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It’s a bad news Monday all around.
There have been rumors going around the interwebs for a couple of weeks that US Bank (USB) was going to be discontinuing one of our favorite personal credit cards, the Altitude Reserve, sometime during the first part of November.
It looks like doomsday may have arrived. As of today, USB is no longer accepting new applications for the card.
Update: Reader John reports that he was able to product change from Altitude Go to the Altitude Reserve as of mid-day on the 11/11. Hopefully that path stays open.
Card Details
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Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. |
Quick Thoughts
The Altitude Reserve has been one of our favorite consumer cards over the last few years because it earns 3x on mobile wallet spend and those points can then be used to cover select travel purchases at a value of 1.5c per point. Because of that, it’s fairly easy to turn it into a card that earns 4.5% cash back everywhere mobile wallet is accepted…which can be especially handy at warehouse clubs such as Costco, Sam’s Club, or BJ’s Wholesale.
All of that may have come to an end, however.
To be clear, as far as we know, US Bank has not officially announced that the card is being discontinued and it’s possible that applications may be reopened at some point down the line. That said, rumors have been floating around for awhile that the card was on its way out and that seemed to corroborated in recent days by front-line reps.
If the card is indeed being discontinued, we don’t have any clarity on what will happen with current cardholders. It’s possible that US Bank might let those folks continue to ride into the sunset with their 3% return on mobile wallet spending without forcing a product change….and we certainly hope that’s the case.
Regardless, we’ll pour one out for our good buddy the Altitude Reserve. You were one of a kind and we’ll miss you.
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I applied in late October with a frozen credit file. Yesterday, tuesday November 12th, I lifted the freeze, called in, they pulled report, and was approved 3 hours later. If people have other US Bank products and want to product change to USBAR, I’d suggest sooner rather than later. As others have said, US Bank tends to let grandfathered cardholders keep their cards without changing terms for many years. Flexperks cards come to mind, it was maybe 4-5 years after applications stopped that they force product changed people over to other cards.
Great card, hope current cardholders can keep the current terms. Now that I use Apple Pay for most purchases, this has become a no-brainer card for charges. Now that it is getting harder to get saver-level flight awards, redeeming points at 1.5c is just fine by me
[…] Update: Unfortunately, US Bank Altitude Reserve no longer accepting new applications […]
Interesting. My US Bank Altitude Reserve card is due for renewal and I have a charge of Annual Membership Fee on 11/8. I’m hoping we can still keep the card and earn 3x. Now I should maybe think about redeeming all my points before they become cash back.
I meant a charge of $0 of annual fee. Odd.
It can be that they started to not charge annual fee in anticipation of major changes to, or discontinuing, the card. Please update if you ever get charged the annual fee.
Hoping those of us with the card can continue to ride that 3X mobile wallet for years to come. Venture X really took the wind out of the sails of this card for many, but I still believe the USB AR stands as the easiest value ultra-premium card out there. No needing to mess around with portal bookings and transfer partners to do well, straight forward credits and travel redemptions that work on a broad set of merchants.
It is an ultra-premium card or just a premium card? What characteristics make a card one type or the other?
I was going off of FM’s language in other articles which included US Bank Altitude Reserve among the “Ultra-Premium” cards:
https://frequentmiler.com/ultra-premium-credit-card-travel-insurance/
My personal definition of ultra-premium would be cards with a $300+ annual fee that offer extensive travel credits, lounge access, and the highest levels of travel protections and insurance such as rental car CDW, trip delay & cancellation, lost luggage, accident insurance, etc. There are some lower annual fee cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Southwest cobranded cards that offer some but not all of these features, at a lower annual fee point – I would label those as “Premium” cards. The high annual fees of AMEX Gold are starting to put a wrench in those easy definitions but the card still lacks a travel focus for more premium benefits (no lounge access, doesn’t have the same suite of travel insurance as AMEX Platinum).
Agreed, it’s THE best card for Costco, hands down.
A broad review of reports from industry observers suggests that this is only temporary while USB rolls out its new card. USB has done temporary suspensions in the past when it’s rolled out a new card. Everyone take a deep breath.
Shout out to Stan the Credit Frog for bringing this to light early on.
I wholeheartedly agree!!!! I love the card.
US bank just (midday Monday 11/11/24) permitted me to upgrade Altitude Go to Reserve. No questions / no issues. As soon as I asked. While application online was already unavailable.
Thanks for the info, that’s great news!
I was also able to successfully product change just now (5 minutes ago, midday 11/12/24). I went from a Cash+ to USBAR.
But the application for product change is pending or it went right through? Mine has been submitted successfully but I haven’t received any email yet
I’m not sure what you mean by “application”. I used the live chat in the app, and just asked for a product change. They looked up the available options, told me that I was able to change to USBAR, confirmed the annual fee, then told me that my new card would arrive in 7-10 days.
Thanks for sharing. How long did you have your Cash+ before the request?
I had a 15 year old Perks+ card, which I PCed to a Cash+ 3 months ago. Going directly from the Perks+ to the USBAR wasn’t an option at the time, but the CSR told me I could try again as soon as a month after having the Cash+. I decided to wait a few months, but called again when I saw this post, and they PCed the Cash+ to a USBAR immediately.
I got the new USBAR card well before the 7-10 day estimate, and even though the app and website have only partially updated to the new card, I am already getting the correct USBAR points rates on transactions. Apple Pay is still showing Cash+, but it is working as a USBAR too, which aligns with other DPs I’ve seen.
Thanks for the details. Been curious if the conversion route would work for someone who doesn’t currently have a US Bank card. Was planning to apply for it in a couple of months, wishing I had done it sooner.
Update. Upgrade went through. New Reserve card image already in the app and card is on the way to be delivered tomorrow, Monday, 17th. Got 500 points for connecting Real Time rewards in app without even getting a card first. Card number changed as well.
Thanks for sharing. How long did you have your Altitude Go before the request?