Start here: Scandic Friends — join free, earn and spend points, and climb the seven Levels

Step 1: What Scandic Friends is and who it suits

You will learn: what the programme is, who runs it, and what you accept when you join.

Membership is free of charge and is an agreement between Scandic Hotels Holding AB (Reg. no. 556723-5725), a Swedish company with registered offices at Sveavägen 167, 102 33 Stockholm, and you personally [1]. A "benefit" in the terms means an advantage available only to members: it may be fixed and communicated, such as level benefits and reward nights, or unforeseeable, such as surprises, challenges and member events, and Scandic reserves the right to adjust the benefits on offer [1].

Membership brings offers about products and services from Scandic and partners, which may be based on your previous interactions, purchase history, profile details, survey answers, customer service contact and online behaviour on Scandic's website or app; with consent to improved personalisation, Scandic may personalise further and share that information with partners [1].

The programme is valid until further notice, and Scandic may terminate it by informing members six months in advance [1]. Scandic may change the terms and will announce substantial or unfavourable changes through at least one of its channels — website, email, SMS or regular mail [1]. A membership may be terminated at Scandic's discretion, immediately and without notice, if it is misused, with any points forfeited; misuse may, for example, be disrespectful or unreasonable behaviour towards Scandic or its partners, criminal acts, and actions considered immoral or unethical or that breach the terms, while a member may end the membership at any time by emailing [email protected] [1]. Points earned on employer-paid business travel may not be used privately without the employer's prior approval, and private use of them may be subject to income tax in countries such as Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark, at the member's own responsibility [1]. The terms are governed by Swedish substantive law and disputes are resolved exclusively by a Swedish court, with local deviations possible for stays booked outside Sweden under mandatory legislation [1]. The programme suits guests who stay at Scandic hotels: a member must be registered as a guest at a hotel to earn qualifying nights and qualification points [1].

Go deeper: Start here: hotel points for how hotel loyalty currencies work in general.

Step 2: How to join

You will learn: who is eligible, when earning begins, and what to do when your details change.

Joining is free, the minimum age is 18, and only natural persons may hold a membership — companies and other legal entities cannot, and only one natural person per membership can be registered [1]. During a stay, only one member per checked-in room can earn points as well as a qualifying night and receive benefits [1]. Points and qualifying nights can be earned from the date of registration for membership [1].

Members should take appropriate measures against unauthorised access to the membership card, membership number and password, and should contact Scandic's reservation and customer service if the card is lost or contact details change [1]. The full rules are published as the Scandic Friends Membership Terms and Conditions on scandichotels.com [1].

Go deeper: Scandic Friends programme hub for every Flyerfolio page about this programme.

Step 3: How earning works

You will learn: the two kinds of points, where each comes from, and which nights and spending count.

Non-qualification points are earned through the Scandic Friends MasterCard and selected partners; a member may spend them, but they do not count towards a higher Level [1]. Qualification points are earned on qualifying nights, on the monetary spending charged to the member's room folio during a stay — excluding VAT, discounts and vouchers — on engagement, and by choosing extra points instead of a restaurant voucher; that spending covers accommodation, food and beverage, the shop, hotel extras and services on qualifying stays [1]. Qualification points are calculated on the monetary value at the member's current Level, after discounts and vouchers are deducted and excluding VAT, with the multiplier for each Level and currency set out in the terms' Table 1 [1].

To earn points, give your membership number at the time of reservation and show your membership card and ID when checking in [1]. Qualification points are awarded to one member per room and for one room per points-qualifying night [1]. A points-qualifying night earns qualification points that count towards a higher Level and carries the benefits associated with the stay; a qualifying night is an earned night that counts towards Level 7, which requires 100 qualifying nights [1]. Most nights booked on Scandic's website or app, directly at a Scandic hotel, through Scandic's reservation and customer service, or through selected web-based business travel agencies qualify, with exceptions mainly for special room rates and non-Scandic services such as Booking.com and Hotels.com [1]. Group bookings and reservation blocks paid by monthly invoice carry special terms [1].

Points can be registered retroactively for up to six months after check-out, provided the guest was a member at the time of the stay, and it may take up to 10 days after check-out before they are registered [1]. Points cannot be combined with or transferred to other member accounts, and may not be sold, inherited, transferred or otherwise exchanged for payment [1]. Purchases in the hotel shop, internal hotel services and products, food and beverages earn qualification points up to EUR 500/DKK 5,000/NOK 5,000/PLN 2,000/SEK 5,000 per night added to the room bill, and a member may pay for other guests as long as the bill is charged to the room [1]. At Scandic Go hotels, qualification points are earned on qualifying nights but not on food and beverage or on the hotel's own products and services, and no other membership benefits apply there, so there is no voucher and no extra points instead of a voucher [1].

Go deeper: Hotel points versus cash for weighing a points stay against paying.

Step 4: How to spend points

You will learn: what points buy, how reward nights are booked and cancelled, and how part payment works.

Qualification and non-qualification points can be used for internal hotel services and products, reward nights and at selected Scandic partners, and cannot be combined with discounts, coupons or other offers unless something else has been clearly stated [1]. Scandic's Purchase Terms and Conditions apply to all point redemption purchases, and redeemed points that have expired are considered consumed and cannot be refunded [1]. Reward nights are subject to availability and can only be booked through Scandic's own sales channels, with point prices shown on Scandic's website at the time of booking and varying from day to day and by hotel category [1]. A reward night is valid for two people in a standard double room and can be booked 12 months before the arrival date [1].

Points can be returned to the same account if the cancellation follows Scandic's cancellation terms, but points booked that expire before arrival are lost if the booking is cancelled or rebooked, and a no-show is treated as consumed [1]. A member can also give away a reward night through Scandic's reservation and customer service; the date can be changed, but no points are refunded on cancellation, and reward nights may not be resold [1]. Points and money can be combined for one reward night: the points portion earns no qualification points, the money portion earns new qualification points, no other offers, discounts or vouchers may be used alongside, and a part-paid reward night can count towards a higher Level for the original points holder when their total hotel nights are added up [1]. Qualification points cannot be earned on the points portion of a reward night, but can be earned on hotel expenses during the stay and on anything paid in money [1]. At Scandic Go hotels, points can be used for reward nights only, not for food and beverage [1].

Go deeper: Award versus cash calculator and points value calculator.

Step 5: Levels and keeping your points

You will learn: how long points last, how a member year runs, and what each Level requires.

All points are valid for spending for three years from the check-out date and expire on the last day of the month they were earned in, three years later; the terms give points earned 6/3/2023 expiring 31/3/2026 and points earned 22/6/2019 expiring 30/6/22 [1]. Qualification points are valid for qualification during the ongoing member year, and every qualification point earned in that year counts towards a Level even if it is spent [1]. A member year is 12 months, starting on the day the member signed up and ending on the last day of the month the following year [1]. Upgrades are evaluated after every transaction; downgrades and renewals are evaluated on the first weekday of the month [1]. New members start at Level 1, upgrades are not made during a stay, and it may take up to 10 days after check-out before points or nights are registered and the next Level can be reached [1].

Levels are awarded on qualification points earned in a member year, and at Level 7 on qualification points or qualifying nights [1]:

• Level 2: at least 5,000 qualification points [1].
• Level 3: at least 10,000 qualification points [1].
• Level 4: at least 25,000 qualification points [1].
• Level 5: at least 100,000 qualification points [1].
• Level 6: at least 250,000 qualification points [1].
• Level 7: at least 400,000 qualification points or 100 qualifying nights [1].

A reward night counts towards a higher Level when the member's total earned qualifying nights in a member year reach the requirement for the next Level, which the terms tie to Level 7, the only Level with a nights requirement [1].

Go deeper: Status progress tracker for following nights and points against a threshold.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the sequence to follow on your next Scandic stay, from joining to protecting your points.

1. Join free if you are 18 or over, remembering that one natural person per membership is allowed, and read the official Scandic Friends Membership Terms and Conditions on scandichotels.com before you do [1].
2. Book through Scandic's own channels, give your membership number at reservation, and show your membership card and ID at check-in [1].
3. Allow up to 10 days after check-out for points to register, and register any missing stay retroactively within six months of check-out [1].
4. Note the expiry date of each month's points: the last day of that month, three years on [1].
5. Before cancelling a reward night, check whether the points would expire before the new arrival date, because points that expire before arrival are lost on cancellation or rebooking [1].

Next: read the Scandic Friends programme hub for the pages grouped by task, and keep the official membership terms to hand for the rules that change.