Buying Club Carlson Points might be a Good Deal

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Buying Club Carlson Points might be a Good Deal

I know, I know, buying points/miles/lottery tickets is not a good deal, but sometimes it is.  In case you were wondering, Club Carlson sells blocks of 1,000 points for only $7, or 0.7 cents per point, and you can only buy 40,000 Club Carlson points per calendar year.

Purchase Club Carlson Points

The transaction is processed by Points.com, so if you were planning on using your US Bank Club Carlson credit card to earn bonus points, think again.  You will only earn 5x Club Carlson Points for your purchase.  To buy points, click here.

Buy 1000 Club Carlson Points

Club Carlson does want you to use your US Bank Club Carlson credit card though.

Use Club Carlson Credit Card

Anyways, you still might be better off purchasing Club Carlson Points if you have the US Bank Club Carlson credit card because you get the second night free for a 2 night stay.  Here is a breakdown of the costs:

Hotel Category Club Carlson Points 1 Night Stay BOGO (2 Nights)
1       9,000 $63.00 $31.50
2     15,000 $105.00 $52.50
3     28,000 $196.00 $98.00
4     38,000 $266.00 $133.00
5     44,000 Too many points Too many points
6     50,000 Too many points Too many points
7     70,000 Too many Points Too many points

As you can see from the chart, some of the 1 night stay prices are pretty good, but the BOGO 2 night stay prices are awesome.  Of course you could manufacture Club Carlson Points with Vanilla Reload Cards and get 2 nights at a category 6 hotel for $40/night.

Another perk of the US Bank Club Carlson credit card is the 40,000 Club Carlson Points you get each year you pay the annual fee of $75.  In essence, you are paying $75 for 40,000 Club Carlson Points, which equals 0.19 cents per point.  If we take the annual fee and yearly bonus Club Carlson Points into consideration, we get this chart:

Hotel Category CC Points Buy Points Points Cost Annual Fee Total Paid BOGO (2 Nights)
1     9,000 0 $0.00 $75.00 $75.00 $37.50
2   15,000 0 $0.00 $75.00 $75.00 $37.50
3   28,000 0 $0.00 $75.00 $75.00 $37.50
4   38,000 0 $0.00 $75.00 $75.00 $37.50
5   44,000       4,000 $28.00 $75.00 $103.00 $51.50
6   50,000     10,000 $70.00 $75.00 $145.00 $72.50
7   70,000     30,000 $210.00 $75.00 $285.00 $142.50

Other interesting notes:

  • If you were staying at a category 1 hotel, you could redeem for 4 BOGO stays, or 8 nights, for only $9.38 per night.
  • If you were staying at a category 2 hotel, you could redeem for 2 BOGO stays, or 4 nights, for only $18.75 per night.

As you can see, the US Bank Club Carlson credit card is great for stays and a great card to keep year after year (assuming they still keep the BOGO card feature).  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.


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8 thoughts on “Buying Club Carlson Points might be a Good Deal

  1. Dennis

    Grant, according to the Carlson Rules (see below) you cant have the Bonus Award night if you use Points + cash. CAn you please comment.
    “The Bonus Award Night offer is available only on advance reservations for Award Nights paid in full with Gold Points and is not valid with standard paid reservations or Points + Cash redemption reservations.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      I believe that is true. When you try to make a 2 night stay using cash and points, you pay the full cash and points price for 2 nights. The BOGO only works with 100% points.

      Reply
    1. Grant

      It must be a Californian thing. Sorry Mary.

      http://www.grammarly.com/answers/questions/7005-which-is-correct-anyway-or-anyways/

      Anyway is correct. “Anyways” is not a word, but it is used out of ignorance by many.

      Many properly educated speakers find “anyways” to be grating on the ear and will think less of the speaker who misuses “anyway” by adding the “s”. The Grammar Girl website is full of examples where job applicants were turned away because they used “anyways”.

      Just because you hear it on television, doesn’t make it right or acceptable. Television will often use bad grammar as a way of telling us about a character and her background. Please avoid using “anyways”.

      Reply
  2. Kalboz

    Buying blocks of 1,000 points for $7, or 0.7 cents per point is not the best value. I’d wait for the periodic flash sale on these points, or the annual sale through USTA when you can get them for 0.5 cents or less per point.

    Reply
    1. Grant

      That’s a good point. I forgot about the flash sale and US Travel Association deals. This post is more for the other 360ish days when you need a few thousands Club Carlson points for an upcoming stay.

      Reply
  3. choi

    also Grant, you forgot to mention you cant do Bogo back to back, however if you have two cards, Personal and Business, then its something you can pull off. I ll stick to the BB route and generate points.

    Reply

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