If you’re like most people, you enjoy eating out at (or ordering in from) restaurants. You shop for groceries weekly, if not more often. You stream your favorite shows and podcasts. You own or share a car.
The U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card rewards you for doing all of these things, and it doesn’t charge an annual fee for the privilege. But it’s not perfect. Before you race to apply, make sure you understand its limitations as well.
What Is the U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card?
The U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card is a rewards credit card with no annual fee.
Its rewards program is particularly generous on restaurant purchases, including takeout and delivery. It also pays above the 1-point-per-$1-spent baseline on purchases at gas stations, electric vehicle charging stations, grocery stores, and streaming service providers.
Altitude Go has some other notable features, including a 0% intro APR promotion on purchases and balance transfers (then 19.99% to 28.99% APR variable) and a one-time streaming credit after you make at least 11 monthly purchases with popular providers.
What Sets the U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card Apart?
The U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it does stand out from the competition (in a good way) for several reasons:
- Very good return on restaurant purchases. With Altitude Go, you earn 4 points per $1 spent on restaurant purchases, which works out to a 4% return on spending. Few if any other no-annual-fee credit cards match that.
- 0% intro APR promotion on purchases and balance transfers. Altitude Go has a 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers (then 19.99% to 28.99% APR variable). Balance transfer promotions aren’t as common today as a few years ago, so it’s notable that Altitude Go offers both.
- Annual streaming credit. It won’t make you rich, but Altitude Go’s annual $15 streaming credit helps you claw back some of your streaming service spending. You do need to make at least 11 monthly streaming purchases on your card each year to qualify.
- Bonus rewards on EV charging purchases. Some credit cards that offer bonus rewards on gas station purchases don’t yet extend the benefit to electric vehicle charging purchases. This will change as EV adoption grows, but for now, Altitude Go is among a select group of go-to credit cards for EV owners.
Key Features of the U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card
The U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card has an average to slightly above-average sign-up bonus, a generous rewards program, and an annual bonus for folks who consistently charge popular streaming service subscriptions on the card.
Sign-Up Bonus
Earn 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first 90 days. That’s worth $200 redeemable toward gift cards, merchandise, travel, cash back, and more.
Earning Rewards
Altitude Go has a generous rewards program that reserves its best earn rate — 4 points per $1 spent — for restaurant purchases, including takeout and delivery.
Purchases in several additional categories earn 2 points per $1 spent:
- Gas stations
- EV charging stations
- Grocery stores and online grocery delivery services
- Streaming services
All other eligible purchases earn 1 point per $1 spent.
Redeeming Rewards
You can redeem points for merchandise, travel, gift cards, cash, and other items. Minimum redemption amounts vary by item type. For example, cash redemptions (statement credits or bank account deposits) require a 2,500-point minimum ($25 value).
You can redeem at any time — no need to wait until the end of the statement cycle.
Annual Streaming Bonus
After you make 11 months of streaming purchases on your Altitude Go card, you receive a credit of $15. Dozens of popular streaming services are eligible, including but not limited to:
- Amazon Music
- Amazon Prime Video
- Apple Music
- Apple TV+
- Discovery+
- Disney+
- ESPN+
- HBO Max
- Hulu
- Netflix
- Pandora
- Paramount+
- Peacock
- Showtime
- SiriusXM
- Sling TV
- Spotify
- Starz
- Stitcher
- YouTube Music
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube TV
You’re limited to one $15 credit per year, regardless of how much you spend on streaming services.
Intro APR Promotion
Take advantage of 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months after account opening. After that, variable regular APR applies, currently 19.99% to 28.99%.
You must make qualifying balance transfers within 60 days of account opening.
Important Fees
There’s no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. The balance transfer fee is the greater of $5 or 3% of the transfer amount.
Credit Required
This card requires good to excellent credit. Any significant credit blemishes could affect your approval odds.
Advantages
The U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card has a lot going for it. Notable benefits include its strong (but not amazing) sign-up bonus, its generous and varied rewards program, and an additional perk for anyone who regularly consumes streaming content.
- No annual fee. Altitude Go has no annual fee. If you want to use it for occasional spending in the favored categories, that’s fine — no need to worry about earning enough rewards to offset a recurring fee.
- Excellent return on restaurant purchases. Altitude Go earns 4 points per $1 spent on restaurant purchases. That’s better than premium dining credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve Cards.
- Bonus rewards on gas and EV charging purchases. Altitude Go rewards gas station and EV charging station purchases equally. This is a key benefit for the growing number of EV owners looking to recapture some of their charging expenses.
- $15 annual streaming credit. Altitude Go’s annual streaming credit is enough to offset a month or so of Netflix. It’s not life-changing, but every little bit helps.
- 0% intro APR promotion on purchases and balance transfers. Altitude Go has matching 0% intro APR promotions: 12 months on purchases and balance transfers, then 19.99% to 28.99% APR variable. Many rewards credit cards only have intro purchase APR promotions.
- Above-average (but not amazing) sign-up bonus. Altitude Go’s sign-up bonus is above-average for a no-annual-fee credit card. It’s easy to attain as well.
Disadvantages
The U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card has some downsides to consider before you apply. The low baseline rewards rate and relative lack of value-added features both deserve mention.
- Low baseline rewards rate (1 point per $1 spent). Altitude Go earns just 1 point per $1 spent on most purchases. The bonus categories are broad enough that it’s easy to earn at a higher rate overall, but it would be nice to see 1.5 or 2 points per $1 spent on other purchases.
- Few value-added benefits. Other than the annual streaming credit, Altitude Go has few value-added perks of note.
- Rewards program has become less valuable over time. When it first hit the market, Altitude Go earned 4 points per $1 spent on gas station and EV charging purchases. Now, it earns 2 points per $1 spent in those categories. It’s still better than the baseline, but the decline is notable.
How the U.S. Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card Stacks Up
Altitude Go shares the spotlight with a bunch of other dining, grocery, streaming, and fuel credit cards.
One competitor that’s particularly interesting to us is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which is widely recognized as a top travel and dining card. Before you apply for either, see how they compare.
| Altitude Go | Sapphire Preferred | |
| Annual Fee | $0 | $95 |
| Sign-up Bonus | Yes | Yes |
| 5x Rewards | None | Eligible travel |
| 4x Rewards | Restaurants | None |
| 3x Rewards | None | Restaurants Streaming Online groceries |
| 2x Rewards | Gas stations EV charging Grocery stores Streaming |
Other travel |
| 1x Rewards | All other purchases | All other purchases |
| 0% Intro APR | Yes | No |
| Credits | Streaming credit | Hotel credit |
Final Word
The U.S. Bank Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card is one of the best dining credit cards on the market. That Altitude Go has no annual fee makes this all the more impressive — most other top-tier dining credit cards do have annual fees.
Altitude Go has other perks too, including broad 2x rewards categories and an annual streaming bonus. Its sign-up bonus isn’t bad either. But it’s not perfect — no credit card is. If you’re looking for a card with higher baseline rewards on everyday spending or more value-added benefits, Altitude Go probably isn’t the best fit for you.