U.S. Bank is preparing to roll out a credit card that can pay as much as 4% cash back on every purchase for banking customers who meet eligibility requirements. Flat-rate cash back credit cards tend to top out at 2% on purchases, meaning this card could be twice as lucrative as alternatives — if you qualify.
2% to 4% cash back
The U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature Card, which is currently in wait-list status, will pay a base rate of 2% on every purchase. Customers who have a Bank Smartly® Savings account and at least $5,000 in combined accounts with U.S. Bank can rack up a “Smartly Earning Bonus” on top of that rate:
If you have $5,000 to $49,999 in balances: You earn a 25% bonus on the rewards you earn, making your effective rewards rate 2.5% cash back.
If you have $50,000 to $99,999 in balances: You earn a 50% bonus on your rewards, making your effective rewards rate 3% cash back.
If you have $100,000 or more in balances: You earn a 100% bonus, making your effective rewards rate 4% cash back.
To qualify for those higher rates, a cardholder must have or open a Bank Smartly® Savings account with a minimum deposit of $25 and maintain the necessary combined balances in checking accounts, savings accounts, money market savings accounts, CDs, IRAs, U.S. Bancorp Investments and personal trust accounts. Business and commercial accounts don’t qualify, and only primary cardholders’ accounts are considered (not accounts owned by authorized users).
To determine bonus eligibility, the bank looks at your average daily combined balance for the preceding three months.
Rewards get full value when deposited
Rewards are earned as points. The base rate is 2 points per dollar, with the bonuses adding on 0.5 points, 1 point or 2 points per dollar. When you deposit your rewards into an eligible U.S. Bank deposit account, points are worth 1 cent apiece, giving you the full cash-back value of 2% to 4%. Other redemptions, including for statement credit, may result in a lower value per point.
There’s no limit on the total amount of rewards you can earn, and rewards points don’t expire unless there is no activity in the account for 12 billing cycles.
Important disclosures from U.S. Bank
Net Purchases are Purchases minus credits and returns. Not all transactions are considered to be Purchases and eligible to earn rewards, such as transactions posting as Convenience Checks; Balance Transfers; Advances (including ATM withdrawals, wire transfers, traveler’s checks, money orders, foreign cash transactions, betting transactions, and lottery tickets); interest charges and fees; credit insurance premiums; and transactions to (i) fund certain prepaid card products, (ii) buy currency from the U.S. Mint, or (iii) buy cash convertible items. Upon approval, see your Cardmember Agreement for details. Purchases qualify for rewards based on how merchants choose to classify their business and we reserve the right to determine which purchases qualify.
1. “Cash back” rewards are earned under the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature® Card program. These rewards are earned as “Points”, and U.S. Bank will credit your U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card with 2 “Points” for every $1 in eligible Net Purchases. You may earn additional Points for a Smartly Earning Bonus if you (i.e., either Cardmember if there is more than one):
Open ($25 minimum deposit required) or maintain a U.S. Bank Smartly® Savings account and
Have Combined Balances with U.S. Bank in checking account(s), money market savings account(s), savings account(s), CDs and/or IRAs, U.S. Bancorp Investments and personal trust account(s):
Between $5,000 – $49,999, to earn a total of 2.5 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 0.5 Points),
Between $50,000 – $99,999, to earn a total of 3 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 1 Point), or
$100,000 or more to earn a total of 4 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 2 Points).
Combined Balances are based on the average daily balance of the previous 3 months (calculated monthly) (or, for account(s) open less than 3 months, the average daily balance of the applicable time frame). The applicable Smartly Earning Bonus will be determined by reviewing the Combined Balances in the qualifying accounts of each Cardmember (if there is more than one) and using the total Combined Balances of the individual whose accounts have the highest total. If a U.S. Bank Smartly Card account has an Authorized User(s), the U.S. Bank balances of the Authorized User(s) will not be reviewed and will not qualify for determining the Smartly Earning Bonus. Note: Balances in business accounts, commercial accounts, and the Trustee only client relationship do not qualify. The Smartly Earning Bonus that will be applied to your Account is determined within the first 5 days of each month, which means that the bonus applied to your Account may vary during a billing cycle. The Smartly Earning Bonuses are calculated when Net Purchases are posted to your Account (which may not be the transaction date). Points will expire if there is no reward, purchase, or balance activity on your account for 12 consecutive statement cycles.
2. This card earns cash back rewards in the form of Points. To redeem as Cash Back in the values noted in this advertisement, rewards Points must be redeemed as a deposit into an eligible U.S. Bank deposit account. Other redemptions, such as statement credits and gift cards, may be at a reduced redemption rate.
