The
U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard® is a good credit card for businesses that spend up to $150,000 per year on travel, gas and EV charging, especially if the company’s other top spending categories include dining and cell service. The
U.S. Bank Business Altitude Connect Mastercard is worth its annual fee (
$0 intro 1st yr, $95 after) if you can take advantage of its bonus rewards.
In addition to ongoing bonus rewards for things like travel and dining purchases, new cardholders can earn an initial bonus of
60,000 points for spending $6,000 in the first 180 days. U.S. Bank points are worth up to 1 cent per point, and they don’t expire as long as your account is open.
Other
U.S. Bank Business Altitude Connect benefits include airport lounge access, the chance to earn taxi/rideshare credits, the ability to transfer points to your personal account, and free cards for employee authorized users.
The main drawback of the
U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard® is its high APR, but you can avoid interest charges by paying the bill in full each month.
U.S. Bank Business Altitude Connect Review Highlights
60,000 initial bonus points
If you charge at least
$6,000 in purchases to your account during the first
180 days it’s open, you will earn an initial bonus of
60,000 points – worth up to $600.
This bonus is a pretty good deal, as long as you don’t have to overspend to get it. The average initial bonus among credit card offers right now provides just
31,964 points.
However, spending by employee authorized users does not count toward this bonus. Only purchases charged to the primary applicant’s card will count.
5 points / $1 spent on U.S. Bank travel
The
U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard®’s maximum ongoing rewards rate of
5 points / $1 spent applies to prepaid car rentals and hotels booked directly through the U.S. Bank Rewards Center. This can give you a good return on your spending, but you also have to be realistic about how often you’re actually going to book travel accommodations through U.S. Bank – especially when only certain types of travel purchases qualify.
4 points / $1 spent on other types of travel
Travel purchases that don’t qualify for the card’s maximum rewards rate will still get you 4 points per $1 spent. You’ll also earn 4 points / $1 at gas stations and EV charging stations.
There is a catch, though. You can only earn 4 points per $1 spent on the first $150,000 in qualifying purchases charged to your account each year. After that, you will earn the minimum rewards rate of 1 point per $1 spent until the end of the year.
1-2 points / $1 spent on other purchases
Cardholders earn 2 points per $1 spent on dining, including takeout and delivery orders from restaurants. Purchases made from cell service providers produce rewards at that same 2 point per $1 rate, too.
Two U.S. Bank points per $1 spent equals about 2% back – roughly what the top flat-rate cash back credit cards give on all purchases.
Airport lounge access
The
U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard® gets you four free visits per year to Priority Pass lounges, and there are more than 1,300 locations to choose from. Additional visits cost $35 per visit.
This is a helpful perk for people who spend time in airport lounges a handful of times per year or less. More frequent travelers may instead want to consider a card with unlimited free
lounge access.
$25 taxi/rideshare credits
If you charge a taxi ride or rideshare trip to your
U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard® for three consecutive months, you will get a $25 credit. You can earn this bonus repeatedly, too.
This probably shouldn’t be the main reason you decide to apply, but it could be a tiebreaker.
Reasonable annual fee
The
U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard® charges a
$95 annual fee, but the good news is it doesn’t kick in until your account has been open for a year. An annual fee of
$95 is not expensive as far as business rewards cards go, and it can definitely be worth paying. But there are cheaper options available.
High interest rate
Using the
U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard® for financing purposes is not a good idea. Its interest rate could be anywhere from
20.24% to 28.24% (V), depending on the applicant’s overall creditworthiness personally. The high end of that range is a lot higher than the average among business credit card offers, and the low end will still produce finance charges too expensive to be sustainable.
As a result, you should only get this card for purchases that you’ll be able to pay off by the due date each month.
Good credit required
For good odds of being approved for the
U.S. Bank Business Altitude™ Connect World Elite Mastercard®, we recommend having a credit score of
700+ personally. Small business credit cards give more weight to the primary applicant’s personal finances than those of the business, and this card requires at least
good credit for approval.
You can
check your credit score for free on WalletHub to help evaluate your prospects.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.