[May 10th Launch] U.S. Bank To Launch Two New Altitude Cards; 50,000/20,000 Points Signup Bonus On Connect/Go Cards

Update 5/10/21: Altitude Connect is now live online and in branch. (direct link)

Update 6/8/20: Altitude Go is now live online and in branch. (direct link)

Update 4/26/21: Source: Altitude Connect will launch online and in branch on May 10, 2021. Comes with 50,000 points signup bonus on $3,000 spend within 120 days. No need to be U.S. Bank customer to be able to apply. Update 11/20/20: They are now targeting a January 2021 launch date for the Altitude Connect. Update 7/16/20: No final word yet, but we’re hearing that Altitude Connect will launch some time in August. Update 5/31/20: The signup bonus on Altitude Go should be valid for both branch and online applications. (As noted already: bonus is slated to be available from June 8 through August 9th, and should be valid even for those without any US Bank relationship.) A few other revisions/additions below. Update 5/28/20: Various updates in the post below: Altitude Go card will not need existing US Bank relationship to apply (unsure whether Connect will require relationship), added below. Instant card number upon approval, added below. Added some more detail on the streaming credit. Grocery and Restaurant delivery services included, added below. Signup bonus dates, added below. Other minor changes updated below. Update 5/26/20: The Altitude Go will be released June 8th. The Altitude Connect will be released later in the summer. (I’ve removed a bunch of the updates below and added them into the main text of the post for easier reading.) Update 3/19/20: Sources indicate a projected launch date of June 8th, though it’ll depend on covid-19. Update 3/18/20: Launch has been delayed beyond the initial March 30 timeframe, according to sources. No clear date for launch is currently available. Update 3/10/20: Cards are set to launch on March 30 , 2020.

US Bank Go/Connect Cards

We’ve reported that US Bank will launch two new credit cards, and sources now gave us all the details on these new cards. They are also discontinuing all Flexperks cards in deference to the new Altitude lineup.

The two new cards are:

1. Altitude Go card with no annual fee card
2. Altitude Connect card with a $95 annual fee

Points are worth 1¢ each on both cards. Points can not be combined with Reserve to increase their value to 1.5 cents. Both the Go and Connect cards will have a weighted metal center and the Connect card with have a red rim.

Altitude Go – No Annual Fee

Direct Link to Altitude Go

• Card has no annual fee
• No foreign transaction fees
• Card earns the following rates:
  • 4x on Dining and Takeout, including Food Delivery Services (examples include Grubhub, UberEATS, DoorDash, Caviar, BiteSquad, Delivery.com, Eat24, Postmates)
  • 2x on Grocery, Gas Stations, and Streaming Services; includes Grocery Delivery and Meal Kit Delivery (examples of grocery delivery services include Amazon Fresh, InstaCart, Peapod, Shipt; examples of meal kit delivery include Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Freshly, Green Chef, Home Chef, Plated, Sun Basket)
  • 1x everywhere else
• $15 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 $15 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.
• 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balances transfers
• Instant card number upon approval which can be added to your mobile wallet immediately when you use text-to-apply. Text applications are only available when done through a banker, I suppose you can call a US Bank branch and try applying with a banker if this feature is important to you.
• Standard Visa Signature benefits.

Signup Bonus

• Altitude Go card card will get 20,000 points after $1,000 spend in 90 days.
• This offer is valid from 6/8/20 – 8/9/20.

Signup bonus offer should be available both in US Bank branches and for easy online sign up. Notably: Unlike the Altitude Reserve, you will be able to apply for the Go card even without any existing US Bank relationship.

Altitude Connect – $95 Annual Fee

• Card has $95 annual fee, fee is waived the first year
• No foreign transaction fees
• Card earns the following rates:
  • 5x on prepaid hotel and car rentals when booked with the Altitude Rewards Center
  • 4x on Travel and at Gas 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.

Signup Bonus

• Altitude Connect card will get 50,000 points after $3,000 spend in 120 days.

At card launch the signup bonus will only be available in branch. (No mention about needing a prior relationship, so should work for anyone in branch.) The card will launch online as well, but we don’t know if/what the signup bonus will be.

Altitude Reserve

I’m including the details of the existing Altitude Reserve card just for comparison sake, NOTHING NEW HERE:

• $400 annual fee (not waived the first year)
• Card earns the following rates:
  • 5x on prepaid hotel and car rentals when booked with the Altitude Rewards Center
  • 3x mobile wallet
  • 3x travel purchases
  • 1x everywhere else
• $325 in annual travel credits

Points Value

Points are worth 1¢ each on the Go and Connect card using Real Time Rewards redemption which allows cashing out points to offset almost any purchase. The Reserve card has the ability to pretty easily get 1.5 cents value with Real Time Rewards redemption; the Go and Connect cards will only get 1 cent value.

Points on Go and Connect cards can not be combined with Reserve to increase their value to 1.5 cents.

Final Thoughts

It’s interesting that the various cards have differing strong points. For example, the Connect and Reserve get 5x with prepaid bookings, the Connect gets 4x on Travel and Gas, the Go gets 4x on Dining, the Reserve gets 3x on mobile wallet payments, the Go and Connect gets 2x on Groceries.

There’s no single card that has it all. These kinds of moves bug me since it seems right for the more premium cards to be strictly an upgrade to the lower card without any trade-offs. Certainly won’t be the first bank to do such a thing. (shruggie emoji)

As noted, the Go and Connect card points will not be worth 1.5 cents per point via Real Time Rewards redemptions like the Altitude. The cards still have some nice angles, for example, a no-fee card which earns 4% on dining and has no foreign transaction fee and $15 streaming credit is a nice option.

My speculation: It’s likely we’ll see some updates/revamps to the Reserve card as well, e.g. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a streaming credit on the Reserve or to see a 2x Grocery/Gas category added or to see the Travel category go up from 3x to 4x. Then, again, it’s possible they’ll increase the annual fee too. This paragraph is purely speculation. We did see them add the 5x prepaid travel category beginning this month.