U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Applications Are Back

Applications for the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve were pulled at the end of November, but now they are back available again. The card still comes with the same 50,000 points signup bonus which is worth $750 in travel.

Hat tip to OMGitzSARS
    Chuck
  • On December 18, 2020, 14:01
Tags: u.s. bank altitude reserve

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  • Went to two different branches and was told that they could not apply this card for me at the branch. They suggest me to apply this card myself online. It appears that the mobile banking and online card application can directly autofill banking data for other cards but not this card. I feel that it's all manually review right now for eligibility up to 1 week (no credit pull) and then if eligible, they will then pull credit to review if they want to approve you.

  • Can’t Travel this year. What would be the easiest way to receive the $325 travel / dining credit?

    • Well, there's dining. Even with just carryout, it's not hard for us to hit $325 dining in a year. And you're getting effectively 4.5% cashback on dining anyway, so for me, it's my best card for dining, except for quarters where Freedom/Discover/Dividend are running restaurants at 5%. Also, we just booked a cruise for February 2022. That would have triggered the $325 travel credit (if we hadn't already used it on dining), and we were also able to redeem most of our banked points at 1.5x, and earned 3x points on the original charge. Come late 2021, if we still aren't ready to take this cruise, we can just push that reservation down the line to 2023, ad infinitum.

  • Is the thinking that the card is back for the time being or will USB pull it again? I’m trying to decide if I should apply before the end of 2021 or wait a a few weeks into 2021 (after I’ve paid off some holiday spend) and my credit tracks up a bit. I’m around 740 now, but expect to be back in 790-800 mid January. Any thoughts?

  • Wondering if the charges made against the $325 annual travel/dining credit also qualify for the $4,500 in 90 days minimum spend.
    Or is it actually $4,825 spend? TIA

    • Can't Travel this year. What would be the easiest way to get the $325 travel / dining credit?

  • for the first time ever, i had a fraud charge on my USB AR last night. resolved it hopefully in 10 min or so, but given that this is used 90% for mobile payments, very surprised, as those are supposed to be a bit more immune to fraud, and the whole number replacement thing.

    • Didn't realize this is a common thread. With 30+ total cards, always diligent, never had a fraud charge before, ever.

      That's until this card. Two fraud charges on a brand new, never-activated Altitude. Both charges for online services I believe one for Hulu and the other one for an ATT service.

      Got a fraud text and responded.
      They acted pretty quickly and removed the charges.

      But very concerning.

      Even the possible compromise of the US Bank online banking system doesn't explain this as there's not enough info to use the card just from the online banking data (expiry and CVV isn't available on the statement or anywhere else).

      The bank also requires last 4 of SSN and zip to activate the card before first use so it's strange how they were able to activate and use the card before me.

      There must be a problem with their backend system. Which means there's a need to look at every charge on the statement very closely.

      Not good for a card I thought was going to be my only card for all purchases.

        • That's true. And most banks deal with this issue in a very customer friendly way incl. US Bank.
          Nevertheless it's important to trace how a fraud occurred.

          For instance, fraudulent puchases on fast food apps are typically caused by the classic email/password reuse (credentials of one service is hacked and apparently hackers use bots to try the same combination on multiple services and when it's a hit they make purchases). So it's not a big deal.

          But the ones mentioned here incl my own experience are entirely different.
          In my case, a brand new card that was in an unopened mail was some how activated and used.
          There are only two possibilities: the leak was from my end or from the bank(or its vendors).

          If it were from my end, someone has to have all my card info + activation info (last 4 of social + zip). It might be possible for someone to gather one but not both pieces of info.

          Even assuming my online banking account was compromised they could not use a card just with what's available online.

          So it has to be at the bank's end or one of its vendors - which is concerning because it's ultimately the cardholder's responsibility to identify and report fraudulent transactions.

          And if this is your primary card and use it all over the place you need to be careful to monitor transactions.

          I don't think it should be ignored as "one anecdotal experience". Just like the OP here it's important to think about how a hack occurred.

          Even the recently exposed SolarWinds hack - that spanned months or possibly years and across hundreds of (and possibly most major) corporate and government networks including those of cyber security companies - was known because one person at one company was curious how his account was used in an instace without his authorization. The whole thing came to light following his investigation.

          • When I lived in their banking area, I had deposit accounts at U.S. Bank. I once had fraud on a debit card that I had never used anywhere.

    • Similar situation to yours. I also had a fraud charge. It was a $9.99 for Spotify Premium. Did resolve it with Spotify and then called the USB to send me a new card. They may not be the best bank, but in this case kudos to them, they did a UPS overnight of the new card.

      • I've had the same Spotify 9.99 charge twice in the last few weeks. They're declined each time. I locked the card after the first one. I don't even have an active Spotify account.

      • I got the same $9.99 charge from Spotify, had to call to cancel my card, now I got the ugly vertical card...

      • I had the same $9.99 Spotify charge. I just called US Bank and they credited me the $9.99 and sent me a new card.

      • I will say this: every time I've ever had to speak to USB I get a US based cust service rep who is clueful, and they get on the line quickly. They all seem to be in the midwest, and professional. Issues have been resolved easily. It's frankly been better than the service from any other flagship card - CSR, Plat, Prestige etc.

    • so there's that 10%....right?
      it's like saying I used a condom 90% of the time but still got a STD...

  • Any tips on how to get around the residency “Catch 22” for this card that DON’T include opening a different card first? They will not let you apply for Altitude unless you have an existing relationship with US Bank, but if you live in state without any physical branches, you application for a bank account is summarily rejected. A few CSR say the only way around this is to “open a credit card” with them, since they have no residency restrictions. However, that gets me back to the requirement to open an Altitude… Not particularly interested in pulling my credit for a card I don’t want got pull it again for the card I do want.

    • Another thought... Does US Bank let you combine points for their other cards? Specifically, could I open a Altitude Go Visa Signature, meet the $1k spend, get the 25K point bonus, then open an Altitude Reserve card, make that spend bonus and combine the cards ands point?

      If so, then perhaps the point from the Altitude Go, when combined with the the Reserve, would have them become eligible for the 1.5 cent travel value redemption?

      Does anyone have BOTH cards that can answer?

    • US Bank frequently has nationwide bank bonuses. I live in NJ and have gotten $1200 in checking bonuses over the years.

    • Open a USB self-directed brokerage account. Wait a week, and open a USB checking account for the $400 bonus. Apply for the AR with some money in the checking account.

      I don't know whether the brokerage alone would count as enough of a "relationship" to apply for the AR.

    • It's a good thing 5/24 rule doesn't account for inquires where no new account is opened and U.S. Bank will only report new accounts on the 1st of the month. Now you rush!

      • It was taken down in November, anyone approved before it was taken down has already had it reported.

        • Not accurate, check your CR to be sure. Many rushed in last min to apply 11/29 but didn't finish app review until approved on 12/2 or 12/3. My own CR shows a 30-day lag time. On 7/31, U.S. Bank inquiry reported. On 8/30, U.S. Bank new account reported. During that window, I opened another 2 Chase cards (1 biz) while technically, but not officially, 5/24. I wouldn't wait passed 12/29 to do this since apparently U.S. Bank marked my CR 2 days early (or 29 days late if I take the other perspective).

  • Looks like some of the benefits were changed. There is a temporary 3x bonus on food but Priority Pass went from a pretty low tier 4x per year to a useless 4x for 12 months after sign up. I’d rather pay the annual fee on the CSP for unlimited since I use it twice a month with a guest.

    • Is that buried in the benefits portal somewhere? The footnote on the landing page has the same text as before.

      • Most of the review sites say 4 visits per year but looks like you’re right, the more recent ones do state 4 times for the first 12 months.

        • From the rewards tab on my account:

          A renewal notice will be sent by Priority Pass Select to your email address on file approximately 30 days before the expiration of your initial membership. Provided the Priority Pass Select membership benefit is still being offered by U.S. Bank and the card under which you originally enrolled is still eligible, your membership will be automatically renewed for another year at no additional cost,

      • Yeah, the language OP pointed out is the exact same as in mine and P2's AR cards and we were both approved several months ago.

  • As a current cardholder, I kind of hope the card is back with some new benefits- but considering US bank likes to nerf perks, I feel lucky that they did nothing about the card.

    • The card is so good right now I don't believe there is anything that could be done to it that would make it better. I'm shocked it's lasted as long as it has.

        • Not for MS. But a great card for people that prefer to just set and forget.

          Great flat rewards, and great redemption options. If you really want to maximize, just pair it with just one good card for online purchases (Chase Amazon etc) (since 3x mobile wallet rewards don't apply online), you're all set. You can get pretty decent rewards without putting in any time.

          No stingy business like Amex which makes you work for the rewards you already paid for with the annual fee, throwing $10, $20 bones every month, or constantly playing around with allowing gift cards for incidentals.

          I'd prefer if US Bank removes the minimum limits on Realtime rewards but otherwise can't complain, and the $325 travel credit posts smoothly.

          US Bank customer service isn't the best but the most time I've had to spend with customer care among all my credit cards is with Amex and it's always about credits that didn't post correctly.

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