The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve is now available for online (and presumably in branch) applications. You can apply online by clicking here. Remember that you must be an existing U.S. Bank consumer customer  for at least 35 days to be eligible (best ways to become eligible here). You can get around this requirement if you’ve been a customer for less than 35 days or if you’re a business customer by applying in branch.
Contents
Card At A Glance
- Sign up bonus of 50,000 points after $4,500 in spend within 90 days of account opening.
- Points are worth 1.5¢ each towards flights.
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 3x on mobile payments (including LoopPay/MST transactions)
- 3x on travel purchases made directly with airlines, hotels, car rental companies, taxis, limousines, passenger trains and cruise line companies
- 1x on all other purchases
- Annual fee is $400 for the primary cardholder and $75 for authorized users. You can offset the annual fee with 35,000 points (1.14¢ per point)
- $325 annual travel credit. Can be used against purchases made directly from airlines, hotels, car rental companies, taxis, limousines, passenger trains and cruise lines. This is per cardmember year, not per calendar year.
- Priority Pass Select Membership. Limited to four visits and four guests visits each membership year.
- Gogo Pass. 12 complimentary passes each membership year (same as what is offered on other U.S. Bank cards)
- Visa Infinite Benefits. Does not come with $100 saving on round trip flight
- TSA PreCheck/Global Entry Reimbursement once every four year.
- Silvercar discount. Rent an Audi A4 with no lines or paperwork from airport locations in select cities and receive a discount of up to 30% Â on rentals of two days or more.
- GroundLink Black Car Service. 15% discount and $30 off first ride
- Metal card.
- No foreign transaction fees
Our Verdict
Is this card worth applying for? I think it is and here is why:
- Annual fee is easily covered by the sign up bonus and travel credit (at worst you can use 35,000 points to offset the annual fee and be left with $150 in cash and $325 in travel credits)
- It earns 3x on mobile payments (huge for some people)
Rest of the benefits and features are relatively lackluster. I suspect that 3x on Mobile payments will be nerfed at some point but existing customers are usually grandfathered in for the first year. I’m not sure if U.S. Bank do any sort of annual fee waiving for military members, but I guess we will find out soon enough. As always make sure you read these things everybody should know about U.S. Bank before applying.
