yugi

I have $7.5k CL, Visa, first renewal, so 1 year old.

yugi

Applied yesterday, went to pending 7-10 day by mail. Is it a denial?

UVU Wolverine

Interesting, I have a data point to add then. I had Flexperks card which I wanted to convert to a Cash+. I called in and they allowed me to do, but the CSR misunderstood and my account was transferred to the Cash365 card instead. About a week after receiving the card, I called and told them what happened. They happily converted my Cash365 into a Cash+ card. This happened around a few months ago. I've had the card open for about 4 years in total, and rarely if ever put spend on it (I initially got it just for a free checking account as US Bank was the only chain bank where I was moving to).

AsiaTraveler

FYI, for anyone hoping to use their Cash+ card for the gym rebate category, YMCAs do NOT code as a gym (at least my local one didn't). Apparently it codes as a "membership association" or something like that and not as a "real" gym. Customer service can't do anything unless the coding is right. I'm pretty irritated because we paid our dues for the whole year in one lump sum on the Cash+ card to get the 5% back- definitely would have chosen a different card if I had known. Live and learn, I guess.

RedSun

This card has been disappointing. All the 5% categories are so narrow. It is pretty much useless for me now, at least for the Q4-2018. May want to PC it to another card. Not a lot of good CC I want from US Bank....

halamadrid

I now use it strictly for the Utilities category (electric, gas, water, trash pick up). No other card gives me anything extra on these categories so I held on to the card. Before they introduced the utilities categories I was thinking of letting it go because the other categories were nothing to write home about.

UVU Wolverine

I much prefer the standard categories throughout the year over the rotating categories that many 5% back cards have. The utilities and cell phone categories make the card a keeper for me, and even before the utilities category came the other ones were enough to at least keep me interested and use it sporadically on furniture, clothing, and sports store purchases.

I have two homes and a family cell phone plan though, so this is actually one of my most valuable cards in terms of rewards.

yugi

I prefer electronic stores as my category. My cell phone expenses are only $45 per month for 2 lines and my utilities expenses are only around $50 per month. So I usually select Furniture Stores or Department Stores as my second category. I have all other categories covered by other cards.

RedSun

I still recall researching this card before, but never signed up. Then I read some of the blogs and say this is a great card and it shows the showdown between Cash + vs Freedom vs. Discover etc. But this 5% is much worse than Freedom, Discover, Citi Dividend. Not the same league. Keep it in the drawer for some time to see what happens next.

UVU Wolverine

That's the kicker with this card; it really depends on where you spend. Having two water bills, two electricity bills, and a family cell plan usually lead me to using this card for about $700/month in 5% purchases. I think I average about $30ish/month in cash back from it. For me, it's a great card because of that, and I don't think any other card could come close to getting me that much value relative to spending. I don't travel as much anymore so my travel spending (on my own dime) is limited, which is why I've shifted towards cash back instead of hotel or airline points.

The other two select-able categories for 2% back aren't bad either, but I have the Citi 2% card anyways.

RedSun

Good for you. Our gas/power utility won't even take CC. And we do not spend a whole lot on other utilities. We get BA PR card that pays 2.625% cash, better than any other flat rate CCs.

UVU Wolverine

I guess my situation is a sort of misnomer as one water utility charges a flat rate whether its a CC charge or a deposit from bank which baffles me, but the 5% makes up the difference in that case. One of the electric bills of my mine also charges a 2.5% fee when paying with a credit card, but it still nets me 2.5% cash back after the fee so I still see it as a win.

I think I would average around 3% back when credit card fees are included in the equation, but I'm still ahead in my book considering I have to pay these bills regardless. The cash back I earn just goes to investments anyways so in a roundabout way it's an excuse to save a few more dollar a month.

I'm somewhat lucky in that most of the utilities I pay do accept a CC payment, albeit with a fee for some. That kind of payment can be a huge part of someone's budget, so the 5% back even with fees can earn someone decent returns on something they'd have to pay anyways (at least in my mind). I'm all for the Dave Ramsey approach in most situations, but he's never come around to the benefits of credit cards if used appropriately.

isle-hawg

From your later post in this thread I assume that you got approved. For you and any others here, were you able to get approved for without freezing the two fringe credit reports that bloggers suggest for US Bank and or have opened many CC's in the last two years? I am at 5/24 and trying to assess my chances so as to not waste a pull, and sending in snail mail with all my PII is not something I will do for this card.

yugi

I have 2 of those credit bureaus frozen, and I'm LOL/24, and had 3 US Bank CCs at that time. I applied for 2 US Bank CCs at that same day - Flexperks Business and Cash+. Cash+ was approved automatically, for Business flexperks I was declined based on too much credit from USB, then called in and shifted some of the credit from another card, and was approved. Right now I have Altitude Reserve, Flexperks Visa Signature, Business Flexperks Visa, Club Carlson Business Visa, and Cash+.

Altitude Reserve is better than this for in-person transactions, it yields 4.5% everywhere. For online I use a combination of Citi AT&T Access More for 3x TYP, and Amex BBP (2x MR), as a backup I have grandfathered Priceline Visa card, which yields 3.33% on everything.

ratracer

Yes on both counts. I was approx. 33/24 when I got my Cash+ and while I had previously obtained copies of my Sagestream and ARS reports (the 2 fringe CRAs you are referring to) neither were frozen. I had also pulled my LexisNexis report and successfully disputed off a boatload of incorrect and false information including the conflicting DOB and partial SSN of someone else with similar first and same last name living elsewhere in the US. My app went to manual review which is not uncommon with applicants new to USBank but I was not asked to send in ID or POI verification.