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I received an email today from Club Carlson with the subject line “Earn double when you travel with the Club Carlson Visa“. It linked me to a promotion page outlining an offer for double points at Club Carlson hotels, on car rentals, and on gas though December 31st, 2017.
The Deal
- Earn double points when making purchases at Radission Blu, Radisson, Park Plaza, Park Inn by Radisson, and Country Inn & Suites; double points on car rentals with Avis and Budget Car Rental; finally, earn double points on any gas purchase between October 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017
- Direct link to promotion page
Key Terms
- Account must be open and in good standing
- Bonus will be credited to your account 5-6 weeks after the qualifying purchase is made.
Quick Thoughts
The terms of this deal lack some key details that I’d like to see. General purchases on my Club Carlson Premier Rewards Visa earn 5 points per dollar, so I would expect car rentals and gas fill-ups to now earn 10 Club Carlson points per dollar. What isn’t clear to me is what “double points” will mean on Club Carlson hotel spend. You typically earn 10 points per dollar on spend at those hotels with the Club Carlson visa. I’m not sure whether they will double that entire amount and give you 20 points per dollar or whether they will only double the five “base” points and not the “bonus” points, thereby paying out 15 points per dollar. Stefan at Rapid Travel Chai says it’s the former, and I’d bet on him being correct. Note that the other versions of the card have a different earning structure — check your benefits for details.
Either way, this looks like a good bonus. According to our Reasonable Redemption Values, Club Carlson points are worth about 0.36 cents per point (though you can certainly do better at times). That means 10 points per dollar is a return of around 3.6% towards Club Carlson stays. The return on Club Carlson should stack with your normal Club Carlson earnings on a paid stay and any promotions run by the chain.
Neither the email nor promotion page make any mention of this offer being targeted, though I did receive the email with the last four digits of my card number and my name. Also notable is that I do not see any cap. The terms do make it clear that bonus points are on “gas purchases” and “when you fill up your tank”, so it is unclear whether other purchases at gas stations would trigger the bonus — though my bet would be that any gas station purchases will probably work. Luckily. since terms state that the bonus will post within 5-6 weeks after purchase, there is plenty of time to make a few test purchases now and see how they credit well before the promotion ends.
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