Why Club Carlson’s New Redemption Option is a Bad Idea

Club Carlson is offering a new use for redeeming Gold Points – covering the cost of a TSA Precheck application.

Instead of paying $85 for the application, you can redeem 65,000 Gold Points.

Some readers might think that this is great, because they have a bunch of Gold Points and haven’t used them. As a refresher though, here is the redemption chart –

You can get several free nights for 65,000 Gold Points if redeeming at lower category properties, and are just shy of category 7 properties like the super conveniently located Stockholm Radisson Blu Skycity Arlanda.

I value Club Carlson points at roughly $0.004 apiece, which translates to about $260.

Since the fee for TSA Precheck is just $85, you’d be seriously overpaying if you went with this offer.

A much better choice would be to pay $100 for Global Entry which is good for 5 years that also gets you TSA Precheck for no extra fee. American Express even gives cardholders a $100 or $85 statement credit for it, with no extra points redemptions needed.

I’m honestly not sure why anyone would just want to get TSA Precheck unless you don’t have a passport. Here’s a quick look at the difference between TSA Precheck, and Global Entry according to American Express –

If you still aren’t convinced and those Club Carlson Gold Points are burning a hole in your pocket, here’s the link to easily offload those 65,000 Gold Points and apply for TSA Precheck.