Update 11/13/24: U.S. Bank is now accepting product changes to this product.
Update 11/11/24: Card is now live, here is the link
Update 10/31/24: Landing page says the card will be metal.
Update 10/13/24: U.S. Bank has confirmed there will be no cap on the 4%. Hat tip to reader John D
Update 10/6/24: Card will have 3% foreign transaction fee. Also 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. Also 0% APR for 12 months on balance transfers done in the first 60 days (3% standard BT fee). The 0% APR on purchases for 12 months is interesting and makes for a ‘signup bonus’ of sorts for someone willing to carry a balance on a personal card.
Update 9/17/24: a reader heard from a bank source that the release date is slated for October 21, 2024.
Update 9/8/24: Reports are that the card will have no annual fee and will have no welcome bonus.
Original Post 9/3/24:
U.S. Bank is set to launch the Smartly Visa Signature card and this will earn up to 4% back on all purchases. Card details as follows:
- Earn 2% cash back on all purchases
- Earn up to an additional 2% cash back when paired with a U.S. Bank smartly savings account.
- Earn 2.5% total cash back when you have a qualifying balance of $5,000 – $49,999
- Earn 3% total cash back when you have a qualifying balance of $50,000 – $99,999
- Earn 4% total cash back when you have a qualifying balance of $100,000+
There are a few things that are unclear such as whether there is an annual fee, is there a cap on the additional up to 2% cash back and if there will be a sign up bonus or not. The Smartly account itself earns 4.1% APY when you also have a Smartly checking account and a balance of $25,000+ so this is competitive with the best high yield savings accounts.
You can also have the money in their investment account to qualify. (Note: there is a $50 annual fee for self directed brokerage account balances under $250,000. It appears that IRA balances of $50k+ which also have a linked checking account, get the $50 fee waived, so if you meet the $100k minimum with an IRA, and also have a checking and savings account, it should be possible to get the 4% on the Smartly card without any additional fees.)
This has the potential to be big, worth signing up for the wait list in case they offer a better than normal sign up bonus for those that do.
I recall someone posting that the cash back bonus still shows 2% after posting 100K+ in brokerage account. Please share the time frame for the 4% cash back to appear.
Thanks
12/26 – Received Smartly CC & Activated it – shows 2%
12/27 – Pushed $100K to savings (same day ACH)
12/28 – Card now at 4% (2%+2%)
It looks like the maximum amount of time to update to 4% would be 5 business days.
“In addition, we will review the Combined Qualifying Balances on a daily basis to determine whether you qualify for a higher Smartly Earning Bonus tier based upon the day’s Combined Qualifying Balances.
If your daily Combined Qualifying Balances qualify you for a tier upgrade, you will be moved to the higher tier (within 5 business days). You will remain in that tier until you qualify for a higher tier based on your daily Combined Qualifying Balances, or the calculated monthly Combined Qualifying Balance qualifies you for a higher or lower tier.”
My application for a Self-Directed Brokerage Account was denied. I contacted US Bank & the reason was because I was out of their service area. They said it should have been approved & it’s been elevated to get the account open; however, everyone is out for the holidays. I expect it to get resolved after the 1st & then I’ll transfer funds to the brokerage account & invest in a good MMF.
I know you asked a brokerage specific question, but I hope this helps.
I opened the altitude card in June 2024. Anyone know if it is safe to open another US bank CC(Smartly card in this case) just after 6 month since my last US CC card application? Any successful DP to the similar situation?
Thanks.
I opened one up 4 months after (AR, then smartly) with no problem.
DP: Declined despite having first moved $300k into brokerage. On recon they say it is because of having too many recent credit lines (they called out that I am at 5/12)
that happened to me too initially. Lucky for me they let me product change my cash+ visa over to smartly
Same, had to doa product change.
I opened an account and moved >100k into a brokerage account (also opening a savings and checking with min account balances to meet those requirements). Relationship tier did not move up. I spoke to a couple representatives, who then confirmed to me that the brokerage account is not always included in the relationship balance, but depends on what specific investments and which specific investment accounts.
I’ll probably end up closing my account – there’s too many loopholes to be fighting through for something so simple.
Maybe it just takes time to update?
My understanding is that the relationship tier adjusts at the end of each month. That’s what happened for me. The smartly card benefits started earlier, however. I believe the reps you spoke with are mistaken. I’d give it to next month to see if the tier changes.
Which Card to apply?
I am planning to apply for the U.S. Bank CC, with some sign-up bonus that can be eligible to be upgraded/changed to this card, once the signup bonus is received. No existing or prior relationship with the U.S. Bank. Can someone knowledgeable tell me which card should I apply for? 4K-6K spend requirement in 90 days would not be an issue for me.
The rumor mill on Reddit is that the IRA only needs 100k in it to avoid the $50 fee.
https://www.reddit.com/r/CreditCards/comments/1h27uf7/us_bank_smartly_card_guide_the_best_all_purpose/
“Multiple DP as well as my call to CSR confirmed that you only need $100k in your brokerage account to waive the $50/yr account fee. It was either (1) $100k in the brokerage account or (2) total $250k across all accounts”
I was told the same thing from CSR, but they were unable to provide anything in writing. The amount is also evaluated on a single day of the year, not as an average. There’s also no consistency on which day of the year it’s evaluated on.
I’m just seeking a DP here, by any chance if someone has tried to product change to this Smartly Visa from a UAR, did you see if FTF is kept as UAR’s favorable none? I know the chance is may be slim, but am very curious.
Did anyone have issues with the cost basis of their investments carrying over properly to U.S. Bank brokerage?
Colleague reported the assets cost basis/lot allocation came through in order but it took ~1 week for this to be updated in the system.
The transfer itself took 2(!) weeks after being initiated.
My transfer came through in just a few days. Not sure sure about the Cost Basis
I had this issue. Took about a week for cost basis info to show up.
I received my card today. It weighs 0.6 ounces. In comparison, my Chase Prime Visa metal card weighs 0.4 ounces. I wish US Bank (and other metal card banks) would give us a choice on whether to have the metal versus plastic, for those that want to have as light a wallet as possible and/or who carry multiple credit cards in a preferred slim wallet.
I think the card is unnecessarily heavy.
point 2 ounces is really making you feel it ? LOL
Just called the US Bank brokerage customer support and asked them to list the criteria for not getting the $50 annual brokerage fee. They were: Be a US Bank employee, have the brokerage account be an IRA account with 100k+, or have combined household assets of 250k. I specifically asked if having 100k in a normal brokerage would waive the fee and they said no it would not.
This lines up with what’s on their website, but there are a couple redditors telling everyone that they were told $100k in a brokerage waives the fee. I don’t doubt they were told that, but their customer service is notoriously inconsistent from rep to rep, and it seems likely a lot of people are going to get hit with a fee in a year they don’t expect.
Thanks for the update. Some below say $100k in a usb self directed brokerage ira does not qualify, it has to be in a “US Bank-side ira”. any word on that?
Footnote #6 on Bank Corp. “Self-directed investment account brokerage fees” says “Annual account/IRA fees may be waived for clients with a statement household balance > $250k”.
So, whether you have a brokerage account or IRA account, your $50 annual fee will ONLY be waived if balance is $250K or more.
IRA fee can be waived with only $50k if you have Smart Rewards. Requires checking account though, which locks you out of churning bonuses.
https://www.usbank.com/bank-accounts/checking-accounts/smart-rewards.html