It's hard to say. They did not for me. But if they did for you the first time you applied, they may ask again. Technically a credit card is a loan. In the case of the Visa Signature, a $5,000 minimum loan. However, I am not totally sure what a loan reference is? How's your credit score and credit profile? I'm hoping that once you have established membership, opened a savings account, and wait a little while, it will be easier for you to apply for the card.

Over 800

What interest are they offering for the Savings a/c - it does not say on their web?

What is USB AR? Still around? Link?

The Ralph's card is 5% mobile wallet.

https://www.ralphsmastercard.com/cre...SourceCode2sec

That's a good score but credit score and credit profile are different. How many credit cards do you have? What are their ages? Their limits? What is your utilization rate compared to your overall available credit? How old is your credit? Is it varied - cards, mortgage, loans, etc.?



US Bank Altitude card has a $400 annual fee. I'd give up a body part before I'd pay that!

https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/...edit-card.html

After the $375 rebate for travel and restaurant purchases, it's really only $75/year. Also most people seem to get a retention offer of 5k or 10k points, which further brings the cost down.

I rate it as one of the very best cards out there, and also one of the most under-rated.

Not for me. I hate AFs. I hate "points".

Please tell us why. It's the reasoning that's interesting to others, not the conclusion.

Each point is 1.5c. Even if you don't get retention bonus, you need to spend over $5k per year in order to break even with a 3% card.
I need to spend $6429 in order to break even with Priceline card, but I still have AR, which I consider one of the best cards around.

Fair enough on the AF. The points are just the same (if not better than) cash though.

5,000 points = $50 cash at the basic 1% cash-out, or $75 if you redeem against your travel purchases
10,000 points = $100 cash at the basic 1% cash-out, or $150 if you redeem against your travel purchases

I don't think I need to explain why I don't like annual fees, right? ;) As for "points", I don't like them because oftentimes you have no idea what they are worth. I know exactly what a % cash back is worth. A lot of the time, you are forced to use your points on particular purchases in order to get max value. I just want cash back, plain and simple. 3% - 5% CB on everything charged. :)



1.5c if you spend the way they tell you. I like cash back. I don't understand what you mean by I have to spend $5k per year to break even with a 3% card. Break even with what? My 3% AOD card has no AF. No need to 'break even'.




I understand this is a 'flyer' forum, lol, but I rarely travel. I want straight cash back, period. No annual fee. Everything I charge should fall (and does) into the 3% - 5% CB range. It comes out to $hundreds per year. :)

Yes, this is understandable. The majority of my 'normal' friends think it's crazy that I have multiple cards, for different types of spending!

I don't like AF's either. I do the math for each card to see if the benefit for me outweighs the fee. Without the yearly retention deal, this card would move to being a possible keep for me. With the retention deal though it's a no-brainer, as it's all profit.

I also had to read that a couple of times to understand! The poster is saying they have to spend $5k on the AR card in order to match what you earn with your straight 3% card, eg:

$5k * 3% = $150
$5k x 4.5% = $225
$225 - $150 = $75 (the annual fee for AR card if no retention deals)

Thanks. Are we not talking about the US Bank Altitude Reserve card with a *gulp* $400 AF? Oh! I see what you are doing. You are deducting the $325 credits. I don't totally know how credits work but I trust you that the $325 is easily obtainable and guaranteed.

https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/...edit-card.html

You can redeem using Realtime rewards, which gives you 1.5cpp. Pure cash. Break even 4.5% against 3%, based on $75 AF.

Ok, thank you. Much of my spending gets 5% CB. 3% is the minimum (AOD). Between Nusenda, Freedom, Disco-it, and Custom Cash, I get 5% basically every quarter in at least the 3 big ones for me - gas, dining, and grocery. I haven't done the math but you can say I average 4.X% CB. All with no annual fees.

I actually have a similar strategy to you. My spending is currently made in this order:

1. 5% CB on Freedom or Discover (Rotating categories)
2. 4.5% CB on USB AR (Travel & mobile wallet)
3. Any spending if I'm working towards an SUB on a card
4. 3% CB on US Alliance (if I'm in the US)
5. 2.5% CB on Alliant (if I'm overseas)

I'm currently working on getting the AOD card in order to replace 4 and 5 on my list (due to 3% CB with no FTF).

I also didn't know about the Nusenda card, so thanks for the tip on that.