Radisson Creates a Separate Website and Loyalty Program for Americas – Possible Downgrade?

An announcement came out this morning and here are the key things to note:

1. Starting this month radissonhotelsamericas.com will be used for booking stays in United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
2. RadissonHotels.com is now for hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.
3. In June Radisson Rewards Americas will be launched – a loyalty program dedicated to members who book travel in the Americas.
4. Members who book outside the Americas will be rewarded by Radisson Rewards.
5. In June, your membership, benefits and point balance will automatically transition to the Radisson Rewards Americas program. However, you will need to take additional steps to earn and redeem for hotel stays in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.

Here is the the full announcement:

Closing Thoughts

Most of the best valued (in terms of points) Radisson hotels are in Europe. So, to me this is setting up to be a huge downgrade. Who knows if they will make American rewards transfer 1:1 for booking in Europe. If for whatever reason you are travelling to Europe now, it might be worth burning through your rewards.