Radisson Rewards Premier Card Review: No Longer Available; Holders Moved to Different Card
The Bottom Line
4.9
This card is a good choice for loyal Radisson customers and those who can easily use Radisson points. But the big point totals mask a low per-point value, and the Radisson footprint isn't as big as that of other hotel chains.
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$75
Rewards rate
5x-10x
Bonus offer
None
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 13.99%-22.99%, Variable
Cash Advance APR: 25.99%, Variable
Balance transfer fee
Either 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
2% of each foreign purchase transaction or foreign ATM advance transaction in U.S. Dollars 3% of each foreign purchase transaction or foreign ATM advance transaction in a Foreign Currency
More details from U.S. Bank
- 10 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at over 1,200 hotels worldwide.
- 5 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else.
- Earn up to 3 free nights! Earn one Free Night e-Cert for each $10,000 USD in spend (up to $30,000), then renew your card by paying the Annual Fee.
- 40,000 renewal points each year when you renew your card.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Anniversary perk
New cardholder bonus offer
High rewards rate
Cons
Has annual fee
No free anniversary night
Limited redemptions
Requires good/excellent credit
Detailed Review
» This card has been discontinued
As of April 2022, Radisson credit cards have been discontinued. Current cardholders will be transitioned to a different U.S. Bank card. See our best hotel credit cards page for other options. Below is our review from when this card was still available.
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If you're already a loyal customer of Radisson hotels, the Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature® Card offers solid value. The most compelling feature: Every year you renew your card and pay the $75 annual fee, you get 40,000 points.
That perk alone can offset the annual fee if you redeem those rewards for hotel stays, putting this card on par with the best hotel credit cards on that score. The U.S. Bank-issued card also offers a sign-up bonus, as well as Radisson Gold status.
Radisson properties aren’t available in every state, though, and Radisson point values are low — very low — compared with other hotel loyalty programs. But for loyal Radisson customers and those who can easily redeem Radisson points, this card is a good choice.
There are multiple Radisson credit cards, and if you don't qualify for this one when you apply, you will automatically be considered for the Radisson Rewards™ Platinum Visa® Card, a midtier option with a lower annual fee but also less robust rewards and perks. See the table below for more on how the Radisson cards stack up.
Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature® Card: Basics
Card type: Hotel.
Annual fee: $75.
Sign-up bonus: None
Ongoing rewards:
10 points per $1 spent at participating Radisson Family of Hotels worldwide. (These are in addition to points you earn by being a member of the Radisson loyalty program.)
5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases.
NerdWallet values Radisson points at 0.8 cent each. This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 0.8 cent or more in value from your Radisson points.
APR: The ongoing APR is 13.99%-22.99%, Variable.
Other benefits:
Automatic Gold status with Radisson, which gets you additional perks.Anniversary bonus: 40,000 points every year you renew your card and pay the annual fee.Earn up to three free night certificates each year. You get one free night certificate every time you spend $10,000, up to $30,000, and renew your card by paying the annual fee.
How it compares with other Radisson cards
Of all the credit cards in the Radisson family, the Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature® Card is the top-tier option with the most benefits and highest annual fee. It's also the most valuable card of the bunch.
Applicants who don't qualify for this card will automatically be considered for the middle-tier option, the Radisson Rewards™ Platinum Visa® Card, which has more modest benefits and a lower annual fee. (It’s not possible to apply for this card directly.) The $0-annual-fee Radisson Rewards™ Visa® Card is the most basic option, but doesn't offer much value. Here's how they stack up.
Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature® Card, annual fee of $75. | |
Sign-up bonus: None | Rewards: 10 points per dollar spent at participating Radisson properties; 5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. Anniversary bonus: 40,000 points each year after paying the annual fee. |
Radisson Rewards™ Platinum Visa® Card, annual fee of $50. | |
Sign-up bonus: Up to 60,000 Bonus Points - receive 50,000 points after your first purchase plus 10,000 points once you spend $1,500 on your card within the first 90 days. | Rewards: 6 points per dollar spent at participating Radisson properties; 3 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. Anniversary bonus: 25,000 points each year after paying the annual fee. |
Radisson Rewards™ Visa® Card, annual fee of $0. | |
Sign-up bonus: None | Rewards: 3 points per dollar spent at participating Radisson properties; 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Anniversary bonus: None. |
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
Sign-up bonus
This card's welcome bonus is as follows: None That's a large sum of points.
A caveat, though: Relatively speaking, Radisson points have a low value, based on NerdWallet valuations. And while redemptions toward a room start at 9,000 points per night, they can range up to more than 100,000 points a night.
Big anniversary bonus
Instead of the automatic free night many hotel cards with annual fees offer each year, the Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature® Card hands you 40,000 points every time you renew your card and pay your annual fee. Given NerdWallet's valuation of Radisson points, that could easily make up for that annual fee. And unlike with most automatic free night certificates, these points won't expire in a year. (Radisson points only expire when there's no points activity on your account for a 24-month period.) That gives you the option of saving up bonuses for a future trip, which usually isn't an option for automatic free nights.
Good rewards
With the Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature® Card, you'll earn 10 points per dollar spent at participating Radisson properties, and 5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. Even with a relatively low points value, that's a good ongoing rewards rate.
Because the card also comes with automatic Gold status — more on that later — you'll also get 25 points per dollar spent directly from Radisson on eligible stays and food and beverages charged to your room during eligible stays. (As a member without status, you'd earn 20 points per dollar spent.) All told, that adds up to an outstanding 35 points per dollar spent on qualifying Radisson purchases.
Automatic elite status
This card comes with Gold status, which is the middle-tier elite status in the Radisson program, between Silver and Platinum. That gets you a bundle of goodies, including:
25 points per dollar spent on eligible stays and food and beverages charged to your room during eligible stays. (Base membership in Radisson's rewards program gets you 20 points per dollar, so this status is worth an extra 5 points per dollar.)
15% discount on food and beverages at participating hotel restaurants.
In-room welcome gift during eligible stays.
Room availability guarantee when you book an eligible stay using the Elite Member Services line at least 72 hours before your stay.
Benefits available to Silver status members, such as a complimentary room upgrade subject to availability, early check-in and late checkout, and two complimentary bottles of water for every stay.
Applicants who already have Gold or Platinum status can also earn a one-time credit of 15 nights toward earning or maintaining Platinum status, a nice perk for loyal Radisson customers considering this card.
Drawbacks and Considerations
No automatic free night
In some cases, the 40,000-point anniversary bonus on the Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature® Card won't be enough to cover a full night. And while it's possible to earn free night certificates on this card, you'll have to hit certain spending thresholds to do so.
If you prefer the simplicity of getting an automatic annual free night, consider the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card. It offers an automatic free night each year that can be redeemed for a hotel night that costs up to 35,000 points.
NerdWallet values Marriott points at 0.9 cent each.
That means that the free night award could potentially be more valuable than 40,000 Radisson points. The card also comes with robust ongoing rewards and an excellent sign-up bonus: Our best points offer! Earn 125,000 Bonus Points after spending $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card! The annual fee is $95.
Tied to the Radisson loyalty program
While Radisson has properties around the world — over 1,100 — it's not everywhere. It has hotels in most states in the U.S., for example, but not all. That could make the points more challenging to redeem, in some cases. And if you redeem for things other than hotel stays, such as for gift cards or by transferring points to airline miles, you'll also get far less value out of your points.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers more flexibility. It earns 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases, and rewards can be redeemed for 1 cent apiece as a travel statement credit against several types of travel purchases, including hotels. You can also transfer miles to airline or hotel partners. It comes with a big sign-up bonus, too.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
If you can easily make use of Radisson points, the Radisson Rewards Premier Visa Signature® Card is a strong choice. Its anniversary bonus and ongoing rewards give it big long-term value.
This no-annual-fee card earns 1.5 points per dollar spent on all purchases. Points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed against travel purchases, including hotel stays.
Looking For Something Else?
Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
