(Update 8/29/22: Starting October 1, you’ll now qualify on a monthly basis instead of quarterly, per email sent out a few days ago. Hat tip to reader David)
Alliant is making some changes to the Cashback Visa Signature card who opened their account on or before July 13, 2021. These changes will go into effect for the July billing cycle.
- Removal of $99 annual fee
- Introduction of tiered earning system.
- Tier One earns 2.5% cash back on up to $10,000 in spend per month, and 1.5% cash back after that
- Tier Two earns 1.5% cash back on everything
- To qualify for Tier One rewards, you’ll need to open an Alliant High-Rate checking account and:
- Have an average daily balance of $1,000
- Have at least one deposit each month
- Opt-in to e-statements
- Rewards tier eligibility is determined on a quarterly basis
Hat tip to reader Michal S
I was running a math, with 5.25% (1mo treasury rate) yield the $1000 req would yield $50 (5.25%-0.25% alliant apy for checking) and to offset the $50 loss, I would need to spend $5000 provided you already have 1.5% card.
I’ve been getting Tier 1 (2.5% on first $10K, 1.5% on spend above $10K) rewards on this card since they implemented the changes. Here’s what I did:
1) Opened the checking account and deposited $1000 into it right away
2) Setup automatic monthly transfers on the 5th from my Ally account into the Alliant checking for $1.02
Yeah, it ties up $1000 in that checking account with a poor interest rate, but the extra 0.5% in cash back more than makes up for that. I used to use the Double Cash for most of my spend. Now I use this for almost everything.
I did a product change from the 2% card to the 2.5% card a few months ago. I already have a monthly transfer of $5 which was set up years ago when I opened the checking account. I cannot remember why I needed it but I was assuming it had to be $5 from an outside institution. I did not know a monthly transfer from Alliant account to Alliant checking with less than $5 satisfies the requirement. I would rather transfer $1 but do not want to risk losing the extra .5%.
Thank you for the confirmation. I might change to $1 or $2, which may not make much difference as i can always transfer it back to the original account.
As an Alliant member I can speak first hand. Unlike American Express which has extraordinary customer service, be prepared for very little leniency when it comes to customer service with Alliant. For example, when we wanted to dispute a charge, at that point you’re no longer dealing with Alliant but you must go through VISA directly. Alliant offers zero support. Secondly, the new tier program of $1,000 with auto deposits is a pain. We’d much rather pay the $99 fee and not have to tie our money up with their bank. The program was designed to bolster their (Alliant) bottom line. Oh, don’t you dare miss an auto deposit of $5 or more or you’ll lose your 2.5% tier for the following 3 months!! AND when the end of 3 months is over, you won’t begin to earn 2.5% at the first day of the month, but you have to wait until your BILLING CYCLE FIRST DAY!! SO, in essence you are receiving less than a full three months of cash back earning. Our bank messed up the auto deposit so we lost the most important time of the year (the holidays!) Lesson, set up the auto deposits on the Alliant side that way if they screw up, you are protected somewhat since they would be at fault. But hope they honor their mistake and keep you at the 2.5% tier. But in past experiences with Alliant there just isn’t the feeling of being a valued member when it comes to customer service. Also, YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOU SET UP YOUR AUTO DRAFTS (FROM YOUR BANK THROUGH ALLIANT) FOR ENOUGH DRAFTS IN ADVANCE OR YOU WILL LOSE YOUR TOP TIER 2.5% REWARDS! We set up auto draft of $5.00 minimum and the 12 drafts we specified ran out and of course Alliant didn’t message us as they quietly let it run out and they dropped us to lower level tier of 1.5% and we lost $100+ in rewards. They have use of your savings paying a low rate while you jump through a stable full of hoops. We going back to AMEX with a 2% card because the customer support is 100x better than Alliant. #BeenThereDoneThat
@Mike Another crappy thing about Alliant’s 2.5% cash back credit card is that one has to wait until $50 in rewards is achieved before you can cash out. Also, they do not offer alerts directly when it comes to getting credit card alerts. You have to go to Visa directly, where the only alert available is a purchase alert.
So, add the above to the fact you have to have a a monthly transfer into your account, a $1,000 minimum average daily balance, and poor dispute assistance, all for a measly extra 0.5% cash back, I agree with you that this card is disappointing.
$50 in rewards is only $2000 in spending which if you’re spending that little in a month then maybe this isn’t the card for you.
I know you can add an authorized user to this card if they have a SSN.
However, can you can add an authorized user to this card if:
they have an ITIN (but not an SSN)?
they do not have an ITIN, nor SSN?
I didn’t get the email about the change to monthly qualification. Can someone post it?
The monthly qualification is a huge upgrade. Also this:
We’re adding indicators in Alliant online and mobile banking that will display which rewards tier you’re in for each monthly billing cycle so it’ll be even easier to keep track of your cashback.
This will be great, otherwise I have to make test transactions the first week of the quarter to see what tier I’m at.
And again this quarter, according to my CC statements I’m earning only 1.5%, even though I seem to have met the requirements: Paperless statements since always, average daily balance for April/May/June $1092.66, $1145.71, $1035.19. Monthly ACH of $300 from outside account to my Alliant checking account (plus a smattering of other deposits). Did a couple of test transactions for July and August, statements show 1.5% earning level.
I sure wish I could make this account work.
Chris.
The test transaction in the first week of the quarter wouldn’t have worked right as it would earn the prior quarter’s rate. They’ve been applying the rate for a quarter to the all transactions on the 3 statements starting in the quarter rather than looking at individual transaction dates.
I recently had my first statement where I didn’t spend much on the card and my statement showed 1.5% instead of the 2.5% it should have. I contacted them and they gave me $1, said it happens when less than $50 was spent during a cycle and tried unsuccessfully to explain why. They also admitted it was confusing and said they were working on fixing it.
Does Alliant allow product changes? I have an old Alliant checking account and a Alliant generic credit card.
From my experience, yes. I did two PC’s to get to this card.
Does this card ever have sign up bonus?
Nope
I have never seen one for this card. What I did was make my own bonus by signing up for a different alliant card that did have a $500 bonus at the time, got that bonus, then pc’d to this card.
Interesting… what does pc’d mean — switch to? How long would you have to hold the initial card before switching to this card? Thanks
Got approved last week $15K, 13.49% APR, only checked Transunion!! Did have to verify income!!
Can anyone confirm the new 2.5% rate applies to IRS via the various processors?
Did you find a recent DP or end up trying it?
Not yet, still waiting for my 2.5% eligibility.
Yes
Confirmed