akr1970akr

Somewhere in your account notification settings account holders can specify what conditions will trigger notice, and how to receive them (call/email/text etc.)

One can do more conditions than Chase, it seems to me.

US Bank might also - for their own notifications - have other ways of contact holders beyond the pre set ones.

halamadrid

I used to have the Gear S3 just because of this card but gave up on it for the reasons that you mentioned plus every couple of weeks Samsung Pay would reset on it requiring me to do the whole set up over. This would normally happen as I was about to pay. I'm not probably going to cancel the card since I get better bonuses with other cards (Amex Gold) on the places where I normally use Google Pay or for travel. Even places like drug stores, I would rather use my BBP and get 2 MR points p/dollar over "Altitude" points. The annual fee is not bad with the travel credit, but I just can't find a place where I would use this card over other cards in my wallet.

tmiw

I had the reset problem too but a later Samsung Pay app/plugin update fixed that. Still though, I'm not sure Samsung Pay really adds much for me considering all the other issues. (And that's not even getting into the issue of some merchants continuing to hide terminals from customers--which is still very easy for them to justify considering how PIN is generally not used for credit card transactions in the US. Not even Samsung Pay will help with that if the merchant's stubborn enough to not let you attempt it.)

Speaking of additional rewards, Chase is supposedly offering 1x additional point on both CFU and CSR/CSP if you use Apple or Google Pay through the end of the month (effectively resulting in 2.5-4x depending on category). If you value UR highly, that's also a viable temporary alternative to the Altitude Reserve. However, since I never received an email about it, I'll have to watch my UR portal closely to make sure the extra points actually do post in 8 weeks as promised.

halamadrid

I heard about that, but have not been using my Chase cards with GP as I didn't get the email and didn't want to risk it. I'd rather know I'll get 2 MR points for sure on non-bonus spend. I may do some test charges and then check on the UR portal as well to see if the bonus is registering. Altitude is a lost cause I guess - Thanks.

tmiw

The points likely won't post until after the end of the promo. For me, that's okay since I am almost solely in the UR ecosystem and thus will use their cards regardless. Others will need to decide whether it's worth the risk.

akr1970akr

My observation with BBP is that merchant acceptance for Amex network is not 100%, even in the US. It's worse abroad.

Maybe its getting better, but I still feel one has to have Visa and MC.

And maybe not a limit for most, but that 2x MR is capped.

======

I assume the Altitude is going to end up getting capped eventually, since Gpay and Apple Pay are gathering momentum

halamadrid

USB has come out pretty hard against people trying to MS with this card using GPay or Apple Pay so that may delay the need for a cap. It's also pretty competitive out there and this is pretty much the only differentiator this card has. My other problem with USB is that their CS leaves a lot to be desired. Everytime you call it feels like you're suspected of something with a million questions as if their default is that fraud is about to happen. They've since made it easier, but every time my Gear S3 would reset Samsung Pay I had to call USB and go through a million questions to add the card again whereas other cards just send you a verification via email or text.

In terms of the BBP I'll agree that it doesn't solve every problem (charges FTF etc.), but the 50K purchase bonus cap is sufficient and has filled in nicely in spend where I was otherwise getting a max of 1% or 1 pt back in the past. Everything abroad for me pretty much flows through Chase which is all Visa so it's just a matter of finding ways to maximize returns on every possible transaction.

tmiw

Mobile wallet bonuses aren't unheard of. Chase seems to have a fairly consistent Chase Pay bonus on Freedom, for instance, so I'm not even sure that's a differentiator (especially since with a Samsung phone, it's effectively 5x for Samsung Pay transactions). The downside, of course, is that it's limited to $1500/quarter.

Also, Visa Infinite interchange is close to 3%, so the 3x bonus on Altitude Reserve isn't exactly out of line and could theoretically be kept going indefinitely.

akr1970akr

As someone who's not MS'ing, I'm not overly fussed about US Bank keeping an eye on that kind of activity.

I don't know how to gauge CS levels, objectively.

My experience is that I have not had problems but I'm not doing anything wacky.

Not carrying anything from Amex (directly) currently, but I always felt theirs was the best/easiest to deal with, along with the best website/technology for consumer facing stuff.

But once Costco went Visa, we just passively ported the Costco Amex over to Citi Visa, and have never gone to anything direct with them.

Despite the 20+ mailings they sent for inappropriate cards. I called in once to Amex asking if I could get a targeted travel card offer or something but the rep couldn't do anything.

I guess next year we should do the SchwabPlat + self/P2 refer to BBP, since that can be done fairly low cost for us.

compddd

I love my Alt Reserve and Apple Pay at Costco! Since I do almost all of our shopping there.

happyvoid

anyone here ever got a fraud alert from us bank? do they call or text when verifying charges? and does installing app help

briang191

Blind and Green

asdfghjk

Is it still a requirement that applicants need to already be usbank customers? Tks.

akr1970akr

unofficially they have lightened up on that. my banker said if you opened bank accounts on the same day there system will tell the banker if the customer is prequalified for USB AR, and if so, they can do the application at the same time, with some manual intervention. normally, you have to be a customer for 35 days prior.

in some grocery store branches there is a $200 new bank account SUB going on, so it can dovetail nicely with the AR, to get close to $1000 in net value from the branch visit.

i mentioned up thread somewhere that USB requires a mid 700s FICO for this, according to the banker. they also stated (from their own pure anecdotal experience) that they get very few applications (maybe 1 a week?) so knock on wood, the barriers to entry to the card are high enough that I hope they leave the earnings structure untouched. I find NFC payment at more and more places now, especially non category type of places. both car dealers i visited recently for repair/warranty work had NFC and those are typically bigger expenses