US Bank Cash Plus card review: Earn 5% cash back in categories you choose and a $200 welcome bonus, with no annual fee

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Review: Is the US Bank Cash Plus the best credit card for you?

For a card with no annual fee, the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card has a compelling reward structure: 5% cash back on two eligible categories of your choice, up to $2,000 in combined purchases each quarter (then 1% back).

Because you can choose your 5% categories, the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card is an excellent choice for filling in the gaps left by other cards — and there’s a long list of bonus category options to choose from. In addition to the two 5% categories, you can also choose one 2% cash back “everyday” category, including gas and EV charging stations, grocery stores, or restaurants. You’ll earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

There’s a welcome bonus of U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card. Plus, new cardholders qualify for an introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles (then U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card).

If you like to plan your purchases and know you’ll make the most of the 5% bonus categories each quarter, the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card could be a nifty addition to your wallet.

Who should and shouldn’t consider the US Bank Cash Plus card

The U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card has twelve 5% cash-back category choices. If you spend up to the $2,000 limit per quarter on eligible combined purchases, you can earn an extra $400 per year. That’s a great return for a card with no annual fee, and doesn’t include the 2% cash-back category you can select, which doesn’t have a limit to how much you can earn.

Before you apply for the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card, be sure to look at your spending habits and how they fit into the card’s earning structure. If you spend a lot in the bonus categories, you could do very well with the card. Otherwise, it might be worth looking at another customizable rewards card that suits your typical purchasing patterns better.

Comparable cards include the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, which earns 5% cash back on up to $500 in your top eligible spend category each billing cycle. That adds up to $1,500 per quarter, which is lower than the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card‘s $2,000 threshold. But the 5% bonus is automatically awarded for your top spending category without the need to select one. And like the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card, you’ll earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

The Citi Custom Cash℠ Card has a welcome offer of Citi Custom Cash℠ Card. That’s slightly less spending to earn the bonus, and you’ll also get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers and purchases (then a Citi Custom Cash℠ Card APR). Here’s our Citi Custom Cash card review with more analysis.

There’s also the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card, which earns 3% in one eligible category you choose and 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, on the first $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter (then 1%), and at then an unlimited 1% cash back on everything else. That’s not as lucrative as the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card, which has an uncapped 2% cash back category.

The 3% category options are also much more limited than the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card. The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a welcome bonus of Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card. It’s worth considering that you can earn an additional bonus on your rewards if you’re a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member. Here’s our Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card review for more details.

Alternately, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Discover it® Cash Back offer categories that rotate every quarter. You could consider getting a U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card to keep the rewards coming in during quarters when you’re using those cards for their rewards, or as a complement to other cards you already have.

All of these cards require some level of interaction or tracking to earn the most rewards. If you want a card with a super simple rewards structure, consider the Citi® Double Cash Card, which earns 1% cash back when you make a purchase and another 1% cash back when you pay it off, for a total of 2% cash back on all purchases without the need to ever think about bonus categories.

Comparison: US Bank Cash+ vs other US Bank cards

	U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card	U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card	U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card
Annual fee	U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card	U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card	U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card
Rewards rate	5% cash back in two eligible categories of your choice, on up to $2,000 in combined spending each quarter (then 1%)* 2% cash back at grocery stores, gas stations, EV charging stations, and restaurants 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases	4x points on takeout, food delivery, and dining 2x points at grocery stores, grocery delivery, streaming services, and gas stations 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases	5x points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center 4x points on travel and at gas stations 2x points at grocery stores, grocery delivery, dining, and streaming services 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases
Welcome bonus	U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card	U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card	U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card
Card benefits	Introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles (then U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card) Roadside dispatch Travel and emergency assistance services Visa Signature benefits	Introductory 0% APR offer on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months, then a U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card APR $15 annual credit for streaming service purchases Roadside dispatch Travel and emergency assistance services Visa Signature benefits No foreign transaction fees	$30 annual credit for streaming service purchases Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit Cell phone protection Roadside dispatch Travel and emergency assistance services Visa Signature benefits No foreign transaction fees
Review		US Bank Altitude Go card review	US Bank Altitude Connect card review

US Bank Cash+ card vs other customizable cash-back credit cards

	U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card	Citi Custom Cash℠ Card	Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
Annual fee	U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card	Citi Custom Cash℠ Card	Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
Rewards rate	5% cash back in two eligible categories of your choice, on up to $2,000 in combined spending each quarter (then 1%)* 2% cash back at grocery stores, gas stations, EV charging stations, and restaurants 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases	5% cash back on up to $500 spent in your top eligible spending category*** each billing cycle (then 1%) 1% cash back on all other purchases	3% cash back in one category of your choosing: Gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings** 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs** 1% cash back on all other purchases
Welcome bonus	U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card	Citi Custom Cash℠ Card	Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
Card benefits	Introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles (then U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card) Roadside dispatch Travel and emergency assistance services Visa Signature benefits	Introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months (then a Citi Custom Cash℠ Card APR) Access to Citi Entertainment	Introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles (then a Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card APR)
Review		Citi Custom Cash card review	Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card review

*5% cash back category choices on the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card are prepaid air travel, hotel stays, and car reservations booked directly in the Rewards Travel Center online portal, fast food, home utilities, TV, internet, and streaming services, department stores, electronic stores, cell phone providers, sporting goods stores, furniture stores, movie theaters, gyms and fitness centers, ground transportation, and select clothing stores

***eligible 5% cash back categories on the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card are restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment

****3% and 2% cash back on the Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card on up to $2,500 in combined spending each quarter, then 1%

How to earn rewards from the US Bank Cash Plus card

With the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card, you can choose to earn 5% back on two of the following categories, up to $2,000 in combined eligible purchases each quarter:

Fast food
Home utilities
TV, internet, and streaming services
Department stores
Electronic stores
Cell phone providers
Sporting goods stores
Furniture stores
Movie theaters
Gyms and fitness centers
Ground transportation
Select clothing stores

And you can choose from one of the following 2% cash back categories with no limit on how much you can earn:

You’ll also earn 5% cash back on prepaid air travel, hotel stays, and car reservations booked directly in the Rewards Travel Center online portal, and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

To earn 5% and 2% cash back, you’ll need to select your categories and enroll each quarter, otherwise you’ll only earn 1% cash back. That’s a bit of a snag, but not a major drawback if you’re checking your account at least once every few months. You can select your categories starting 45 days before the start of the upcoming quarter.

You won’t earn cash rewards until you select your bonus categories. It’s not retroactive, although you can make your category selections up until five days before the end of the quarter.

How to use rewards

When you’re ready to redeem your rewards, log into your online account and request a statement credit, deposit rewards to a qualifying US Bank account, or redeem them for a US Bank Rewards Visa gift card. Note that the minimum to redeem rewards for a statement credit or deposit is $25. If you want a gift card, the minimum is $20, and you must redeem your rewards in $5 increments.

You can save your cash rewards for a big purchase, or redeem them as you go along for statement credits or deposits.

Note that cash rewards expire at the end of the calendar month 36 months after the billing cycle in which they were earned. That’s plenty of time to redeem your rewards, but you might choose to redeem them as soon as you reach the $25 minimum redemption threshold to avoid expiration dates.

Benefits and features

The main benefits of the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card are the 5% and 2% bonus categories and welcome bonus, but there are a few other benefits you should know about.

Access to the Rewards Center Earn Mall

When you shop online and pay with your U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card at over 1,100 stores, you can earn additional points through the Rewards Center Earn Mall. You can access the portal through online banking.

Introductory 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers

Getting 15 billing cycles with an introductory 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases is a great deal. If you’re responsible with the offer, it can be a way to float a big purchase for a while. To make the most of it, be sure to pay off your balance before the introductory offer expires to avoid interest costs — after 15 billing cycles, the APR is U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card.

Keep in mind, the balance you carry will affect your credit utilization ratio until you pay the card down. Ideally, you’ll use 30% or less of your overall credit line at any given time to minimize impacts on your credit score.

Balance transfers must be completed within 60 days from account opening.

Visa Signature benefits

The U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card is a Visa Signature card, which means you’ll get built-in benefits including:

Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection upgrades and extras
Roadside dispatch
Travel and emergency assistance services
Visa Signature Concierge
Visa Signature Golf Benefit by Troon
Car rental discounts

Here’s more about Visa Signature credit card perks.

Fees and costs

The U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card doesn’t have an annual fee but there’s a 3% foreign transaction fee in a foreign currency or a 2% fee for a foreign transaction in US dollars, so it’s not an ideal card to use abroad.

Like most other cards, there are fees for balance transfers, cash advances, and late or returned payments.

US Bank Cash Plus card — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What credit score do you need for the US Bank Cash Plus card?

Most people who are approved for the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card have a credit score in the good to excellent range. This means a FICO score of at least 670, or a VantageScore of at least 700.

If your score isn’t quite there yet, read our guides on improving your credit score and how using credit cards can help boost your score.

How can you redeem US Bank Cash Plus rewards?

US Bank calls its cash-back rewards “rebates” and they’ll appear that way on your statement. To redeem your rewards, you can request a statement credit, reward card, or deposit made to your US Bank savings, checking, or money market account, with a minimum redemption of $25 for cash back.

What are the best US Bank Cash Plus categories?

The best 5% bonus categories for you depend on where you do the bulk of your spending and what other rewards credit cards you have. The good thing is if your spending habits tend to shift from time to time, you can change your two 5% bonus categories every quarter.

To maximize rewards, most folks choose categories that don’t earn a bonus on other cards. For example, you may already have credit cards that earn bonus rewards on dining or TV, internet, streaming and phone services, so picking different categories on your U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card, like home utilities or department stores, could make the most sense.

Do US Bank Cash Plus rewards expire?

With most flexible bank programs, your credit card rewards won’t expire if your account remains open and in good standing, but that’s not the case with the U.S. Bank Cash+™ Visa Signature® Card.

Regardless of your other earning activity, your rewards will expire 36 months after the billing period in which you’ve earned them, and there’s no way to keep them from expiring.

Read the original article on Business Insider