What Happens to Redeemed Points when You Cut Your Hotel Stay Short?

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Last week my family had a chance to stay at a Country Inn and Suites in a nearby town. I won’t do a review because if you’ve seen one Country Inn and Suites, you’ve seen them all.

I will only say that in my experience, this hotel brand is perfectly acceptable as long as you come in with reasonable expectations. Mainly, to get a decent bed and a slightly-above-mediocre breakfast. Some properties are better than others, so I always recommend checking Tripadvisor before booking.

How did we end up in this particular hotel? My husband had a work project in that city and was originally planning to stay four nights. So, we’ve decided that me and the kids would join him for three of those nights. However, there was one wrinkle. The work would only pay for a regular room, and we really need a suite in order to have some peace when staying with kids.

Since I had a small stash of Radisson points, I figured I would put it to good use. One of the few strengths of this program is the ability to make a cash+points reservation towards a suite. So, the work would pay the cash portion and I would cover the upgrade. I thought that was fair, and my husband agreed. So, the rate ended up being $153+10k points per night. It was a pretty good use of points because otherwise, the upgrade would cost us $75. And I happen to value 10k Radisson points at maybe $20.

Also, I called the hotel and asked to be upgraded (for free) to a suite with two queen beds, and my request was granted. It definitely doesn’t hurt to try, and the key is to be polite. It helps to have some sort of status, but it’s not required.

Change of plans

On the day me and the kids were supposed to drive to the hotel, I got a call from my husband. Turns out, his project was completed ahead of schedule, and his boss asked him if he could get a refund for the last two hotel nights. To be sure, the stay would still be reimbursed if the answer was No. Naturally, I was tasked with making that inquiry.

Fortunately, the hotel manager agreed to give us a refund. Once again, it never hurts to ask. I was quite pleased with the outcome, though it was a bit of a nuisance to drive to the hotel for only one night. Nevertheless, we made the most of it.

My son and I enjoyed the hot tub and we all liked fresh waffles in the morning. We also got a chance to watch Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie the next day, which I recommend. Actually, my husband laughed harder than the kids at some jokes.

Normally, I’m not a fan of packing junk for just one night (unless it’s a beach location), but it was a nice change of scenery.

Where are my points? 

I assumed that when our remaining  two nights were cancelled, my 20k points would automatically go back to the Radisson account. Nope. After few days have passed, they were nowhere to be seen. So, I’ve called Radisson and the rep opened a case  and assured me that they would be re-deposited… eventually. Honestly, it’s not a huge thing even if I lose them, though I do plan to follow up one more time. It would be different if it was Hyatt or Hilton currency.

We did have a nice time, regardless. But the moral of the story is that hotel points give you flexibility that you can not get by booking AirBnB. My husband’s boss was grateful that we were able to save company money by cutting the stay short. And my kids were happy to eat some delicious waffles they normally don’t get at home.

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