Club Carlson is billing it’s current promotion as Stay 3 Nights, Get 1 Free. Really, what you’re getting is 38,000 bonus points after completing three nights. You must register for this promotion and complete your stays by April 13, 2014 to qualify. The bonus can be earned just once.
Source: Tripadvisor.com
The 38,000 point bonus is enough for a free night at a Category 3 or Category 4 hotel, two nights at a Category 2, and four nights at a Category 1 Club Carlson hotel. So while the title is somewhat misleading, since you don’t get to redeem your free night just anywhere, it’s also underselling the promotion because you can redeem your points for more than just one night.
To determine whether this is worth a mattress run, we’ll use the Country Inn & Suites Williamsburg East as an example. It’s one of the cheapest hotels in Club Carlson’s portfolio, with nightly rates of $63.33 (taxes included) throughout February.
- 3 nights at $63.33 = $189.99
- Click through TopCashBack for 5% cash back per booking = $9.50 cash back (note: if you use my referral link, I’ll earn a $10 credit)
- Total out of pocket cost: $180.49
Top-rated Category 4 hotels like the Radisson Hotel Maceió go for upwards of $280 per night. So mattress running and redeeming at this property would be a great value. Even hotels like the Radisson Suite Hotel Oceanfront Melbourne, FL and Radisson Blu Gdansk can go for $120-$180 per night, making it a decent redemption.
For lower category properties like the Radisson Blu Resort, El Quseir, where rooms go for $130 per night in the summer and redemptions are just 9,000 points per night, you will be receiving over $500 worth of value on a four night stay for just $180.49 out of pocket.
Clearly, you can get excellent value out this promotion. Assuming you you keep your costs low and put your points to good use. Keep in mind that many hotels will let you check in and out without actually staying at the property. So even if some of the cheapest hotels aren’t in your area, you can still take advantage of the lower rates found in places like Dallas, Virginia Beach, and Orlando.
