U.S. Bank Altitude: Free 500 Points for Enrolling in Real-Time Rewards

The Offer

  • Signup for Real-Time Rewards on your Altitude card and get 500 bonus points. Login to your US Bank Altitude rewards page to see if you have this offer.

real time rewards home real time rewards sceenshot

The Fine Print

  • By enrolling in Real-Time Rewards, you agree to receive reward redemption text messages.

Our Verdict

I see this in my Altitude account on the rewards homepage, and I’d assume it’s a standard offer showing for everyone. I haven’t yet gotten the card yet, but was already approved and the card is showing in my USB login. (Went pending, then was approved the next day.)

500 points is worth either $5 or $7.50, depending if you redeem for cash or travel.

If you’re planning on redeeming your Altitude points for travel at 1.5 cents-per-point, you won’t need Real-Time Rewards which only gets 1 CPP, but you can still enroll for the free points.

If you are planning to redeem at 1 CPP for cash back, you can either redeem for a statement credit when you have 5,000+ points ($50), or you can use Real-Time redemptions and you’ll be able to redeem against any small transaction. So it’s probably worth enrolling in the Real-Time option to save the wait.

In any case, it’s worth enrolling for the free 500 points. Shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to do so.

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17 Comments
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Jr
Jr (@guest_834718)
November 3, 2019 21:54

Is anyone else getting an error message blocking active when replying redeem? I tried it on 2 phones and different numbers and same error.

Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon (@guest_560694)
February 15, 2018 00:36

Chuck:

I have a conflicting data point with your comment:

“If you’re planning on redeeming your Altitude points for travel at 1.5 cents-per-point, you won’t need Real-Time Rewards which only gets 1 CPP, ”

I recently used my Altitude card to rent a Silvercar to get the Visa Infinite 30% discount. Silvercar charges a $200 deposit plus the rental fee up front as a pre-authorization, but after the car is returned only the actual rental charge shows up.

My rental fee was $141 plus the $200 deposit, for a total of $341. I wasn’t even in the car yet when I got a text from US Bank asking if I wanted to redeem 22,733 points against the charge. I replied “redeem” and I got a $341 credit on my account a few minutes later.

After I returned the car, only the $141 charge appeared on my account, but I still have my $341 credit.

I’m thinking that if the charge is an applicable travel charge, using Real-Time Rewards will get you 1.5 cents/point, not just 1 cent.

Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon (@guest_561162)
February 16, 2018 03:49

An update, both interesting and humorous. Two days after the actual rental car expense posted, it was credited off as part of my annual $325 in travel credits.

So not only was the actual charge credited, I was also able to essentially cash in my points for 1.5 cents/point as cash back. So much for a penny per point cash redemption! 😀

MoreSun
MoreSun (@guest_713887)
January 29, 2019 18:45

Oh nice!!

Al
Al (@guest_401480)
May 4, 2017 22:15

Signed up, got 500 points right away. Now I need to figure out mobile payments (never done it before) and I’ll be a happy camper.
Thanks, Chuck!

Sarah
Sarah (@guest_401368)
May 4, 2017 18:16

How can you sign up for it if you don’t have he card number?

TomT
TomT (@guest_401383)
May 4, 2017 18:43

You can’t register for this promotion until you have the full card number and expiration date of your new Altitude Reserve card.

Jeff H
Jeff H (@guest_401397)
May 4, 2017 19:37

Registration is in the Rewards linked section. Not everybody gets it right away, but often shows up after you use it .. again in the Rewards Section.

Abey
Abey (@guest_401321)
May 4, 2017 16:56
Jeff H
Jeff H (@guest_401336)
May 4, 2017 17:10

Thanks Abey. I at least got a smile out of the linked post..

JA
JA (@guest_401424)
May 4, 2017 20:31

“5 reasons never to read this blog ever again”. Got it!

TomT
TomT (@guest_401305)
May 4, 2017 16:08

You need the full card number and expiration date to enroll, so I guess we have to wait a few days for our newly approved cards to arrive.

Alan
Alan (@guest_401303)
May 4, 2017 16:07

not receiving confirmation sms in my cricket wireless phone.

Jeremy
Jeremy (@guest_401296)
May 4, 2017 15:53

What exactly is real time rewards?

Shyam
Shyam (@guest_401313)
May 4, 2017 16:24

You get a message immediately to redeem your points for the charges you put on the card.
Points will deduct the running balance when you reply REDEEM to their messages.
You’ve the option.

Jeff H
Jeff H (@guest_401295)
May 4, 2017 15:53

This is a standard thing on FlexPerks cards too. I got the same deal in the rewards section the month after my Olympic Travel Flexperks card arrived. It never kicked in for me.

Essentially, you get a text when checking out at select merchants asking if you want to apply points as partial payment on the transaction you are doing at the moment. I believe it is all internal to USB. I am not sure if it impacts the merchant where you are checking out.