U.S. Bank Altitude^® Connect Visa Signature^® Card Review [2023]: Travel Rewards Without the High Fee?

If your spending habits include frequent travel purchases and paying at the fuel pump, the U.S. Bank Altitude^® Connect Visa Signature^® Card can help you earn versatile rewards points.

One of three Altitude cards offered by U.S. Bank, this card features a decent welcome bonus with a reasonable spending requirement. And this card has competitive rates in a variety of spending categories. But if you want a travel card connected to multiple transfer partners then the Altitude Connect might not be the best choice for you. 

In this U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card review, we'll look at the details of this credit card, as well as its pros and cons, to help you decide if it's the right travel card for your next adventure.

Key takeaways

• The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature has a relatively high rewards rate for travel and gas. You can earn a 5X rewards rate on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center and 4X on travel, gas stations, and EV charging stations.
• Cardholders get a $100 credit every four years to cover a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership.
• As a welcome offer, earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening.
• The Altitude Connect has a couple of nice non-travel perks, such as a $30 annual credit for eligible streaming services and up to $600 per claim in cell phone protection coverage.

Who should get the U.S. Bank Altitude^® Connect Visa Signature^® Card?

The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card is geared toward individuals who spend a lot on travel and at the fuel pump. The card earns a competitive 5X rewards rate on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center and 4X on travel, gas stations, and EV charging stations. It’s also a decent card for those looking for flexible redemption options.

Aside from its rewards rates, the Altitude Connect offers cardholders a few different travel-related perks. You can get a $100 statement credit to cover the fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and the Altitude Connect also offers airport lounge access through Priority Pass and some travel protection features — plus it has no foreign transaction fee. This card also has a $30 annual statement credit as a perk for fans of streaming services.

The annual fee for this card is $95 (waived first year). The fee is reasonable for the level of rewards and perks you get from the Altitude Connect. But if you don’t spend much out of pocket on travel, there are other rewards cards available that could better align with your spending habits.

Credit card basics

Card type	Cash Back / Travel
Credit card issuer	U.S. Bank
Credit card network	Visa
Annual fee	$95 (waived first year)
Intro bonus	Earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening
Reward rate	5X points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center; 4X points on travel, gas stations, and EV charging stations; 2X points on grocery stores, grocery delivery, dining, and streaming services; and 1X points on all other eligible purchases
Recommended credit score	Excellent
Foreign transaction fee	None

Why we like the U.S. Bank Altitude^® Connect Visa Signature^® Card: benefits and perks

• Decent bonus offer: New cardholders earn 50,000 bonus points when you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening. That's a longer timeframe for the spending requirement than you'd get with many other travel cards. 
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit: The card comes with up to $100 in statement credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees once every four years.
• Airport lounge access: Cardholders have access to a Priority Pass Select membership. That gets you into more than 1,300 VIP airport lounges worldwide. Cardholders get four visits free each membership year, but lounge visit fees apply after that. 
• Streaming service credit: You can earn a $30 statement credit on eligible streaming service purchases like Spotify, Hulu, Apple Music, and Netflix.
• Trip protection features: Cardholders have access to trip interruption/cancellation and travel delay protection which can help out if you're in a pinch. 
• Cell phone protection: As a cardholder, you can receive up to a $600 reimbursement if your cell phone is stolen or damaged as long as you pay your monthly bill with this U.S. Bank card. Credit cards with cell phone protection are not as common anymore, so this could be a valuable perk for some people.
• Visa Signature benefits: Along with the card’s standard benefits, cardholders get access to Visa Signature benefits like identity theft protection, luxury hotel benefits, 24/7 concierge services, and merchant discounts through Visa Offers.

What we don't like about this card: drawbacks

• Annual fee: Cardholders must pay a $95 (waived first year) annual fee to use this card.
• No transfer partners: Despite its versatile redemptions, there’s no option to transfer your points to travel partners as you see with some other flexible loyalty programs. If you’re after the best travel redemptions, then you’ll have to look into other credit cards.
• No intro APR offer: This U.S. Bank card doesn’t come with a 0% introductory APR offer on new purchases or balance transfers. For that, check out our list of the best balance transfer cards.

Earning and redeeming Altitude Rewards

Potential earnings in years one and two

Here's a look how your points can add up with the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card. To calculate these values, we used a point valuation of 1 cent per point.

Remember, this is an estimation. The actual value will be determined by how much you spend and in which categories you spend.

Year one earnings: $1,210

Year two earnings: $615

These values are based on the FinanceBuzz Credit Card Rewards Valuation Model, which looks at points earned via spending, the sign-up bonus, and the annual fee.

In our calculations, we assigned all travel spending to the 4X earnings rate. So if some of your travel bookings are made through the Altitude Rewards Center, then you will see potentially more earnings from using this card. In addition, the value of this card could be further boosted if you take advantage of the streaming services credit and the TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee credit.

Best ways to earn

Category	Rewards rate
Prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center	5X
Travel, gas stations, and EV charging stations	4X
Grocery stores, grocery delivery, dining, and streaming services	2X
All other eligible purchases	1X

The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature card comes with a decent welcome offer. The 50,000 bonus points is worth roughly $500 in redemptions through the Altitude Rewards Center. The requirement to spend $2,000 in the first 120 days to earn the bonus has a longer timeframe than with many other travel cards. It's the best way to boost your rewards balance quickly.

Besides the bonus, this U.S. Bank card earns competitive rewards rates in several spending categories. Its bonus categories cover a wide range of spending, so there’s a good chance you can earn points quickly using the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature card.

Maximizing your redemptions

Almost all the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature card’s redemptions go through the Altitude Rewards Center. The Rewards Center is accessible by logging into your U.S. Bank online account. You can use your points to book travel, including flights, hotel accommodations, car rentals, cruises, and other activities.

Other Altitude card redemptions include:

• Merchandise, including electronics and sporting goods
• Gift cards
• Statement credits/cash back
• U.S. Bank prepaid rewards cards

Lastly, the one redemption offered outside of the Altitude Rewards Center is Real-Time Rewards. Cardholders can choose to enroll in this program, which allows you to redeem points instantly when you make a purchase almost anywhere. You'll get a text message after making a purchase and can choose to text back to redeem available points for the purchase you just made. 

U.S. Bank Altitude^® Connect Visa Signature^® Card FAQ

Other cards to consider

The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature is a great choice for a versatile travel credit card but there are travel cards with more robust loyalty programs available. Here are two more credit cards you might consider for your next new card.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

A top choice for flexible rewards is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Although this Capital One card offers many of the same benefits and redemption options as the U.S. Bank Altitude Connect, it also allows you to transfer points to 15 airline transfer partners, including JetBlue Airways, Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Air France, and many more. 

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card is another top travel rewards card. Along with its welcome offer, the card gives cardholders access to Chase Ultimate Rewards, one of the most versatile rewards programs available. 

As with the Venture Card, the Sapphire Preferred Card allows you to transfer points to travel partner programs. Chase airline and hotel partners include Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Marriott, IHG, Hyatt, and more. And Chase Sapphire Preferred points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Chase's portal. 

U.S. Bank Altitude^® Connect Visa Signature^® Card: Bottom line

The U.S. Bank Altitude^® Connect Visa Signature^® Card has good rewards rates on travel for a relatively low $95 (waived first year) annual fee. It lacks some of the benefits of more robust loyalty programs, such as multiple transfer partners, but it still offers travel-related perks like a TSA Precheck/Global Entry credit and trip interruption protection.

If you want to see other credit cards that might work better for you, then read our best credit cards page.