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Review: U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards Card

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In late October 2022, U.S. Bank released a new credit card, the Shopper Cash Rewards Visa Signature. It has a small annual fee and potentially high cash back for shoppers. The flexibility of the card to choose your own categories is both a pro and a con. Is the card for you? Let’s examine the features and benefits.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $95 annual fee (waived the first year)
  • 3% foreign transaction fee
  • 6% cash back on your choice of 2 retailers ($1,500 quarterly spending limit)
  • 5.5% cash back on hotel and car rental reservations booked through U.S. Bank’s website
  • 3% cash back on your choice of an “everyday” category ($1,500 quarterly spending limit)
  • 1.5% cash back on everything else

Eligible retailers for the 6% cash back category:

  • Ace Hardware
  • Apple
  • Amazon.com
  • Anthropologie
  • Bed, Bath, & Beyond
  • Best Buy
  • Chewy.com
  • Crate & Barrel
  • Disney
  • Home Depot
  • Ikea
  • Kohl’s
  • Lowe’s
  • Lululemon
  • Macy’s
  • Menards
  • Nordstrom
  • Pottery Barn
  • QVC
  • Restoration Hardware
  • Target
  • Walmart
  • Wayfair.com
  • Williams Sonoma

List of retailers is subject to change.

Eligible “everyday” categories for 3% cash back:

  • Bills and home utilities
  • Gas and EV charging stations
  • Wholesale clubs (including Costco and Sam’s Club)

This list is also subject to change.

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Review: U.S. Bank Altitude Connect

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The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect is a travel-focused Visa Signature credit card with a low annual fee. It earns a relatively high cash back rate on travel and gas expenses. It’s also good for streaming-related expenses. However, most people will be better off with the Altitude Go (no fee) or Altitude Reserve (high fee).

Update, March 2024: U.S. Bank announced that a number of changes are coming to this card on September 9th, 2024. Changes include: removing the $95 annual fee, lowering the value of points by 20% when not redeemed for travel, removing cell phone insurance, and removing the $30 annual streaming credit. The card will still earn 4x points on travel and gas, which actually makes things interesting despite the negative changes. The Altitude Connect will become roughly equivalent to the best no-fee travel card, the Penfed Pathfinder Rewards, if not better (since it keeps Priority Pass and Global Entry). We’ll update our review of the Altitude Connect when its changes take effect, and re-evaluate its value.

Our review from 2022 remains below:

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • $95 annual fee (waived for the first year, and will be eliminated on 9/9/24)
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 5x points on hotels and car rentals (booked through U.S. Bank)
  • 4x points on all other travel
  • 4x points on gas (and electric vehicle charging stations) (will become limited to your first $1,000 each quarter)
  • 2x points on grocery (including delivery)
  • 2x points on dining
  • 2x points on streaming
  • 1x points on everything else
  • $30 annual streaming credit
  • $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (once every 4 years)

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Review: U.S. Bank Altitude Go

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The U.S. Bank Altitude Go is a Visa Signature credit card best used for dining and streaming purchases. It’s arguably the best no-fee card for both categories, and unquestionably in the top 5. If you don’t live near a bank location, there’s also a close yet slightly worse alternative: the Elan Everyday Rewards+ Visa Signature.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • 4x points on dining (including delivery and takeout)
  • 2x points on groceries (including delivery)
  • 2x points on streaming
  • 2x points on gas (and electric vehicle charging stations)
  • 1x points on everything else
  • $15 annual streaming credit

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Review: U.S. Bank Cash+

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The U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature is a “choose your own category” card which offers up to 5% cash back on purchases. Unlike standard rotating-category cards, you can choose two categories (out of 12 options) to get the 5% earn rate, instead of one random category. You can also look into a close alternative, the Max Cash Preferred, for similar benefits.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

  • No annual fee
  • 2% foreign transaction fee (when paying in U.S. dollars overseas) or 3% foreign transaction fee (when paying via foreign currency)
  • 5% cash back on two categories of your choice (up to $2,000 in combined quarterly spending)
  • 5% cash back “on prepaid air, hotel and car reservations booked directly in the Rewards Travel Center”
  • 2% cash back on an “everyday” category of your choice
  • 1% cash back on everything else

5% categories:

  1. Gyms and fitness centers (24 Hour Fitness, Equinox, Weight Watchers, etc.)
  2. Fast Food (Burger King, Chipotle, Subway, etc.)
  3. Ground transportation (Amtrak, Greyhound, Lyft, Uber, etc.)
  4. TV, internet and streaming services (Charter, DISH, Netflix, Spotify, etc.)
  5. Cell phone providers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.)
  6. Home utilities (Duke Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Waste Management Co., etc.)
  7. Movie theaters (AMC, Fandango, Regal, etc.)
  8. Furniture Stores (Ashley, Ethan Allen, Ikea, etc.)
  9. Department Stores (Bon-Ton, Kohl’s, Macy’s, etc.)
  10. Clothing Stores (American Eagle, Banana Republic, Express, etc.)
  11. Electronics Stores (Apple Store, Best Buy, Newegg, etc.)
  12. Sporting Goods Stores (Bass Pro, Cabela’s, Dick’s, etc.)

2% categories:

  • Dining (including delivery services like Doordash and UberEats)
  • Gas (including in-store purchases at locations like 7-Eleven or QuikTrip)
  • Grocery (including delivery services like Instacart and Jet)

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The Top 5 Credit Cards For Priority Pass Lounge Access

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Priority Pass is a membership program which allows access to select airport lounges, and potential airport restaurant/spa/shopping discounts. Lounges include Wi-fi, charging stations, free food and drinks, TVs, and more. Upscale options may include perks like sleeping suites or showers. If you’re interested in Priority Pass membership, you don’t need to buy it. Several credit cards offer free access. Note that each card may have different “tiers” of benefits and exclusions may apply.

The value of Priority Pass depends on how often you’d use airport lounges. Getting Priority Pass separately has a minimum annual cost of $99. This general membership costs $32 per visit, per person ($291 for one person to have six visits in one year). At the next tier up, it’s $299 for 10 “free” lounge visits. The last membership tier is $429 for unlimited lounge visits. Costing $130 more than the middle tier, you’d need at least 4-5 extra visits (32*4=$128) to justify the price.

The value of lounges themselves will vary a lot by location. Some are great while others don’t offer enough benefits to assign a significant cash value. On the other hand, Priority Pass restaurants can always be a fair deal, with a $28-30 discount per visit (more with a guest or two). There are 20 U.S. airports (and 19 non-U.S. airports) with this benefit as of late 2021. Adding select restaurants to the mix increases the value of Priority Pass membership.

Most of the 5 metal cards below have flexible point redemptions (hotel cards aren’t included here) and Priority Pass Restaurant access, plus 2+ free guests. Although other credit cards offer Priority Pass benefits, this list has what we believe are the best overall options.
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The Top 15 Credit Cards For 0% APR

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0% APR can have a variety of applications. Sometimes you need more than 30 days to pay for something, or need to increase the amount of cash on hand. This is usually the best way to solve that problem while avoiding interest. Credit cards normally have 15-20% APR, and it’s rarely worthwhile to pay interest on card purchases. One of the downsides here is that most of the below cards require a minimum credit score of 650+. People who really need 0% APR often have lower credit scores. If you fall into this category, check to see if you’re prequalified before applying. Most banks have this option. Search “[bank name] prequalification” and their website should pop right up.

Most of the below cards also have 0% APR on balance transfers, but balance transfers almost always have a fee associated with them. It’s better to put new purchases on a 0% APR card instead of trying to do a balance transfer. Note: This list is current as of December 2021 and is subject to change.

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Review: U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite

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The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve (USBAR) is a premium travel card which also works well for everyday usage. It closely competes with the the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, and other luxury cards. The USBAR might have lower earning potential than certain competitors, but it’s often easier to use and more convenient. This is a card worth exploring even if it can potentially be tough to get U.S. Bank credit cards.

FEATURES AT A GLANCE

    • $400 annual fee
    • Zero foreign transaction fees
    • 5x points on hotels and car rentals booked through U.S. Bank’s website
    • 3x points on travel
    • 3x points on mobile wallet transactions
    • 1x points on everything else
    • $325 annual credit (for travel or restaurants)
    • $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (once every 4 years)
    • Metal card

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Anti-Churning Rules and Chase 5/24 Explained

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“Churners” seek sign-up bonuses and other rewards by opening lots of credit cards. In most cases, they’re legitimate customers who want extra cash back or free travel. A lot of credit cards offer great rewards and bonuses. As people become more educated about credit cards (CCs) some inevitably want to maximize (or abuse) the system, despite risks to their credit scores.

As a result, banks have implemented rules (sometimes unofficially) to deter churners. They naturally aim for a positive ROI on customers. Here’s a compilation of the most important things to keep in mind. Keep in mind that this isn’t a comprehensive list of all rules/guidelines, and things are subject to change.

As a side note, some banks might shut you down if you go too hard and fast. They can take away points or close your cards. We recommend applying for 1 new card every 3-4 months, to start. If you have higher risk tolerance, maybe apply for a new card every 2-3 months, once your credit history is pretty well-established. Don’t go overboard. Start with credit cards that you’re likely to use on a regular basis, and pay your balance in full every month.

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The Top 5+ No-Fee Credit Cards For Streaming

Credit Card Roundups /

Streaming is a category that’s growing in popularity, although it isn’t as important as other categories. Most people probably spend $30-40 monthly on a couple of streaming services. If you’re spending $50-100 every month on streaming, you’re probably oversubscribed; consider cutting down on your subscriptions. Streaming is typically a low-ROI activity as it is.

Remember that bonus offers and free trials exist for most services on a limited basis. Existing credit cards may give small discounts for new subscribers. As another example, Discovery+ can be free via Verizon, and Amazon Prime members can get Showtime for $5 per month for 6 months. Check deal sites before signing up for a new streaming service. A free or discounted introductory period is likely available.

Note: Credit card issuers have different definitions for “streaming” eligibility. The top cards might not be the best cards for you. Check your subscription(s) against each card’s list of eligible categories.

 

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