Tony_d - what did you pay for your 450D? I have one sat at home all wrapped up under the tree. We really couldn't justify the extra cost of the 500D - infact, I'm disappointed with Canon for adding a compact-camera feature to a robust pro-sumer DSLR that just didn't need the extra gimic (IMHO). And again, I've no real need for the extra resolution either.
I know my Fiancee got it from Jessops because with the Canon cash-back deal no where was budging on price, but being female, she batted her eye lids and got loads of stuff thrown in free too.