NOW LIVE: Get free TOP-TIER Radisson VIP status for 2025 from your airline or hotel status

If you have any level of airline elite status, or mid tier or higher status with any major hotel group, you can now claim a full year of top-tier Radisson Rewards VIP hotel status.

The match is totally free and, as I found in Sheffield recently, the new Radisson Rewards VIP tier does seem to deliver.

You get your VIP status via Club Avolta, the loyalty programme for the World Duty Free retail group.

This is a two stage process:

• you need to get a free status match to Platinum in Club Avolta using your existing airline or hotel status (instructions here)

• you match your Platinum status in Club Avolta to VIP status in Radisson Rewards (this only went live yesterday, instructions below)

How do you get Platinum status in Club Avolta?

I don’t intend to repeat what I wrote in this article here last week.

All you need to know is that if you have any level of airline elite status (BA Bronze or Virgin Atlantic Silver are good enough) or mid-tier hotel status (Gold with Accor, Gold with Hilton, Explorist with Hyatt, Gold with IHG, Gold with Marriott etc), you qualify.

How do you get Radisson Rewards VIP status?

The details are now in the Club Avolta app. It is bizarrely hidden:

• look under the ‘Rewards’ tab and scroll down – you may see a Radisson tile

• if you don’t, click on your home airport at the top of the screen and change it to ‘Shopping’ (yes, I know, it’s weird). Go back to the ‘Rewards’ tab and scroll down – the Radisson tile will now be there

However, you don’t need to see the tile to apply.

This is what you need to do:

• ensure you are already signed up for Radisson Rewards (you can sign up here – this link gets you 5,000 bonus points after your first stay, ensure that your Club Avolta and Radisson Rewards email addresses match)

• go to the ‘Wallet’ tab in the Club Avolta app and take a screenshot showing your name and Platinum status

• email the screenshot and your Radisson Rewards number to loyaltypartnerupgrade [at] radissonhotels.com

Your Radisson Rewards status will be upgraded to VIP. It isn’t fully clear when it expires – the email you receive says 31st December 2025 whilst your online card shows October 2025. (EDIT: comments below suggest that existing members may only get their current year extended which could be shorter.)

What does Radisson Rewards VIP status get you?

Quite a bit. Details are on the Radisson website here.

You get:

• free breakfast for two people

• an upgrade to the best available room in the hotel at the time of check-in (suites excluded, although hotels can obviously choose to give suites if they wish)

• 15% off food and drink purchased in the hotel

• access to ‘Discount Booster’ which lets you get an additional cash saving of 10% or so off the lowest rate in return for earning a lower rate of points (this does genuinely beat any other rate you will find)

There are also early check-in and late check-out benefits but these are not guaranteed.

At Radisson Collection, art’otel and Holmes Hotel properties you can also get one free piece of ironing done!

To renew your VIP status you will need to do 20 stays or 30 nights during 2025.

Conclusion

This is an excellent opportunity to get top-tier hotel status from bottom-tier airline status or mid-tier hotel status elsewhere.

I know that a lot of HfP readers swore never to visit a Radisson again after their points were devalued by 66% overnight with no notice back in 2022. I don’t blame them, but you would be turning down some good benefits here.

Of course, I suspect that these two events are connected. After alienating all of its elite members back in 2022, it needs to recruit a replacement set of elite members. It’s unfortunate that a lot of HfP readers are going to do very nicely from this match due to another group of HfP readers losing out, some substantially.

Remember that this is a two stage match. You need to first use your airline or hotel status to match to Club Avolta (this should take 24 hours to complete, the instructions are here) and you then submit your status match application to Radisson Rewards.

Remember that if you are not already a Radisson Rewards member, my refer-a-friend link here gets you 5,000 bonus points after your first stay.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

---

How to earn Radisson Rewards points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

Radisson Rewards does not have a dedicated UK credit card. However, you can earn Radisson Rewards points by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

These cards earn Membership Rewards points:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 60,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 150,000 Radisson Rewards points

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 30,000 Radisson Rewards points. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:3 into Radisson Rewards points which is a very attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 3 Radisson Rewards points.

Even better, holders of The Platinum Card receive free Radisson Rewards Premium status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here. You can apply here.

Got a small business?

You can get free top-tier Radisson Rewards VIP status with the new Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card for small business. Clck here to apply.