U.S. Bank Smartly Stiffens Requirements to Earn Top Rates
Snagging that impressive 4% cash-back rate just got more difficult.
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The U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card, once a highly rewarding card for anyone with sufficient investments in U.S. Bank accounts, is now a bit less brilliant. After launching just seven months ago, the card is already undergoing a major overhaul to a rewards program that burned too bright for this world.
For now, these changes won’t affect existing cardholders. But as of April 14, 2025, the card has rolled out a number of changes for new applicants.
It’s harder to earn more than 2% cash back
The U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card still earns a base rewards rate of 2% cash back on all purchases, which is still quite good. And it’s still possible to earn even higher rates if you meet specific requirements — it's just that those requirements got stricter.
Now, you must open a U.S. Bank Smartly savings account and maintain a “qualifying balance” in a Bank Smartly checking account or Safe Debit account. Here’s what you can earn at different balance tiers:
$10,000 to $49,999.99: Earn 2.5% cash back.
$50,000 to $99,999.99: Earn 3% cash back.
$100,000 or more: Earn 4% cash back.
Previously, U.S. Bank checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, investment accounts and IRAs, and even personal trust accounts could be factored into your qualifying balance. Plus, you used to reach the 2.5% cash back tier with $5,000 in your accounts, not $10,000.
That coveted 4% cash-back rate is now hard to obtain unless you’re in the habit of holding onto a six-figure sum of cash.
There’s also a change to how the qualifying balance is calculated. Before, it was based on your average daily balance over a 90-day period. Now, that’s down to 30 days, which can affect your eligibility for extra cash back depending on your cash flow for the month.
With the U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card, cash back is worth 1 cent per point when deposited into an eligible U.S. Bank account. You can also redeem points for gift cards or statement credits, but they’ll be worth less if you do this.
Higher cash-back tiers are subject to spending limits
The original version of the card placed no limits on how much cash back you could earn in any rewards tier. There’s still no cap on earning 2% cash back going forward, but now you can only earn 2.5% back or more on up to $10,000 in spending per billing cycle.
Once you reach that limit, you’ll earn the base 2% back.
Certain purchases won’t qualify for higher reward rates
Education or tuition payments, gift cards, insurance, taxes, business-to-business transactions and third-party bill payment services will earn only 2% cash back, even if you’re eligible to earn 2.5% back or more based on your balances with U.S. Bank.
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