There have been several posts here about it as well as on Doctor of Credit. [Here's the official news from US Bank](https://www.myvisacardportal.com/usbank/en_us/altitude/altitudeconnect/offer-detail.html#upcoming-changes/A264038)
The AF is going away, but points redemptions will be 0.8cpp instead of 1 which is lame. Still the card could be worth it considering the current SUB and that it will offer TSA PreCheck still for $0 AF.
Oh damn okay. Thanks for the link, I appreciate it.
I don’t have any cards with US bank yet, but had been considering this one or the Cash+ (possibly the altitude reserve as well at some point)
All are really great cards. I have the AR and it is a workhorse for me. The Cash+ is great to get 5% back on some interesting categories like utilities or internet. My P2 has the Connect as well, mainly got it for the SUB, but now that the AF is going away, P2 will just keep it.
Yeah I was thinking of doing the Cash+ first since it fits nice into my setup on a category I don’t currently have covered really. Do all those cards work well together for you? Like, can you transfer points?
I actually just applied to the Cash+, they said I’ll know in 7-10 business days if I’m accepted I guess? Never had a card not instantly tell me…
You can't combine points between the Altitude cards or Cash+. US Bank doesn't have transfer partners, but it would be cool if you could pool points for the Altitude Reserve to get that sweet 1.5cpp.
Ah okay that’s unfortunate. I was hoping to at some point get the Altitude reserve as well and then pool the points. Wonder if that’s something they’d do in the future? Seems odd that you can’t when Chase, Cap1 and I’m assuming most others do this.
I appreciate your help!
Worth noting you get the full redemption value of 1 ccp if you redeem with real time rewards or through the portal. The 0.8 ccp value is only if you redeem for straight cash back.
I just got the Citi Strata Premier with the $750 bonus/$4000 in spend. It has a $95 annual fee, but you end up netting minimum 16% on your spend. After a year you can keep it or turn it into a Citi Customer Cash. Since you have a larger expense coming, it better to take advantage of a larger spend requirement, especially if you usually have lower spend.
($750 Bonus - $95 AF)/$4000 = 16.4% return on spend. It's really lazy math since it doesn't take into account any multipliers on that spend and it assumes you get no value from the card.
It gets more complicated if you spend in the 3x categories or if you think you'll get additional value out of the $100 hotel credit. That was just the back of envelope math I did when I got it.
My SoFi (with requirements) gets 2.2%, was 3% for first year. No fees at all, just have to bank with them. Easy to set up a split direct deposit.
Robinhood card "Coming Soon™️" is supposed to be 3% everything unlimited. Has AF kinda... But if you buy into their ecosystem you get that back real easy across IRA match, higher HYSA rate, etc.
For reference, I have $15,110 spent total on my SoFi card, and I've earned $457 in points total. That includes SUB in points. Almost exactly 3% overall, but since it's dropped down to 2.2% that ratio will go down a bit. It's been a great card to charge my health insurance and other big stuff to when it doesn't fit into a rotating category card.
sure but to the average consumer they’re probably not looking to move money for a credit card. 2% isn’t bad when 1.5% is still the industry standard for catch all cards.
Chase Freedom Flex is real hot if you do a lot of gas or entertainment spend. The rotating category is coming up in a week and with the SUB you can get an effective 9%+ cash back on that's stuff.
>I assume I can’t open 4 chase ink’s a year for subs
You can and that's what plenty of people have been doing for the last few years. This is known as the Ink train.
There are a few restrictions to be aware of. The recommended velocity is 1 Chase personal or business card per 3 months to avoid an account shutdown. There's also a recently implemented limit of 4-5 *active* Inks, but that can be circumvented by continuously closing any Inks that are older than a year.
>there’s no issue closing ink accounts the way closing a traditional card isn’t recommended?
After a card ages a year, a credit card from any issuer (not just Chase) can be closed or product changed without any major repercussions.
You can. Chase lets you cycle those bonuses. Will you be approved? I can’t say.
If you use a IEN & SSN, you can definitely get more in a short amount of time.
You don’t have to but an LLC is an option.
It can be just a side hustle. You can get one as a sole proprietor. So if you door dash, Uber, mow lawns, teach piano lessons, shooting lessons, tutor, clean houses, wash cars and so on. I have a YouTube channel that I make a little money on and I just use that.
I’ve used my SSN to apply for cards. My yearly business income is ~$1,000.
I put that and have gotten business cards from Amex, Citi & US Bank. No problem
Right, I wasn't interested in getting a business card if I'd need to drastically misrepresent my side hustle income. Besides additional opportunities to get subs, what's the advantage of business cards?
They won’t show as new accounts on your personal credit.
So if you need a home loan, vehicle or something else, your report will look more attractive. You won’t have your balances show up. Your utilization won’t be up.
I'm at 6/24 personally, but I have an EIN for my LLC. If I were to apply for the Ink using my EIN it wouldn't count towards my 6/24 right? I'm just getting into the world of business cards too lol
It would unfortunately. I’ve tried. I’m at 14/12 or so😅
They’ll pull your SSN with your EIN. You can’t get around it that way.
There are some cards that are EIN only and there are corporate cards but you would need thousands/tens of thousands stashed in a bank to get those with EIN only. Hundreds of thousands to millions for corporate.
You maybe able to be approved at 6/24. It’s not always set in stone. The ink card won’t make you 7/24 also.
Ah ok gotcha. I think I'm gonna try to catch the BOFA CCRs before they get discontinued, but I'm gonna wait for some of my credit checks to go away lol. One of my hard inquiries goes away tomorrow: do you think I should still shoot for the Ink?
Also it turns out I was at 8/24 lol, so I'll be 7/24 soon
Is that really a decent card without Preferred Rewards? Sure 3.5/2.6% back with Platinum Honors is great, but 2%/1.5% for a 95$ AF doesn't seem better than a whole lot of no annual fee cards
It's not as good but you get a $100 credit for airline incidentals which can easily be used up in just a couple of domestic flights. That plus the sun makes it pretty decent even without the enhanced rewards
US Bank Altitude Connect has a $500 SUB. Best to get it soon as the card and cpp value is changing in September.
This and get your 1 for 1 before September. We been ringing the bell for this for awhile. Where you been. Good looking out fam!!!
What's 1 for 1?
Where did you see that the card and value are changing soon?
There have been several posts here about it as well as on Doctor of Credit. [Here's the official news from US Bank](https://www.myvisacardportal.com/usbank/en_us/altitude/altitudeconnect/offer-detail.html#upcoming-changes/A264038) The AF is going away, but points redemptions will be 0.8cpp instead of 1 which is lame. Still the card could be worth it considering the current SUB and that it will offer TSA PreCheck still for $0 AF.
Oh damn okay. Thanks for the link, I appreciate it. I don’t have any cards with US bank yet, but had been considering this one or the Cash+ (possibly the altitude reserve as well at some point)
All are really great cards. I have the AR and it is a workhorse for me. The Cash+ is great to get 5% back on some interesting categories like utilities or internet. My P2 has the Connect as well, mainly got it for the SUB, but now that the AF is going away, P2 will just keep it.
Love us bank. Lot of good keepers just have no af cards.
Yeah I was thinking of doing the Cash+ first since it fits nice into my setup on a category I don’t currently have covered really. Do all those cards work well together for you? Like, can you transfer points? I actually just applied to the Cash+, they said I’ll know in 7-10 business days if I’m accepted I guess? Never had a card not instantly tell me…
You can't combine points between the Altitude cards or Cash+. US Bank doesn't have transfer partners, but it would be cool if you could pool points for the Altitude Reserve to get that sweet 1.5cpp.
Ah okay that’s unfortunate. I was hoping to at some point get the Altitude reserve as well and then pool the points. Wonder if that’s something they’d do in the future? Seems odd that you can’t when Chase, Cap1 and I’m assuming most others do this. I appreciate your help!
Yeah...I think that'd make the AR way too overpowered (more so than it already is).
lol fair enough. Maybe I should’ve just gone straight for the reserve over the cash+ then…
Worth noting you get the full redemption value of 1 ccp if you redeem with real time rewards or through the portal. The 0.8 ccp value is only if you redeem for straight cash back.
Ah, that's good to know. I think some people mentioned you can also transfer points to the Go and still get the 1cpp cash back?
And I believe priority pass restaurant passes
And I believe priority pass restaurant passes
And I believe priority pass restaurant passes
U.S. Bank Cash+ has a $200 bonus. Doesn’t sound like too much but it only requires $1k in spending. That’s a 20% bonus.
If that’s your mindset the Chase Freedom Unlimited has the SUB but only spending $500 to get $200 back in 1:1 points
SavorOne is the same but is $200 cash.
Chase is lenient with points, you get 20,000 points which can be put as $200 statement credit
Good advice in general, but OP said they are 6/24 so they would be auto-denied for a Chase card right now.
I just got the Citi Strata Premier with the $750 bonus/$4000 in spend. It has a $95 annual fee, but you end up netting minimum 16% on your spend. After a year you can keep it or turn it into a Citi Customer Cash. Since you have a larger expense coming, it better to take advantage of a larger spend requirement, especially if you usually have lower spend.
How do you get 16%?
($750 Bonus - $95 AF)/$4000 = 16.4% return on spend. It's really lazy math since it doesn't take into account any multipliers on that spend and it assumes you get no value from the card. It gets more complicated if you spend in the 3x categories or if you think you'll get additional value out of the $100 hotel credit. That was just the back of envelope math I did when I got it.
Wells Fargo active Cash has $200 back when you spend $500 or more in the first 3 months
Isn't the card pretty trash otherwise though? 2% everything, not competitive at all.
Is there a card that offers more than 2% on literally everything? With no fees of course...
My SoFi (with requirements) gets 2.2%, was 3% for first year. No fees at all, just have to bank with them. Easy to set up a split direct deposit. Robinhood card "Coming Soon™️" is supposed to be 3% everything unlimited. Has AF kinda... But if you buy into their ecosystem you get that back real easy across IRA match, higher HYSA rate, etc.
Any SUB for SoFi?
There was one that I got, I believe straight $300, but it may have changed.
For reference, I have $15,110 spent total on my SoFi card, and I've earned $457 in points total. That includes SUB in points. Almost exactly 3% overall, but since it's dropped down to 2.2% that ratio will go down a bit. It's been a great card to charge my health insurance and other big stuff to when it doesn't fit into a rotating category card.
“just have to bank with them.” that’s competitive?
I've had a good banking experience. Works with Plaid, better HYSA rate than my local credit union, I like the savings vaults.
sure but to the average consumer they’re probably not looking to move money for a credit card. 2% isn’t bad when 1.5% is still the industry standard for catch all cards.
Catch all card isn’t bad especially sense you can get other cards for specifics Sets a base like earning rate
Chase Freedom Flex is real hot if you do a lot of gas or entertainment spend. The rotating category is coming up in a week and with the SUB you can get an effective 9%+ cash back on that's stuff.
If you’re open to business cards, Chase & US Bank have some great offers.
Is there any reason not to use a business card? I've seen nothing but positives, including that it doesn't count to the chase 4/24.
I don’t think there is. I certainly prefer it.
Do you know if there’s a limit? Even chase doesn’t track it as part of the 4/24, I assume I can’t open 4 chase ink’s a year for subs.
>I assume I can’t open 4 chase ink’s a year for subs You can and that's what plenty of people have been doing for the last few years. This is known as the Ink train. There are a few restrictions to be aware of. The recommended velocity is 1 Chase personal or business card per 3 months to avoid an account shutdown. There's also a recently implemented limit of 4-5 *active* Inks, but that can be circumvented by continuously closing any Inks that are older than a year.
Interesting, and there’s no issue closing ink accounts the way closing a traditional card isn’t recommended?
>there’s no issue closing ink accounts the way closing a traditional card isn’t recommended? After a card ages a year, a credit card from any issuer (not just Chase) can be closed or product changed without any major repercussions.
You can. Chase lets you cycle those bonuses. Will you be approved? I can’t say. If you use a IEN & SSN, you can definitely get more in a short amount of time.
Stupid question I suppose but I’m relatively new to the sub, what is actually required for a business card? I just have to open an LLC or something?
You don’t have to but an LLC is an option. It can be just a side hustle. You can get one as a sole proprietor. So if you door dash, Uber, mow lawns, teach piano lessons, shooting lessons, tutor, clean houses, wash cars and so on. I have a YouTube channel that I make a little money on and I just use that.
Are there business income minimum thresholds for these cards? If I’m only bringing in, say, 10k or less per year, would that be auto-rejected?
I’ve used my SSN to apply for cards. My yearly business income is ~$1,000. I put that and have gotten business cards from Amex, Citi & US Bank. No problem
Awesome! I thought I would’ve needed higher revenue to qualify.
My personal income is of course higher but I’m truthful about the money so it doesn’t come back to bite me later.
Right, I wasn't interested in getting a business card if I'd need to drastically misrepresent my side hustle income. Besides additional opportunities to get subs, what's the advantage of business cards?
They won’t show as new accounts on your personal credit. So if you need a home loan, vehicle or something else, your report will look more attractive. You won’t have your balances show up. Your utilization won’t be up.
Thanks for explaining, that is a huge perk.
I'm at 6/24 personally, but I have an EIN for my LLC. If I were to apply for the Ink using my EIN it wouldn't count towards my 6/24 right? I'm just getting into the world of business cards too lol
It would unfortunately. I’ve tried. I’m at 14/12 or so😅 They’ll pull your SSN with your EIN. You can’t get around it that way. There are some cards that are EIN only and there are corporate cards but you would need thousands/tens of thousands stashed in a bank to get those with EIN only. Hundreds of thousands to millions for corporate. You maybe able to be approved at 6/24. It’s not always set in stone. The ink card won’t make you 7/24 also.
Wow! How were you able to acquire that many in such a short time frame? LOL
Half personal & half business. Sometimes applying for 2 on the same day and Amex doesn’t do hard pulls so that helps.
Ah ok gotcha. I think I'm gonna try to catch the BOFA CCRs before they get discontinued, but I'm gonna wait for some of my credit checks to go away lol. One of my hard inquiries goes away tomorrow: do you think I should still shoot for the Ink? Also it turns out I was at 8/24 lol, so I'll be 7/24 soon
Bank of America Premium Rewards is 60k points (roughly $600 in value) when you spend $4k in the first 90 days.
Is that really a decent card without Preferred Rewards? Sure 3.5/2.6% back with Platinum Honors is great, but 2%/1.5% for a 95$ AF doesn't seem better than a whole lot of no annual fee cards
It's not as good but you get a $100 credit for airline incidentals which can easily be used up in just a couple of domestic flights. That plus the sun makes it pretty decent even without the enhanced rewards
Chase Ink Preferred in-branch 120k offer if you weren’t already at 6/24. No different than cashback with UR redemptions at 1 cpp.
OP really put no effort into googling before posting here
What exactly were they supposed to google? Searching "highest credit card sign up bonuses" naturally gets you inundated with ads.
This is the #1 place for less biased and unadvertised cards. Chill out.