5 Things to Know About the Ameriprise Credit Card

On the surface, the Ameriprise Premier Visa Signature credit card looks compelling. A card offering a flat 2.5% cash back on all purchases isn’t easy to find.

Once you take a look at the pesky-yet-important fine print, however, things look a bit less shiny. To get that 2.5% rewards rate, you need to deposit your cash back into an eligible Ameriprise account. Otherwise, you earn 2% back, a rate you can find elsewhere. Plus, to get the triple-digit annual fee waived, you need to have substantial assets with Ameriprise.

But that’s not all! You have to spend a lot to hit the minimums required to redeem in certain ways, including into Ameriprise accounts (again, that’s how you get the higher rewards rate to begin with).

So if you have an existing relationship with Ameriprise, this card could be an option for you. If you don’t, there isn’t really a reason to carry this card. Consider other cards offering solid rewards with no annual fee.

Here are five things to know about the Ameriprise credit card, issued by Elan Financial Services.

1. There’s an annual fee, but it can be waived

The Ameriprise Premier Visa Signature credit card has a $150 annual fee, but it’s waived for Ameriprise Achiever Circle Elite clients with $500,000 or more in eligible assets with Ameriprise.

Too rich for your blood? The $0-annual-fee U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card can earn the same 2.5% cash back on all purchases if you have $10,000 in eligible U.S. Bank balances. (The card's rewards range from 2% to 4% cash back, depending on your total balance.)

2. Earn decent amounts of cash back — with a catch

The Ameriprise credit card earns a base rewards rate of 2 points per dollar on all purchases. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem them into eligible Ameriprise accounts, making your earning rate effectively 2.5 points per dollar if you redeem this way.

If you don’t have a relationship with Ameriprise, a $0-annual-fee card that earns 2% cash back on all eligible purchases, like the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, could be a better — and less expensive — option.

» MORE: Other credit cards that let you invest your rewards

3. Rewards redemptions can have high minimums

You can redeem your rewards in several ways:

• For a statement credit at a value of 1 cent per point. You must redeem a minimum of 10,000 points, and if you redeem more than 10,000 points, they must be in 100-point increments. 

• For gift cards or merchandise. Point values can vary when you redeem them this way. Gift card redemptions start at 700 points. 

• For a credit toward an Ameriprise financial planning service fee. You must redeem 10,000 points to get a $125 credit, meaning your points are worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed for this purpose.

• As a deposit into an eligible Ameriprise account. You’re heavily incentivized to redeem this way because your points will be worth 25% more, meaning you effectively earn 2.5% cash back instead of the base 2%. You must redeem in 30,000-point increments, meaning each redemption is $375 of cash back into your account.

The high minimum redemption requirements for some of these options means you need to spend a lot before you get any benefit from the card. If you opt for a statement credit, you earn 2 points per dollar spent, so you must spend $5,000 before you can redeem $100 worth of points.

Again, if you’re open to holding accounts elsewhere, the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card earns 2 points per dollar when you deposit rewards into an eligible Fidelity account, and you can redeem as little as one point. The card offers the option to automatically redeem any earned points into your Fidelity account each month, too. The annual fee is $0.

4. The card offers a welcome bonus

New cardholders can earn 15,000 points after spending $1,500 in the first 90 days. That can get you halfway toward the minimum amount required to redeem into eligible Ameriprise accounts.

5. There are travel perks, too