, and The Park Inn), is pulling out all the stops this summer to promote membership in their frequent traveler program called Club Carlson.

The deal is, each of the chains is giving away up to 50,000 points for staying at least one night in their property from May 15, 2012 to July 15, 2012.

Radisson is awarding 50,000 points. Country Inns and Park Inns are each awarding 44,000 points.  That’s a total of 138,000 points you could potentially earn with this deal!

Why We’re So Excited

So now you’re asking, “What does 138,000 points mean in practical terms?”

Well, Carlson hotels categorizes their properties from 1 to 6 depending on location and amenities level.  Category 1 hotels start at 9,000 points per night, and the high-end Category 6 hotels go for up to 50,000 points per night.

This deal is essentially about booking a single night in each participating chain in exchange for a huge bonus in reward points. The points can then be used in the future to stay for a night at a higher-end property or multiple nights at a standard level property.

 

If you have the cash available today (a single night stay at a Radisson is about $200/night, Country Inns about $150/night), it could pay off later on in a future adventure for you. Those figures are for California.  You can find them for half that elsewhere in the U.S., such as in the Midwest.

Take advantage of the bonus, and you could be going on quite an adventure!

Consider this: It’s only 9,000 points per night to stay at the Radisson Orlando – International Drive at Disney World!

Or, you could splurge a full 50,000 points for a special day like your birthday, anniversary, or *ahem* Mother’s day and put up for one night at a higher-end property such as the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago.

For more detail on point exchange values and where various properties are located, you can review the Hotel Category and Redemption list.

Otherwise, let’s move on to the details of getting in on the deal…

STEP ONE – PAY IT FORWARD. SHARE THIS AWESOME NEWS.

Wealth of knowledge has greater value when shared.  We want to help as many people be able to go on an adventure as we can. To do that, we need YOUR help to get the word out. Facebook it, Tweet it, Google+ it, Email it.  Whatever floats your boat.

Wow, look at that…we made it totally easy for you to share this!

STEP TWO – CREATE A FREE CLUB CARLSON ACCOUNT TODAY

Join Club Carlson today. It’s free to create the account, and there is a separate promotion going on right now(code NSB2K12) where just for creating an account you will get 2,000 points added to the account after your first stay.

Bonus: Do you have a spouse? Why not create TWO accounts and double dip into this deal?  After all, sharing is caring.

CLICK HERE to be taken directly to the page.

 

What is Club Carlson? It’s like a frequent flyer account, but it’s for hotels within the Carlson network (Radisson, Country Inn & Suites, Park Inn/Plaza)

STEP THREE – STAY UP ON MONDAY NIGHT TO REGISTER YOUR CLUB CARLSON ACCOUNT FOR THE PROMOTION

There are three separate bonuses you should register for so that you have a chance to earn the maximum points in your Club Carlson account.

Have your Club Carlson account number(which you have already created in STEP ONE, right?) ready on Monday night. When the alarm goes off, use the links below to register your Club Carlson account for the promotion.

On Tuesday, May 15, 12:01AM CENTRAL TIME, when the servers will officially open for business at the links below.

Note, this is Monday night in the earlier timezones. Check your timezone accordingly and set your alarm if necessary.

You’ve got to act fast when the time comes, because the bonus points offered are for a limited number of account-holders. First come, first served.

 

1) Radisson Hotel’s Big Night Giveaway. Register your Club Carlson Account number to receive 50,000 points upon staying one night at a Radisson property.   CLICK HERE  The first 100,000 members who register at 12:01 AM CDT on May 15th will earn 50,000 bonus points after staying at least one night at any worldwide Radisson or Radisson Blu hotel from May 15 – July 15, 2012. * After the first 100,000 spots are taken members will be provided the opportunity to earn 15,000 points instead.

2) Country Inn & Suites Stay 1 Get 1. Register your Club Carlson Account number to receive 40,000 points upon staying one night at a Country Inn property.  CLICK HERE  The first 35,000 members who register at 12:01 AM CDT on May 15th will earn 44,000 bonus points after staying at least one night at any worldwide Country Inns & Suites property from May 15 – July 15, 2012. * After the first 35,000 spots are taken members will be provided the opportunity to earn 15,000 points instead.

NOTE: The third promotion starts on May 22nd, but we’re noting it here to keep everything in one place.  Mark your calendar for this one.

3) Park Inn 1 + 1. Register your Club Carlson Account number to receive 40,000 points upon staying one night at a Park Inn property.  CLICK HERE  The first 20,000 members who register at 12:01 AM CDT on May 22nd will earn 44,000 bonus points after staying at least one night at any worldwide Park Inn property from May 22 – July 22, 2012. * After the first 20,000 spots are taken members will be provided the opportunity to earn 15,000 points instead.

 

STEP FOUR – BOOK ONE HOTEL NIGHT FOR EACH PROMOTION

Book yourself for one hotel night for each of the three promotions(Book a Radisson night, a Country Inns night, and a Park Inns night) by going to the website for each of the chains. Enter your Club Carlson account number when you make the reservations.

Don’t forget. If you have a spouse account book a second night using their Club Carlson account number. Yes, this is twice the cost…but also twice the reward!

 

You can book  any night from 15May2012 through 15July2012. The bonus points for your stay will land in your account about 6-8 weeks after checkout from the hotel(s).

Here are the links to the booking pages for each hotel chain participating in the promotion.

Radisson Hotels

Country Inn & Suites

Park Inn Hotels

 

The information we have on this deal was gleaned from the various sources online.  We’re passing along what we know as of right now. The complete terms and conditions will be announced when the promotion pages launch on May 15th.

For now, the best thing to do is to act now and register for the deal so you don’t miss out on your chance to grab those points!

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

How is this a deal if I’ve got to spend money I wasn’t going to spend in the first place?

You’ve got to be the judge of that. It’s choose your own adventure.  Is it worth it to spend $200 today to get more value tomorrow?  Only if you have the funds, and only if you intend to use the points you earned somewhere in the near future.

The nearest property to me is over 150 miles away.  Do I have to be present to get this deal?

The official rules say that the guest earning the account bonus must checkin and checkout to receive the bonus.

I’ve stayed at Radissons before.  They’re not as great as Starwood, Marriott, or Hyatt.  Should I still go for it?

Radisson’s properties tend to be of higher caliber internationally.  Examples are The Mayfair in London, and The Radisson Blu Ambassador in Paris.  Each of them go for $600+ per night this summer…or 50,000 points per night. So you could spend $200 today to potentially get into a $600 property later on.

Radisson’s first and only Blu property in the U.S. is in Chicago and runs about $300 per night. Radisson Lexington in New York is $600 per night. If luxury is important to you, you’ve got to weigh that in your decision.

If you’re like us, a free night is a free night.  50,000 points will get you five nights at The Radisson Orlando! Do what you think gives you the best value for your needs.

What are you two doing to get the best deal with this promotion?

Jo and I will be attending the annual World Domination Summit again this summer in Portland, Oregon.  So we’re gonna book ourselves into two nights at the Radisson in Portland(checkin once under Marvin’s account, then checkin on the second night under Jo’s account).  Then we’ll repeat the process at the Country Inn in Portland for another two nights.

So essentially we hope to earn 94,000 points each after our stay in Portland.  A total of 188,000 points.  How those points will be spent is yet to be determined…but anything’s possible with us.

We’re still trying to figure out how to swing the Park Inn promotion, as there are very few of their properties in the U.S. Fresno, California has one though…possible road trip for those so inclined.

I love this deal!  Will you be sending more out in the future?

Excellent question.  Being that we are full-time travelers, we’re always sniffing out some of the best deals we can find for travel, and we intend to share the truly awesome ones here with our valuable readers.

If you haven’t already, join our email list so you don’t miss a thing!

Any other questions? Let us know in the comments!