Tag Archives: US Bank

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US Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards Credit Card: Earning Cash Back & Redeeming Rewards

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I wanted to share my experience with the US Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards Credit Card regarding earning the $750 sign up bonus and how I redeem the rewards.  If you currently have this credit card or have had this credit card in the past, please read to the end of the post to see how you can earn the sign up bonus again.  To get started, the US Bank Business Triple Cash Rewards Credit Card doesn’t get talked about much because there is no affiliate link, no referral link, and has no transferrable points, but it is a great option if you are looking for a juicy sign up bonus.  The current sign up bonus is $750 cash back after spending $6,000 in 6 months and has no annual fee, which is a 12.5% return on the first $6,000 spent.

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PSA: Finnair Avios Refund Took 6-7 Weeks After Award Ticket Cancellation

Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  Long story short, I booked a Finnair Avios award ticket on October 22, 2024, for travel in Summer 2025, but I needed to cancel the trip.  I’ve cancelled British Airways Avios award tickets in the past and the process to get the refunded Avios was almost instant.  Unfortunately, that is not the case with Finnair.  Finnair’s website quoted 1-3 weeks, but in my case, it took 6-7 weeks for the Finnair Avios to be refunded and for me to receive a refund of the taxes / fees (minus the 50 Euro cancellation fee).  In this post, I will document the cancellation process and timeline.

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US Bank Smartly Checking Monthly Fee Increasing from $6.95 to $12 & Credit Card Waiver Eliminated (Effective May 19)

Good afternoon everyone.  Hot off the heals of the massive Southwest Airlines devaluation this morning, I found another devaluation on my recent US Bank Smartly Checking account statement.  The main dagger is how to waive the monthly maintenance fee: “Having an eligible personal U.S. Bank credit card no longer waives the Monthly Maintenance Fee”.  Here are the full details:

Changes to the U.S. Bank Smartly Checking account

    • The Bank Smartly Checking account Monthly Maintenance Fee will change to $12
    • You can avoid the Monthly Maintenance Fee by meeting one of the waiver criteria:
      • Combined monthly direct deposit totaling $1,500 or more
      • An account owner on an eligible small business checking account
      • Maintain an average account balance of $1,500 or greater
      • Be a member of a Customer Group that waives the Monthly Maintenance Fee
      • Qualify for the Smart Rewards Gold Tier or above
    • Having an eligible personal U.S. Bank credit card no longer waives the Monthly Maintenance Fee
    • A Bank Smartly Checking account will automatically come with the Smart Rewards Bronze Tier benefits, at a minimum
    • The interest tiers for the Bank Smartly Checking account are updated

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The 7 Miles & Points Tools / Services that I Pay For

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  I love free stuff as much as the next person, but there are a few miles and points tools and services that are so incredibly useful, they’re definitely worth paying for. Keep in mind, this isn’t a complete list, so there may be other fantastic tools out there that I haven’t discovered or used yet.

AwardWallet Plus – $49.99 / year

I can’t imagine a world without AwardWallet.  They track all my credit card programs, airline programs, hotel programs, shopping portal balances, dining rewards, and much more.  I love that they constantly check my accounts, display the current balances, and display expiration dates for all my rewards.  The flight schedule change notifications (which sometimes come days / weeks / months before official airline notifications) and upcoming expiration alerts are well worth the cost to me.  If you are interested in trying it out, here is my AwardWallet referral link.

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Upcoming Changes to Charitable Matches, Gift Card Redemptions, and Rewards Expirations for US Bank Altitude Go, Altitude Connect, Cash+ & Shopper Cash Credit Cards (Effective April 14)

Good afternoon everyone, happy Friday!  I was reviewing my US Bank credit cards and noticed a few upcoming changes to these 4 cards: Altitude Go, Altitude Connect, Cash+, and Shopper Cash.  All of these changes go into effect on April 14, 2025.

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US Bank Altitude Go Credit Card

Here are the major changes, but click here to see the full details:

  • Discount on purchased gift cards: Coming in early 2025! Receive discounts of up to 5% on dozens of name brand gift cards.
  • Updated rewards earning: 4X points on dining, takeout and restaurant delivery on your first $2,000 each quarter (then 1X point).  You will continue to earn 2X points at grocery stores, at gas stations/EV charging stations and on streaming services and 1X point on all other eligible purchases. Plus, $15 credit for annual streaming service purchases. Excludes discount stores/supercenters and wholesale clubs.
  • Reward redemption and expiration changes: Points will not expire as long as you keep your account active. To keep your account active, simply make a purchase, maintain a balance or redeem rewards. Points will expire if there is no activity for 12 consecutive billing cycles. You’ll get the most value when you redeem points as a deposit to an eligible U.S. Bank account, at $0.01 per point—where 10,000 points are equal to $100. And, you can redeem points for a monetary charity contribution to a variety of nonprofits, and U.S. Bank will match your contribution at 100%. When redeeming points for a statement credit, travel, gift cards, merchandise, Real-Time Rewards and U.S. Bank Rewards Card, the point values and redemption minimums may vary over time, and will be disclosed upon redemption.

5% discounts on gift cards is not very exciting.  The $2,000 quarterly cap on the 4x categories is new, since there is currently no cap on those categories. US Bank might change the redemption minimums for Real-Time Rewards.

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