U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card Review: Earn up to 4x Points With No Annual Fee

U.S. Bank Altitude Go Card Benefits

U.S. Bank Altitude Go benefits include bonuses on your spending, numerous redemption options, an annual streaming credit and more.

Easily Attainable Welcome Bonus

The U.S. Bank Altitude Go Card offers a decent welcome bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. This equates to less than $350 in spending per month, which is very manageable for most households. The 20,000 points are worth $200 in deposits to your eligible U.S. Bank account.

Earn up to 4x Points

This card has multiple bonus categories to help you earn maximum rewards on your spending. You’ll receive 4x points on the first $2,000 you spend each quarter on dining, takeout and restaurant delivery purchases. When you hit your quarterly spending cap, all other dining purchases earn 1x points.

Spending on groceries, gas, EV charging and qualifying streaming services earns an unlimited 2x points, except at wholesale clubs, discount stores and supercenters. All other purchases earn 1 point per dollar.

Flexible Redemption Options

Your points can be redeemed in numerous ways. You can deposit points into an eligible U.S. Bank account and receive a value of 1 cent per point. Or, you can use your points to buy merchandise, purchase gift cards, book travel and more — but at a lower value. If you redeem your points for charitable donations, your chosen charity will receive a 100% match.

Annual Streaming Credits

Each year, you’ll receive a $15 credit when you make eligible streaming service purchases for 11 consecutive calendar months. These credits are in addition to the double points you earn on the purchase. Eligible streaming services include Netflix, Apple TV+, Spotify and more.

Intro APR Offer on Purchase and Balance Transfers

When you first open your U.S. Bank Altitude Go Card, you can avoid interest charges by taking advantage of a limited-time intro APR offer: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, then 17.99% – 27.99% APR. When I make a large purchase, I open a low-APR credit card like the Altitude Go so I can spread out my payments without incurring high interest charges.

Balance transfers made within the first 60 days are eligible for the introductory APR offer. While there is a one-time 5% balance transfer fee, most cardholders will come out ahead based on eliminating the interest charges on their current credit card balances.

At the end of the promotional period, the interest rate resets to the standard APR of 17.99% – 27.99% Variable APR, based on your creditworthiness when you open your account.

U.S. Bank Altitude Go Card Drawbacks

There is a lot to like about the U.S. Bank Altitude Go Card, but it does have drawbacks you need to know about before applying.

Highest Bonus Category Is Capped

One of the U.S. Bank Altitude Go benefits I like the most is the 4x points earned on dining purchases. However, the high earning power is capped at the first $2,000 you spend each quarter. This breaks down to a little less than $700 per month. Review your spending to determine if the quarterly cap will impact how much you can earn with this card.

No Transfer Partners

Flexible point redemptions are key to getting the best value for your points. While you can redeem for cash back, travel and more, U.S. Bank doesn’t have any airline or hotel transfer partners. This limits your ability to get maximum value for your points when booking travel. If U.S. Bank started adding transfer partners like Capital One and Wells Fargo have done in the last few years, the value of its points would be much higher.

5% Balance Transfer Fee

When you transfer a balance from another card, most banks charge a one-time fee. The typical fee is 3% of the amount transferred, but the U.S. Bank Altitude Go charges 5%. On a $10,000 balance transfer, that’s an additional $200 you’ll have to pay compared to some of the best balance transfer cards.

Foreign Transaction Fee

The U.S. Bank Altitude Go isn’t a travel credit card. If you do use it when traveling internationally, you need to be aware of its 3% foreign transaction fee. This charge applies to all purchases made outside the US. People who travel overseas frequently or for long periods should consider getting one of the best credit cards with no foreign transaction fees instead.

Who Is the U.S. Bank Altitude Go Card Best For?

The U.S. Bank Altitude Go is best for people who want to earn bonus points on their highest spend categories without paying an annual fee. You’ll get the most out of this card if you regularly dine out, buy groceries, fill up your car and subscribe to streaming services. Its $15 annual credit towards streaming services provides an extra incentive to use the card to pay for your subscriptions.

People who have high-interest credit card debt or are about to make a large purchase could benefit from the card’s intro APR offer. While it has a higher-than-normal balance transfer fee, you can still save money by eliminating credit card interest charges on your debt. The 15-month promotional period gives you more than a year to pay off your balance. I use this strategy when I have large expenses, so I can spread my payments out and make them more manageable.

Is It the Right Card for You?

The U.S. Bank Altitude Go Card may be right for you if you:

• Regularly dine out
• Want an intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers
• Don’t want to pay an annual fee
• Already have a U.S. Bank account to take advantage of the highest redemption rate
• Don’t travel abroad or make international purchases

Alternatives to the U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card

While U.S. Bank Altitude Go benefits are appealing to many cardholders, it isn’t the right card for everyone. Here are a couple of alternatives to consider before applying.

• Citi Double Cash® Card: With the Double Cash Card, an advertising partner, you can earn an unlimited 2% cash back on all spending — 1% when you make a purchase, plus another 1% when you pay it off. This card technically earns Citi ThankYou® points, which you can transfer to Citi’s airline and hotel partners to dip your toe into flexible travel points without paying an annual fee.
• Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card: With this card, you can choose your favorite eligible category to earn 3% cash back and get automatic 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs. For the first year, your chosen category receives an additional 3% cash back for a total of 6%. Bonus cash back is available on the first $2,500 you spend each quarter (then you’ll earn 1%), and all other purchases earn 1% cash back. You can earn up to 75% more cash back when you qualify for Preferred Rewards based on your combined banking and investment balances with BoA and Merrill.