U.S. Bank have launched a new credit card called the U.S. Bank FlexPerks Gold American Express Card (they also launched the U.S. Bank Cash 365 American Express card at the same time). Let’s take a look:
- Sign up bonus of 30,000 FlexPerks when you spend $2,000 or more within the first four months of account opening
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 3x points at restaurants
- 2x points at gas stations
- 2x points at airlines
- 1x points on all other purchases
- $25 airline allowance with every award travel ticket booked (good towards baggage fees, in flight treats & more)
- No foreign transaction fees
- TSA PreCheck or Global Entry automatic statement credit reimbursement for whichever program you apply for first
- Annual fee of $85 is not waived the first year
How Much Are FlexPerks Worth?
Sign up bonuses and category spending bonuses are only as good as the points they earned. We’ve gone in depth on how much FlexPerks are worth in this linked post (give it a read). For those who need a refresher:
- Airfare (maximum value of 1.5¢ per point)
- Hotels, car rentals & cruises (maximum value of 1.5¢ per point)
- Merchandise (value of 1¢ per point, waste of time)
- Gift cards (value of 1¢ per point, also a waste of time)
- Statement credit (value of 1¢ per point)
- Annual fee (value of 1.7¢ per point for this card, see below)
As you can see the base value is 1¢ for statement credit and up to 2¢ when you redeem for airfare (although it’s difficult to get this maximum value).
Pay Annual Fee With Points
You can use points to offset the annual fee, but only in year two onwards. The annual fee is usually $85, but you can pay 5,000 points instead. This gives you a value of 1.7¢.
Our Verdict
I think this card is definitely worth considering for the first year, 30,000 sign up points is a pretty good deal for a minimum cash value of $300 (best cash credit card sign up bonuses) and a maximum value of $600 if you redeem for flights. Just keep in mind the $85 annual fee that can’t be paid with points in the first year. You also get the PreCheck/Global Entry credit, but I imagine at this stage most people already have that from another credit card. What’s most interesting to me are the bonus categories (really just the restaurant category).
- Restaurants 3x points (up to 4.5% back), the next best is 3% cash back or 3x points.
- Gas/air travel 2x points (up to 3% back), better options for gas purchases
- All other purchases (up to 1.5% back), much better options out there.
What are your thoughts on this new card? Will you be picking one up? I spend a lot of money on restaurants, so I’m very happy (especially with no foreign transaction fees). I just wish there was a 5% cash back option for restaurants. Before applying for this card, make sure you freeze these two credit bureaus first as that will improve your chances of being approved. I’d also recommend reading these 20 things everybody should know about U.S. Bank credit cards.
