Quick highlights
- Rewards rate: 4 points per $1 on dining, takeout, and restaurant delivery; 2 points per $1 at grocery stores, grocery delivery, streaming services, gas stations and EV charging stations; 1 point per $1 on all other eligible purchases
- Welcome offer: Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days of card opening
- Annual fee: $0
- Purchase intro APR: 0 percent for the first 12 billing cycles
- Balance transfer intro APR: 0 percent for the first 12 billing cycles
- Regular APR: 20.24% to 29.24% variable, based on creditworthiness
Current welcome offer
New qualifying cardholders can earn 20,000 bonus points when spending $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening. With a fixed point value of 1 cent per point, that adds up to $200 in rewards usable for discount travel, purchasing gift cards or redeeming for cash back if you have a checking or savings account with U.S. Bank.
Compared to other cash back cards with no annual fee, the U.S. Bank Altitude Go card has a high spending requirement to earn the welcome bonus. Similar cards—including the SavorOne Rewards Card from CapitalOne (See Rates and Fees) and the Chase Freedom Flex℠—offer a $200 reward after spending $500 for the SavorOne or $500 for the Freedom Flex in the first three months of account opening.
Rewards rate
Perhaps the best benefit of the U.S. Bank Altitude Go card is the 4 points per $1 for dining and takeout purchases, which is one of the best benefits among cards with no annual fee. But that’s not the only way to earn points. You can earn bonus points through everyday spending or purchasing through the U.S. Bank Rewards Center Earn Mall.
How you earn
The biggest rewards category is dining. This includes eating in at restaurants or bars, ordering takeout from your favorite places or getting food delivered to you. You can earn 4 points per $1 spent on most dining or food delivery purchases. Your options aren’t limited to just sit-down locations. The bonus is applied to anywhere classified as a restaurant, fast-food restaurant or bar. Compared to other cards, the 4 points per $1 spent on bonus categories make the Altitude Go one of the best credit cards for restaurants and dining out.
In addition, you could earn 2 points per $1 spent in four everyday categories: Grocery stores, grocery delivery, streaming services and gas stations. While these bonus categories are popular among rewards credit cards, what makes the U.S. Bank Altitude Go card unique is the streaming service category.
Along with the boosted rewards rate for streaming services, you could earn a $15 credit annually after 11 consecutive months of purchases on up to 23 different services, including Apple TV+, AT&T TV Now, Disney+, Hulu and Netflix. Considering the average household subscribes to nearly nine streaming services, using this card just for streaming could net over 700 points per year (assuming a $350 annual spend on streaming services). Combine this with the $15 credit, which is essentially a free month for one of your services, and this makes it possibly one of the best cards for streaming services.
Like other rewards cards, the U.S. Bank Altitude Go card offers bonuses for shopping through the issuer’s online portal, aptly named the Rewards Center Earn Mall. Using your card on this portal gives you the opportunity to boost the rewards you earn depending on current offers from reputable retailers. While this could offer more points for your spend, it does require the additional effort to go to the online mall first instead of purchasing directly through the retailer. But you’ll want to keep the online portal in mind because you may get your dollar to earn you more on every purchase, in turn increasing the yearly value of your Altitude Go Card.
How to redeem
Points can be exchanged for merchandise, gift cards, rewards debit cards or redeemed for discounted travel. This makes the U.S. Bank Altitude Go more of a cash back credit card with travel perks and less of a travel rewards card.
Despite the multiple options that offer a one-to-one exchange rate, your best redemption option might be travel. Points can be used to book airfare with multiple major airlines, rooms at thousands of hotels, along with rental cars, cruises or activities categorized as travel. Additionally, because you are booking through the rewards portal, you could still earn points or qualifying nights towards elite status or rewards travel.
Even if you don’t have enough points for a reward, you can still use them to discount your next trip. U.S. Bank allows cardholders to shop with points and cash in the rewards portal, enabling you to reduce the cost of travel purchases and make up the rest with cash. There is also no limit on the number of points you can use, giving you the flexibility to use as little or as many points as you’d like to.
Finally, you can redeem your points immediately after making a purchase using your U.S. Bank Altitude Go card. With Real-Time Rewards, you can get notified on your mobile device when you have enough points to cover your spending. Simply reply with a confirmation and your points will be immediately applied to that purchase.