See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply
U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Gold American Express® Card
Rewards rate
1X–3XAnnual fee
$85Intro offer
30,000 pointsRegular APR
14.49% to 24.49% (Variable)Recommended Credit Score
Excellent (740 - 850)U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Gold American Express® Card review
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Snapshot
4.5
U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Gold American Express® Card Overview
The U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Gold American Express® Card rewards travelers with an array of bonus categories and attractive travel perks for a reasonable annual fee. It also has an enticing welcome offer. Just be sure to consider all the pros and cons of this U.S. Bank credit card to see if it’s a good fit for your wallet.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Annual fee that’s slightly lower than some competitive cards
- Great rewards rates on travel purchases (including gas) and dining
- Solid welcome offer
- Statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application
Cons
- No introductory APR offer
- American Express can still be harder to use than Visa or Mastercard
- FlexPoints can only be redeemed through the FlexPerks Rewards Center
A deeper look into the current card offer
Quick highlights
- Rewards rate: 5X the points on prepaid hotel stays and car rentals booked directly through the Rewards Center, 3X points at restaurants, 2X points at gas stations and airlines and 1 point per dollar spent on everything else.
- Welcome offer: 30,000 FlexPoints when you spend $2,000 in the first four months of account opening.
- Annual fee: $85
- Purchase intro APR: None
- Balance transfer intro APR: None
- Regular APR: 14.49 to 24.49 percent
Welcome bonus
When you sign up for this card, you’ll get 30,000 FlexPoints when you spend $2,000 in the first four months after opening the account. These extra points are worth approximately $450 when you spend them on travel. This is a solid offer, and the spending threshold is relatively easy to meet. But to get the most value from the sign-up bonus, you’ll have to put those points toward travel through the FlexPerks Rewards Center, which can be a cumbersome process.
Rewards
With the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express, you’ll earn FlexPoints with every purchase you make.
Earning rewards
The U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express has a revamped suite of bonus categories to help you earn FlexPoints faster. You’ll get 5X points on prepaid hotel stays and car rentals booked directly through the Rewards Center, 3X points per dollar spent at restaurants, 2X points at gas stations and when spending directly with airlines, and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Most of the card’s bonus categories focus on travel, so earning points with this card could be a breeze for frequent flyers.
Redeeming rewards
When you go to redeem your FlexPoints, you have a variety of options. You can get cash back (as a statement credit), trade your points in for gift cards, merchandise, prepaid cards (U.S. Bank Rewards Cards), travel or even to cover the cost of your annual fee. All of your redemptions will go through the FlexPerks Rewards Center.
How much are points worth?
It takes 5,000 points to cover the $85 annual fee, meaning each FlexPoint is worth approximately 1.65 cents, depending on the redemption. This makes FlexPoints comparable in value to many other points and miles, though they may be more difficult to redeem for travel.
Benefits
The U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express has a lot of additional travel benefits, including those you’ll find with more well-known premium travel rewards credit cards. Typically, these perks come with cards that charge a much higher annual fee.
TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
When you apply for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, you’ll get a statement credit covering the application fee (up to $100 value when used for Global Entry), which could offset the cost of your annual fee once every four years when you need to renew the application.
Complimentary Boingo Wi-Fi
You can connect to more than one million Boingo Wi-Fi hotspots for free. Typically, a monthly plan for unlimited connection with Boingo costs $14.99. If you travel often and rely on Wi-Fi airport access, this perk could be a big money saver.
Travel discounts
You can get between 2 and 10 percent off certain Delta Air Lines flights across the U.S. and Canada when you use this card to book, as well as up to 25 percent off select car rentals.
Travel insurance and protections
When you use this card for travel, you’ll have access to a bevy of built-in protections through American Express. You’ll have roadside assistance, lost luggage insurance, car rental loss and damage coverage and a 24-hour hotline if you need help on the go.
No foreign transaction fees
You’ll never get hit with foreign transaction fees when you swipe this card abroad—a must-have perk for frequent international flyers.
Rates and fees
With an $85 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, the rates and fees with this U.S. Bank credit card are competitive with many travel rewards credit cards. There’s no intro APR; the standard purchase and balance transfer APR is between 14.49 and 24.49 percent variable.
How the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express compares to other travel rewards cards
Compared to other travel rewards cards, the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express offers valuable benefits for a relatively low annual fee—but making use of your FlexPoints may be more difficult than redeeming points from other cards.
Two other cards to consider are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Discover it® Miles card. The Sapphire Preferred Card’s annual fee is only incrementally higher, and it has a much larger welcome offer with more transferable points that can be easier to redeem for travel.
The Discover it Miles card earns unlimited 1.5 miles on all purchases, has an unlimited bonus (matching the miles you earned with the card at the end of the first year) and has no annual fee, making it a no-nonsense and inexpensive alternative for people who want to take the guesswork out of earning and redeeming.
U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Gold American Express® Card
See Rates & Fees, Terms Apply
Annual fee
$85Intro offer
30,000 pointsRewards rate
1X–3XRecommended credit
Excellent(740 - 850)
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Apply now
on Chase's secure site
Annual fee
$95Intro offer
60,000 pointsRewards rate
2x–5xRecommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)
Discover it® Miles
Annual fee
$0Intro offer
Discover Match®Rewards rate
1.5XRecommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)Best cards to pair with the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express
Consider pairing the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express with a Visa or Mastercard, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, as American Express credit cards can still be more difficult to use especially overseas.
You’d also want to pair this card with a cash back credit card, or a card that earns you bonus points on other types of purchases. Choosing a card with transferable points, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards points, can also give you more flexibility when it comes to redeeming your points.
Bankrate’s Take—Is the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express worth it?
The U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express is best for frequent travelers who can take advantage of all the card’s travel perks (such as the TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit and free Boingo Wi-Fi) and who spend frequently in travel categories such as flights, car rentals, hotels and gas. If you’re willing to go through the FlexPerks Rewards Center to redeem points for travel, you’ll be rewarded for the effort—otherwise, you won’t see a return on those points.
All information about the U.S. Bank FlexPerks® Gold American Express® Card has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.
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