With more and more credit cards offering 2% unlimited cash back, U.S. Bank’s new Smartly Visa Signature card needed to up the ante to get noticed. Setting the bar high is what U.S. Bank did by offering 2% out of the gate with the ability to earn up to 4% cash back on all purchases with no limits.
Here is all you need to know about the card and whether it makes good money sense to apply for and carry it in your wallet.
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U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card Details
Officially launched on November 13, 2024, the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature card is an unlimited 2% cash back credit card that offers even more cash back when paired with a U.S. Bank Smartly Savings account.
The Smartly Visa Signature offers a base 2% cash-back rate on every purchase. This is a solid rate offered by many other credit card competitors. Customers who also open a U.S. Bank Smartly Savings account can earn up to 4% cash back based on the average daily combined balances across all their U.S. Bank consumer accounts.
Eligible consumer accounts that count toward earning the 4% cash-back bonus include checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs, investment accounts, retirement accounts, and personal trust accounts. Balances in business and commercial accounts do not qualify.
Luckily, U.S. Bank makes it easy to qualify for higher levels of cash back by offering different balance tiers. It is not all or nothing. Here is the breakdown:
| Qualifying Combined Account Balance | Cash Back Percentage |
| $0 – $4,999 | 2% |
| $5,000 – $49,999 | 2.5% |
| $50,000 – $99,999 | 3% |
| $100,000+ | 4% |
The more money you have with U.S. Bank, the higher your cashback percentage.
To stay competitive, the Smartly Visa Signature card has no annual fee plus a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months.
With the card being brand new and offering the highest cashback rates of the credit cards out right now, there is no welcome bonus currently available.
People who enjoy having a credit card with a more premium feel might like that the Smartly Visa Signature card is made of metal.
U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Fees and Rates
- Annual Fee: $0
- Purchase Interest Rate: 18.49% to 28.74% APR depending on creditworthiness
- Intro Balance Transfer Rates: 0% introductory APR for first 12 billing cycles for transfers completed within 60 days of account opening
- Balance Transfer Interest Rates: 18.49% to 28.74% after introductory period based on creditworthiness
- Balance Transfer Fee: 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5, whichever is greater
- Cash Advance Interest Rate: 31.24%
- Cash Advance Fee: 5% of the amount of each advance or $10, whichever is greater
- Foreign Transaction Fee: 3%
- Late Payment Fee: Up to $41
- Return Payment Fee: Up to $41
Smartly Visa Signature Pros and Cons
Pros
- Unlimited 2% to 4% cash-back rewards
- No annual fee
- 0% introductory balance transfer for 12 months
Cons
- Foreign transaction fee
- High cash advance APR
- Need to open a Smartly Savings account for the higher cash back percentage
- No sign-up bonus
U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card Benefits
Here is why applying for the Smartly Visa Signature card makes sense.
Unlimited 4% Cash Back
Before the arrival of the Smartly Visa Signature from U.S. Bank, the highest cashback percentage came from the Alliant Cashback Visa Signature card. The Alliant Visa card offers 2.5% cash back on purchases up to $10,000 each month. After $10,000, the cash-back percentage drops to $1.5%.
There are a couple of other cards such as the Apple Card and the Paypal Cashback Mastercard which offer up to 3% cashback. But to get that cash-back rate, you were restricted to purchases from select merchants.
The Smartly Visa Signature offers a true unlimited 4% cash back. You are not limited to a certain amount of purchases each month. Also, there are not any specific merchants or shopping categories that you need to worry about.
No Annual Fee
The Smartly Visa Signature card from U.S. Bank has a $0 annual fee. This makes the Smartly Visa card an excellent choice when looking for a card to keep open year after year to help improve your credit score in addition to the cash-back rewards.
People looking to maximize their rewards would benefit from having a card without an annual fee. A rewards card with an annual fee instantly puts cardholders in the red each year. It can take months of spending before one can benefit from the rewards earned with the card.
0% Introductory APR for Balance Transfers
Someone with a $6,000 balance on a credit card with 20% APR will pay almost $100 monthly in interest. Making a balance transfer to the Smartly Visa Signature will cost $180 initially with the 3% balance transfer fee. But you can save almost $1,200 in interest over 12 months.
Are you looking to avoid paying the high interest on another credit card that you have? The Smartly Visa card has a 0% intro APR for balance transfers for 12 months for newly opened accounts.
The 12-month interest-free period is an acceptable length of time. There are other cards that offer longer introductory periods of up to as much as 18 months.
Smartly Visa Signature Drawbacks
The Smartly Visa Signature card has a 3% foreign transaction fee and the cash advance rate is a little higher than 30%.
If you do not plan to use the card abroad or make cash advances, the only major downside of this credit card is the need to open another bank account to earn more than 2% cashback.
U.S. Bank Savings Account Requirement
The minimum deposit to open a U.S. Bank Smartly Savings account is $25.
Luckily, there is no monthly maintenance fee when you have the Smartly Visa Signature card combined with the Smartly Savings account. Otherwise, there would have been a $5 fee.
Assuming that you do not have other financial products with U.S. Bank that could be counted toward the qualifying account balance to hit the bonus cash-back rates, you will need to keep $5,000 or more in cash in the savings account.
The more cash you keep in the savings account, the more interest you will earn. The balance tiers are similar to the ones you would need to meet for the higher cash-back rates on the credit card.
The rates will fluctuate depending on the Fed, but as of February 1, 2025, they are:
| Smartly Savings Account Balance | Savings Account Interest Rate |
| Under $5,000 | 2.00% |
| $5,000 – $24,999 | 2.50% |
| $25,000 – $49,999 | 3.50% |
| $50,000 – $99,999 | 3.50% |
| $100,000+ | 3.50% |
You can find the current Smartly Savings interest rates here.
Hefty Balance Requirements
To earn the full 4% cashback for the Smartly Visa card, you will need a large average daily combined balance across all your U.S. Bank accounts.
Let’s assume you don’t have any other financial services with U.S. Bank and you only keep your money in the Smartly Savings account.
You can compare the above rates offered by U.S. Bank to CIT Bank’s Platinum Savings account. CIT currently offers 4.35% with a balance of $5,000 or more. U.S. Bank is almost 1.85% less than CIT Bank.
if you are trying to earn 2.5% cash back with the Smartly Visa card, you will need to have $5,000 in the U.S. Bank savings account. U.S. Bank will offer you 2.50% APR for the $5,000 in the account or $92.50 less than if you had kept the money in CIT’s Platinum Savings account. To make that back with 2.5% cash back, you need to charge $3,700 ($92.50 / 2.5%) on the Smartly Visa.
With $50,000 in the U.S. Bank savings account, you will be bumped up to the 3% cash back tier. You will need to get at least $425 cashback ($50,000 x (4.35% – 3.5%)) before you start coming out ahead, as opposed to if you had put the $50,000 into the CIT Platinum Savings. That means you’d have to charge at least $14,166 ($425 / 3%) a year.
To get the full 4% cash back, you need to keep at least $100,000 with U.S. Bank. That means you will earn $850 less in interest. You will need to charge at least $21,250 on your Smartly Visa Signature card annually to make up the difference.
A better move might be to put that money into one of U.S. Bank’s investment products instead of the Smartly Savings account. You will be able to earn higher cash-back rates along with the option to purchase stocks, options, ETFs, and mutual funds with the opportunity to earn higher returns with your money.
No Sign-Up Bonus
The U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card is too new to have an available welcome bonus for new card holders. With a high cash-back reward and all the media coverage about the new card, U.S. Bank might not see the need to offer a bonus right now.
Closing $ense
The U.S. Bank Smartly Visa offers an impressive 4% cash back, making it the best cash-back rewards card available today. However, to earn that rate, you need to meet a big balance requirement. Luckily, U.S. Bank offers three different bonus tiers of cashback – 2.5%, 3%, and 4%. So it’s not all or nothing. You can keep the amount of assets at U.S. Bank that works for your situation.
For people who do not have or want to keep that much cash and assets at U.S. Bank, the base 2% rate is still very good and competes with many other cashback cards. If you are signing for the 2% rate, consider looking for a card with a welcome bonus such as the Citi Double Cash or Wells Fargo Active Cash card.
Do you think the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa card is worth applying for? Or would you rather go with another credit card?