U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Card

---

• Update 12/18/2020: Applications are now available again. You can earn 50,000 bonus points worth $750 on travel. Just spend $4,500 in the first 90 days of account opening.
• Update 11/29/2020: The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Card is no longer available for applications.

---

Original Article

I previously posted about the new premium card from U.S. Bank that’s supposed to be released in May and now we have more information about the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite card features and benefits. This new leaked information is very exciting and definitely makes the card even better, with . Let’s take a look at the details.

5X on Hotels and Car Rentals

Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center.

3x On Mobile Wallets

This is probably one feature that sets this card apart from the competition. It targets millennials who are most likely to use mobile wallets, a growing form of payments. Here’s what the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card offers:

Earn 3X points per $1 for eligible net mobile wallet purchases when using the Altitude Reserve card with your mobile device to pay through Apple Pay,® Android Pay,™ Samsung Pay and Microsoft Wallet.

With more and more merchants accepting mobile wallet payments, this means that you could effectively get 3x almost everywhere. This feature is definitely a game changer.

3x On Travel

The card will also target frequent travelers, with 3 points per dollar on major travel expenses, as long as you book directly with the provider. Here’s what the leaked information says:

Earn 3X points per $1 for eligible net travel purchases made directly with airlines, hotels, car rental companies, taxis, limousines, passenger trains and cruise line companies.

$325 Annual Travel Credit

The card will come with a travel credit of $325, which will be similar to similar to that on Chase Sapphire Reserve, meaning that wit will automatically apply to travel purchases and you’ll be credited in the the next statement cycle.

Account holders can earn up to $325 every cardmember year in automatic statement credits for travel purchases made directly from airlines, hotels, car rental companies, taxis, limousines, passenger trains and cruise lines.

And, through 6/30/21, takeout, food delivery, and dining purchases are also eligible for reimbursement.

The credit will be per cardmember year, not calendar year, which means that you won;t be able to get two credits while paying only one annual fee.

Limited Priority Pass Select

Lounge access was omitted from the previous details about the card. Now we know that there will be some type of benefit. However, if the rumors are true, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card falls short in this are.

Only one Priority Pass Select membership card per account, and only first 4 accesses are complimentary with one additional guest.

For a card that’s aimed at frequent travelers, only four free lounge entries are way too few. I guess they had to cut corners somewhere.

Other Perks

The  U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card will come with some extra perks that we’ve grown accustomed to with these premium cards. Here’s all the perks that we know so far:

• 12 free Gogo passes per year
• No foreign transaction fees
• Up to $100 statement credit to reimburse for either a TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry application fee — whichever program the cardmember applies for first, once every 4 years.
• GroundLink® Black Car Service: Enjoy reliable, comfortable chauffeured car service that’s available in 110 countries. Customers using their Altitude Reserve card receive 15% off, and $30 off their first ride.
• Silver car discount: Rent an Audi A4 with no lines and no paperwork from airport locations in select cities. Receive up to 30% off rentals of two or more
• Metal card
• Visa Infinite perks

Sign Up Bonus

• Earn 50,000 bonus points worth $750 on travel. Just spend $4,500 in the first 90 days of account opening.

It’s not a bad sign-up bonus by any means, and it could be worth up to $750, but I just expected a bit more. But we have seen better bonuses in the past.

Annual Fees

We went over what we get from this card, and now, what we’ll have to pay to get it. As expected the card has a big annual fee, but it undercuts its competitors. The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card will cost you $400 per year. Just the travel credit alone brings the annual fee down to $75. You’ll be able to also redeem points towards the annual fee.

The annual fee is $400 for the primary cardmember and each additional card is $75 annually. The cardmember can redeem 35,000 points to offset the cost of their annual fee plus any additional card fee(s).

Here’s how it compares to other premium cards:

• Platinum Card from American Express – $550
• Chase Sapphire Reserve – $450
• Citi Prestige – $450
• Chase Ritz-Carlton Rewards – $450
• U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve – $400

Redeeming Points

We already knew that these are not Flexperks points so you won’t be able to to get a value of 2 cents a piece out of them.

Points can be redeemed for travel as well as gift cards, merchandise, entertainment, cash back, magazines and more, starting at just 1,000 points. 1 point is worth 1.5 cents when redeeming for travel. 10,000 points are worth $150 in airfare, hotel stays, and car rentals booked through US Bank’s Rewards Center.

The cardmember can redeem 35,000 points to offset the cost of their annual fee plus any additional card fee(s).

There’s no travel partners so far.

Eligibility

Altitude Reserve is exclusively offered to U.S. Bank customers who have an eligible consumer U.S. Bank account relationship open a minimum of 35 days prior to submitting an application. You must be a U.S. Bank customer in order to be approved for this card.

Eligible consumer U.S. Bank account relationship means: The Checking or Savings account, Certificate of Deposit, Mortgage, Home Equity Loan, Home Equity Line of Credit, Auto/Boat/RV Loan, Personal Loans and Lines, Private Banking account or Consumer Credit Card issued by U.S. Bank.

New US Bank can still get this card right away, but have to apply in branch and ask the banker to call underwriting to validate that you are a new customer.

Guru’s Wrap-Up

U.S. Bank is definitely aiming high with this new card. The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite card undercuts the competition on annual fee while offering a best in class $325 automatic travel credit and 3x on mobile wallets and travel among other perks. It has a good sign-up bonus worth anywhere from $500 to $750 and falls short in lounge access with only 4 free passes.

If you don’t have a U.S. Bank credit card or account, it’s probably worth opening one right away.