[Update] U.S. Bank Launches New Altitude Connect Card With 50,000 Point Bonus (Worth $500)

Update 7/10/24: Signup bonus was lowered recently to 20,000

Update 3/6/24: See new card details in this updated post

(Update 1/10/22: Spend requirement now lowered from $3,000 to $2,000. Same bonus. Hat tip to reader Brian)

After much delay U.S. Bank has finally launched the new Altitude Connect card with a 50,000 point bonus (worth $500). Let’s take a look at the basics of this card:

• 50,000 point bonus after $3,000 in spend within the first 120 days
• Card has $95 annual fee, fee is waived the first year
• No foreign transaction fees
• Card earns the following rates:
  • 4x on Travel and at Gas Stations (including EV charging stations)
  • 2x on Dining, Takeout, Groceries, and Streaming Services
  • 1x everywhere else
• $30 free month of streaming for annual streaming services. Annual streaming credit works as follows: after 11 months of consecutive streaming service charges, the 12th month will get the $30 credit.
  • You can combine different services, e.g. if you were subscribed to Netflix for 8 months and then to Hulu for 3 months, the following month of streaming will be credited back.
  • Amazon Music, Apple Music, AT&T TV Now, Disney+, Google Music, Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, SiriusXM, Slacker Radio, Sling TV, Spotify, Tidal, Vudu, YouTube Music and YouTube TV are all mentioned clearly to work.
• Cell phone protection similar to the US Bank Platinum card; $600 coverage with $25 deductible.
• Precheck or global entry credit.

Our Verdict

Card is worth considering for the 50,000 point sign up bonus (worth $500) especially as the annual fee is waived first year. Don’t think it makes sense to keep long term with that $95 annual fee and poor benefits but there might be some rare use cases for the 4x categories (other cards do earn at a higher rate on gas purchases though). Given that U.S. Bank credit cards can be difficult to get approved for, it might make more sense to apply for the U.S. Altitude Reserve depending on how much value you get out of the other benefits on that card. This is still a strong second (or first option depending on how you value the Reserve benefits) and will be added to our best credit card bonus page.