The 2018 winter Olympics have been in the news recently with North Korea agreeing to send a team to compete in PyeongChang, South Korean. The reason we are interested is that historically U.S. Bank offers additional bonuses on their FlexPerks Travel Rewards cards during the Olympics (we saw it in 2014 & 2016). The last winter Olympics they offered the following bonus:
- 500 points for gold
- 250 for silver
- 100 for bronze
The last summer Olympics they offered the following bonuses:
- 200 Flexperks points for each Gold Medal
- 100 Flexperks points for each Silver Medal
- 50 Flexperks points for each Bronze Medal
That’s 7,450 bonus points for the last winter Olympics and 14,800 for the last summer Olympics. Keep in mind this is in addition to the 20,000 points the card normally earns. U.S. Bank hasn’t made any announcement regarding if the promotion will run for 2018. Previous announcements have been made:
- 2014 Sochi winter Olympics: Announced on January 31st (Friday). Olympics started on February 7th
- 2016 Rio summer Olympics: Announced on August 1st 2016 (Monday). Olympics started on August 5th
The 2018 PyeongChang winter Olympics start on the 9th of February. I think the most likely announcement date would be February 5th, 2018. I’d be surprised if a bonus wasn’t offered, but maybe I am just being overly optimistic in 2018.
sorry. not interested in any Olympic bonus accompanied by Keith giving me a call and letting me know I can go suck it.
can one get a 2nd flex perks card to qualify or what are the rules if someone cancelled a while ago can they apply again and qualify?
I’m also trying to figure out what the rules are regarding churning FlexPerks cards. I still have one open from the last olympics and wondering if it’s too late to close it (to be eligible again), or if an open card doesn’t matter (just the date of the last bonus paid)?
My understanding is if you open the product, you get the bonus. There is no cooling off period (e.g. 1 bonus per 24 months). The big question is will they give you a new card if your old one is still open? I think you’d be fine closing now and opening next month (if approved) but that’s simply conjecture.
They are the toughest big lender IMO and absolutely ruthless so be careful. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28243997-post117.html
You can certainly do 1 personal and 1 biz. As to the churnability, I honestly don’t know/remember. At one point I held 2 personal FPs but one was a PC.
The terms note “You are eligible to receive one-time bonus FlexPoints for each new FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa account type” but don’t define one-time. One per account or one per lifetime? I would assume the former but we all know what happens when you assume!
Might I suggest digging thru myFICO and other forums to get a definitive answer.
I also want to know I kept my flexperks card so if I get another if there is another do i qualify based on last time? Did existing card holders get the bonus? My family member got rid of theirs but I do not know how long ago, how does that work.
I have 40K Flexperks and a Flexperks Travel Rewards card. If I close my only USB credit card, do those points disappear? And if I have a Flexperks Travel Rewards already, can I get another one?
Yes they disappear immediately. And if you have any point transfers in progress you will lose those too.
You will also likely lose access to your account online so make sure it is paid off and that you’ve saved any statements, etc. and turned off electronic statements.
This was one of the most costly mistakes in my churning career.
Historically are the FlexPerks Olympics bonuses only available to new sign ups? Ever for existing cardholders?
Only new sign ups
If it comes in at 27,500 bonus, I don’t think that’s even worth applying for.