The Radisson Rewards Visa is an oft-forgotten hotel credit card option that was very lucrative back in the day, but got left in the dust by many a points enthusiast.
The standard offer has been 85,000 points for as long as I can remember. This was increased temporarily to 100,000 points. What I’ve never seen is the 120,000-point offer that is currently available!
Details of the highest ever Radisson Visa offer
The new highest offer on the Radisson Rewards Visa lets you earn up to 120,000 points. Unlike the standard offer which doles out 50,000 points after your first purchase and then 35,000 more after $1,000 in spending, this offer requires you to spend $3,000 in the first 90 days of card membership to receive the 120,000 bonus points. Compared to other card offers, this isn’t bad at all, and in line with many other hotel cards.
I value Radisson points at about 0.35 cents each, placing the value of this bonus at $420. Not amazing, but certainly not bad. I find the best value is in the Category 1 and 2 properties, with some Category 6 and 7 also offering excellent value when their rates are high.
Considering that the card earns 5x points per dollar on all spending, you will actually end up with a total of at least 135,000 points all said and done. This is enough for up to 15 nights at Category 1 Radisson Rewards hotels. But good luck finding many that you wish to stay at in that Category. More realistically, you can use the points for 9 nights at Category 2 properties, or 4 nights at Category 3, or 3 nights at a Category 4 or 5 property. If you’re looking at Category 6 properties commanding 50,000 points per night, this in only good for two nights. With a hair more spend, you could also have the 140,000 points necessary for two nights at a top-tier Category 7 property.
The Radisson Rewards Visa also offers 40,000 points every account anniversary after you pay the annual fee. You also get Gold status with Radisson, mainly useful for 25% extra points, room upgrades, and an in-room welcome gift. I’ve know idea what is offered for those last two, as I haven’t experienced either.
You can also earn a free night certificate after spending $10,000 on the card within your cardmember year. You can actually do this three times, for a total of $30,000 in spend and 3 free nights. Note that these do have some restrictions, including being limited to the United States properties, which is my biggest gripe about them.
The card carries an annual fee of $75. Application link (not an affiliate link).
Is the card worth hanging onto?
Initially, I thought it was. I held onto the personal version of the Radisson Visa through my first year annual fee. However, when it posted the second time, I hadn’t used any points that whole year, so I let it go. Sure, 40,000 points (~$120 value) more than makes up for the fee, but I’d rather have $75 in my pocket.
Recently, I picked up the business version which has the same standard sign-up bonus (increased offer is only available on the personal card), but a lower annual fee of $60. Considering that I now do a decent amount of reselling, I might hang onto this one for the annual bonus, and even try to spend the $10,000 for a free night.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for options beyond Chase, Citi and Amex, this Radisson offer might be worth considering. The card is issued by U.S. Bank, who can sometimes be tough on approvals. I’ve personally not experienced this, but I’ve read others’ reports.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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