Panama is a fantastic place for birders! Soberania National Park is less than an hour’s drive from the airport and there is even the Metropolitan National Park right in the city of Panama City! The bird lists are very impressive! Birders on a budget can stay at the Radisson Summit on points and drive over to the Canopy Tower for a day visit. Birders with more to spend can also stay overnight.
There is a special way to get up to 3 nights FREE at the Radisson Summit or any of their other hotels with the Club Carlson Visa. They currently have only a USA version of this card but they do say they will introduce cards in other countries. ***Disclaimer, this is not an affiliate link, these links go direct to Club Carlson’s site. Just sharing an awesome deal!
The USA one with US Bank comes in 3 varieties:
Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa Signature card Highlights
- 10 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels3
- 5 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else3
- Up to 85,000 Bonus Gold Points – receive 50,000 Gold Points after your first purchase plus 35,000 points once you spend $2,500 on your card within the first 90 days1
- 40,000 renewal bonus points each year when you renew your card4
- Bonus Award Nights – When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.2Exclusively for cardmembers!
- Your upgrade is automatic5 – Your Club Carlson membership will be upgraded to Gold Elite Status after you activate and use your card
- Already reached Gold or Concierge Elite Status? You will receive 15 qualifying nights toward obtaining or maintaining Concierge Elite status after you activate and use your new card6
- Enjoy all of these benefits for $75 Annual Fee
Club Carlson Rewards Visa Signature card Highlights
- 6 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels3
- 3 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else3
- Up to 60,000 Bonus Gold Points – receive 50,000 Gold Points after your first purchase plus 10,000 points once you spend $1,500 on your card within the first 90 days1
- 25,000 renewal bonus points each year when you renew your card4
- Bonus Award Nights – When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.2Exclusively for cardmembers!
- Your upgrade is automatic5 – Your Club Carlson membership will be upgraded to Silver Elite Status after you activate and use your card
- Already reached Silver, Gold or Concierge Elite Status? You will receive 10 qualifying nights toward obtaining or maintaining Gold or Concierge Elite status after you activate and use your new card.6
- Enjoy all of these benefits for $50 Annual Fee
Club Carlson Business Rewards Visa card Highlights
- 10 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels3
- 5 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else3
- Up to 85,000 Bonus Gold Points – receive 50,000 Gold Points after your first purchase plus 35,000 points once you spend $2,500 on your card within the first 90 days1
- 40,000 renewal bonus pointseach year when you renew your card4
- Bonus Award Nights – When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.2Exclusively for business owners!
- Your upgrade is automatic5 – Your Club Carlson membership will be upgraded to Gold Elite Status after you activate and use your card
- Already reached Gold or Concierge Elite Status? You will receive 15 qualifying nights toward obtaining or maintaining Concierge Elite status after you activate and use your new card6
- Enjoy all of these benefits for $60 Annual Fee
Remember, I am not a financial advisor so it is up to you to make sure you should have this credit card.
Club Carlson is a great program for non-frequent travelers as they have several promos throughout the year where you can earn points, so even if you don’t want the credit card, still join Club Carlson and be on their mailing list for promos. Usually chain hotels suit eco-travelers best as gateway hotels but we are lucky that Club Carlson has a great option right near the Soberania National Park.
Depending on which card you get, you will have 1 or 2 free nights right off the bat! But these cards have a little something extra! Did you notice this part?
Bonus Award Nights – When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.
This means that to get this (or any other Carlson hotel), you would redeem 38,000 points and get the last night free! This effectively reduces rewards to half price, a fantastic deal any way you look at it! I would recommend staying here 2 nights, birding along Pipeline Road and into Soberania National Park, then move to one of the other hotels in the city, go birding at the Metropolitan National Park and check out the Panama Canal, Panama Viejo or any of the markets, redeem one night and get the second night free. This makes for 4 nights all up in Panama free!