Same here, just got the Needless Markup promo. I s'pose with an optimal points-to-dollars value of 2 cents a point (if you can find a ticket for exactly $400, $600, $800 WITHOUT GOING OVER, like on "The Price is Right") the 3,500 optimally converts to $70 so it's not a bad deal.

OTOH, you look at their stuff and it's easy to remember that Kohl's might have the $50 utility knife on sale at $5 or the $60 gloves at $5. Of course it's not the same manufacturer or the quality level as at NM, though one wonders whether that's noticeable in many cases.

I might make myself do it anyway. After all, the points go toward buying a ticket that earns miles, and I just got back from a trip to Dubai with the main ticket paid by the points.

BTW, I've noticed that some other "double points" cards still have the same points-to-dollars rate because they give out more points but have worse conversion rates to fare dollars, effectively canceling out the double points part. I hope US Bank doesn't have to match this practice just to be competitive. There seems to be a general trend toward trying to break out of the dollar-per-point standard to fool the consumer into thinking he's getting more when he isn't. They just inflate the award cost right along with the points given out, and the net effect is that it's just tougher to understand.