U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card Review

Written by Dayana Yochim
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Andrea Coombes

August 22, 2023

Please take your seats. We’re going to need a PowerPoint presentation to walk you through the rules. But the chance to earn 5% cashback on two categories of your choosing can be worth your while.

You call the shots (once a quarter) by telling U.S. Bank which two 5% cashback categories you prefer. (There are 12.) Choose wisely, and it’ll be worth up to $400 a year in rewards cash, plus whatever else you rake in at the lower 2% and 1% rewards rates. Once you hit the 5% spending ceiling ($2,000 quarterly) and are relegated to U.S. Bank’s 1% cashback zone, though, it’s time to reach for a reward-ier rewards card.

The basics: 5% cash back on your first $2,000 in combined eligible purchases each quarter on two categories you choose; 2% cash back on one everyday category (gas/EV charging stations, grocery stores or restaurants) and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases. 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles. Earn a $200 rewards bonus after you apply online and spend $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening.

U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card pros and cons

U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card cashback rewards spending categories

The U.S. Bank Cash+ Signature Visa requires cardholders to choose Cash+ bonus categories each quarter in order to earn the 5% and 2% cashback rates. Mark your calendar! If you don't choose, all of your purchases will earn a middling 1% cashback. Settle in as we go over the rewards fine print.

You're allowed to pick two 5% cashback spending categories each quarter: fast food, cell phone, TV/internet/streaming services, home utilities, ground transportation, gyms, movie theaters and sporting goods, electronics, department, furniture, and select clothing stores.

Warning! Rewards cap alert!: You'll earn 5% cash back on up to $2,000 in total spending in your two bonus categories per quarter. Purchases that exceed $2,000 per quarter will earn, you guessed it, 1% cash back.

The next stop on our U.S. Bank Cash+ Signature Visa Rewards Tour is the 2% bonus category. Here you get to choose one 2% rewards category — grocery store/delivery, restaurant or gas/EV charging station spending. There is no earnings cap here.

And finally, there's the 1% cashback tier. This applies to everything else, meaning non-bonus category (Cash+) purchases and spending that exceeds $2,000 quarterly 5% bonus cap.

What we like

Decisions, decisions. 5% cashback on two spending categories of your choosing is worth the extra effort (the choosing part) on this no-annual-fee card.

Also left to your discretion is which one of three unlimited 2% cashback categories you prefer: gas station, restaurant or grocery stores purchases.

No need to wait around for U.S. Bank to announce that quarter’s rewards categories. You call the shots, Tiger. And you better remember to or else you'll have to settle for a 1% cashback rate.

We absolutely loooove credit card rewards programs with no spending caps (aka unlimited rewards potential!), and you get it here in the 2% and 1% cashback categories. (Hey 5% cashback spending cap, did that passive-aggressive dig hit its mark?)

The $200 sign-up bonus is a nice touch. Nab it by spending $1,000 within the first three months of opening the account.

Travel fans take note: You'll earn 5% cashback on prepaid air, hotel and car reservations booked through the card's Rewards Travel Center.

The 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers lasts for 15 billing cycles. Just be sure to move over your balance within 60 days of account activation. And note the 3% balance transfer fee, which is pretty standard these days.

What we don't like

A few high-dollar purchases and you’ll careen into the $2,000 quarterly spending cap on purchases eligible for the 5% rewards rate in your two chosen categories.

Not the best card for hands-off types since you're required to pick your Cash+ (U.S. Bank's word for "bonus") rewards categories each quarter.

🚨 Do not miss the quarterly enrollment deadline for your bonus rewards categories! 🚨 Otherwise you’ll be stuck earning just 1% cashback. Speaking of which …

Again, yet another card with an underwhelming 1% default cashback rate that applies to the “everything else” purchase category. Like after you hit your 5% spending ceiling or anything that doesn’t qualify for 2% cashback.

Keep an eye on those bonus categories because, FYI, we noticed in the fine print that the options "may change on a quarterly basis." Don't assume that "Fast Food" will always be on the high-rewards list.

Rewards expire 36 months after the billing cycle during which they were earned. How rude!

Foreign transaction fees? Yup. It’ll run you 3%.

You’re required to build up your redemption dollars to at least $25 if you want the actual cash back (a reward card or deposit to a U.S. Bank savings, checking or money market account) and not a statement credit.

The bottom line

Is the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card the best rewards card for your wallet? The answer depends entirely on your spending patterns. Let the numbers speak for themselves: Use the investor.com Cashback Credit Card Calculator to see which credit card pays back the highest rewards based on how much you spend each month.

U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card fine print

Don your reading specs with blue-light blockers to take in the teeny type on the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card.

Does the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card charge an annual fee?

No, there is no annual fee for the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card.

Does the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card offer a welcome bonus?

Yes, the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card has a welcome bonus of $200.

How much cashback can I earn with the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card?

The average American that spends $1000 per month will earn $137.40 in cash back per year using the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card. For comparison, the average annual rewards payout from the cashback credit cards in the investor.com database is $191.26, and $180 is the median.

These calculations are based on average consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the reward payout rates from the providers we track. Of course, you’re so much more than an average data point (aka “consumer unit,” in BLS parlance). The amount you can earn in cashback rewards using the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card depends entirely on your unique spending habits.

Find out exactly how much you’ll rake in with the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card by tailoring the spending inputs in the calculator above.

Read next

• Best Cashback Credit Cards
• Best Business Cashback Credit Cards
• What Is Credit? (And Why It Matters)
• Best High-Yield Savings Accounts
• Find a Financial Advisor
• Our Complete Coverage of Credit Cards

Methodology

The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.

To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:

• Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
• Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
• Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
• Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
• Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.

What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)

About the Editorial Team

Dayana Yochim

Dayana Yochim has been writing (articles, books, podcasts, stirring speeches) about personal finance and investing for more than two decades, focusing on bringing clarity and the occasional comedic aside to what is often a murky, humorless topic. She’s written for NerdWallet, The Motley Fool, HerMoney.com, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Newsweek and others, and been a guest expert on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, NPR and wherever they’ll hand her a mic.

Carolyn Kimball

Carolyn Kimball is Managing Editor for Reink Media Group and the lead editor for content on investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.

Andrea Coombes

Andrea Coombes has 20+ years of experience helping people reach their financial goals. Her personal finance articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, and other publications, and she's shared her expertise on CBS, NPR, "Marketplace," and more. She's been a financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, and is working on becoming a Certified Financial Planner. She knows that owning pets isn't necessarily the best financial decision; her dog and two cats would argue this point.