new US Bank Flexperks offer 35K points (= as much as $800 airfare)

For those who missed out on the Olympics promo last summer there is now a 35K Flexperks bonus offer through Jan 31 courtesy of the Denver Broncos who it would appear have exceeded the achievements of the US Olympic Team. With the right 2x category spends, the $2500 over 5 months spend requirement plus the 35K bonus would yield 40K Flexperks points. You must apply through a U S Bank branch in Colorado or Wyoming but that actually could be a good thing given U S Bank's track record of not always honoring online offers. You would have a local branch loan officer as a witness to the offer and application. I do not know U S Bank's policy with respect to out-of-state applications over the phone, technically this is a credit card offer not a new account offer.

from the ad copy:
Apply for a new personal or business U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Travel Rewards Visa® Card at
any participating branch between 12/28/12 and 1/31/13, and you could earn 1,000 bonus
FlexPoints for every point the Denver Broncos score in their first home playoff game
this season! We’ll start by giving you 17,500 bonus FlexPoints – but there is no limit to the number of
bonus FlexPoints you can earn. Once the Broncos score 18 points, every point beyond that
earns you 1,000 more bonus FlexPoints. All you need to do is spend $2,500 within the first
5 months and the FlexPoints are yours!

http://www.broncosbanking.com/Files/Broncos_Bonus_FlexPoints_Offer_12-21-12.pdf

Good find, but where do you come up with 35K?

I read 17,500 points, and if the Broncos score more than 18 points you start earning more? Its a promotion with an upside, but the minimum level is only 17,500. Looking at their scores for the current year it does seem like the average in the 30 range, with a low of 10 and a high of 38? http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/den

The game has already happened and therefore you can already calculate the number of points. The offer gives you 17,500 points right off of the bat. Then for ever point scored over 18 you will receive another 1,000 points. The Broncos scored 35 points in the game so 35-18 = 17. You get 1,000 points x17 = 17,000 plus the initial 17,500 points brings you up to a grand total of 34,500 points.

You're right, its 34.5K points. Of course a 37.5K points offer would have been even nicer.

for that and several other reasons, indeed

Thanks, I did not know that. Some how I assumed it was an opening game for next season.

Side question - is there a guide on how to use the points? I looked at booking a $1,000 flight last night and they wanted 70k points. Based on that, the common mapping of 35k to $800 seems to have some footnotes?

Found the mapping, the key is to be near the top of any price point range, not the bottom, like my example where my ticket was just over $1,000 and pushing me up by 20k points.
https://www.usbank.com/en/personal/products_and_services/creditcards/FlexPerksRewards.cfm

Air Travel Award Ticket Redemption Examples
20,000 FlexPoints = Up to $400 ticket value
30,000 FlexPoints = Up to $600 ticket value
40,000 FlexPoints = Up to $800 ticket value
50,000 FlexPoints = Up to $1,000 ticket value
70,000 FlexPoints = Up to $1,400 ticket value
100,000 FlexPoints = Up to $2,000 ticket value
150,000 FlexPoints = Up to $3,000 ticket value
225,000 FlexPoints = Up to $4,500 ticket value
350,000 FlexPoints = Up to $7,000 ticket value
500,000 FlexPoints = Up to $10,000 ticket value

Actually even with a 34.5K bonus it should be easy to get close to 40K points on the required $2500 spend if you use the card primarily at grocery stores or to buy gift cards there plus sign up for a few Flexperks promos. An $800 credit on a $2500 spend is roughly a 30% return depending on how close you get to booking flights on Travelocity in $200 increments starting at $400. In reality it probably is going to be 10-20% less of full value for flights you actually might want, or maybe you let the points at full value take you to unexpected places.

Looks like you may no longer need it, but coincidentally I have a post going out tomorrow on my experiencing maximizing their redemptions. Great timing with this new offer (even if it is somewhat limited due to the in-branch requirements).

When in doubt, take a mileage run to apply for a credit card?

It might be possible to do this in transit through Denver on a long layover. There isn't a US Bank branch within the airport but there is one on Tower Road where some of the airport hotels are located. I read the terms of the offer as not being restricted to Colorado residents but requiring an in-person application at certain US Bank branches in Colorado, Wyoming or Nebraska.