U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card Review

The benefits and perks of the CardName truly stand out for people who are leading today's on-the-go, digitally geared lifestyle. With credits for streaming content and extra rewards for dining out, as well as a solid welcome bonus and intro 0% APR period (followed by a RegAPR), Altitude® Go is poisitioned to be a solid no-annual-fee contender for a spot in your wallet.

CardName BENEFITS

The CardName benefits get off to a great start with the welcome bonus opportunity worth up to $200. New cardholders can spend $1,000 in those first 90 days to earn 20,000 bonus points, valued at $200 to redeem on merchandise, gift cards, travel or even cash back in the form of a statement credit or deposit to your U.S. Bank account.

And that bonus is just the start of the rewards. Foodes take note: Cardholders earn four times the points when they use their Altitude® Go card to purchase takeout, food delivery services or dining out. That is a signficant reward rate for really any card, but especially on a no-annual-fee card and without a spending cap on what you can earn. Think about it: If you spend $25 for your weekly pizza night, you earn 100 points.

But if cooking at home is more your speed, that's ok. Altitude® Go has you in mind, too. Grocery stores and grocery delivery purchases earn two points per $1 spent. Additionally, gas station, EV charging station and streaming service purchases will also net you two times the points per $1 you spend. All you other eligible purchases earn you one point per $1 that you spend.

Speaking of streaming services, there's a money-saving benefit you should know about. Cardholders are eligible to receive a $15 statement credit for qualifying streaming services purchased on the card throughout a 12-month period. The credit is automatically applied to the cardholder's account after 11 consecutive calendar months of eligible streaming service purchases. Qualifying streaming services include Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, Apple Music and others. The only "catch" – if you can even call it that – is that your account remain in good standing to be eligible for the credti.

To put the points earning in a pragmatic perspective: If you spent $600 a month on food takeout or delivery, as well as $600 on grocery store purchases or deliveries, in addition to $1,000 on other items, you would have the potential to earn over 55,000 points – worth more than $550 in redemption options – in a year. This scenario doesn't include your initial bonus of 20,000 points after spending just $1,000 in the first 90 days. That is a lot of rewards potential for a card that charges no annual fee (as well as no foreign transaction fees, by the way), just by doing your normal routine.

We've already mentioned that there's no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, but there's yet another money-saving perk to note. The CardName also offers a 0% intro APR for the first 12 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers made within the first 60 days of account opening. After that, the APR becomes RegAPR. You could use those first 12 billing cycles as an interest-free loan to buy yourself to buy a larger-ticket item or do some house projects. Just remember to make a plan and full pay off your purchases before the end of the intro period so that interest doesn't eat into your rewards earning.

FEATURED CARD

 

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• Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
• Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), plus 1% on all other purchases
• Earn 10% cash back on purchases made through Uber & Uber Eats, plus complimentary Uber One membership statement credits through 11/14/2024
• Earn 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases
• Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. Terms apply
• No rotating categories or sign-ups needed to earn cash rewards; plus cash back won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how much you can earn
• 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.99% - 29.99% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies
• No foreign transaction fee
• No annual fee

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ALTITUDE® GO REWARDS AND REWARDS REDEMPTION

With high points earning potential in a number of popular categories, you should be tempted to use this card often so you can build up a healthy bank of points. Then comes the fun part of redeeming your rewards.

Here's a reminder of how this card earns points:

• 4x points on takeout, food delivery and dining out
• 2X at grocery stores and gas stations/EV charging stations (discount stores/supercenters and wholesale clubs excluded effective September 9, 2024).
• 2x points on eligible streaming purchases
• 1x points on all other eligible purchases

Oh, and don't forget that new cardholders earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days.

All those points can be redeemed several ways, including for cash back in the form of a statement credit or a deposit to a U.S. checking or savings account, to purchase merchandise or gift cards, or redeem for travel through the U.S. Bank Travel Portal. Additionally, thanks to the Real=Time Rewards option, you can redeem your points directly at the point of purchase in for many purchases. Being able to pay with rewards on the go is rare in this industry, so if you're someone who uses digital payment methods often, this is a perk that you will enjoy.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES OF THE ALTITUDE® GO CARD

If you consider yourself old-school, with more time spent cooking at home and watching TV with cable or an antenna, this card isn't going to be as beneficial to you since you won't be earning in the top rewards category (4x points on takeout, food delivery and dining out), nor will you be able to put to use the streaming services credit on the 2x points earned on eligible streaming services. There are other no-annual-fee cards out there that will be better a fit.

Additionally, the cash back redemption option is nice to have, but it does have some limits. Namely, that you can only redeem for statement credit or, if you wanted actual cash back, your only option is to redeem direclty into a U.S. Bank checking or savings account. Furthermore, there's a minimum cash back redemption of 2,500 points (that's $25).

ALTITUDE® GO CARDHOLDER SCORES

CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results:

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

HOW THE ALTITUDE® GO CARD COMPARES TO OTHER CARDS

CardName vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited®

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CardName offers solid cash-back earning potential. Cardholders can earn 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on Chase travel; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining; and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

That's a lot of earning categories to keep up with, but it could mean a lot of rewards; however, Altitude® also provides plenty of rewards earning opportunity – including higher earning with restaurants and on grocery store purchases (after the first year with the Chase card).

Neither card charges an annual fee, but Chase Freedom Unlimited® does charge foreign transaction fees; whereas, the U.S. Bank card does not. If you regularly shop with international vendors or travel overseas, the Altitude® Go card is likely a better choice.

Altitude® Go Card vs. CardName

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Like the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, the CardName aligns similarly to the Altitude® Go card. To start, new Blue Cash Preferred® cardholders can earn a $250 statement credit once spending $3,000 on the card within the first six months. Blue Cash Preferred® is also a tiered rewards card which offers high rewards earning at U.S. supermarkets, to the tune of 6% cash back on up to $6,000 spent in a year. Notice, however, that there is a spending cap with the American Express card; after hitting that $6,000 spending cap in a year, you earn just 1% cash back. If you routinely spend more than that in a year, you could be better off with the Altitude® Go card since your earning at the four-points-per-$1 spent at grocery stores earning is unlimited. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.

Additionally, Blue Cash Preferred® offers and unlimited 6% back on eligible streaming purchases, which does put the earning here well ahead of what you can earn on eligible streaming with the U.S. Bank card. There's no streaming credit, however, with the American Express card.

As with the Altitude Go® Card, Blue Cash Preferred® offers a boosted percentage return for gas, but it's higher than Altitude® Go at 3% cash back on your purchases at U.S. gas stations (notably, EV charging stations are NOT part of the higher rewards earning with AmEx, but are with the U.S. Bank card). The American Express card, however, also offers the same 3% back on eligible transit purchases, including ride shares and public transportation. All other eligible purchases

Not unexpectedly, though, with the higher earning rates, come higher costs. Blue Cash Preferred® from American Express has a AnnualFees It also charges foreign transaction fees. Altitude® Go, of course, charges neither of these fees.

The decision may come down to deciding whether the extra rewards opportunities can more than offset the annual fee for the Blue Cash Preferred® card and whether you are looking for a card to use on purchases abroad.

CardName vs. CardName

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The CardName starts off with a decent one-time bonus offer of $200 after you spend $500 in the first three months that the account is open.

When it comes to rewards, the SavorOne offers unlimited 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart and Target); unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply); 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases; and 1% cash back on all other purchases.

The two cards line up in terms of fees: Neither charges an annual fee or foreign transaction fees and both feature a 0% intro APR offer, though the terms differ. The Altitude Go® Card offers an intro 0% APR for 12 billing cycles on purchases and on balance transfers made within the first 60 days (then, RegAPR). SavorOne, on the other hand, offers you an intro 15 months 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers (then, RegAPR; balance transfer fee applies).

The SavorOne card does feature a slew of additional perks, including the ability to redeem rewards for cash back in any amount, the chance to be refunded if an item you purchased goes on sale within a set timeframe (terms apply) and more.

The Altitude Go® Card comes out ahead in terms of rewards earning, but SavorOne may be more your speed if you need a longer intro 0% APR period for your purchases or are enticed by some additional features.

IS ALTITUDE® GO A GOOD CARD?

If you are a busy singleton or family, who has to have the newest devices or lifestyle habits, or are relying on takeout and food delivery services, the CardName could be an excellent card for you.

Points are boosted on today's popular spending categories. There's also no annual fee or foreign transaction fees, which makes it a hit for those who like to be on the cutting edge while still remaining frugal. Why spend money to save money?

Especially in this time of a pandemic, the benefits would be particularly applicable to families with working parents and kids learning remotely – streaming services are necessary for these families, and so too, some would argue, are takeout and delivery services – both of which have higher returns with the CardName.

Survey Methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents' scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. “Current Scores” reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2022 survey.

To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured, please visit the following links: CardName: See Rates and Fees