A few months ago, I opened quite a few cards. One of them was the US Bank Flexperk Visa credit card. After a few months, I continue to decide if this card is worth keeping. Plus I am giving away a Cole Haan amenity kit from my business class flight back from Europe.
Credit Card Review: US Bank Flexperk Visa, Plus a Give-A-Way
I always tell people, if your score is under 700, you shouldn’t be applying for a reward credit card. When I checked Credit Board Pulls, most people approved had scores over 700, with a few in the high 600’s.
Sign Up Bonus:
The sign up bonus is 25,000 FlexPerk points after you spend $2,000 in the first 90 days. Be sure to check if you have any special offers before you apply.
When I applied for the the US Bank FlexPerk Visa card, I received 25,000 points after spending $500 in the first 90 days. Talk about easy!
The bonus is worth $375, so for a $500 spend, this was a pretty solid return.
While no guarantee, around the time of the Olympics, US Bank awards extra points based on the US medal count. This is a really great way to earn extra bonus points on this card.
Earning Rate:
This is a bit different from other cards, but this credit card earns:
- 2 FlexPerk Points per dollar on Airfare OR Gas stations, OR Grocery store
- You’ll earn 2x on the category with the most spend and the other categories earn 1x
- 2 FlexPerk Points per dollar on Cellular Providers
- 2 FlexPerk Points per dollar on Charity
- 1 FlexPerk Point per dollar everywhere else
These earning rate are underwhelming. You can easily out earn this credit card with other credit cards, that is due to the fact you are earning at most 3% back.
Annual Fee:
The US Bank FlexPerk Visa Credit Card has a $49 annual fee, which is waived the first year.
Foreign Transaction Fee:
The US Bank FlexPerk comes with no foreign transaction fees, so it would be a good choice to use when traveling internationally.
If you have other cards, compare the earning rates, since this card doesn’t earn well across the board.
Redemption Options:
The FlexPerk Program is pretty much a cash back program. Unfortunately, it isn’t a very good cash back earning card.
There are quite a few options when it comes to redeeming your rewards. Although, some options are pretty bad.
- Cash Back- Redeems at 1 cent per point
- Magazines – starting at 1,000 points. Please do not use this option
- Gift Cards- Redeem at 1 cent per point
- Travel – Redeem at 1.5 cents per point
- Private Plane – starting at 450,000 points per hour, with a 2 hour minimum. While this is an option, it really does seem like a waste. Not to mention it cost WAYYY too many points
- Combine Points- You can combine points with another person, but the maximum amount of points you can transfer is 20,000 per year
Real Time Rewards
One option that I actually like compared to using a travel portal, is the real time mobile rewards. You can immediately redeem your points for a statement credit.
There is a list of options to which you can enroll in (plus you’ll earn 500 points when you enroll) and this includes travel as well. Why is this a better option than booking through their travel portal?
This options gives you the ability to book directly through the airline/hotel. Booking directly with the airline is typically best, especially if price is equal. This will be much better if you needed to make changes or if an issue arises.
By booking directly for your hotel, you will be able to use your status, if you have status. Typically when you book through a third party, you usually won’t receive your benefits
As I have written about before, this redemption option isn’t new, real time rewards have been around for a long time.
The best option is definitely the 1.5 cents per point when you redeem for travel. FlexPerk redemption options are pretty straight, because they are a form of cash back.
My most recent redemption for FlexPerks, you can see my redemption actually posted before the transaction did. That is pretty fast!
Other Benefits:
I think for card with a $49 fee, the benefits aren’t too bad for this card.
- You will receive up to a $25 reimbursement per award ticket, which you can use for baggage fees, in-flight food, and drinks.
- 12 GoGo WiFi Passes annually.
- For price comparison, this would be $19 per pass. This would have cost $228, if I paid for passes individually.
- Rental car discounts at National, Alamo, and Enterprise.
- Andrew Harper Membership
- Luxury Hotel Collection Perks
My Take on This Card:
In the big scheme, this credit card doesn’t deserve any spending outside if the minimum spend requirement. The bonus of $375 for a $500 spend is pretty solid, since it is basically a 75% return on my spending. I’ll take that any day of the week!
Being able to book directly with the airline and redeeming your rewards is a nice benefit.
The only reason I would consider keeping this card is the for the 12 GoGo Wifi Passes. Paying $4.08 per WiFi pass is quite cheap.
If you don’t value cash back, prefer business class seating, or receive some of these benefits from other cards, then I would say give this card a pass.
If you fly coach, want a cash back bonus to book cheap tickets, and want a few benefits such as WiFi, this might be a card to sign up for.
Give-A-Way:
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my experience flying on American Airlines Boeing 777-300 from London To New York. On that flight, I received a Cole Haan amenity kit.
I am going to be giving this kit away to one reader.
This kit comes in a really nice bag and inside the bag is:
- Earplugs
- Eyeshade
- Pen
- Socks, which are 100% polyester
- Tissues
- Toothbrush
- Refreshing Kit
- Coupons for Casper Bedding, and Cole Haan
The great thing about those coupons, they can stack with apps like Drop, shopping portals, and American Express offers.
In order to enter:
- Head on over to my Youtube Channel
- Subscribe to my channel
- Leave a comment below on a topic or video you would like me to cover.
I’ll pick a winner on June 13th and send your amenity kit to you!
What do you think of the US Bank FlexPerks Visa Credit Card?
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I’d like it better if it didn’t have the $500 hotel minimum.
It’s nice that you usually get some easy chances to get 3,500 points with $500 spend among the way. One of those offset AF when renewal time comes. Can pay AF with 3,500 points.
Hey Carl,
I’d agree, that $500 hotel minimum is a bit high.
Thanks for reading! I appreciate it!
Dustin
Wait — when you signed up some time ago, the minimum spend requirement was $500, but now it’s $2,000?
Hey Mike,
The public offer is $2,000. If you look under pre-qualified offers, you might find the same offer I had of $500 spend requirement. I signed up for this card a couple of months ago.
Thanks for reading! I appreciate it!
This card is OK, and you can book live with an agent for no fee if the ticket cannot be purchased on their website (like Southwest). One other item to note is that their no annual fee, no rewards Visa Platinum (but not their other cards) has mobile phone protection when you charge your monthly bill to the card. And any US Bank credit card can be used to keep the checking account monthly fee free.
It’s a great card if you have access to grocery or gas MS. With the new “real time rewards” it is now a 3% cash back card, and with >$24k spend/yr they give you 3500 bonus points, which can be redeemed to cover your annual fee. So it becomes a no-AF card with 3% grocery return (and I believe it is now unlimited double-points at grocery), plus other ancillary benefits like the gogo coupons, etc. With Discover “3%” you have to wait til end of year 1 to get the 3% match and other 2.5%+ cash-back cards are typically difficult to qualify for (Alliant, etc). IMO this card is oft-overlooked, and still has incredible value even after the recent devaluation.
I’d like you to cover the US Bank Gold Amex.