5% rewards categories you can customize
With the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card, you can select bonus categories based on your spending. You can also repeat the same bonus categories each quarter, as long as they're still available as choices for that quarter. In the first quarter of 2022, for example, you could choose from among 12 categories for 5% back, including home utilities, cell phone providers, ground transportation, gym and fitness centers, department stores, fast food and movie theaters.
Keep in mind that the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card lets you pick two 5% cash-back categories each quarter. Competing cards sometimes offer multiple 5% categories per quarter, but not always. And even when they do, those categories are still chosen by the issuer.
» MORE: Current bonus categories: Discover, Chase Freedom Flex, Citi Dividend
Generous spending cap for 5% rewards
With other 5% rotating category cards, there's a quarterly spending cap of $1,500 for bonus categories, meaning your bonus earnings top out at $75 in a three-month period (not including the 1% back you'd get on "all other spending.") But the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card has a higher ceiling on spending eligible for 5% rewards. You'll earn 5% cash back on your first $2,000 in eligible purchases each quarter on the combined two categories you pick. That's potentially an extra $400 in bonus rewards per year, assuming you hit the spending cap each quarter.
Extra bonus rewards categories
The U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card allows you to select an additional category in which you get unlimited 2% cash back. The 2% options in the first quarter of 2020 were gas stations, restaurants and grocery stores. Again, unlike the 5% spending categories, these rewards aren't capped.
On top of the categories you select, the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card earns 5% cash back on prepaid air, hotel and car booking made through the issuer's Rewards Center. You don't have to opt in to be eligible for the 5% travel rewards.
» MORE: U.S. Bank adds travel-friendly feature to mobile app
How it compares with other 5% cash-back cards
If you’re thinking about getting the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card, you may already know about two of the other biggest players in the 5% game: the Discover it® Cash Back and the Chase Freedom Flex℠.
Those cards also offer elevated rewards in rotating bonus categories, but the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card differs in key ways:
Its 5%-back categories are customizable, and you can pick two of them each quarter.
The combined quarterly spending cap for those 5% rewards is $2,000, as opposed to $1,500.
You also get an unlimited 2% back in one everyday category.
But this doesn't mean the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card is the clear winner for all spenders. The Discover it® Cash Back and the Chase Freedom Flex℠ have plenty going for them, too.
Here’s how all three stack up:
Empty Table Header | U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card | Discover it® Cash Back | Chase Freedom Flex℠ |
|---|---|---|---|
Annual fee | $0. | $0. | $0. |
Bonus offer | $200 rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. | INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300. | Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. |
Intro APR offer | 0% intro APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.49%-29.74% Variable APR. | 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-28.24% Variable APR. | 0% intro APR on purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 20.49%-29.24%, Variable APR. |
Is it easy to plan spending around bonus categories? | Yes. Categories are displayed on the website all year. | Not recently. Discover used to release the full 5% calendar at the start of the year. In 2023, the issuer started announcing categories one quarter at a time. | No. Categories are only announced quarterly. |
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» MORE: Which 5% rotating bonus category card should I choose?
