Earn up to 4% back on all purchases with the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card

The best flat-rate cash-back credit cards earn 1.5% or 2% back on everyday purchases. If you want a higher return, you’ll typically be limited to certain spending categories, or sometimes the cashback is capped.

U.S. Bank wants to change that. You can now join the U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card waitlist to earn up to 4% cash back on all purchases with no limits. Your cashback rate will ultimately depend on how much money you have at U.S. Bank, and you must have a U.S. Bank Smartly® Savings account to earn an elevated return.

Here’s what you need to know about the card and alternative options you can apply for now if you don’t want to wait.

A U.S. Bank spokesperson shared with CNBC Select that the U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card will have no annual fee and will become available later in 2024, but there isn’t an exact launch date yet. As with most U.S. Bank cards, the Smartly Visa Card will be geared toward those with good to excellent credit (FICO scores 670 and above).

While we don’t know all of the details for this card yet, an uncapped 2% cash back everywhere alone makes the U.S. Bank Smartly™ Visa Signature® Card worth looking at. However, what makes this card shine is that you can boost your return to up to 4% cash back when pairing it with a U.S. Bank Smartly® Savings account.

The cash-back rate you earn with this card is based on the average daily combined balance across your U.S. Bank deposit accounts, investment accounts and personal trusts. Notably, the deposits don’t all need to be in the savings accounts.

The cash-back tiers are as follows:

• $5,000 to $49,999 unlocks 2.5% total cash back on all purchases
• $50,000 to $99,999 unlocks 3% total cash back on all purchases
• $100,000 or more unlocks 4% total cash back on all purchases

Combined balances are based on the average daily balance of the previous three months.

U.S. Bank confirmed to CNBC Select that there won’t be a welcome bonus, but there will be a valuable introductory APR offer for purchases and balance transfers.

As a Visa Signature card, there will likely also be benefits like roadside dispatch, auto rental collision damage waiver, extended warranty protection and access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection.

The U.S. Bank Smartly® Savings account earns up to 4.10% APY when you pair it with an eligible account, such as the U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking or Safe Debit account and have a combined qualifying balance of $25,000 or more. At that level of combined deposits, the return for the savings account and rewards credit card are both excellent. You don’t need to hit the highest tier for this combination to be worthwhile.

Other banks have similar programs where you can boost your rewards by banking with your card issuer, but they aren’t quite as generous.

For example, Bank of America offers the Preferred Rewards program, which includes a credit card rewards bonus of up to 75%. If you have the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Card, which normally earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases, and qualify for the highest Platinum Honors Tier, you will get 2.62% back on your purchases. You’ll need a three-month combined average daily balance of $100,000 or more in your Bank of America and Merrill accounts to receive that return.

Alternatively, several credit cards, such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, offer a simple 2% cash rewards on purchases with no minimum deposit requirements. The card also has no annual fee.

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Information about the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Card, has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.