U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card review: Solid intro APR offer, but limited long-term value

The Citi Double Cash® Card card is one of the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card’s fiercest competitors. It offers the same balance transfer intro APR period as the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum and rewards cardholders with up to 2 percent back on all purchases (1 percent when you buy, 1 percent when you pay). A rewards program like this gives the Double Cash card more long-term value than the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum, making it more worthy of a spot in your wallet after your intro APR period ends. 

However, the Double Cash card is only worthwhile if you pay off your debt before the intro APR period ends and if you avoid carrying a large balance because interest charges can quickly diminish your potential cash back earnings. The intro APR for the Double Cash also doesn’t include new purchases. Even if you are earning rewards, you need to pay off your balance on time each month to avoid interest charges. 

While U.S. Bank Visa Platinum is better if your priority is to save money on interest for a short period, whether you're making new purchases or paying down debt, the Citi Double Cash has better long-term value because it earns cash back on new purchases.

Though these two cards have similar features, the Wells Fargo Reflect comes with a longer intro APR offer on both purchases and qualifying balance transfers. If you want as much time as possible to pay down your balance, the Wells Fargo Reflect is the obvious winner between the two. The Wells Fargo Reflect may also carry a slightly lower interest rate after its intro APR period ends.

The U.S Bank Visa Platinum has a lower introductory balance transfer fee. Though you have less time to transfer a balance than you do with the Wells Fargo Reflect (60 days with U.S. Bank and 120 days with Wells Fargo), the 3 percent transfer ($5 minimum) fee on the U.S Bank Visa could save you a significant amount compared to the Wells Fargo Reflect’s 5 percent, minimum $5 balance transfer fee. For instance, a $1,000 balance transfer to the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum will cost $30 if you transfer it in the first 60 days. The same transfer to the Wells Fargo Reflect will cost $50, but you’ll have up to 120 days to transfer it to qualify for the intro APR.

These factors make the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum the more cost effective option in the short term, but the Wells Fargo Reflect’s longer intro APR offers are more closely aligned with a balance transfer card’s primary purpose: offering maximum time to pay down balances.

The lack of a rewards structure could be a welcome benefit on the U.S Bank Visa Platinum for people who only want to do one thing with their balance transfer card: pay down debt with limited added costs. Without the possibility to earn rewards, cardholders can focus on paying down their balances and saving as much on interest as they can thanks to the card’s intro APR offers. 

The primary factor in a balance transfer or low-interest card’s rating is the quality of its introductory APR offer and ongoing APR. This includes both the introductory rate itself and the length of the intro APR on both balance transfers and new purchases. 

For cards designed primarily for balance transfers, the intro APR offer on balance transfers has the largest impact on overall score. The quality of these cards’ intro APR on new purchases is also considered, but holds less weight than the intro APR on balance transfers. 

For general low-interest cards, the intro APR offer on new purchases has the largest impact on overall score, followed by the ongoing APR and intro APR offer on balance transfers. This weighting assumes cardholders considering a card in this category will prioritize payment flexibility on new purchases or may need to carry a balance long term, whereas cardholders trying to pay off debt will opt for a dedicated balance transfer card.

The cards that score the highest in these categories tend to offer long 0-percent intro APRs on both balance transfers and new purchases as well as a lower-than-average low-end APR. 

Along with evaluating each card’s intro APR offers, we score balance transfer and low-interest cards based on their fees. 

Of primary importance is a card’s balance transfer fee, since this can play a large role in the total cost of a balance transfer. We rate each card’s balance transfer fee based on how it stacks up against the fee you’ll find on competing cards. 

While this fee carries less weight when we assess general low-interest cards than dedicated balance transfer cards, it still factors into our evaluation since cardholders may decide to transfer debt to a low-interest card even if it offers no intro APR or an intro APR higher than 0 percent.

And while a lower balance transfer fee could save you more overall than a few extra months of 0-percent intro APR, this fee carries less weight in our scoring system than a card’s introductory APR and intro APR period. This is because many users prioritize getting as much time as possible to pay off debt while avoiding interest. 

Our ratings also factor in the presence of annual, foreign transaction, cash advance and late payment fees, along with penalty APRs. Annual fees are weighted most heavily since these are the only “unavoidable” fees in the list and tend to be less common on dedicated balance transfer and low-interest credit cards.

While getting a generous intro APR offer and low ongoing APR are likely to be the biggest priorities for someone looking for a low-interest or balance transfer card, we also consider how much value a card can offer after its intro APR comes to an end. 

Balance transfer and low-interest cards receive a higher rating if they also include an ongoing rewards program or unique and valuable perks. Such features make a card more useful long term and make it less likely you’ll need to apply for a new card (and temporarily hurt your credit score) after you pay off debt.

No. The U.S. Bank’s offer is fairly long, but it isn’t the longest intro APR offer among the best balance transfer credit cards.

U.S. Bank recommends having a good to excellent credit score for feasible approval, which will range from 670 to 850 on the FICO scale.

Qualifying credit card accounts may be eligible for an automatic credit limit increase six months after you open an account (based on periodic account reviews) — though there is no certainty on when U.S. Bank will automatically boost credit limits.

No. The intro APR applies to both purchases and balance transfers with the U.S. Bank Platinum, so it’s ideal for financing upcoming large purchases and paying down transferred debt.