Northwest WorldPerks members are being offered a “new and improved” Visa through USBank. What’s new: Redeem up to two award tickets a year, mainland U.S. Northwest flights only, for as little as 19,000 miles each. That’s a 6,000-mile savings per ticket on PerkSaver and PerkPass award travel if you are a Signature card holder. For others, the savings is 4,000 miles per ticket. Actually, the award discount is not that new, we’ve wrote about it before, but it seems not many “other” cardholders knew it existed.

If WorldPerks is not your program of choice, another new option for card members might be the way to go — redeem 10,000 miles for $100 off a Northwest Airlines ticket. This is a limited-time offer with the redemption ending on Dec. 31 for bookings until Jan. 31, 2007 to fly by Feb. 28, 2007.

Also on offer are two new bonuses for being card members: One free day per year on a three-day weekend rental with National Car Rental as well as up to 15 percent savings and Emerald Club membership. To receive your free day, you’ll have to book online at nationalcar.com or call 1-800-CAR-RENT.

The second new bonus is a complimentary membership in the Hideaways Aficionado Club. This membership, normally $135 a year, comes with VIP perks at hotels, resorts, cruises, and more. Benefits can include complimentary room upgrades, free green fees, spa treatments, and private dining events with top chefs.

Along with a fresh design to the WorldPerks Visa Web site, Northwest will also offer bonus-mile offers in select regional markets through direct mail campaigns. Look for a marketing blitz to announce the new card.

Note: USBank Vice President, Bob Daly, recently visited the offices of InsideFlyer and we learned that USBank decided to update the card after seeing how low their ratings were in the Freddie Awards. We’re glad to see programs pay attention to these things.