UPDATE: Free Club Carlson/US Bank Hotel Room Promo Goes Live!

by Eric

Earlier today, I broke the news that the free hotel night that US Bank had promised Club Carlson Visa cardholders had been loaded into Club Carlson accounts.  However, multiple readers immediately noted 2 huge problems!

  1. Existing reservations, many made with the 2 for 1 Club Carlson Visa benefit that has been eliminated, disappeared completely from accounts.
  2. No one could actually make a booking using the E-Certificate.

I am delighted to report that both technical glitches have been resolved!

Phew!  Disaster Averted!

phew-obama

When I log into my Club Carlson account now, all of my previous reservations are intact.

Reservations Restored

reservations-intact

I also received an email from Club Carlson (email address: carlsonhotels@email.carlsonhotels.com) informing me that my E-Certificate was ready for use.

Free Night Email from Club Carlson

free-night-email

To redeem your E-Certificate for the free night, follow these steps:

  1. Visit www.clubcarlson.com/reservation and select your destination and stay dates.
  2. Enter your unique E-Cert Code, and the Promotional Code: USBANKEC.
  3. Click “Go” to find available hotels and make your booking.

I can confirm that the reservation process works!  Clicking all the way through for a sample reservation at the Radisson Martinique in New York City shows a $0.00 USD rate!

Booking a Free E-Certificate Hotel Night

booking-works

Let me know your experiences with this free Club Carlson E-Certificate booking process, and what properties are catching your eye for this free night!

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

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28 comments

Gene August 17, 2015 - 5:19 pm

Check out the load of bull I received today —

Subject: Your free Award Night is ready
(I’m pretty happy until I open the email and….)

Gene, it’s time for your free getaway.
Congratulations! You have 13x,xxx Gold Points®, enough for a free Award Night at some of your favorite Carlson Rezidor hotels worldwide.
Book Today
Learn more about redeeming points for Award Nights »

Yeah, so my free night isn’t so free…

Reply
Eric August 17, 2015 - 5:28 pm

Gene-

You mean you aren’t thrilled about being able to stay at a Category 1 Club Carlson property?!

😛

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jan August 17, 2015 - 5:56 pm

I received the email for the free certificate on one account but not my biz account. Do people get both sent the same day or do I have a chance for another one?

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 7:23 pm

jan –

I received all of mine on the same day. I will leave it to others to share their experiences as well.

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Enjoy Fine Food August 17, 2015 - 6:06 pm

This has been a very clever ruse on the part of Club Carlson. Send bloggers a free night e-certificate. Whisper that maybe everybody might, kinda, sorta, maybe, get one. Get a lot of publicity. Don’t send e-certificate to anyone else. Poor readers like Gene get publicly humiliated by bloggers — “You mean you aren’t thrilled about being able to stay at a Category 1 Club Carlson property?!” — generating more pr for Club Carlson. Congrats on drinking the KoolAid.

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 6:44 pm

Enjoy Fine Food-

I wish that I could say that I am compensated so well by Club Carlson as a “blogger” who is “drinking the KoolAid” that I have quit my day job. The reality is that Club Carlson doesn’t pay me a dime.

There appear to be plenty of people (including the reader who posted a comment 10 minutes before you) that have received the free night. Hopefully some readers found the updates helpful.

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Ric Garrido August 17, 2015 - 6:07 pm

I had the same experience Gene. Went to the mailbox and nothing from Club Carlson. Checked email and saw free night ready, only to find it was a marketing pitch to redeem my points for an award night.

Still waiting too…

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 6:47 pm

Ric Garrido-

I wish there was a rhyme or a reason to US Bank and Club Carlson…

Did you receive a recent letter offering you bonus points? Those were sent out as you likely know.

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no thx man August 17, 2015 - 6:18 pm

Gene – I got a similar email as you. I also tried to follow the above steps and got this message: “Your E-Cert could not be applied to any hotel(s) below.”

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 6:46 pm

no thx man-

What property (properties?) did you attempt to redeem your free night at?

I was successful in redeeming a free night at the Radisson Martinique.

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no thx man August 17, 2015 - 7:17 pm

Eric – I attempted to book the Radisson Martinique in Manhattan. I didn’t actually plan to book it, but wanted to try the hotel that you had success with.

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 7:22 pm

no thx man-

Hmm… did you try what HORACE posted below? I have copied/pasted it for you here:

“What you must do is go to the main reservations page and do not input any city location yet and hit advanced search.

Then, input your city, desired dates, E-Cert # in the E-Cert box AND the USBANKEC promot code in the Promotions Box and let it rip.

Then, and only then, did the hotels show that were availability for Free!”

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dee August 17, 2015 - 6:28 pm

I got a rock. Actually, not even that much! Will most likely cancel the card next year.

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 7:24 pm

dee –

Did you receive any bonus points from Club Carlson recently?

It is confusing who gets what from them.

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Sruly August 17, 2015 - 6:29 pm

I got it on all of my accounts.

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 7:20 pm

Sruly-

Nice!

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HORACE August 17, 2015 - 6:39 pm

OK. I got the letter over the weekend and I saw the certificate in my account earlier today.

Later today, I received the formal e-mail — and it certainly is a US Bank promotion — as there is one additional thing you must do besides inputting your Certificate number.

You also must put in the following promotional code in the Promotions Box — USBANKEC —

Then, fire away.

It does work even for foreign properties, as all but the Champs Elysee, showed availability for the dates I wanted.

Unfortunately for me, I am staying at the Champs property so I really did no wish to move.

Also, in the e-mail announcing the promotion and transmitting my certificate code, it specifically excluded the Quorovus collection properties from participating, so sorry guys, it looks like London’s
Mayfair is off limits!

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 6:49 pm

HORACE-

Great to hear that you were successful in redeeming your free E-Certificate!

Where did you book?

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HORACE August 17, 2015 - 7:07 pm

Yes, I was Eric!

And, strangely enough!

I chose — at least for the time being — London,

And, Guess What!

The Mayfair did pop up as one of the redeemable hotels, so I booked it!

Now, this is very important.

No matter what the site says, where it just asks you to input the E-Cert.

If you do, you will show NO AVAILABILITY.

What you must do is go to the main reservations page and do not input any city location yet and hit advanced search.

Then, input your city, desired dates, E-Cert # in the E-Cert box AND the USBANKEC promot code in the Promotions Box and let it rip.

Then, and only then, did the hotels show that were availability for Free!

Good luck to all!

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 7:18 pm

HORACE-

That is AMAZING value. When I looked at the Mayfair, room rates were £350 or more.

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HORACE August 17, 2015 - 8:12 pm

Yeah, they said it was 340 GBP.

Of course, never go by rack rate, but still, it is a good savings in expensive London.

I actually have stayed at the Mayfair before, and it is a cinch for those traveling in from LHR taking the tube, as it is about 2 blocks from the Green Park Tube stop that has its own elevator to the street, so very easy access in/out of that stop on the Piccadilly line.

Drew b August 17, 2015 - 8:45 pm

I got the E cert and 7500 bonus points last week as a “thank you” for some reason. Can’t complain.

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Eric August 17, 2015 - 9:15 pm

Drew b –

Sweet!

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Ryan August 17, 2015 - 11:15 pm

No letter in the mail and no email for me on my personal or business accounts. 🙁 I could really use the nights for an upcoming trip too, if they were offered. I may have to cancel next week since my annual fee just posted too.

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Doc August 17, 2015 - 11:17 pm

No ecert for me 🙁

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yy August 17, 2015 - 11:34 pm

Did not get any email or mail about free night..:(

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Club Carlson free night e-certs are here! - Points with a Crew August 18, 2015 - 7:40 am

[…] first read about this on Point me to the Plane, and then shortly after, I received an email from Club […]

Reply
Yana August 18, 2015 - 12:16 pm

No letter, no e-cert, no consolation points…
but the same marketing e-mail that Club Carlson sends from time to time to folks who have points in their account to prod them to use them (I remember receiving it a few times in the past): “It’s time for your free getaway.
Congratulations! You have xxx Gold Points®, enough for a free Award Night at some of your favorite Carlson Rezidor hotels worldwide”,
bla-bla-bla….

Reply

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