U.S. Bank Visa Platinum credit card review 2024
Updated 7:21 PM EDT, Tue November 14, 2023
The CNN Underscored Money editorial team has developed a star rating so you can see the best card for specific categories. While we believe this card excels in this category, its overall star rating may differ.
CNNU Money editors awarded this card 4.3 stars as the best no-frills balance transfer card with cell phone protection.
Pros:
- 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 21 billing cycles, followed by a variable APR of 18.74% - 29.74%. A balance transfer fee of either 3% or $5 applies, whichever is greater.
- Cell phone protection coverage.
- No annual fee.
Cons:
- No welcome bonus.
- No rewards.
- Limited insurance coverage and purchase protections.
Current welcome bonus: None.
Best for: People who want to save money on interest when making purchases or consolidating high-interest debt over the longest possible period of time.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by CNN Underscored Money: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
We receive compensation from our partners for Featured Offer placements, which impacts how and where their offer is displayed.
Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That’s 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Digging into the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card
While it’s usually not advisable to carry a balance on a credit card, the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is an exception. It’s a great option to consider if you’re looking for a credit card that offers an introductory rate on purchases so you can extend out the payments on a major purchase over time, or an introductory rate on balance transfers to consolidate your existing debt on a card with no interest.
In fact, this card has the best introductory offer on the market today — you’ll get a 0% APR on both purchases and balance transfers for the first full 18 billing cycles (meaning your first 18 monthly statements). But you’ll want to make sure to pay off all your debt in that time, because after that, you’ll pay an interest rate of 18.74% - 29.74% Variable, depending on your creditworthiness.
There’s no annual fee on the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card either, so you can save on interest without an annual investment. Just keep in mind that a 3% balance transfer fee applies with a minimum of $5 if you choose to transfer balances from other cards to your new account.
There are many other 0% APR credit cards on the market today, but the length of the offer on new purchases with the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is one of the best. If you want to avoid interest for as long as you possibly can and you’re looking for one credit card to do it, this card is among your best bets.
Advantages of the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card
The biggest upside of the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is its purchase and balance transfer offers. If you’ve been looking at other credit cards, you’ve probably noticed that many cards only give you a 0% APR on purchases or balance transfers, but not necessarily both.
Cell phone protection is another major benefit of the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card. When you pay your monthly cell phone bill with the card, you’ll have up to $600 in coverage per claim if your cell phone is damaged or stolen. A $25 deductible applies for each claim, and you can only have two claims per 12-month period.
The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card also lets you pick your own payment due date, which is a perk that can be immensely helpful if you prefer to have a due date that aligns with your payday at work, or with a certain day of the month.
Disadvantages of the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card
There are several downsides of the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card, but the biggest by far is the fact that it doesn’t earn any rewards — at all. No welcome bonus. No cash back. No travel rewards on your purchases.
A number of other credit cards offer introductory offers on purchases or balance transfers and also come with a welcome bonus, as well as earning rewards for every dollar you spend on them on an ongoing basis. So you’ll need to decide if you’re ready to trade earning credit card rewards for the lengthy intro offers on the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card.
Also, beyond the card’s cell phone protection perk, you won’t find any significant travel insurance coverage or purchase protections on this card. So if you’re looking for a travel credit card that can cover you when your flight is delayed or your checked bags are lost, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Other credit cards similar to the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card
There are many other balance transfer credit cards that don’t offer rewards, but the only one that has a balance transfer offer that’s longer than the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card * The information for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . It offers 0% and it doesn’t charge an annual fee, yet its introductory offer on purchases is 12 months, and it doesn’t have cell phone protection. After the intro APR periods, the APR will be 18.24% - 28.99% (Variable), based on your creditworthiness.
On the other hand, if you don’t need such a long balance transfer offer and instead want to earn rewards while saving money on the interest on your purchases, you’ll find a number of options. For example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, earns 5% cash back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% back on dining at restaurants and drugstore purchases and 1.5% back on everything else.
This card has no annual fee and comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months, which rises to an APR of 20.49% - 29.24% Variable after the introductory offer is over, so it could be a good choice if you don’t need quite as long of a runway to pay off your purchases.
And right now, new Chase Freedom Unlimited® cardholders can even earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy in the first year after opening the account, up to $20,000 in purchases. That means if you’re able to spend that much, you’d be earning an extra $300 in bonus cash back.
Should you get the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card?
At the end of the day, the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is best for people who need an introductory interest offer more than anything else, and want it to apply to both their purchases and balance transfers. People who want to earn rewards should look elsewhere, but if you’re carrying a balance on your credit card and paying interest for it, you won’t make up for it with rewards anyway.
So if you’re drowning in interest on your existing credit cards or you’re planning to carry some credit card debt from your upcoming purchases, you’ll want to consider the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card and see if its introductory offers make sense for you.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by CNN Underscored Money: U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card and Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card * The information for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
