A bank that created a rewards card that was named “The Best Credit Card if You Want Travel Perks” by the widely read and popular magazine Kiplinger’s Personal Finance is celebrating its first anniversary. U.S. Bank launched the FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature credit card a year ago, and the new card was really well received and successful – which explains why Kiplinger’s rated the card so highly. FlexPerks cardholders, for example, redeemed more than a billion rewards points within just two months during the weeks leading up to the FlexPerk one-year anniversary.

Cliff Cook, who is the chief marketing officer for U.S. Bank Retail Payment Solutions, used the anniversary occasion to explain some of the reasons why his company thinks the card has been so wildly appealing to consumers who like to travel and earn travel rewards.

“FlexPerks has been a huge success because our customers know that we provide them with tremendous value,” the U.S. Bank executive said. “For instance, for just 20,000 FlexPoints our cardholders have received airline tickets valued at an average of over $350,” he added. “That’s substantially higher than the $200 award ticket value many other airline and travel rewards cards deliver for 20,000 miles or points.”

But the bank did not stop with the credit card’s perks included at its conception and launch. In recent months, for example, cardholders have also benefited from a newer reward that gives them a $25 allowance or stipend that come along with each award ticket. You can use the $25 bonus for helping to pay your baggage fees or to buy in-flight snacks or beverages. These days, with airlines limiting how much luggage or carry-on baggage you can fly with and charging for everything from bags to blankets, pillows, and peanuts provided during your flight, that $25 perk is a pretty good benefit.

Another great idea is that cardholders can redeem their earned FlexPoints to pay their annual credit card fee. Lots of consumers baulk at getting a rewards or frequent flier card because of the annual fees that credit cards companies and banks charge, but with this interesting concept you can pay the annual fee without actually taking any cash out of your own pocket.

It is these kinds of user-friendly perks and details that can make a card really popular compared to competitor’s cards, and the people who design FlexPoints seem to fully understand that fact because they offer rewards both big and small. These kinds of customer-oriented advantages really score big points with cardholders during times like these when the economy is rough, most people are watching their budgets very carefully, and every dollar or penny saved is noticed and valued.

Savvy travelers will also recognize the wonderful flexibility of the appropriately named travel rewards card, because as a cardholder you are allowed to redeem or cash in as few as 20,000 FlexPoints for airline tickets that are worth up to $400. That compares really well to most other frequent flier type rewards programs or travel cards that generally require a lot more points for tickets valued in the $400 price range.

But perhaps one of the best features of the FlexPoints program is that you can use your redeemed points on approximately 150 different airlines without being limited by such things as blackout dates or capacity controls – and without having to pay extra for electronic ticket booking fees.

Those who get the card and enroll in the FlexPerks Travel Rewards program are able to earn one FlexPoint for each dollar spent, and they are entitled to two FlexPoints when they pay for cell phone charges, for gasoline, for their groceries, or for airline purchases – subject to some guidelines regarding which of those categories of expenses was the highest for the cardholder in that particular month. So if you are planning a trip you might earn double points for your expensive plane tickets, and while you are away for a month on vacation if your cell phone bill is unusually high you might be able to convert that adversity into a perk by getting double rewards for the money spend on your card to pay that month’s cell phone bill.

There are additional features that enable you to earn even more FlexPoints if you also open a U.S. Bank checking account. In addition to travel, customers can earn cash back, merchandise, gift cards, and credits to their monthly billing statements, and of course the card is accepted anywhere in the world that Visa cards are honored.

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