New Club Carlson Rewards Cards – 85,000 Sign-Up Offers

Posted by Noob Master on Dec 4, 2012 in Business class, Club Carlson, Credit Cards, Hotels, Uncategorized | 2 comments

US Bank has released a new Club Carlson rewards card with an 85,000 sign-up bonus.

I don’t receive a referral for the Club Carlson rewards cards, but don’t let that stop you from applying for one. 

Club Carlson Visa Rewards Card

Who’s Club Carlson? Club Carlson is a hotel chain that includes Radisson Blu, Radisson, Country Inn, Park Plaza, and Park Inn hotels. You may remember Club Carlson from their Big Night Giveaways that they’ve done the last couple of years. During the Big Night Giveaway, you were given 50,000 Club Carlson points for one paid stay. Essentially, you could buy 50,000 Club Carlson points for $60-$80. Smokinnng.

The New Club Carlson Cards

Club Carlson and US Bank have unleashed 3 new cards: The Club Carlson “Premier” Rewards Visa, the lower-level Club Carlson Visa, and the Business Club Carlson Rewards Visa. I like options. (Thanks to FlyerTalk for breaking this news.) Here are the details for the three cards…

Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa 

• 10 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels worldwide
• 5 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else
• 85,000 Bonus Gold Points to start - 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 days
• Bonus Award Night - When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free. Exclusively for cardmembers!
• Club Carlson Gold Status is yours after you activate and use your card

Club Carlson Rewards Visa 

• 6 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels worldwide
• 3 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else
• 60,000 Bonus Gold Points to start - 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 days
• Bonus Award Night - When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free. Exclusively for cardmembers!
• Club Carlson Silver Status

Club Carlson Business Rewards Visa 

• 10 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases at participating Carlson Rezidor hotels worldwide
• 5 points per $1 spent in eligible net purchases everywhere else
• 85,000 Bonus Gold Points to start - 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 days
• Bonus Award Night - When you redeem Gold Points for 2 or more consecutive Award Nights, your last night is free.
• Club Carlson Gold Status is yours after you activate and use your card

Sign-up Bonuses

At first glance – your jaw may have dropped when you saw the 85,000 sign-up bonus. Be cool. While the 85,000 sign up bonuses on the Premier Visa and the Business card are good, know that Club Carlson points aren’t as valuable as some other hotel chains.

I only use my Club Carlson points for Radisson Blu locations, and those are mostly internationally. Radisson Blu locations are 44,000- 50,000 Club Carlson points a night, so the sign-up bonuses wouldn’t even be enough for two nights.

Here’s the full award chart for Club Carlson.

Club Carlson Award Chart

I do like how the minimum spending requirements are very manageable. You will receive 50,000 Club Carlson points on first purchase. Then, 35,000 more points after spending $2,500 (in 90 days) with the Premier & Business Visas. Bang Bang.

Club Carlson Gold Status

You will receive Gold Status instantly when you hold the Premier Visa or Business Visa!

I was able to get Gold Status with Club Carlson by sending in an email asking for a status match. 

Gold Status with Club Carlson will give you these benefits:

• 50% Point Bonus
• 2,000 bonus points for online booking
• Late Check-out (based on availability)
• Early Check-in (based on availability)
• Best Available Room in the category booked
• 72- hour availability guarantee
• Special points plus cash offers
• Priority full-service Member Services telephone number

And if you already have Gold Status with Club Carlson, then you’re cool like me. But you will also get 15 qualifying nights towards Elite Concierge Status – the next level of status with Club Carlson. It takes 75 nights to qualify for Elite Concierge, so there.

You will only receive instant Gold Status on the Premier and Business Club Carlson cards.

Bonus Award Night

This is probably the most exciting feature of the Club Carlson cards. When you redeem your Gold Passport points for two consecutive award nights, you get your last night free. That’s just balling.

So, if you were to make two reservations at the Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan in Paris (like I did a couple of months ago), it would cost you 50,000 Club Carlson points a night, or 100,000 total. But, if you held a Club Carlson Visa, you would get your second night FREE. Meaning, you save a s@#$ load of Club Carlson points. 50,000, to be exact. 

Warning

There is a warning that needs to be issued for anyone wanting to apply for a rewards card backed by US Bank. Like Bank of America and Barclays, US Bank will approve you for a “lower-level” card if you don’t meet their particular standards. And sometimes having a good credit score isn’t enough.

US Bank has a history of approving people who have “too many recent inquiries” for a lower-level version of the card. Since I apply for rewards cards regularly, this makes me hesitate on the Club Carlson Visas.

However, if I apply for them first during an app party, I should be ok. I need to decide if the reward is worth the risk. I do love to diversify.

Endings

I love that Club Carlson has launched 3 new rewards cards! When major banks and hotels compete, it’s usually good for the consumer. I still have 100,000 Club Carlson points, so adding another 85,000 is very appealing.

But I think the real win here is the bonus award nights. Cutting the price in half on award stays at a Radisson Blu property is killer.

Below is the link for the Club Carlson Visas. I don’t receive a referral credit for them, but don’t let that stop you from applying.

Club Carlson Visa’s 

— Noob Master