Question
I was just pondering the alternatives to Centurion (with current "enhancements"), and remembered the Stratus Card (white visa). They seem to ahve been taken over by someone in the middle of last year, and since there has been no updates on the website, or press.
Anyone got one and can shed any light on how its going ?
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Stratus teamed up with US Bank - it's still here:
http://www.stratusrewards.com
You'll need either a referral from an existing cardholder or from 1 of their participating merchant
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Stratus teamed up with US Bank - it's still here:
http://www.stratusrewards.com
You'll need either a referral from an existing cardholder or from 1 of their participating merchant
Think they may be dead. A month ago I sent an email to an email address listed on their website and it was returned as undeliverable.
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Think they may be dead. A month ago I sent an email to an email address listed on their website and it was returned as undeliverable.
They are still around. DONT DO IT!!! I just cancelled out after one year. They did not deliver what was promised on amenties. Email me if anyone has questions. The company was sold. I am trying to complain further to US Bank. I have no idea how they can be in the middle of this...
Robert
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So it take it they didnt deliver on a "centurion" style product. How was the service so bad ?
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So it take it they didnt deliver on a "centurion" style product. How was the service so bad ?
Without telling the entire story. You pay 1000-1500.00 and get almost nothing for the money. The website not updated in more than a year. Minimal items you can buy with the points. Definitely a waste of money. Company hides behind an 800 number.
Rob
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They threw one heck of a great launch party when they announced the card.
But the card was a bad deal from the beginning.
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Well crap..
"It's still around... the company was sold..." ?
So US Bank is still issuing?
The 4 free events / gift baskets per year, and the ability to invite and share points with friends seemed to make the $1500 more than worth it..
Rob, you're saying you paid the $1500 and then got nothing? So you're trying to complain to US Bank?
Can't you just go back and dispute the charge for the annual fee on the card??
If they're really dead/deadbeats, that's unfortunate, because CENT is now $2500/year and dropping benefits like SPG Plat.
Quintessentially memberships at $1500 might be better value than CENT at the moment...
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Well crap..
"It's still around... the company was sold..." ?
So US Bank is still issuing?
The 4 free events / gift baskets per year, and the ability to invite and share points with friends seemed to make the $1500 more than worth it..
Rob, you're saying you paid the $1500 and then got nothing? So you're trying to complain to US Bank?
Can't you just go back and dispute the charge for the annual fee on the card??
If they're really dead/deadbeats, that's unfortunate, because CENT is now $2500/year and dropping benefits like SPG Plat.
Quintessentially memberships at $1500 might be better value than CENT at the moment...
Do not sign up. Trust me. There are no baskets and most of their amenties were pulled last year. There are no events that I know of. This card although backed by US Bank is run by another company. This is not like a major branded rewards card. Their application process was unreal. Tax returns, a pile of paperwork etc. Then they pull the money from checking (on a corporate acct) twice a month. That is ridicuous. I really question the involvement of US bank in this. I am going to file a formal complaint Banking regulators and state regulators in both MN and CA where the company is headquartered.
Website for Status not updated in 16 months or more. They autocharged me for 2006 and pulled the money from my checking account. I complainted and they offered 50% back. I called US bank 12 times and we had conference calls/emails/faxes etc. They finally returned my money. It was a huge hassle. If AMEX black is no good forget Stratus. US Bank and their involvement is a mystery to me. They claim very few have complained I got a press release from Stratus a week ago and I emailed the contact on that page with no reply.
Any questions post here or email me. I wish this was not the case but it turned out to be terrible for me. Of course management totally hides behind useless reps who are there to take the heat for them
Robert
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Holy s...
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Do not sign up. Trust me. There are no baskets and most of their amenties were pulled last year. There are no events that I know of. This card although backed by US Bank is run by another company. This is not like a major branded rewards card. Their application process was unreal. Tax returns, a pile of paperwork etc. Then they pull the money from checking (on a corporate acct) twice a month. That is ridicuous. I really question the involvement of US bank in this. I am going to file a formal complaint Banking regulators and state regulators in both MN and CA where the company is headquartered.
Website for Status not updated in 16 months or more. They autocharged me for 2006 and pulled the money from my checking account. I complainted and they offered 50% back. I called US bank 12 times and we had conference calls/emails/faxes etc. They finally returned my money. It was a huge hassle. If AMEX black is no good forget Stratus. US Bank and their involvement is a mystery to me. They claim very few have complained I got a press release from Stratus a week ago and I emailed the contact on that page with no reply.
Any questions post here or email me. I wish this was not the case but it turned out to be terrible for me. Of course management totally hides behind useless reps who are there to take the heat for them
Robert
I have been a member for 2.5 years and have had a great experience. I have received invites to at least 5 events since October. I just booked a Safari in Africa throught the Stratus Rewards Concierge Service and it was seemless. I was able to use my points to pay for the entire $65,000. trip.
My experience and other members that I know has been very positive.
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I have been a member for 2.5 years and have had a great experience. I have received invites to at least 5 events since October. I just booked a Safari in Africa throught the Stratus Rewards Concierge Service and it was seemless. I was able to use my points to pay for the entire $65,000. trip.
My experience and other members that I know has been very positive.
How many points? Split between you and others?
Can you share any other details?
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How many points? Split between you and others?
Can you share any other details?
I'm going to guess it was over 3 million points for that trip. Maybe even 5 or 6 million.
Welcome to Flyertalk, Steven.
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I wonder what the 5 events were. I was on their list until 60 days ago and I saw virtually nothing for more than 8 months. Go very slowly with this one. I had huge hassles. Email me if you have any questions. They had almost nothing to spend the points on. Checkout the partner offers and verify them. Most of the partners told me they vere no longer involved. I have been asked some questions on another site about people interested in the program. I strongly suggested to avoid as well. I know of no satisfied members. Only met a few online who had the card and cancelled and some were considering. They only had a few hundred card holders as mentioned in the one email I got in 2006. When the company was sold last year they had 500 or less cardholders.
Rob
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So the "Stratus Rewards" company was sold by owners to who?
3-6mil for $65K seems fairly worthless :D
6mil is something AMEX could do, so no point in getting another card..
(Depending of course on earn bonuses, which I doubt they have.. and the fact that you are SUPPOSEDLY allowed to pool points is cool if true)
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(Depending of course on earn bonuses, which I doubt they have.. and the fact that you are SUPPOSEDLY allowed to pool points is cool if true)
I don't think you could pool points, but IIRC they didn't charge for multiple cards on a single account (think Citi/AA MC, or FirstUSA/UA Visa, etc. as opposed to Amex or DC where you needed to pay for extra cards).
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You're a Stratus holder?
On their website, it specifically said you could invite friends to become cardholders, and you could "share points" between friends.
And while I don't remember seeing anything on additional personal cards, the website said it was $75 per additional card for business/corporate accounts.
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You're a Stratus holder?
Nope. I just went to the launch party for the free stuff. It was a great party. Where else can mrs. themicah try on a 30 carat diamond ring, sit in an Aston Martin, eat unlimited free chocolate and watch Cirque Du Soleil performers perform acrobatics near the ceiling? All in the company of such luminaries as Al Sharpton, Ivana Trump and David Lee Roth.
The card looked like a shoddy deal from the beginning, though.
On their website, it specifically said you could invite friends to become cardholders, and you could "share points" between friends.
And while I don't remember seeing anything on additional personal cards, the website said it was $75 per additional card for business/corporate accounts.
Maybe I had that wrong. I don't quite remember.
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Al Sharpton and David Lee Roth :D
How did it appear shoddy though?
Unlike CENT/etc, it actually gave you free stuff (allegedly / supposedly) >
4 gift baskets or 4 pairs of event tickets
That by itself would recoup the $1500 annual fee (if true).
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Al Sharpton and David Lee Roth :D
How did it appear shoddy though?
Unlike CENT/etc, it actually gave you free stuff (allegedly / supposedly) >
4 gift baskets or 4 pairs of event tickets
That by itself would recoup the $1500 annual fee (if true).
Oh, and Damon Dash and the guy who won the first Apprentice show were there, too. I'm sure I'm forgetting somebody.
Almost all the "benefits" of Stratus Rewards seemed more like advertising opportunities for Stratus Rewards partners to reach cardmembers than real opportunities for free stuff.
A choice of quarterly gift bags filled with "selected items you'd find in the celebrity bags at notable awards shows" OR "complimentary participation in educational, entertainment, cultural and business events, forums and webcasts" didn't sound like it was worth $1500 to me. With $1500 I can buy my own quarterly gift bags with things I actually want or tickets to concerts or other events that I actually want to attend, rather than receiving "free" promotional items that some marketing person picked out for me.
And the main thing they were pushing were the points you earned toward free private jet travel. It was a clever idea to top the Cent card, since the main benefits of the Cent card are airline and hotel status, and the megarich don't fly commercial, so those benefits are of very limited use to that small-but-high-spending crowd. But if you did the math, Stratus Rewards points were worth considerably less than 2 cents each. So rather than shelling out $1500 for the "opportunity" to earn points toward charter jet travel (and having to deal with the limited choice of jets in their program, which required hundreds of thousands of points for a short trip in a little jet), you could get a no-annual-fee cash back card (start with the Amex Cash Rebate Card for your first $50k in spending per year, then switch to an HSBC cash back card, which earns 1% cash back with no limit) and earn cash, which is much more flexible than Stratus Rewards points and worth almost as much as the "best value" use of Stratus Rewards points. If you want to charter a jet, pick your jet and pick your charter company, and charter it with cash. Much easier.
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Here are photos from the NYC launch party:
http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls====60539&nbc1=1
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195K points for 1 hour in a 7 seat Cessna :D
What the? There is no way Stratus has their concierge supplied by MINT. MINT starts at $15K/year... (just noticed it said that here >)
http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:MIIpbfg4zaoJ:www.townandcountrytrav elclub.com/TownAndCountry/docs/virtclubcomparisonchart.pdf
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Here are photos from the NYC launch party:
http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls====60539&nbc1=1
Sure the launch party two years ago with the old owners these are not the people running the company now. Anything from 2006? I get the strangest feeling that there have been posts on some of these boards by people from current Stratus management.
Personally I am filing some formal complaints in CA about my problems.
Rob
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Sure the launch party two years ago with the old owners these are not the people running the company now. Anything from 2006? I get the strangest feeling that there have been posts on some of these boards by people from current Stratus management.
Personally I am filing some formal complaints in CA about my problems.
Rob
Just wanted to post a followup. I finally got a full refund. The sitesite was stll not changed in 3 years. They list partners that pulled out a year ago. Also I wonder about the guy who got the Afican Safar with points. One one flyertalk post ever?? strange indeed.
Rob
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Hi Robert
How were you able to get a full refund? Who did you contact? US Bank of Stratus? I have the card and I want to get a full refund. thanks