christianj

How can you dilute something that didn't really give that many benefits to begin with? 2for1, bonus points, etc can't be diluted and upgrades were not exactly a CC stronghold.

According to everything I have read, there will be cards for non-us members so don't cry spilt milk yet!

yerffej201

Hopefully...

SKYEG

As a Canadian, this is a card I can't wait to get.

100k w/ the spending req included for $75, and a 40k renewal bonus is worth the annual fee alone.

gold elite status doesn't mean much except 2for1, but 15 EQN is a plus for gold members like me who would actually appreciate the free breakfast.

2for1 award nights are also huge in terms of 50k bookings...

Can't wait till we get this in Canada, it would be an instant application for me and everyone I know that does this type of stuff.

travelisfree

1. Gold is near worthless except for bonus points and that won't change.

2. You'll be surprised how few people will have the card on any one of you stays.

dsquared37

Free breakfast? For Golds? I've never received it in Asia.

Also, this isn't a 2for1 award night unless you're only booking 1 night. Officially you get 1 night at the tail end of an award for free.

Further the wording 'participating hotels' leaves alot of space for hotels to not participate.

spankytoes

I read it differently. If you book 2 or more nights, your last night is free. Therefore, you would need to book at least 3 nights to receive a free one. So it's a 3 for 2 IMO.

I could be wrong...

dsquared37

What I'm seeing is :

So, if you book for two night the last night is free. That's how I'm reading it.

Edit: Even better, from the FAQ:

goldenbear

I am really salivating over this offer, but I've read in a couple places that US Bank is a little harder to get approval for with recent apps. If anyone who recently did the Olympics promotion tries this application, please post here with your success/failure stories. I've also just thrown in an application for the Ink Bold and Hilton Amex, so I really need to chill out for a few months.

The last night free awards bonus sounds great to someone who has ~150k CC points from the various free night promos in the last year. 40k a year isn't enough for the top radissons, but it's close, so with a little planning one can augment the 40k with additional points in hand to really max out the yearly bonus and free last night for 2 nights at some pretty pricey Radissons.

SKYEG

Hey,

if you read my post, I said the 15EQN(elite qualifying nights) would be useful for me as a current gold member, as it brings me to concierge and breakfast is a +++ for me. that's what i meant

P.S. I love the brand dsquared, if your name is based on that haha

spankytoes

You are probably correct. After re-thinking it, if it was a 3-for-2, it would have said stay 2 or more nights and get a bonus night for free or some variety of that. The word "last" indicates that a reservation of 2 nights would result in night 2 (aka the last night) being free.

At least that's what I'm hoping for

yerffej201

That's why I said hopefully. There aren't that many Carlson Hotels in Canada, so if another hotel did come, I'd assume it would either be hilton or Hyatt. Or Fairmont.

leggroom

I got approved almost instantly... I spend many weekends in STL (which has a lovely 9000 pt CI&S), so it will be lovely to have my redemption weekends just cost 9K total!

gloreglabert

Here are the primary issues that are mostly unique to US Bank. I speak from personal experience on these:

1. They used a 3rd party credit agency (I forget the name) that will catch and likely deny your app if it's part of a churn, EVEN IF you pass the initial check by US Bank and they tell you you're approved. In my case, I did a 7-card round including the Olympic card, and on one of my (many) followup calls to US, the guy specifically called out the other 6 applications I'd made on the basis of the 3rd party report (yes, that was a little awkward).

2. They really like to approve you, give you a nice fat credit line, and then surprise you with a lower level card than you applied for (complete with a substantially worse bonus). This isn't your standard "5k or above for Visa Signature" thing either...they approved me (and many others) for a 9k credit line for the low-level non-signature card. This offer has the same risk, since there are multiple cards you might get approved for (at least two, and possibly three).

3. Their CSRs are really clueless. Clueless to a degree that I've never experienced with any other bank. Their reps hand out incorrect information left, right, and center, and do so repeatedly, even after escalating to so-called 'supervisors'. Nice long hold times, too.

dsquared37

I get your meaning and it does make sense. With my pattern of nights the EQNs wouldn't give me much benefit. If there were 5 or 10 EQSs I'd have already filed an application. Still contemplating this

They stole the name from me.

aarato

I jumped on this card but no instant approval...also have the "olympic" card.