Changes Coming to U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card?
Update (Apr 14, 2025) – As expected, the changes are now live and showing on the application page.
Update (Apr 07, 2025) – We now have confirmation that changes will happen on April 14, based on an internal memo at US Bank. The good news is that those who have the card or apply prior to April 14, will receive the original features and benefits without any changes for now. The revised features and benefits will only affect those who apply for the card on or after April 14. (HT: r/creditcards)
The terms state that you need to have a Smartly savings account and a qualifying balance in Smartly Checking so you can earn up to an extra 2% (for a total of 4% cash back).
Update (Apr 03, 2025) – Another rumor now details the upcoming changes for this card, which should go live on April 15th:
- Bonus earn rate will exclude the following categories: Educational/school, gift cards, insurance, taxes, business to business transactions, and 3rd party bill payments.
- Earning bonus (cash back over 2%) will be capped at $10,000 spend the statement cycle. Base 2% earning will still be unlimited.
- Only checking account balances will count towards the balance requirement to earn the higher cash back rate with the U.S. Bank Smartly Card.
- To earn 2.5%, you will need a balance of $10,000 or more (that’s up from $5,000). The two other tiers will remain unchanged at $50,000 for 3% cash back and $100,000 for 4% cash back.
- These changes will apply to new cardmembers after April 14, 2025. Existing cardmembers will be grandfathered in, but it’s not clear for how long.
Update (Mar 14, 2025) – Another report hints at upcoming changes to the card, which sounds more plausible to completely discontinuing it just four months after launch.
“The card will no longer be able to be applied for soon, but it will only be down for about 3-4 weeks as they are making changes to the card. So, everyone rest assured that the card will be able to be applied for again soon and anyone that currently has the Smartly card will still be able to use it as normal.”
That’s not necessarily good news, as changes will probably mean that you will no longer earn 4% cash back, it might be capped, or it will be might require more than a $100,000 balance in US Bank accounts. (HT: r/creditcards)
The U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card could soon be discontinued. There are a few reports on reddit that bank agents are saying that the card is no longer available for applications in-branch. Furthermore, it looks like it is no longer possible to product change to the U.S. Bank Smartly card.
The card is still available online for applications for now, but that should change within a month, if the rumors are true.
This would be a strange move by U.S. Bank, considering that they just launched this card in November. One of the datapoints says that bank agent did mention abuse as one of the reasons. The bank did send out a warning letter recently, telling cardholders that they should not use the card for business purchases.
For those who are not familiar with the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card, this is an interesting product that has no annual fee and earns up to 4% cash back on every purchase if you have a U.S. Bank Smartly Savings account, IRA or other accounts. You will need to have balances of $100,000 or more in those accounts in order to earn 4% cash back on every purchase. Otherwise, you will only earn 2% cash back. You can read more about the card here.
If U.S. Bank does discontinue this card, maybe they’ll bring back the Altitude Reserve card which was discontinued when the Smartly card launched.
Do you have the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa card or planning to apply for it? Let me know in the comments!
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