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Editor's note: The U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card is currently closed to new applicants. However, you may be able to product change to this card by contacting U.S. Bank.
U.S. Bank launched the U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card to compete in a crowded luxury space, going up against cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
The major difference between the Altitude Reserve and its competitors is that U.S. Bank doesn't have transfer partners and therefore its points can't be transferred to loyalty programs. For those who like to use their points this way, this is certainly a downside. But the Altitude Reserve has a different type of traveler in mind.
The card is especially well-suited for those who would prefer the simplicity of earning cash back on their spending and redeeming points in U.S. Bank's travel portal. This may not offer the same value, but it provides fantastic flexibility.
However, this card is closed to new applicants. So, if you have it, is it worth keeping in your wallet or attempting to product change to? Let's take a closer look.
Page Contents
Altitude Reserve Pros
- Earns 3X on eligible travel purchases and mobile wallet spending.
- $325 in annual statement credits largely offset the annual fee.
- Ability to redeem points in real-time for a variety of purchases.
Altitude Reserve Cons
- Not currently open to new applicants.
- $400 annual fee.
- Lack of transfer partners that could provide outsized redemptions.
Cards That Compete With the Altitude Reserve
If the Altitude Reserve interests you, but you don't have a way to get it, consider these options instead:
- If you want U.S. Bank rewards but a lower annual fee, check out the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card. This card has a $0 annual fee and can be used with Real-Time Mobile Rewards. Plus, its travel earnings (outside the U.S. Bank portal) are higher, though it lacks the 1.5¢ redemption option. It also earns well on gas stations and EV charging. Check out our full review of the Altitude Connect.
- If you want up to 2¢ redemptions and statement credits plus extras, look at the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees). For a $795 annual fee, you'll get unlimited Priority Pass lounge visits, up to $300 in annual travel credits, up to $300 in dining credits, and access to transfer partners that can provide outsized redemption value. You'll also get up to 2¢-per-point redemptions through Chase's travel portal. Check out our full review of the Sapphire Reserve.
- If you don't want limits on lounge visits, consider The Platinum Card® from American Express. While it comes with a $695 annual fee (Rates & Fees), it also has the widest scope of lounge access across premium cards. This includes American Express Centurion® Lounges, Priority Pass, some Lufthansa lounges, and more. Check out our full review of the Amex Platinum.
- 5X points on prepaid hotels and rental cars booked through the Altitude Rewards Center
- 4X points on other travel, including airlines, hotels, rental cars, cruises, taxis, trains, and limousines.
- 4X points at gas stations and on electric vehicle charging (on up to $1,000 in spending each quarter)
- 2X points at grocery stores, grocery delivery, dining, and streaming services
- 1 point on all other eligible purchases
- 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on dining worldwide
- 1x points on all other purchases
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
Related: Comparison of Premium Travel Rewards Credit Cards
Altitude Reserve Welcome Offer
Sadly, the Altitude Reserve is closed to new applications. And it's unclear if or when it'll ever open to new applicants again. However, some across the internet have reported success in being able to product change to the card.
For a bit of historical context, though, the Altitude Reserve used to offer the following welcome bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus points worth $750 on travel. Just spend $4,500 in the first 90 days of account opening.
Altitude Reserve Benefits
If you have the Altitude Reserve and are trying to decide whether to keep it or to product change to it, it's worth taking a detailed look at all of its benefits. And as a Visa Infinite card, it comes with an extensive array of perks and benefits.
$325 in yearly travel and dining credits
Each year, you can receive up to $325 in statement credits for travel and dining purchases. This includes not just flights and hotels but also taxis, cruises, and trains, plus restaurant purchases, takeout, fast food, and bars. These credits are based on your cardmember year (not the calendar year), and they apply automatically to eligible purchases.
The statement credit offered by the Altitude Reserve is one of the most easily redeemable among credits offered by premium cards. I easily consider it a $325 offset to the card's annual fee.
You should receive credits within three business days of making eligible purchases. You can use the AwardWallet Merchant Category Lookup Tool to see how a merchant will code on your credit card; this will help you maximize your purchases and credits.
Priority Pass membership
Cardholders can enroll for a Priority Pass Select membership with a waived enrollment fee for one cardmember per account. Unlike a number of other premium cards that offer unlimited visits, the membership offered by the Altitude Reserve includes just eight free lounge visits per year.
Guests can receive complimentary access, but these also count toward the total (i.e., visiting a lounge with two guests counts as three visits). After the eight complimentary visits, members will be charged up to $35 per person, per visit, depending on individual lounge policies.
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
Use your Altitude Reserve card to pay for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee and receive up to $120 in statement credits to offset this fee. This perk is available once every four years.
Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection perks
Receive a $25 food and beverage credit, free continental breakfast, late checkout, and room upgrades (when available) at hotels participating in the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection. Plus, you'll also receive an amenity unique to each property, such as an additional dining credit or spa credit. Available hotels range from lavish boutique properties to well-recognized top luxury hotel brands.
Insurance coverage
Your Altitude Reserve also provides several protections at home and on vacation. These include primary rental car collision damage waiver, up to $500,000 of travel accident insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, emergency evacuation and transportation, repatriation of remains, lost luggage reimbursement, insurance for accidental loss of life or limb, and travel and emergency assistance services to coordinate aid during emergencies.
Compared to the coverage provided by some premium credit cards, the coverage amounts offered by the Altitude Reserve are quite weak. As an example, the accidental loss of life benefit offers a mere $1,000 in coverage. Compare this to the $1,000,000 offered by the [CC_AW_FullName slug=SapphireReserve]. That's a big difference!
You can also take advantage of purchase security, return protection, extended warranty protection, and identity theft protection to protect your purchases. The full guide to benefits is here.
Altitude Reserve Earning Rates
With the Altitude Reserve, you'll earn 5X points prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Altitude Rewards Center, 3X on eligible travel purchases and mobile wallet spending, and 1X on all other purchases.
The mobile wallet category merits attention. If you can pay a merchant using a mobile wallet, this can increase your rewards from 1X to 3X on everyday spending. That could add thousands of extra points to your account each year, and it's an uncommon bonus category in the credit card rewards space.
Redeeming Points With the Altitude Reserve
There are a few handy ways you can redeem the points you earn with the Altitude Reserve.
U.S. Bank travel portal
Points are worth 1.5¢ each when redeemed for travel in the Altitude Rewards Center. This allows you to book travel as you like, such as boutique hotels that don't participate in a rewards program or flights from international airlines without good mileage redemption options.
Plus, paying with points this way means you'll earn miles on flights, as these are considered paid tickets. If you're short on points for a particular redemption, you can still pay using a combination of Points+Cash.
One negative of redeeming points for hotels is that chains aren't likely to recognize your elite status (or give you credit for the stay). Most chains require direct booking to receive elite status benefits. Consider if this matters when you're redeeming points.
U.S. Bank Real-Time Rewards
You can redeem points from the Altitude Reserve via U.S. Bank's Real-Time Mobile Rewards, which allows you to redeem points at 1.5¢ per point towards travel, no matter where you made the purchase.
Additionally, you can use these fixed-value points toward your other purchases in real-time. You'll use points at 1¢ each on these redemptions, including gift cards, merchandise, recent purchases, and more. Because you'll always get one cent per point for these redemptions, you don't have to worry about learning complicated strategies to redeem for maximum value.
There are no better or worse ways to redeem your points. Unfortunately, this also means you won't get outsized value like you could with American Express or Chase transfer partners, for example.
You'll need to register your card for Real-Time Rewards before making any redemptions. Once enrolled, each time you make a purchase, U.S. Bank will send you a text message asking if you would like to use points to cover the cost. To redeem, reply with the word “Redeem.” This is a time-saving, convenient feature.
Redeeming toward the annual fee
Altitude Reserve cardholders can redeem 35,000 points toward the card's $400 annual fee. That's a redemption rate of 1.14¢ per point — less than you get on travel redemptions but better than redemptions in other categories. It's a great way to take advantage of the card's features while limiting your out-of-pocket cost.
Application Restrictions and Strategy
Currently, the U.S. Bank is closed to new applications. Thus, typical application rules and restrictions won't apply here unless the bank ever opens it to new applicants again.
But if this is a card you're interested in getting and you have another U.S. Bank card, it's worth reaching out to the bank's customer service team. By doing so, you can explore product change opportunities, should any be available to you. And there's reason to believe it's open for product changes based on anecdotal evidence we've seen across the internet in recent months.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Final Thoughts
The Altitude Reserve is a solid travel card that offers a number of valuable perks and travel benefits that many will find useful. It also has a lower annual fee than other premium cards, although the limit on lounge visits is a downside. However, if you can use the $325 travel and dining credit, the effective annual fee is only $75 — not bad for a card with a unique earning category and a few lounge visits.
The 3X earning on mobile wallet transactions is a key advantage offered by the card. This brings a whole slew of small everyday purchases into your overall points tally. Unfortunately, the points earned with this card cannot be transferred to loyalty programs that offer higher per-point valuations for award redemptions.
However, the card's biggest con for now is that it's not open to new applicants. We wish we knew whether it'll ever open to new applicants again. But for now, the only way to get it is by product changing to it from another eligible card.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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