Club Carlson must be getting as frustrated with my lack of award redemptions as I am, because they’ve been sending me lots of emails for the past two years, trying to get me to bite and redeem my points. This time, they have sweetened the pot. To give you some context, I got status matched to Club Carlson Silver status during the Big Win of 2012. My Silver status recently expired and I’m back to plain old Red – which is fine with me, because I haven’t stayed at a Club Carlson hotel since 2012. So today I get the following email:
You deserve to spoil yourself this year. Enjoy the exclusive rewards and benefits of Club CarlsonSM Silver Elite status with our Status Take Back promotion.
By redeeming just 10,000 Gold Points, you can once again enjoy complimentary room upgrades, a 15% point bonus on eligible stays, early check-in and late checkout, and more.
This offer is just for you and ends April 15, 2014, so upgrade today by calling Club Carlson Customer Care at one of the following numbers.
As tempting as this offer is, I won’t take advantage of it for several reasons and you shouldn’t either.
1. Points are valuable and most of us can afford to stay at Category 1 hotels (which require the minimum 9,000 points per night), but top-tier hotels can be out of reach. I’d rather use my points for a redemption that will save me money, rather than just to earn back status.
2. You can always request a status match when you do need elite status with Club Carlson. I won’t be traveling anywhere for another year, so this route makes the most sense to me.
3. Picking up a Club Carlson Premier Visa will get you Gold status. All you’re giving up are a couple of points on your credit score.
4. The gift card redemption levels aren’t anything to write home about ($15 Target gift card for 11,000 points, anyone?), leaving no good alternative.
I’m going to pass on this offer, but I do desperately need to make plans to off-load this balance soon. If you need inspiration for ways to spend your Club Carlson balance, check out the Best Club Carlson Redemption series.
Have you gotten a similar email? Are you going to take advantage of the offer?
Holy moly. How did you get so many? MSing?
The good old days of mattress running…