wandering amphibia

Ever since I discovered the Carlson-Rezidor brand of hotels (Radisson, Country Inns and Suites, Park Inn and Country Plaza) following their stay 1-get 1 point promo earlier this year, I’ve been following them closely. My Amex Platinum gives me free Carlson Gold Elite status, so every one of my Radisson stays has seen me upgraded. They are also spectacularly generous with points: a stay can easily net 10-15K points, and free nights start at 9K (although the nicer hotels go up to 50K).

Anyway, so having netted 150K points from the last promo (which got me 2 nights at the Plaza on the River in London next June for my round-the-world trip, normally £300ish per night), I was on the lookout for new promos. And lo and behold … “stay 1 get 1” comes back at Radisson, but with a twist: stay 1 night at any Radisson, get a free night in any North American Radisson. I was fortunately just about to fly to Seattle… so I stayed in the airport Radisson (nothing special – but got an upgrade to a room with an Aeron chair), but what’s better is I immediately received a free night – and went and booked the Radisson Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco on the way back from our RTW next summer – now that was well-timed!!! It’s a reasonably expensive hotel (and city), so a free night is right up my alley.