» Editor's note
In April 2025, several terms of the U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card changed, including requirements for earning the card's top rewards rates. Below is our story from when the card debuted in September 2024, but see our story on the card's changes for the most up-to-date information.
U.S. Bank has rolled out a $0-annual-fee credit card that can pay as much as 4% cash back on every purchase for banking customers who meet eligibility requirements.
Flat-rate cash back credit cards tend to top out at 2% on purchases, meaning this card could be twice as lucrative as alternatives — if you qualify.
2% to 4% cash back
The U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card — which officially opened to new applications in November 2024 — pays a base rate of 2% on every purchase. Customers who have a Bank Smartly® Savings account and at least $5,000 in combined accounts with U.S. Bank can rack up a "Smartly Earning Bonus" on top of that rate:
- If you have $5,000 to $49,999 in balances: You earn a 25% bonus on the rewards you earn, making your effective rewards rate 2.5% cash back.
- If you have $50,000 to $99,999 in balances: You earn a 50% bonus on your rewards, making your effective rewards rate 3% cash back.
- If you have $100,000 or more in balances: You earn a 100% bonus, making your effective rewards rate 4% cash back.
(Editor's note: As of April 2025, U.S. Bank raised the threshold for earning elevated rewards from $5,000 to $10,000. Also, the issuer added a spending cap to these elevated rates. You'll only earn 2.5% or more back on the first $10,000 in spending per billing cycle.)
To qualify for those higher rates, a cardholder must have or open a Bank Smartly® Savings account with a minimum deposit of $25 and maintain the necessary combined balances in checking accounts, savings accounts, money market savings accounts, CDs, IRAs, U.S. Bancorp Investments and personal trust accounts. Business and commercial accounts don't qualify, and only primary cardholders' accounts are considered (not accounts owned by authorized users).
To determine bonus eligibility, the bank looks at your average daily combined balance for the preceding three months.
Additionally, the card offers a 0% intro APR for 12 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 17.74%-27.99% Variable APR. It's also made of metal, if that sweetens the pot for you.
Rewards get full value when deposited
Rewards are earned as points. The base rate is 2 points per dollar, with the bonuses adding on 0.5 points, 1 point or 2 points per dollar. When you deposit your rewards into an eligible U.S. Bank deposit account, points are worth 1 cent apiece, giving you the full cash-back value of 2% to 4%. Other redemptions, including for statement credit, may result in a lower value per point.
There's no limit on the total amount of rewards you can earn, and rewards points don't expire unless there is no activity in the account for 12 billing cycles.
Important disclosures from U.S. Bank
Net Purchases are Purchases minus credits and returns. Not all transactions are considered to be Purchases and eligible to earn rewards, such as transactions posting as Convenience Checks; Balance Transfers; Advances (including ATM withdrawals, wire transfers, traveler's checks, money orders, foreign cash transactions, betting transactions, and lottery tickets); interest charges and fees; credit insurance premiums; and transactions to (i) fund certain prepaid card products, (ii) buy currency from the U.S. Mint, or (iii) buy cash convertible items. Upon approval, see your Cardmember Agreement for details. Purchases qualify for rewards based on how merchants choose to classify their business and we reserve the right to determine which purchases qualify.
1. “Cash back” rewards are earned under the U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card program. These rewards are earned as “Points”, and U.S. Bank will credit your U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card with 2 Points for every $1 in eligible Net Purchases. You may earn additional Points for a Smartly Earning Bonus if you:
- Have or open a U.S. Bank Smartly® Savings account with a minimum opening deposit of $25; and
- Have “Combined Balances” with U.S. Bank in open consumer checking account(s), money market savings account(s), savings account(s), CDs and/or IRAs, U.S. Bancorp Investments and personal trust account(s) (business accounts, commercial accounts, and the Trustee only [IFI] client relationship do not qualify):
- Between $5,000 - $49,999.99, to earn a total of 2.5 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 0.5 Points),
- Between $50,000 - $99,999.99, to earn a total of 3 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 1 Point), or
- $100,000 or more to earn a total of 4 Points per $1 (a base of 2 Points plus the Smartly Earning Bonus of 2 Points).
Combined Balances are based on the average daily balance of the previous 3 months (calculated monthly) (or, for account(s) open less than 3 months, the average daily balance of the applicable time frame). The applicable Smartly Earning Bonus will be determined by reviewing the Combined Balances in the qualifying accounts of each Cardmember (if there is more than one) and using the total Combined Balances of the individual whose accounts have the highest total. (This means that Cardmembers will be aware of the balance range of the Cardmember with the highest qualifying balance each billing cycle.) Balances of the Authorized User(s) will not qualify for determining the Smartly Earning Bonus. The Smartly Earning Bonus is determined and applied on a monthly basis, which means that the bonus applied to your Account may vary during a billing cycle. The Smartly Earning Bonuses are calculated on the Purchase transaction date (what may not be the date the transaction posts to the Account). Points will expire if there is no reward, purchase, or balance activity on your account for 12 consecutive statement cycles.
2. This card earns cash back rewards in the form of Points. To redeem as Cash Back in the values noted in this advertisement, rewards Points can be redeemed as a deposit into an eligible U.S. Bank deposit account. Other redemptions, such as statement credits and gift cards, may be at a reduced redemption rate.
