Club Carlson Credit Card

Today, I wanted to look at the CCCC – the Club Carlson Credit Card. How about that for a mouthful? 🙂 This card came out in the latter part of last year and it is one of the few cards that I am regretting having not applied for. Normally, I have my little list of cards that I want or know would be good for me to get. With this one, I was not overly excited about it since I had no plans of staying in any Radissons anytime soon. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I stayed in one!

However, that was then. Fast forward a few months to me planning my trip to Dubai. One of the closest hotels to the start/finish line of the Dubai marathon is the Radisson Blu Dubai Downtown. Not only is it convenient, but it is a really nice looking hotel!

Standard Room at the Radisson Blu Downtown Dubai

When I saw this one, I started looking into the point redemption system for Club Carlson and found that availability was really good! For instance, a standard room at this hotel is $323 after taxes. You can reduce that to $161 and 10,000 points if you opt for a Gold Points and Cash redemption or you can get it completely free for 44,000 points. Considering the convenience and the hotel itself, had I the 40,000 points, I would have redeemed them here for this trip.

• Club Carlson Credit Card Premier Rewards from US Bank (85,000 total bonus points) – Application Link (I do not receive a commission from this card)
• Club Carlson Credit Card Visa Signature from US Bank (60,000 total bonus points) – Application Link (I do not receive a commission from this card)
• Club Carlson Credit Card Business Rewards from US Bank (85,000 total bonus points) – Application Link (I do not receive a commission from this card)

Now, that brings us to the Club Carlson Credit Card. Note: There are 3 credit cards total from them listed above, but the one I am highlighting here is the Club Carlson Credit Card Premier Rewards. The other cards are similar but read their links to find the differences. I had just updated the Hotel Credit Card page (under the Credit Card menu at the top of the screen) and was detailing this card a little and realizing what a great value it is! Let’s look at some of the particulars:

• 50,000 bonus points after first purchase – Great Value considering this is basically one night at the highest category hotel or 5 nights at the lowest
• 35,000 additional points after spending $2,500 in the first 90 days – Again, great value. This makes for a total of 85,000 points!
• Club Carlson Gold status – This is mid-tier status within the program and gives you many different bonus points plus early-checkin/late check-out + perks
• 40,000 points each year after renewal – Another great value – 4 free nights at category 1 or 1 free night at category 4
• 5 points per dollar on everyday spending – If you put $10,000 a year on this card, that is an additional 1 night at the highest category or 5 nights at a cat. 1
• US Bank – Good and bad – they can be strict in their approval process which sometimes does not work well for those of us who apply for many cards, but good because it is yet another bank to spread your applications around so as not to burn out one bank!
• Annual fee of $75 (for the Premier Rewards card) – If you are ok paying $75 for a top-notch hotel (anniversary bonus), then this is a great value yet again

Now, what hotel chains are in the Club Carlson hotel group?

• Radisson Blu
• Radisson
• Park Plaza
• Park Inn
• Country Inn and Suites
• Club Carlson

If you are like me, you will start noticing these around now that you have read this. 🙂 So, what’s the verdict? Do I think this is a good card? YES! There are many upsides to this card, not the least of which is to begin accruing points in another hotel program. For the simple application, I could have begun realizing the value of this card and the loyalty program in an unexpected trip. Instead, I will have to trade the convenience for a different free hotel.