About a month ago I wrote about how I re-applied for the Club Carlson credit card after canceling it seven months before. This decision was mainly based on the ease of earning free Club Carlson nights through the co-branded credit cards, as well as an increase in travel to Europe, where Club Carlson points can really come in handy.
I did wonder if I was eligible for the sign-up bonus after a few readers asked about it. I’m happy to report the partial sign-up bonus has in fact posted after I charged $900 on the card.
Eligibility for a U.S. Bank Card
U.S. Bank, which issues the Club Carlson credit cards, isn’t known as the most churner-friendly bank. When this card first came out, there were reports of credit card churners getting rejected because of too many inquiries.
My Experience
I myself got rejected the first time and despite my friend Howie warning me to freeze my ARS report before applying, I tried a second time and was luckily approved almost two years ago.
People aren’t churning US Bank credit cards as heavily. There are few data points and US Bank has a reputation for being less than churner friendly. So it was understandable for readers to be worried that they would be ineligible for a second sign-up bonus.
Plus, with so many banks restricting credit card sign-up bonuses to once per lifetime or once every 24 months, it would not have shocked me if U.S. Bank imposed similar rules. I would have gotten this card regardless of whether I thought the sign-up bonus would post. But it’s nice to know for sure that it does!
Meeting the Spending Requirement
I’m sure you’re shocked and confused that I haven’t complete the entire spending requirement or put any kind of manufactured spending on the card yet. I’ve been pretty busy with maximizing the 3% cash back bonus on five different Discover It Miles Cards as well as generating some extra cash back via the Fidelity Visa as well as the Barclay Arrival Plus card.
Frankly, I’ve been too busy focusing on these other cards. I lost track of time and before I knew it, the first-spend bonus posted to my account. When I’m done maxing out my other credit cards with giftcards.com orders this week, I’ll knock out that last bit of spending and really put this card to work.
Redeeming My Club Carlson
I’ve got plans to travel throughout Europe, with Calais as my base, and I’ll need a lot of Club Carlson points to cover my hotel stays during this time. I’ve got my eye on the Radisson Blu Dublin, the Mayfair Hotel in London, and the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Ajaccio Bay looks pretty nice.
All I have to do to stay at these hotels is spend $14,000 on the Club Carlson credit card. It will also be a nice change to have some trip reports on this blog that don’t involve yet another Hyatt stay (as much as I love Hyatt, I really have to get out of this rut).
In the meantime, I’ve got my card and I’ve got my sign-up bonus. I’ll also earn lots of points cheaply and at an accelerated rate thanks to the Club Carlson credit card. If you’re regretting your decision to cancel your Club Carlson credit card and are wondering whether you’ll receive the sign-up bonus if you apply for it a second time, hopefully this alleviates your fears. In my case, the sign-up bonus posted.
Are you considering re-applying for a Club Carlson credit card? I’d love to know why/why not.
I love Radisson Blu Cape town and Copenhagen just to mention a few.
Radisson Blu Capetown is on my bucket list. Lucky guy!
How many points did you get?
Just 50k for the first spend bonus, plus I’ll get another 35k when I meet the $2,500 spending requirement.
I am going to Paris this Spring and was wondering if I should stay at club Carton , Hyatt or SPG
Unfortunately, they’ve lost two Radisson hotels to SPG. The only one left is the Radisson Blue Champs Elysees, which is still pretty nice. I would either stay there or the Hyatt Regency Madeleine. Park Hyatt Vendome is the go-to hotel for most people in Paris, but I’ve read so many trip reports, it feels very been-there-done-that.
If I currently have the business version and a personal no annual fee one, you think I can get approved for another personal with an annual fee?
From what I understand about U.S. Bank, they don’t have a limit on the number of cards you can have. So I think it may be worth a shot to apply for the premium version.
I have had my card for two years and except for the Radisson in Melbourne, FL, all my stays have been in Europe. I just completed my second stay on points at the Blu in Amsterdam. They upgraded me to a business room overlooking the canal that I could never have afforded. The Dublin Blu has the best breakfast buffet I have experienced, and that includes Grand Hyatts and Intercontinental’s in Europe. In the US, I prefer Ihg and Hyatt, however, in Europe, I have gotten great value from this card.
Nice! I’ll have to check out the breakfast buffet at the Radisson Blue Dublin then.
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You go girl!
How do you keep track of all the MS that you do especially when it comes to making sure that you have received all of your giftcards and that they have tracked at the various portals? Currently, I’m having issues with TopCashBack tracking properly and have opened my share of claims with them.
Thanks Kelli! I recommend you switch to Yazing. They’ve been awesome with tracking every purchase and paying out much quicker than TCB (like, within 30 days). I keep the order confirmation email from every order and delete it only after the cards arrive.
HI Ariana,
I’ve been to the MayFair London back in the day when we got the free night stay. It’s truly aspirational. It is quite steep now though (70K), but totally worth it.
I unfortunately have dismal experience w Yazing.com. I agree that they payback is much quicker than the rest, but they have not tracked down every single purchase I’ve made using their website. I go to Iconsumer now.
Good luck!
Good, this makes me look forward to staying there even more! Sorry to hear about your experience with Yazing. Have you reached out to them?