More News on the U.S. Bank Altitude Card (New Customers, Flexperks & MCC’s)

Details of the upcoming U.S. Bank Altitude card continue to emerge – we wrote a full roundup earlier today, and it landed in the conventional news outlets today on WSJ and others.

A few more key points are apparent from an internal memo that U.S. Bank is sending out to their employees, found on Milestomemories.

us bank altitude

Existing Customer Requirement

35-Day Wait

It’s been widely reported that there is a 35 day wait after becoming a U.S. Bank customer before you can apply for the Altitude card. In this memo it’s clear that there isn’t any rule indicating such a thing, rather the system simply won’t recognize you as a customer for up to 35 days. But the 35 day wait can be manually overridden.

If you go in branch after May 1, you can open an account with U.S. Bank and immediately apply for the Altitude card. The banker will be able to contact the underwriters and have them process the application. Moreover, the issue will be fixed in a future system release so that no wait will be necessary.

Business Customers

Similarly, it’s been noted that in order to apply for the Altitude you need to have a consumer relationship with U.S. Bank, not a business relationship. Again, the memo indicates that this is not, in fact, the case. Rather, the system will not recognize you and will instantly deny the application. This issue can be manually waived. And it, too, will be fixed in a future system release.

What happens if someone applies for U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve with no U.S. Bank relationship?

The application will be automatically declined.

 

I have a new customer who is bringing their banking relationship to U.S. Bank? Does a new customer need to wait 35 days to apply for U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve?

No, bankers will need to contact underwriting to ensure the new customer application is not declined. Altitude Reserve uses an automated underwriting process that validates applicants are U.S. Bank consumer customers. New customers will not appear in our systems as ‘customers’ for approximately 35 days. This will be addressed in a future system release.

In the meantime, use the existing underwriting escalation process to notify underwriting and credit operations about the new customer application. Underwriting / Credit Operations will locate the application, manually validate there is a U.S. Bank relationship in Hogan, and submit the application through the underwriting process. Relationship must be confirmed within 10 business days of application.

 

My customer has only has a business relationship with U.S. Bank. Will the automatic underwriting process recognize the customer as a ‘customer’?

No, bankers will need to contact underwriting to ensure the business customer application is not declined. Altitude Reserve uses an automated underwriting process that validates applicants are U.S. Bank consumer customers. This will be addressed in a future system release.

Follow the process outlined in the above question.

Which MCC’s Will Earn 3x?

As with all card, the 3x bonus earning for travel will depend on the Merchant Category Codes (MCC). There are a few specific one’s mentioned there that will work:

  • MCC 7011 Lodging – Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Central Reservation Services is included
  • MCC 4121 Taxicabs is included

And these won’t work:

  • MCC 4722 Travel Agencies, Tour Operators are not included
  • MCC 6513 Real Estate Agents and Managers – Rentals are not included

Are transportation companies like Uber and Lyft included in the travel category?

It depends on the Merchant Category Code (MCC) the merchant uses for these transactions. MCC 4121 Taxicabs is included.

 

Are travel companies like Homeaway, Airbnb and VRBO included in the travel category?

It depends on the MCC code the merchant uses for these transactions.

  • MCC 7011 Lodging – Hotels, Motels, Resorts, Central Reservation Services is included
  • MCC 4722 Travel Agencies, Tour Operators are not included
  • MCC 6513 Real Estate Agents and Managers – Rentals are not included

 

Are travel bookings through sites like Expedia and Travelocity included in the travel category?

No

Flexperks Transfer

The memo notes two things with regards to Flexperks transfers.

  • At launch, customers will not be able to transfer FlexPoints to Altitude Reserve. The ability to transfer to Altitude Reserve may be available in a future system release.
  • Transfer over 20,000 points annually will require calling in.

What is the maximum number of points customers can transfer from FlexPerks products to U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve?

At launch, customers will not be able to transfer FlexPoints to Altitude Reserve. The ability to transfer to Altitude Reserve may be available in a future system release.

When available, FlexPerks cardmembers are limited to 20,000 points in and 20,000 points out annually through the online Rewards Center. This limit applies to online point transfers from FlexPerks products to Altitude Reserve. Customers need to contact Cardmember Service directly for transfers over 20,000 points.

Important! In 2017, FlexPoints have a higher average travel redemption value than Altitude Reserve points so it may not be in a customer’s best interest to switch to Altitude Reserve immediately.

 

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35 Comments
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CN
CN (@guest_393085)
April 21, 2017 02:20

U.S. Bank currently has a $200 promotion for opening a new consumer checking account with direct deposit. This promotion ends by May 31st.

William Charles
Admin
April 21, 2017 03:02
  CN

Believe this is targeted though, can you send the link?

CN
CN (@guest_393100)
April 21, 2017 03:12

Yes. It is targeted. There is a promotion code for this offer.

William Charles
Admin
April 21, 2017 23:26
  CN

Thanks anyway!

gabriel
gabriel (@guest_392970)
April 20, 2017 21:22

guys any sign up bonus for us bank checking account ? In the past they offered 200$

William Charles
Admin
April 20, 2017 19:21

I think they just mean that FlexPerks have a higher maximum redemption value, but will have to wait and see.

Sj0
Sj0 (@guest_393250)
April 21, 2017 11:27

No, it says in 2017, costomers in average got better than 1.5 cpp value.

William Charles
Admin
April 21, 2017 23:10

That’s not that surprising given that hotel redemptions are fixed at 1.5

P
P (@guest_392816)
April 20, 2017 17:45

Wish I had known about the requirement to be existing USB customer when I was in SF last week. I could have opened a bank account with them.

NinjaX
NinjaX (@guest_392831)
April 20, 2017 18:06
  P

none in HI?

P
P (@guest_392842)
April 20, 2017 18:21

none. I doubt they’ve ever had a branch here in the past. No Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America branches here either. Hopefully, they have a twitter team that can answer questions about opening a bank account as a Hawaii Sate resident.

P
P (@guest_392930)
April 20, 2017 20:15

I think it’s possible and hopefully that’s easy to do, but it’s always simpler in branch. 🙂

Dima
Dima (@guest_392813)
April 20, 2017 17:32

Would be interesting to know if Fidelity Visa credit card holders are considered US Bank customers.

William Charles
Admin
April 20, 2017 19:24

Good question, most likely not.

ray
ray (@guest_392772)
April 20, 2017 16:21

i tried opening a savings account (to become a customer) and they denied. i have never heard of savings account denial.

NinjaX
NinjaX (@guest_392829)
April 20, 2017 18:05

well did u ask why? did u chk ur Chex?

Ray
Ray (@guest_392848)
April 20, 2017 18:33

I didn’t ask. Figured didn’t want the hassle of fighting for this and getting rejected for altitude. I didn’t Chex but I opened 4 new bank accounts and 3 new cc in last 6m

William Charles
Admin
April 20, 2017 19:22

If you were denied you should have received a notice of adverse action, this will list the reasons why you were denied. Maybe you have a derogatory item on your ChexSystems.

Ray
Ray (@guest_392973)
April 20, 2017 21:33

I did call after ur note and the told me since I live in Texas checking and savings product are not available. Not sure if true but as I said I am not keen on us bank so let it go.

William Charles
Admin
April 20, 2017 22:08

If that’s the case you’re application should have never been accepted in the first place.

Andrew
Andrew (@guest_392749)
April 20, 2017 16:06

So does non-NFC Samsung Pay transactions count for 3x bonus? The memo doesn’t mention anything about that.

Ryan
Ryan (@guest_392834)
April 20, 2017 18:11

I suspect yes. It does say “mobile wallet” so they probably identify those by the virtual card # assigned to the wallet. That should cover NFC, MST, and in app purchases.

William Charles
Admin
April 20, 2017 19:21

We will see, I’ll be surprised if MST transactions count.

Greg N
Greg N (@guest_392745)
April 20, 2017 16:02

This language about transferring points – “Important! In 2017, FlexPoints have a higher average travel redemption value than Altitude Reserve points so it may not be in a customer’s best interest to switch to Altitude Reserve immediately.” to me sounds like they are going to devalue FlexPerks in the future. Why else the, in 2017 points are worth more…? Maybe they don’t want their premium product to have a redemption rate that is less than their other product? Of course you have to have a $399 flight to get maximum value with FlexPerks, but still.

jf
jf (@guest_393735)
April 22, 2017 02:20

so is it not a wise idea to plan on transferring flex points to altitude? i mean for certain things of course

JL
JL (@guest_392728)
April 20, 2017 15:40

Does this confirm that the application have to be submitted in-branch? Nothing close to the NYC area.

William Charles
Admin
April 20, 2017 19:20
  JL

Don’t think so, just that in branch is required if you haven’t had an account for more than 35 days.

MarcoPolo
MarcoPolo (@guest_392726)
April 20, 2017 15:37

I was a US Bank customer about 7 years ago but closed the CC.
Now I am wondering if this card is worth opening an account with them?
But I have already opened 10+ bank accounts in last 3 months and would rather not waste a CHEXsystems inquiry.
I am hoping with this kind of competition CSR might stage a comeback? 🙂 );

William Charles
Admin
April 20, 2017 19:20

It’s worth opening an account, I’ll do a post on this outlining your options.