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US Bank will apparently launch a legitimate Sapphire Reserve competitor May 1st. We expected this from Amex or maybe Citibank, but US Bank? Really? Rumors of US Bank’s new card, the US Bank Altitude Reserve, began last week on Flyertalk. And now Walla.by says that a “source close to the matter has reached out to us to confirm details and timelines.” Walla.by even posted this grainy card image:
Walla.by further posted that the card would have the following features:
- 3X in travel and all mobile wallet purchases (such as Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay).
- 50,000 point signup bonus after $4,500 spend within 90 days
- $400 annual fee
- $325 annual travel credit applied automatically
- Points worth 1.5 cents each when redeemed through the U.S. Bank travel portal
- 12 free Gogo Wifi passes per year
- No foreign transaction fees
- TSA PreCheck or Global Entry reimbursement
- Black car and rental car service
- Metal card
- Visa Infinite perks
Other reported details:
- The Altitude Reserve card will be available May 1, 2017.
- You must be a current U.S. Bank member to apply for the card.
Reading between the lines (i.e. guessing the details)
While not all details have yet been released about this card, let’s make some assumptions / guesses:
- $75 effective annual fee. If this card’s travel credit is as easy to earn at the Sapphire Reserve’s travel credit, then it will effectively reduce the annual fee burden to only $75. In other words, you would pay $400, but soon get $325 back after you spend that much or more on travel. There is also a Reddit report that “Wealth clients” (I’m not 100% sure what that means) will pay only $299 per year for the annual fee which would make this card completely a no-brainer for those clients, if true.
- Priority Pass Select lounge access. While Walla.by didn’t mention lounge access, the original Flyertalk post did. A safe assumption is that they’ll offer Priority Pass Select with either 2 free guests (such as with the Amex Platinum cards) or unlimited free guests (as with the Sapphire Reserve).
- 12 Gogo Wifi Passes per year, US & Canada only, and one segment only. The US Bank FlexPerks card already offers 12 Gogo Wifi Passes. And the CNB Crystal Visa Infinite card does too. As far as I can tell, they are identical (I have both cards). I expect that the Altitude Reserve passes will work the same way. Note that the Amex Business Platinum card’s Gogo passes work for international travel, so they are more valuable than the passes expected from the US Bank card.
- Black car and rental car service. I’m totally guessing here, but based on other similar cards I’d bet this means discounts and elite status. For example, you might get 20% off LimoLink car services, discounts with Avis, National, and Silvercar, Avis Preferred status (worthless in my opinion), and National Executive status (great to have).
- Visa Infinite Perks. This probably means access to the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection (get extra perks like free breakfast, room upgrades, VIP status, etc. when booking hotels in the collection). And, hopefully, it also means access to the Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit which offers $100 off any domestic round-trip flight booked for two or three people. For more, see: Visa Infinite: a path to elite status for couples?
- Point Transfers: None. There hasn’t been any news as to whether US Bank will allow point transfers to airline or hotel programs. I’d be willing to bet, though, that they will not offer that option. Prove me wrong US Bank, please.
How the US Bank Altitude Reserve compares to the Chase Sapphire Reserve
Let’s see how the standard features of each card compare (note to email readers, tables like these are best viewed in your browser):
| Feature | Chase | US Bank | Which is better? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signup Bonus | 50K points after $4K spend | 50K points after $4.5K spend | Chase (lower required spend, more flexible points) |
| Annual Fee | $450 | $400 | US Bank |
| Travel Credits | $300 | $325 | US Bank |
| Point Value | 1.5 cents towards travel | 1.5 cents towards travel | Tie |
| Point Transfers | Transfer 1 to 1 to airline and hotel programs | None expected | Chase |
| Category Bonuses | 3X travel and dining | 3X travel and mobile wallet | US Bank. The mobile wallet bonus opens up huge opportunities. |
| Airport Lounge Access | Priority Pass Select | Priority Pass Select (expected) |
Tie (unless US Bank limits to 2 free guests) |
| Rental Car Coverage | Primary collision damage waiver | Unknown | Chase (unless we learn otherwise) |
| In-flight Wifi | None | 12 Gogo passes per year | US Bank |
| Airfare Discount | None | Visa Infinite Discount Air Benefit (expected) |
US Bank |
| Rental car privileges and discounts | National Executive status, miscellaneous savings with Avis, National, Silvercar | Expected to be similar to Chase’s offering | Tie |
| Global Entry or TSA Pre Fee Credit | $85 TSA-Pre; $100 Global Entry | $85 TSA-Pre; $100 Global Entry (expected) |
Tie |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None | None | Tie |
| Authorized User Fee | $75 | Unknown | Unknown |
| Card Type | Metal, Visa Infinite | Metal, Visa Infinite | Tie |
Final score (as if all features counted equally):
- Chase: 3 points
- US Bank: 5 points
US Bank wins! OK, that’s not really fair. For those who highly value transferable points, there’s still no contest between the two cards. But, but, but… this mobile wallet 3X feature is very interesting. Mobile wallet should work at at many places where you can buy gift cards, at Toys R Us (where you can buy Gift of College gift cards), for paying rent, and much more. Of course, I expect that US Bank will shutdown accounts of those who abuse the feature, but it should be awesome for moderate use.
See also
- Chase Sapphire Reserve Complete Guide
- Crystal Visa Infinite: The best card you can’t get
- Visa Infinite: a path to elite status for couples?
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I don’t know this blog, but it has updated info…
https://travelafterwork.com/en/2017/04/18/details-u-s-bank-altitude-reserve-visa-infinite-card/
If this is accurate I will definitely apply for this card– and my current credit card relationship will be enough to do so 🙂
Just noticed in-branch only.
How does it compare with CNB crystal. Seems pretty similar at a glance.
Yes, it is very much like the CNB card:
Same annual fee ($400)
3X travel (but then CNB gives 3X for groceries, gas, and dining vs. USB mobile payments)
Same Gogo benefit
The biggest differences that I see are:
* Different 3X categories (see above)
* USB points worth 1.5 cents each for travel (vs. about 1.15 with CNB for flights)
* CNB travel credits are for each card (including AUs) and only for airline incidental fees. We don’t know yet how US Bank will handle these
One of the main perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve/Preferred is primary car insurance. Do you know if Visa Infinite perks cover primary car rental insurance in US? On the visa infinite website they list it as a benefit.
My guess is that it will offer primary car insurance, but we won’t know for sure until more details come out
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Really need to know if the US Bank card will have trip delay/canx insurance. I’ve used this benefit twice on CSR and once on Citi Prestige.
Was it fairly easy to get reimbursed or do they make you jump through a lot of hoops. Any tips?
Good point. We’ll have to wait and see.
Man I was gonna cancel my Club Carlson card a while back but glad I forgot to!
Wealth Clients: US Bank has three levels; Private Client, Private Client Reserve, and Ascent Private Capital Management.
Last time i looked they had minimums listed on their web site for each level, but today im not finding them. If i remember right private client was 100k or thereabouts, reserve was 5M, and ascent was 25M.
They have always had pretty good credit cards for those groups, but this looks much better.
Thanks. I’m not sure it would be worth parking that much money with US Bank (if you could) just for a $101 discount on the annual fee.
This is referring to anyone in their “wealth management” book. Basically you have to have an FA there and they have to have more than 250k typically in deposits, investments, and loans not including primary mortgage.
US Bank is the issuer of the Club Carlson CC which I have. I have never had any issues with them but I do remember tons of complaining on the blogs and on FT because people on an application binge were denied the Club Carlson card when it first came out. It’s like people complaining about Chase’s 5/24 rule when you are trying to game the system. Personally this card is not for me and I will stick with CSR but it always is nice to have other options. I do wonder what the points system will be like. 50k US Bank points might really not be worth much if the program is not good.
Keep in mind that there is a lot of problems using mobile pay at merchants. For instance, using Samsung pay usually gets denied more often than not if the amount is over $50. Because Samsung Pay emulates you swiping your card and this throws a wrench into the retailers system. With a chip inserted I can buy VGC at Kroger, Safeway, Wal-Mart, etc no problem. But when I try using a mobile device it prompts for supervisor approval (which creates holding up the line and extra scrutiny) and then it also has the effect of having the “know it all cashier” deciding that VGC are cash only. So it will be YMMV but expect a lot of hiccups.
“Wealth clients” would mean Wealth Management clients.
Also, citi already has a rival to the CSR-their $400/year card that offers the 4th “free” hotel night. Whatever the name of that is.
You’re talking about the Citi Prestige card.