Overview of U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card
If you want to earn money off your next vacation or business trip, earning points and miles on your card isn’t the only way. Using a cashback rewards card can help you to earn some travel rewards via cash back, which can be used to book travel that can’t be redeemed with points. The U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature card can help you in this regard.
Benefits of Using the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card
Issued by one of the largest U.S. retail banks, this card offers plenty of flexibility for purchases to earn rewards. This freedom in terms of spending categories helps to distinguish this U.S. Bank Cash Plus Rewards card from the competition.
You will find quite a few cash-back cards from bug retailers, which will reward you with 5% cash-back rewards on your card spending either with specific retailers or within certain spending categories.
However, these spending categories are almost always set by the card issuer. And some eligible categories will rotate quarterly, making it hard for you to keep up with where you will be able to earn points.
With this U.S. Bank Cash rewards card, you can choose your spending categories and earn cashback on all eligible purchases for up to $2,000. This limit is approximately $500 more than the spending limit of similar-level cashback cards.) And you don’t have to worry about paying an annual fee!
How Do You Earn Cash Back on the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card?
Each quarter you will be asked to choose two spending categories for your 5% cashback rewards and one for your 2% everyday spending category. You will need to select these each quarter in order to be able to earn cashback from your related spending.
- 5% cashback on up to $2,000 spent each quarter in two selected spending categories.
- 2% cashback on card purchases in one selected everyday category.
- 1% cashback on all other eligible spending with your card.
In order to get the most value for all your spending, you might use your U.S. Bank Cash Plus rewards only for spending in the 5% and 2% categories. If you hold another cashback card with 1.5%+ rewards for everyday spending, it may make sense to use this for your other purchases.
What Cash Back Categories Can You Choose From?
Each quarter you will need to select your spending categories. Depending on your spending habits and whether you have big purchases coming up, different choices may make more sense depending on the time of year. Here are the bonus categories you need to choose from:
5% U.S. Bank Cash Plus Rewards Categories:
- Home Utilities
- Internet, Cable, and Streaming Services
- Fast Food
- Cell Phones
- Furniture Stores
- Electronic Stores
- Department Stores
- Gyms and Fitness centers
- Sporting Goods stores.
- Movie Theaters
- Selected Clothing Stores.
- Ground Transportation.
2% U.S. Bank Cash Rewards Categories:
- Grocery Stores and Grocery Deliveries.
- Gas Stations and EV Charging Stations.
- Restaurants.
In order to avoid confusion, you should note that Fast Food is its own category and does not fall under restaurant spending. Eligible purchases at Costco, Target, and Walmart will not qualify as department store spending but will qualify as grocery stores.
The clothing stores are American Eagle Outfitters, Aeropostale, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Express, Eddie Bauer, GAP, Forever 21, Old Navy, J.Crew, The Limited, and Talbots.
When you use your card for eligible purchases outside of your selected spending categories, you will earn 1% cashback.
Other Benefits of the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card?
Cashback isn’t the only benefit available on this card. You can benefit from no annual fee and 0% APR on balance transfers for the first fifteen months of opening your account. These benefits are a cost-effective way to earn cashback on your everyday category spending with eligible purchases.
- $200 bonus once you spend $1,000 within the first three months of opening your account. (If you hit the limit, that will give you a 20% cash-back return on your initial spending!)
- Up to $400 cash back each quarter if you hit the $2,000 spending limit.
- No Annual Fee.
- 0% APR for the first 15 billing cycles. Then a variable APR of 19.49-29.9% will be applied.
- 5% Cashback on prepaid airline, hotel, and car bookings made using the U.S. Bank Rewards Travel Center.
- 5% Cashback on two selected spending categories.
- 2% cashback on one selected category.
- 1% cashback on everyday eligible purchases using your credit card.
Foreign Transaction Fee for the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card
If you use this card while traveling abroad, you should know that a 3% foreign transaction fee applies. So, you should avoid using this card outside the US and instead bring a different card with no foreign transaction fees.
How to Redeem Your U.S. Bank Cash Rewards?
You don’t have to wait to hit certain thresholds to redeem your cash back and can use them anytime. Your cashback can be awarded in a variety of ways:
- Statement credit.
- A rewards card. (Must be for at least $20 and can be spent in $5 increments).
- A direct deposit in your U.S. Bank savings or checking account.
You can redeem your cashback by logging into your card account and then navigating to the Rewards Center section of the website. Or, if you prefer, you can do so by phone by calling the number on the bank of your U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature card. Following your call, you will receive a text message asking you to confirm if you want to redeem your cashback rewards against your recent purchases.
Takeaway - U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card Review
The U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature card comes with some decent benefits, but the main reason you should consider this card is for cash-back purposes. Other travel rewards credit cards may help you earn valuable points and miles towards your travel costs, but this is a great card to give yourself more redemption freedom and flexibility in how and where you can earn. And there is no annual fee!
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