Tag Archives: US Bank

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How to Redeem US Bank FlexPoints for Airlines Tickets

I’ve talked about US Bank FlexPerks a few times in the past:

I *highly* recommend reading the post from May 11 that highlights my way of MSing FlexPerks.  The brief run down is:

  • 20,000 FlexPoints = up to $400 in travel
  • To earn 20,000 FlexPoints, you need to spend $10,000 in grocery stores (2x on all grocery store purchases)
  • $10,000 / $500 Gift Cards = 20 Gift Cards
  • 20 Gift Cards x $5 activation fee = $100 out of pocket expense
  • $400 in travel – $100 out of pocket expense = $300 “free travel money”

Some other interesting points of FlexPoints:

  • Get 3,500 FlexPoints each cardmember year you spend $24,000 in net purchases, which can be redeemed for your annual fee or towards other rewards of your choice.
  • Get up to a $25 airline allowance with every award travel ticket good towards baggage fees, in-flight treats and more. (Ohhh in-flight treats/food/drinks – After travel, just call Cardmember Services at 877-978-7446 to request a statement credit within 90 days of your award ticket travel flight.)
  • Earn frequent flyer miles on the airline you fly for your award travel flight.

With that said, here is how to redeem US Bank FlexPerks for airfare.  Find a flight you want that costs less than $400, but ideally as close to $400 as possible.  20,000 FlexPerks can be used on a $100 ticket, a $200 ticket, a $300 ticket, or a $399 ticket.  All those tickets cost the same number of FlexPerks, so find the best flight and don’t worry about the cost.  In the example below, I need to get from SFO to LAS for a bachelor party and need these specific flights.  Southwest Airlines and Virgin America have flights at the same time that are both more expensive than the flight shown below.

ITA Matrix SFO-LAS Flight $381

Log into your US Bank account and click on My Accounts and My Rewards.

US Bank My Rewards

Click Redeem Rewards under your Flexperks credit card.

US Bank My Rewards Redeem Rewards

Click on Travel Rewards in the center of the screen.  You will be able to see your current Flexperks balance in the upper right corner.

US Bank My Rewards Redeem Travel Rewards

Click on Explore Travel in the center of the screen.

US Bank My Rewards Redeem Travel Rewards Explore Travel

Remember, these are the flights, times, and flight numbers of the flights I want to book.

a screenshot of a ticket

Enter your search terms into the search box.  You can book round trips, one way trips, or multi-destination trips (great for 2 random one ways to maximize the value out of your Flexperks.  Then click Search Flights at the bottom.

US Bank Search For Flights

The Flexperks online portal is run by Orbitz, in case you were wondering.  The search results are grouped by airline and number of stops.  Click the box that corresponds with the flight you want to book.  As you can see, almost all the flight options shown are at the 20,000 Flexperks level (cost of airfare is $400 and below).

US Bank Flight Search Results Top

Find the outbound flight you want from the list of choices.

US Bank Flight Search Results SFO-LAS

Then find the return flight you want from the list of choices. Hint: avoid clicking on any flight that is not 20,000 FlexPerks (see the big red X?).

US Bank Flight Search Results LAS-SFO

This page shows a preview of your flights as well as the number of Flexperks you will redeem for the itinerary.  It is nice the FlexPerks pays for the whole flight including taxes and fees.

US Bank Flight Chosen Top

US Bank Flight Chosen Bottom

Enter the passenger’s personal information, frequent flyer account info (you can change/enter this info later), and click Continue.

US Bank Enter Passenger Details

Enter the passenger’s contact information and click Continue.

US Bank Enter Passenger Contact Information

Pick your outbound and return seats then click Continue.  If you have elite status with the airline, you may want to wait until after the flight is booked and make your seat selection from the airline’s website.

US Bank Seat Selection

Preview the price of the ticket one last time and click Complete Reservation.

US Bank Review Flight

Your reservation is complete and your Flexperks balance will show your new balance.  Click View Trip Details to view/print your itinerary.

US Bank Flight Purchased

Here is your flight itinerary.  Check your email for an email from FlexPerks.  You will find the reservation number for the airline that can be used to view/change your reservation online.

US Bank Flight Ticket Information

US Bank Flight Ticket Information Bottom

I can find my reservation on United.com just by entering my United Confirmation Number.  From here, you can change your seats, enter your TSA pre Check number, or change your frequent flyer account attached to the reservation.

United Confirmation and Reservation

Back in your US Bank Flexperks account, you can view your Points Summary and remaining Flexperks balance.

US Bank Manage Points

Also, you can transfer Flexperks to anyone with a Flexperks credit card account.  If you need to purchase FlexPerks, you can do so online in 1,000 point increments for $20 each.

US Bank Transfer Points

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.

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MSing for Hilton HHonors Points (4 Credit Card Comparison) and Reykjavik, Iceland Hotel Options

MSing (not to be confused with PMSing) is one of my specialties.  When I tell people that I have to spend $2,000, $5,000, or $10,000 on credit cards, they look at me funny.  “Wow, that is a lot of money, how are you going to do that?”  I do a quick calculation in my head; 4 stops at CVS, a quick trip to Albertson’s or Ralph’s, 2 visits to Walmart, carry the thousand, “I’ll be done with that later this week.”  I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks like that.  Since I do not have any real bills to pay (no mortgage, student loans, auto payments, etc.) I would say 95% of my spending is MS, and the other 5% comes from restaurants (I <3 food).

Anyway, enough about me.  My Hilton HHonors account has been dwindling as of late thanks to stays at the Hilton San Francisco Airport and Hilton Vienna in January, the Hilton Copenhagen Airport and the Hilton Seattle Airport in April, the Hilton Los Cabos Resort and the Hilton Portland next month, and my DoubleTree Scottsdale reservation for #westcoastdo in November.  Needless to say, it is time to replenish my stash of Hilton Honors Points.

Over the weekend, I compared the perks and category bonuses of my Citi® Hilton HHonors Reserve Card and my Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express.  After I finished analyzing those credit cards, I decided that I would also include the other 2 Hilton HHonors credit cards that have no annual fee.  It is unfortunate that the transfers from Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic are no longer 1:2 (they are now 1:1.5).  That was a quick way to get a ton of easy Hilton HHonors Points.

With that said, here is the master chart (please let me know if you spot any mistakes and I will fix them right away).  The yellow boxes represent the information given on the credit card information pages.  The white boxes are inferred values based on the “Everything Else” category.  The red font represent the best deal(s) for each type of transaction.  For example, the best credit card to use for stays at a Hilton property depends on whether the hotel is in the United States or abroad.  Since only the Citi® Hilton HHonors Reserve Card has no foreign transaction (FOREX) fees, that is my go to card for international stays.  If I am staying in the United States, I use the Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express.

MS Hilton HHonors Points Comparison Chart

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Success: US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Card Reconsideration Bank Visit

Club-Carlson-Cards

Success: US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Card Reconsideration Phone Call Bank Visit

What a crazy journey it has been.  The US Bank Club Carlson Business Credit Card is finally mine!  In case you haven’t been following the journey, here is a recap of events:

App-O-Rama Results – June 12, 2014 (link)

I received a pending application status.  I called the automated line and was told it would take 24-48 hours for a decision to be made.  I found a number for the credit analyst department and was told the same thing, so I will just have to patiently wait to see what happens.

Club Carlson Biz Pending Application2

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Random News: $50 for Serve Direct Deposit, Load Serve at Family Dollar, Targeted Citi AA Admirals Club Passes Spending Bonus, Targeted US Bank Club Carlson Spending Bonus, Club Carlson Business Credit Card Rejection, and Chase Southwest Airlines Credit Card Referrals

Which Credit Card

Random News: $50 for Serve Direct Deposit, Load Serve at Family Dollar, Targeted Citi AA Admirals Club Passes Spending Bonus, Targeted US Bank Club Carlson Spending Bonus, Club Carlson Business Credit Card Rejection, and Chase Southwest Airlines Credit Card Referrals

World’s longest blog post title. Check.

Greetings from California, I am back from my trip but still feeling the jet-lag.  I’ve been up since 3:30am PST this morning.  Let me get this post out before I fall asleep…

After returning home, I received a few targeted credit card offers worth mentioning.  The first doesn’t seem to be targeted as there is no sign up link, but if you have an AMEX Serve Card, you can get a $50 statement credit after having 2 direct deposits of $250 or more post to your AMEX Serve account by July 31.

Serve Direct Deposit Promo

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Club Carlson Flash Sale: Buy Radisson Blu Stays for ~$100 (24 Hour Promo)

Club Carlson Flash Sale Logo

Club Carlson Flash Sale: Buy Radisson Blu Stays for ~$100 (24 Hour Promo)

Club Carlson is currently running a 24 hour sale for purchasing Club Carlson Points.  The Flash Sale began on June 23 at 9:00AM EST and will end on June 24 at 8:59AM EST.  During this period, you get a 75% bonus on the number of Club Carlson Points you purchase.  Here is the link to the promo page.

Warning: Do not buy Club Carlson Points if you do not intend to use them in the next few months.  It is not smart to stock pile points, even if they are a really good deal.  Do you remember when Hilton devalued their award chart overnight, making some award stays more than twice as expensive.

With that said, you can purchase up to 40,000 Club Carlson Points per account, per year. 

Club Carlson Promo Bonus Points

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