Changes to U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card: No more annual fee, points devalued, but maybe more compelling than ever?

Update September 16, 2024: These changes to the Altitude Connect are now in effect. To get 1 cent of cash back value out of each of your points, you must now redeem for a credit into a U.S. Bank checking account

In mid-2024, cardholders holding the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card were informed of changes to the card that include the elimination of the card’s annual fee, changes to reward earnings, a devaluation of reward redemptions, and the loss of some benefits.

These changes became effective September 9, 2024.

But although the headline changes involved the loss of benefits and devaluation of rewards, the elimination of the annual fee might make the card more compelling than ever.

Here are all of the changes coming to the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card and our take.

Summary of changes to the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card

My take on the changes to the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card

I’ve flipped my view of the changes of this card. I think that the changes are on balance positive changes and make the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card a compelling product for travelers.

The obvious positive change to this card was that the card’s annual fee went from an ongoing $95/year to $0.

• Cap on the 4x rewards at gas stations and EV charging. This probably won’t hit that many people. Realistically, most people aren’t going to spend $1,000 per quarter on gas or EV charging. If your family drives an Honda Odyssey and fills the tank every week, you’re likely only spending $600-$800 on gas in a quarter.
• Exclusions on discount stores and superstores. If most of your shopping is at Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Target, or other superstores, there are other cards that you should have in your wallet specifically for those stores.
• Devaluation of cash back redemptions. Sure, you can’t redeem your points for 1 cent each for a statement credit, but you can get 1 cents of value out of each of them if you redeem for a cash back credit into a U.S. Bank checking account. This becomes annoying if you have credit cards from nearly every bank, but most people bank with only one or two banks and U.S. Bank is a reasonable choice for many people for their primary checking account.
• Loss of streaming services credit. This credit wasn’t of much use anyway for streaming. There are other cards that are better for streaming services generally, plus cards that offer credits on Disney Plus membership.
• Cell phone protection benefit. The loss of this benefit might hurt some, but there are plenty of cards with no annual fee that offer cell phone protection. If you need this benefit, you can pick up a card that offers it at no cost.

But what didn’t change is more interesting:

• 4x points on travel beats many premium credit cards with an annual fee, especially if you don’t want to deal with the complexity of transferring points to partners.
• Priority Pass Select with 4 complimentary visits meets the needs of most travelers who travel once or twice a year.
• GigSky global internet complimentary plans are a huge benefit if you travel internationally—you can add an eSIM to your card and get free data in over 125 countries. And we tested it—it works well.
• Trip Delay Reimbursement is a perk usually reserved for cards with an annual fee and lounge access through SmartDelay for flights delayed 2 hours or more is a great benefit.
• A Credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry enrollment fees is still available.

And the fact that you get all of these benefits on a card with no annual fee? That’s an incredible value.

Bottom line on the changes

The changes that to the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card are now live. While the card loses a handful of benefits and puts some restrictions on how you use your points, it keeps a bunch of valuable benefits and offers much better value now that the annual fee has been eliminated.

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