US Bank Flexperks Travel Rewards Review
They claim US Bank FlexPerks Rewards Visa is best for travel, but is that really the truth?
I’m not a US Bank customer but I get an application in the mail 3-4x a year for the US Flexperks Travel Rewards credit card. They do a good job trumping it up in the mailing, but I decided to do my own review to find out if it really measures up…
US Bank Flexperks Travel Rewards Visa Signature Card
- This card does have an annual fee – $49.00
- 1 FlexPoint per dollar spent
- 2 FlexPoints per dollar spent on eligible cell phone bills as well as one of the following categories; groceries, gas, or airline travel. The category with the most spent in a billing cycle will be the category that gets 2 FlexPoints per dollar.
- 3 FlexPoints per dollar for charitable donations
- Each year an account spends more than $24,000, a 3,500 points bonus is given.
This card also comes with some additional benefits, such as a $25 credit to cover airline incidentals (i.e. checked luggage fees) for each ticket that is bought using reward points. There is up to a million in travel accident insurance for death or dismemberment. There’s a complimentary Hideways Aficionado Club Silver Membership (never heard of it but apparently its some sort of booking service for higher end travel).
Sounds great, right? Well keep reading…
For starters, a lot of people wrongly assume the US Bank Flexperks Travel Rewards points are the same as frequent flyer miles and that’s not the case. The reason they advertise no blackout dates and unrestricted booking is because your FlexPoints can basically be thought of as cash – you can use them for any ticket you want if you are willing to pay the price.
So what’s the dollar value of each point? Well unfortunately, it’s not a fixed value. This US Bank Flexperks Visa uses a tiered redemption scheme:
20,000 FlexPoints = Up to $400 ticket value
30,000 FlexPoints = Up to $600 ticket value
40,000 FlexPoints = Up to $800 ticket value
50,000 FlexPoints = Up to $1,000 ticket value
This is a major drawback. Think about it… a $399 ticket will cost you 20,000 points but a $401 ticket will cost you 30,000 points. That’s 50% more in points for a price difference of a couple dollars! Obviously that example is on the far end of the spectrum but unless you are buying a ticket right below the tier’s threshold, this predicament will affect you to some degree.
Verdict?
On a more positive note, the US Bank Flexperks Travel Rewards gives 3x points on charitable contributions. I commend them for rewarding that category. Ideally it’s best to make larger contributions via check to save the charity from paying the high credit card processing fees, but I admit I do sometimes make donations at the spur of the moment using my credit card so the triple points are nice.
However I still can’t get over the tiered rewards. I don’t know about you but whenever I buy domestic tickets, it seems like the amount is right above $400. Obviously that would be a problem with the US Bank FlexPerks rewards because I wouldn’t be getting the most bang for my buck.
So to conclude this US Bank Flexperks review, I do think it’s definitely above-average for rewards. However if you play around with the numbers and do a few hypothetical spending scenarios, you will probably see, as I did, the rewards are going to equal below a 2%. For my spending, I estimate I would be earning rewards equal to about a 1.5% to 1.7% rebate.
A Better Alternative?
If you don’t want to hassle around with the tiers on the Flexperks Travel Rewards card, then I would highly recommend the Discover Escape. Yes, I do choose to advertise that card on this site, but that’s not why I think it’s better. Judge for yourself…
- Unlimited 2 miles per dollar spent. Each miles is worth $0.01 so you are earning a full 2% on all of your spending. There are no tiers when redeeming them.
- Comes with a number of premium travel benefits for free, including trip cancellation insurance, trip delay insurance, luggage insurance, rental car coverage (primary, not secondary!) and others.
- Low $60 fee with 25,000 miles sign up promotion.
Compare for yourself: Discover Escape card review
Updated April 2011
It’s very easy to modify a flight to save a few dollars, but I agree that it is a drawback. Also, if I were going to take a flight that only cost $200-250 or less, I would just pay for it. Take the 2% return on the Discover and the 3.2% on the US Bank and divide them: you get .625, which is $250 when multiplied against the $400 max value of the US Bank. So anything less than $250 is not as good of a deal and everything over $250 is pure benefit over the Discover. The US Bank also comes with a $25 bag allowance.
With the way prices are right now due to high fuel cost, we’re not seeing the ability to book many trips under the $250 price point, and I live in Boston! US Bank is still miles ahead of the Discover. The threshold for the bonus FlexPoints to cover the yearly fee is $24,000, by the way. Those of us who use their card for everything they buy shouldn’t have a problem hitting that.
Best,
Chris
I’ve have the world perks/flex perks card since 1995. My husband and I have taken many free round trips to Europe and 2 free round trips to China with the card. I haven’t tried VISA but we tried the Delta Skymiles program with American Express and were disgusted with it. We earned enough miles for a free round trip to Belize and dumped the card.
I meant DISCOVER.
Can I use Flex Perks to upgrade to business class? I’ve been trying for a week to connect to a person at USBank and have usually hung up after being put on hold for more than 30 minutes.
I find the flexperks card useful because I can discount a flight that is very hard to get with miles from airlines.
You forgot to mention the additional monthly bonus points:
- 25% on bonus points earned on net rewards earned for Gold Package account holders
- 50% on bonus points earned on net rewards earned for Platinun Package account holders
Also, for new account holders, if they spend $2,500.00 (2,500 pts) within 5 months, a one-time bonus of 17,500 points is paid, equaling 20,000 pts ($400 ticket value).
I inherited this Flexperks card when NWA merged with Delta. I pay no annual fee. For the big spenders out there this credit card may be useful. I spend no more than a couple hundred dollars a year with this card so am unable to accumulate many points. From my perspective the rewards are useless for this card and will be for any one that charges less than a thousand or two a year. Takes too long to accumulate the minimum to do any good. And if you are paying the $49. fee you are really getting ripped off. Currently evaluating closing this account since I have credit cards that provide miles with different airlines and others that provide cash back on the next statement for different purchases without waiting decades to get a reward.
I totally agree with your major drawback. I have been pricing a trip to LAX from Detroit, awaiting confirmation on a trip date. The round trip price was $399.20. I received my confirmation last night and, lo and behold, the flight jumped $5 for a total of 404.40. Now I need to use 30,000 points instead of 20,000. My 10,000 points had a redemptive value of $4.40! I wish they would structure the tiers similar to Delta’s Pay with Miles. The 20,00 points would have a $400 credit and the consumer (me) would pay the $4.40. A much better idea.
Hi Cap, yeah that extra $5 costs you 10,000 more points
I frequently fly between LAX and DTW too and the prices tend to usually start at just a hair above the $400 mark, so if that is a common route you fly I imagine you might run into the problem regularly.
US Bank has offered many different promotions for 250-500 bonus FlexPerks points and they continually do so throughout the year. Additionally, with the Gold checking account that I have I’m getting even more back. So even though Discover gives you double points on everything, the rewards are half as attractive. Let’s look at my spending of $10,000 ($2,000/mo for 5 months) on the following:
Gas: $400/mo
Tolls: $50/mo
Groceries: $250/mo
Dining out: $300/mo
Retail shopping: $400/mo
Cell phone bill: $300/mo (family plan)
Activities: $300/mo
With the Discover card you talk so highly of, I would earn a total of 4,000 points per month or 20,000 points over this 5 month period, enough for a $200 flight. However, with my FlexPerks, I’m earning double on the gas and the cell phone bill, earning me 2,000 points plus a 700 point bonus for gas and cell phone plus a 500 point Gold bonus, ultimately giving me 3,200 points per month or 16,000 over 5 months, which is 80% of the point value of the Discover card. However, my 80% point value has 60% MORE buying power than your Discover card, so I will GLADLY stay with US Bank.
With your card, my $10,000 in spending gets a $200 flight (full 2%), but with my card and my spending, roughly $12,500 in spending gets me up to a $400 flight(3.2%).
So there you have it, the US Bank FlexPerks card can work much better for some people at less cost per year ($11 is almost a 20% savings) with the power of Visa (accepted more places), resulting in more rewards for less spending.
I should also note that I have a Discover More 5% cash back card and Discover is stingy as heck with their credit limits. I have over 4x more limit (and it’s revolving, not fixed) and a lower interest rate with US Bank than Discover with my middle credit score at 79X.
Hope you give more thought to your next review and maybe find out how the card/program works for some people before you bash it or say that another card is better.
Best,
Chris
Hi Chris you are forgetting the most important point of my review (the biggest drawback) which is the tiered redemption. The calculations you mention only add up if you were to buy a plane ticket at exactly that $400 price. A ticket that is literally one penny more will cost you 50% more points.
I have used my Flexperks points for numerous trips (Alaska, Hawaii, New York, etc….) and I have always found their customer service dept. to be very professional to work with, and no blackouts is a big bonus. My flight savings have been incredible! Regarding their annual fee, if you charge a min. amount each year (the required $$$’s escape me), U.S. Bank will reimburse you the 3,500 points on the following month’s statement. Also, lots of bonus points are offered throughout the year. I am a very happy customer!
There’s one key element you are missing here. If you have a US Bank Checking account with this card (in a gold or platinum package) you get a 25 or 50% bonus on all the rewards you earn. So instead of 2 Flexpoints in your top spending category, you’ll earn 2.5 points/$ spent with the gold pkg or 3 points/$ spent with the platinum. All it takes to have the Gold Package is a checking account with a $500 minimum direct deposit per month and the Flexperks credit card. There’s no extra fees. You can get the Platinum package for no fee if you have $25,000 in loans/deposit balances with the Bank, have an investment/trust relationship, or are a member of the military. That makes this card a better value. I don’t have the balances/status for the Platinum package, but the Gold benefits are still better than nothing. Interesting to note, with the platinum, those charitable donations would be worth 4.5 points/$. Not too shabby! Also consider this: 20,000 miles on Discover Escape = a $200 travel credit. 20,000 Flexpoints on US Bank Flexperks Travel = a max of a $400 travel credit + a $25 baggage credit. Hmmm, I think I’d stick with Visa.
i love flexperks, for just 3,500 perks you can pay your $49 annual fee. also its great for way more then just travel.. as a matter of fact ..all i use it for is visa gift cards. 5000 perks gets you $50! so its like a penny a point.. right,,, so a penny spent is a penny earned!
Hi Manda, you’re right Discover used to have poor acceptance but as of last year, they are now accepted at 90% of U.S. merchants that take Visa/MasterCard. So 9/10 places is pretty darn good, which is why if you didn’t consider them in the past, I think you should give them another look. However for use outside the country, it would be best to have a Visa/MC.
Discover Card is not accepted in most places.