Tag Archives: US Bank

Product Change US Bank Credit Card to Redeem Rewards Below Minimum Redemption Threshold (Altitude Go to Cash Plus)

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Good afternoon everyone, happy Labor Day Weekend!  This post may not be very exciting, but the principles behind this post are useful.  Let me explain…

When US Bank converted my US Bank Radisson Rewards Credit Card into the US Bank Altitude Go Credit Card, I used it for a few weeks before deciding that I wanted to product change to another US Bank Cash+ Credit Card (for the 5% cash back categories).  At the time, I had 31 points on my Altitude Go, so if I had decided to close my credit card instead, I would have lost those 31 points (worth 31 cents).  But instead, by product changing from one card to another, US Bank converted my unredeemed rewards into statement credit (31 points = 31 cents).

This is noteworthy because of the minimum redemption threshold normally required for the Altitude Go: “U.S. Bank points are worth a penny each when redeemed for options like cash back, travel, gift cards or merchandise, although minimum redemption requirements apply. (You need at least 2,500 points for cash back or gift cards; 1,000 points for travel or merchandise.)”  US Bank has a similar minimum redemption threshold on the Cash Plus that went into effect on June 1, 2021.

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My 2022 Midyear Review of Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions

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Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. Much like the corporate world with midyear reviews, I thought it would be fun / embarrassing to do a midyear review of My Wild and Crazy 2022 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions.  I copied the list from the previous post and will see how many predictions I got correct and how many were dead wrong.  But remember, there is still 6 months left in the year for the remaining predictions to come true…

My 2022 Airline Predictions (1 / 7)

  • Alaska Airlines or Southwest Airlines will bring back their “convert travel funds to airline miles” feature. – I still cannot believe this feature exists but Alaska and Southwest are not using it.
  • American Airlines will return as a Citi ThankYou Points airline transfer partner. – I still cannot believe that Citi can’t get American Airlines to come back to the ThankYou Points portal.
  • Avianca will give Turkish Airlines a run for their money for domestic Star Alliance awards.
  • British Airways will let you use Avios to pay the taxes, fees, and fuel surcharge portion of award tickets.
  • Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, or United Airlines will introduce a “Miles and Cash” payment option for award tickets (pay 10,000 miles or pay 8,000 miles + $40).
  • JetBlue will partner with another US airline for award bookings. – Yes, you can book JetBlue flights using American Airlines miles.
  • United Airlines will be a transfer partner with Brex, Citi, or American Express.

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Use US Bank Cash Plus Credit Card or Altitude Go to Pay for Streaming Services?

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Good afternoon everyone.  Earlier today, I wrote Goodbye Old US Bank Radisson Rewards Credit Cards, Hello New Altitude Go & Business Triple Cash Rewards.  After writing that post, I decided to dig into the $15 streaming credit on the US Bank Altitude Go Credit Card and compare it to the US Bank Cash Plus Credit Card, which offers 5% cash back on streaming services (among other 5% cash back category options).  As you can see, the US Bank Cash Plus offers “5% cash back on your first $2,000 in combined eligible purchases each quarter on two categories you choose.”  Let’s check out those bonus categories.

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Goodbye Old US Bank Radisson Rewards Credit Cards, Hello New Altitude Go & Business Triple Cash Rewards

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Updated 12:00pm PT on 7/11/22: The prorated annual fee refund posted on my US Bank Altitude Go on 7/5 in the amount of $31.25.  That represents a prorated amount of 5 months (5 / 12 x $75 = $31.25).  I haven’t see the prorated annual fee refund on my new US Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards yet.  I called US Bank and they said I should see the statement credit on my August statement.

Good afternoon everyone, I hope you had a great Father’s Day Weekend.  2 months ago, US Bank sent out letters to cardholders who had personal and business Radisson Rewards credit cards alerting them that their credit cards were going to be changing in June.  A few days ago, we learned that Choice Hotels will acquire Radisson Americas for $675 million, which explains why US Bank is changing the credit cards.

My US Bank Radisson Rewards Premier Credit Card became the US Bank Altitude Go Credit Card and my US Bank Radisson Rewards Business Credit Card became the US Bank Triple Cash Rewards Business Credit Card.  The new credit cards arrived over the weekend, so I wanted to share the card art, welcome letters, brochures, and activation process for both credit cards.  First, a moment of silence for the retired personal and business Radisson Rewards credit cards…

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What Should I Do with my Stash of 200K Radisson Hotels Americas Points?

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Updated at 8:45am PT on 5/4/22: Fixed a few cents per point typos and added info about the speed of the Global Points Transfer.

Good afternoon everyone.  A few weeks ago, I wrote Reminiscing About and my Plan for my US Bank Radisson Rewards Premier & Business Credit Cards.  In that post, I covered the history of events from Club Carlton to Radisson Rewards to Radisson Hotels Americas and all the major changes in between.  I also covered the upcoming credit card changes and ultimately decided to keep my current credit cards as is and let the product changes occur (to get the prorated annual fee refunds).  But the next big question to answer is: What should I do with my stash of 200K Radisson Hotels Americas Points?  I don’t have an exact answer, but I will share some of the best options that are currently available.

First off, I have both a personal and business Radisson Hotels Americas account with a combined point balance of around 200K points.  Remember, you can easily move points between accounts, just call the customer service number (888-288-8889).

The easiest option would be to redeem your points for an award stay within the Americas.  Here is the award chart for all hotels in the Americas.  Most of the best properties in the Americas are in the 60K – 75K range per night, so I should be able to get about 3 nights in a nice Radisson Blu property.  If you are not interested in an award stay in the Americas, keep reading to find out what other options are available.

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