Club Carlson’s latest promotion. Stay 1 night get 2000 points, Stay 2 or more nights get 5000 points

Club Carlson's launched their newest promotion a few days ago. It works pretty similarly to their previous promotion, except with much fewer points being offered. Disappointingly rather than getting up to 10 000 bonus points the maximum is 5 000.

The promotional period runs between 1st August 2013 and finishes 30th September 2013.

During this promotional period, if you stay one night at the participating EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) you will receive 2000 bonus points. Stay two or more nights then you will receive 5000. So if you are staying in the same room as a couple or family, you should make separate back-to-back reservations of maximum two nights if you want to maximise this promotion. Then when you check in on arrival, you should request the same room for the duration of the visit.

The terms and conditions state that you must check out by 30th September…so if you check in before this date and check out after, don't expect to receive any bonus points for the entire stay. Though maybe they'd at least give you the points for the nights before. Here's to hoping!

Rather strangely for a large chain's quarterly promotion there are two separate registration links:

• Here is the sign up link for the 2000 points promotion. and its participating hotels list
• Here is the sign up link for the 5000 points promotion, and its participating hotels list

Importantly, rooms booked using points and cash rates are not eligible for this promotion.

I don't tend to stay in Park Plaza or Park Inn that often, but I do find myself at Radisson Blu somewhat frequently. Though I do appreciate a good room, my heart usually follow my belly and I wasn't let down by their breakfast!

Considering the Club Carlson rather savagely cut their airline transfer ratios a couple of weeks ago, and now this, it's not unjustified to think this promotion's nothing more than a token gesture. A category 1 night at a Club Carlson property is 9 000 points, and around Europe you're more likely to hit something around the 44 000 points mark, so you will need to trigger this bonus a few times to realise anything meaningful!