Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  I just received an email from US Bank regarding my US Bank Cash+ Credit Card.  There are several changes that go into effect, beginning on February 19.  The most exciting change is the introduction of Real-Time Rewards for the US Bank Cash+, which I have used a few times on my US Bank Altitude Reserve Credit Card.  You will also be able to use your cash rewards through PayPal.  There are also some negative changes to when cash rewards expires and redemption options.  Read on to see all the details.

On February 24, you will be able to enroll in Real-Time Rewards.  Once you enroll, you will receive a text message when you make a qualifying purchase of $10 or more and you must reply to the text with REDEEM to use your cash rewards to cover the purchase.  Soon (no date mentioned), you will be able to link your card to PayPal and use your cash rewards as a payment method when paying with PayPal.

Here are the terms and conditions for the above changes:

Please log in to the Rewards Center for certain restrictions, points expiration, additional information, and full terms and conditions.

Rewards are earned on eligible net purchases. Net purchases are purchases minus credits and returns. Not all transactions are eligible to earn rewards, such as Advances, Balance Transfers, and Convenience Checks. Account must be open and in good standing to earn and redeem rewards and benefits. You may not redeem rewards, and you will immediately lose all of your rewards, if your Account is closed to future transactions (including, but not limited to, due to Program misuse, failure to pay, bankruptcy or death). Rewards will not be forfeited as long as your Account remains open. Refer to our Program Rules for additional information. The Rewards Program is subject to change.

1 Cash back is redeemed in the form of a statement credit or a deposit made to your U.S. Bank Savings, Checking or Money Market Account based on your designation, or as a U.S. Bank Rewards Card ($20 minimum redemption; effective 2/19/21 minimum redemption $25). You may not redeem Cash back, and you will immediately lose all of your Cash back, if your Account is closed to future transactions (including, but not limited to, due to Program misuse, failure to pay, bankruptcy, or death). Cash rewards will expire at the end of the calendar month 36 months after the billing cycle in which they were earned.

2 When you use our Real-Time Rewards program, we will send you text messages after you make credit card purchases. You will only receive text messages for credit card purchases made within your selected categories. After you receive the text message, you must reply “REDEEM” to redeem rewards for statement credits. For purchases which include a gratuity, fees or estimated taxes, the statement credit may not equal your final purchase amount. The credit to your Account statement will be processed within three business days and will appear on your next Account billing statement. Available only for transactions with U.S. merchants. For text messages, standard messaging charges apply through your mobile carrier. Check with your carrier for specific fees and charges.

3 You may not see Pay with Rewards every time you check out online and it is not yet available to all PayPal customers. Pay with Rewards is not currently available for sending money, recurring payments and in-store transactions. To learn more about Pay with Rewards, click here.

4 For purchases which include a gratuity, fees or estimated taxes, the statement credit may not equal your final purchase amount. The credit to your Account will be processed within three business days and will appear on your next billing statement. Participating categories exclude gas stations and restaurants. Available only for transactions with U.S. merchants. For text messages, standard messaging charges apply through your mobile carrier. Check with your carrier for specific fees and charges.

Here are the corresponding negative changes that go into effect on February 19:

•  Your cash rewards will expire 3 years (36 months) after you earn them.  Please use your cash rewards and don’t let them expire.
• If you had an automatic monthly cash rewards redemption, that will end.  I have never used these automatic monthly cash rewards.
• US Bank used to offer a $25 bonus after you redeemed $100 in cash rewards.  That is ending too.  If you have the ability to use more than $100 in cash rewards and are eligible for the $25 bonus, I would do it now.
• If you plan on redeeming your cash rewards for Visa gift cards, the minimum amount is increasing from $20 to $25.
• Lastly, the US Bank Rewards Center will be unavailable for cash redemptions from February 19-23 while these changes are made.

Honestly, these positive and negative changes will not affect me.  After my credit card statement closes, I log into my US Bank account and redeem the cash rewards as a payment toward my credit card bill.  Not very exciting, but it works well and I usually have a $0 cash rewards balance most of the year.  If you have any questions about any of these changes, please leave a comment below.  Have a great weekend everyone!