OVERVIEW
The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card might assist you in accumulating flexible reward points if your spending patterns include frequent purchases for travel and frequent trips to the gas station.
This card, one of three Altitude cards provided by U.S. Bank, comes with a sizable welcome bonus and affordable rates across a range of spending categories. Nevertheless, despite all of its advantages, you might not want to go with it, especially if you’re seeking for a card with a variety of transfer partners.
We’ll examine the specifics of the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card in this review, as well as its benefits and drawbacks, to help you choose whether it’s the best credit card for you.
Card Benefits
- Earn 50,000 bonus points as part of the introductory offer when you make $2,000 in eligible purchases during the first 120 days of your account creation. That is a $500 value that can be used to purchase goods, gift cards, vacation, cash back, and more.
- Direct reservations for pre-paid hotels and auto rentals made through the Altitude Rewards Center earn 5X points.
- 2 additional points for streaming services. In addition, you’ll get a $30 credit for annual streaming subscriptions to services like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Apple Music, Disney+, HBO Max, and more!
- 2x points are awarded at grocery stores, grocery delivery services, and restaurants.
- Once every four years, get up to $100 in statement credits to cover the cost of your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application.
- All other eligible purchases earn 1X point.
- Points will not run out.
- Utilize the U.S. Bank ExtendPay Plan to spread out payments by dividing eligible purchases totaling $100 or more into equal monthly installments.
- No foreign transaction fees
Sign-Up Bonus
With this card, you have the chance to earn 50,000 bonus points after making qualified purchases totaling $2,000 or more during the first 120 days of account setup. That amounts to at least $500 in monthly purchases, which should be doable for the majority of people.
You’re looking at a lot of value right away because the annual charge is waived the first year.
How To Earn Rewards
There is a substantial welcome offer included with the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature card. The value of the 50,000 points when redeemed through the Altitude Rewards Center is about $500. The fastest strategy to increase your rewards balance quickly is to meet the standard spending criteria of $2,000 in the first four months in order to qualify for the bonus.
In addition to the bonus, this U.S. Bank credit card offers attractive rewards rates across a range of purchase categories. With the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature card, you have a good chance of earning points quickly because its bonus categories cover a wide range of purchases.
| Bookings made through the Altitude Rewards Center for lodging and transportation | 5x |
| EV and gas station charging infrastructure | 4x |
| supermarkets, grocery delivery services, restaurants, and streaming services | 2x |
| all other permissible acquisitions | 1x |
How to Redeem Rewards
Through the Altitude Rewards Center, U.S. Bank Altitude points can be redeemed online. By connecting into your U.S. Bank online account, you can access the rewards center. Your points can be used to reserve a variety of travel-related services, such as flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and other excursions. Additionally, you can exchange them for goods, gift cards, statement credits, and prepaid rewards cards from U.S. Bank.
Other ways to redeem an Altitude card include:
- Products such as electronics and athletic products
- Gift Cards
- Statement Credits
- U.S. Bank prepaid rewards cards
With this card, you have the unusual option of having your annual fee offset.
Real-Time Rewards is the only redemption available outside of the Altitude Rewards Center. Cardholders have the option to sign up for this program, which enables fast point redemption whenever you make a purchase practically anyplace.
Additional Travel Benefits
When you are away from home, emergencies can get out of hand quickly. When dealing with local restrictions or language problems, a chore like changing prescription medication, which is generally simple when you aren’t traveling, might become challenging.
While you are going away from home, travel and emergency assistance services are made available to you in case of an emergency. The benefit administrator can put you in touch with the available, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day local emergency and support options.
Eligible cardholders receive this benefit at no additional cost. Subsequent endorsements may change the terms and conditions in this Guide to Benefits. Additional Guide to Benefits mailings, statement inserts, statement messages, or electronic notifications may be used to communicate changes to the terms and conditions. Cardholders whose accounts have been suspended or cancelled will not be eligible for the advantages listed
Cellphone Protection
Each time you make a bill payment, protect your cellphone. When you pay your monthly mobile phone bill with your protected Visa Signature card, you can get up to $600 in reimbursement for your qualifying cell phone in the event that it is stolen or damaged.
Additional Information
This new card has enough benefits to make it a worthwhile addition to your wallet. You will get a $100 statement credit every four years if you charge your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application cost to this card. You can easily charge your friend’s or relative’s application to this card if you are already a member of either trusted traveler program and still be eligible for the reimbursement.
With so many travel cards available, it makes sense to evaluate rates, incentives, fees, and other aspects to make sure you pick the card that best suits your needs. Here is a comparison of the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature card with those of its rivals.
U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
Capital One’s VentureOne Rewards card offers five miles for every dollar spent on lodging and auto rentals made through Capital One Travel. Only 1.25 miles are awarded for any other transactions.
Although the card can’t fully compete with Altitude Connect in terms of rewards, it does not charge an annual fee or foreign transaction fees, and it offers a 0% promotional APR for 15 months before switching to a variable APR between 17.99% and 27.99%. The new-member offer, which is 20,000 extra miles worth $200, isn’t as generous as Altitude Connect’s, though. Altitude Connect might be a better option, even with the annual price.
U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card vs. American Express® Green Card
The American Express® Green Card offers $100 CLEAR and LoungeBuddy credits in addition to 3x points on dining, transportation, and travel purchases. But for the $150 annual cost, it doesn’t offer much more than Altitude Connect.
The new-member incentive only costs $2,000 in purchases over the first six months of card membership, making it simpler to obtain but only worth $450. The first year’s yearly cost for Altitude Connect is waived, and the incentive is worth $500.
FEES
Yearly fee: For the first year, it will be $0, then $95.
Foreign transaction fee: none.
Balance transfer fee: This cost is equal to 3% of each transfer’s value or $5 minimum, whichever is higher.
Cash advance fee: 5% of each advance’s total value or $10 as a minimum, whichever is higher.
Cash advance APR: 29.74%.
Late/returned payment: can beup to $40.
Require Credit Rating
For consideration for the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card, a FICO® Score of 670 or higher is advised. Those who apply and have good to excellent credit are eligible for the card.
Your credit score isn’t the only consideration U.S. Bank makes when choosing whether to approve or deny your application, and it doesn’t ensure either outcome. However, having good credit increases your likelihood of being approved.
Is This The Right Card For You
The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect is probably the best option for someone looking for a straightforward, inexpensive travel card that offers rewards for regular purchases. It has great earnings rates in a number of categories of ordinary household spending in addition to extra-high rewards on travel and gas.
However, a person who wants to get the most out of their credit card rewards will probably discover that a card that offers more redemption flexibility as well as the option to transfer to travel partners at a potentially higher value can generate more value overall.
