My U.S. Bank Leverage Business Card Approval

Upon noticing some upcoming spend, I decided to lob in an application for the U.S. Bank Leverage business card which currently comes with an increased signup bonus of $900 after spending $7,500 within 120 days.

I applied using my name and SSN as a sole proprietorship. I got a pending reply, and the next day an email came through congratulating me on my new card. Apparently I’ve been approved.

The only U.S. Bank card I’ve ever had was the Altitude Reserve which I had for one year back in 2017. I wasn’t sure what kind of relationship is needed to get a U.S. Bank business card, but luckily they approved me automatically without any issues.

I typically consider a new account if I can net $500+ on the signup (sometimes for less if it’s easy or has other benefits). This bonus easily cleared my threshold. As an added bonus, the card is not supposed to get report to the personal credit bureaus.

What’s also nice about the card is it earns 2% on your top two spend categories, and readers have told me that even tax payments should work for that. There are some excluded categories – see this list.

My plan is to try meeting the spend on this card with a number of large charges. I’ll try having no more than two transactions on the card per billing statement. That should give me 8 purchases to meet the spend requirement. Hopefully all of my purchases will count for the 2% earn rate.

People have said you can contact U.S. Bank and have them expedite the card. I’m going to just let it play out and start the spend whenever it comes.

Some people have reported issues with getting the $900 bonus attached, instead the reps tell them the $750 is attached. This issue was when there was a banker-specific link. We now have a public link. Hopefully – even if that was a real problem – it’s not a problem any longer with the public link. I’ll try calling in to see what they say about my own bonus since I applied with the banker link, before we had the public link.

The card’s $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. After the first year, I’ll cancel the card within 30 days to avoid paying any annual fee.
    Chuck
  • On April 19, 2024, 11:00
Tags: signup bonusu.s. bank

View Comments (92)

  • Was approved for this card but was not able to get it expedited after calling and speaking with two different reps.

  • Does anyone know if you can make a tax payment above your CA limit with USB Leverage?

    I unsuccessfully attempted to open a couple credit union accounts with this before reading I needed to turn on cash access. Called USB and they told me cash access was not available on this card. Anybody run into this?

    • Used my new Leverage card for estimated tax payment and received 2% cash back plus $900 SUB when statement closed.

    • Tax payment won't be processed as a cash advance. You can charge up to your credit limit.

    • For US bank, I had to add to PayPal to make a tax payment via PayUSA. For some reason I couldn’t get it to accept directly.

  • I applied for the business Leverage on 5/31 through the $900 SUB link online and got the 7-10 days message. I called US Bank to check on status and the rep went ahead and reviewed my application and now I have been approved today and see the card in my online banking account. Card should arrive within 6 business days.

    Is there any way for me to confirm in my app/online banking that the $900 SUB is actually active for my card? I’m concerned if this was just meant to be a targeted offer and that I won’t actually receive the bonus if I meet the $7.5k spend requirement.

    Also, has anyone else applied for the card online like me and wondering if this SUB will be honored or not – or are you not worried?

    • @guest_1857107 I've wondered before with US Bank so I secure message them to "confirm the dates I need to adhere for the XXX bonus." Gets the answer I need of whether it's attached and I have the amount and date in writing.

      • Thanks. How do you SM them? I didn’t know they have that feature available. Don’t think I’ve seen it in my online banking

        • @guest_1857107 Looks like they replaced with Smart Assistant. I suppose calling is the only real way now. :(

      • Offer available exclusively in branches, through your banker or following the links within the flyer. Applications made through usbank.com, U.S. Bank Mobile App, U.S. Bank Online Banking or other direct mail channels are not eligible to receive this offer.
        Can I use this link?

  • Do we know if giftcard purchases towards minimum spend is safe with U.S. Bank?

  • On my personal credit card it showed the bonus was available until I qualified and then showed I earned the bonus. On the business card I don't see anything about the bonus. Does anyone see anything online in you account about the 900 bonus?

  • Seems U.S. Bank Biz is difficult to use to fund a bank account opening deposit. I've been able to use U.S. Bank personal credit cards but have not had any success with two different credit unions. I'll have enough organic spend to meet the SUB but was hoping to get it done faster with some low hanging fruit. Does anyone have any suggestions for the U.S Bank biz credit card spend?

    • You need to call them to activate cash advance on your business card first. Also, make sure the funding amount is not more than your cash advance limit, as the funding transaction may be processed as cash advance first but then posted as purchase. @guest_1836022

      • @guest_1836023 Did you mean that the funding amount needs to be less than the cash advance amount? For example, I got a $3000 credit limit and cash advance is $750. Can I do a $1000 funding or would it be rejected? I've always done more than the cash advance limit to ensure it gets posted as a purchase. Just tried a higher amount and it didn't work with one of my regular credit unions.

        • For US Bank your strategy has to be different. If your CA limit is $750, a $1000 funding will be directly rejected when it is initially authorized as CA (even though it will be posted as purchase later) because it exceeds your CA limit. That's why you need to ask them to activate cash advance first. Of course, there is the risk it is indeed posted as CA, so past DPs can help. @guest_1836022

  • Does anyone know if this can be churned? The fine print indicates existing and previous leverage account holders do not qualify, but I'm curious if US bank enforces the previous account holders who received the bonus and then closed the account after 1st year.

    • I’m on my 7th Biz Leverage Card (4th in 12 months). So I’d say yes…100% churnable and you can hold multiples open at the same time with no issues!

    • Yes, definitely. Much like Chase Ink, it appears US Bank biz cards do not adhere to their fine print. I am on my 3rd Leverage Biz in 2 years.

      • Thanks Ben. So, you were able to get the bonus using the same biz info(SS, EIN, etc.) after closing your accounts? Or did you at least change business ID when applying?

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