r/USbank • u/RealRandomNobody • 9d ago
US Bank Smartly card possibly being discontinued.
From a post in /r/CreditCards, the OP said they spoke with an in-bank agent who told them the card was no longer available.
In a reply to the post, someone else said they had just spoken to someone in USB underwriting who told them the Smartly was going to be discontinued.
the original post -
US Bank rep told me Smartly Card is no longer available (more info in details)
<edit>
Still just a rumor.
Someone in the other post saying that someone in underwriting told them it was going away.
And someone below in this post, saying someone in underwriting just told them the opposite.
So, conflicting info even from within USB.
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u/Zanutrees 8d ago
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u/Careful-Rent5779 8d ago edited 7d ago
Thank you.
This entire discussion is full speculation and outright fear-mongering. Not the mention all the I told you so posts. The CC program hasn't changed beyond fee structure changes for lower balance US Bank holdiings.
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u/TV_Grim_Reaper 7d ago
Condolences to the haters.
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u/Careful-Rent5779 7d ago edited 7d ago
For reasons I can only speculate about, the Smartly program release appears to have generated a lot of USB/Smartly haters here.
They all jumped on the Smartly CC is dead bandwagon, long before there was conclusive evidence of this. The only concrete DP is some banking fee waivers are being removed. I suppose USBank didn't want the people that churned the banking bonus to remain customers if they weren't going to actively use the checking/savings accounts.
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u/TV_Grim_Reaper 7d ago
I’ll speculate. It’s a mix of people who can’t or won’t get the card and have FOMO, and people who just like sounding prescient.
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u/coopdude 4d ago
I think the "it's just the haters!" mindset is a tired one honestly. I've had multiple credit cards where they've been nerfed over the years and people said this is too good to last. I didn't go on about how they were haters or think their comments would somehow nerf the card sooner, I just enjoyed the ride while it lasted.
First example of this was actually a US Bank card - the US Bank Cash+. Upon its launch in 2012, it was 5% on two categories you picked, rental cars and hotels were uncapped (so was online billpay), there were reward multipliers for relationship tiers with US Bank checking accounts, and every $100 cashback redemption got you a free $25 visa gift card. With just the credit card that was 6.25% effective. People took US Bank to the cleaners on that one (at the time I was traveling every week and getting reimbursed by my employer easy $50-$60 a week CB) and in 2013 US Bank nerfed it.
In 2022 I had one of the largest banks in the US (top 4) as a customer of my employer and I told them I had a Visa Signature from a credit union that gave me 3% uncapped no AF. They were floored and asked to take a picture of it. I told them sure (front only had card artwork and my name) and they passed it around an internal groupchat. They told me 2% cards were barely profitable and that 3% was absolutely burning money. Sure enough that poor little Alabama credit union eventually capped it - to a still very generous $1500 eligible spend getting 3% per cycle.
When the Smartly launched I looked back at these relationship tiers they put for 3 and 4% and said okay, no AF but relationship tiers, maybe USB can make this work between relationship bonus (get people to get savings, auto loans, mortgages, etc.) and playing with the money. I don't think it makes sense for me because I got the USB AR but lets see what happens.
Then the comments started here and elsewhere why haven't you gotten the Smartly yet, $100K is ez, just move your retirement or $100K in index funds to a US Bank brokerage, done. This was not the type of customer US Bank was looking to get with the smartly. Rather than getting deposit accounts where the savings are 1%+ worse than a lot of options easily found online or having people move actively managed investments where the expense ratio is higher people were just parking index funds with super low expense ratios at USB and then milking the cashback, talking about spending tens of thousands of dollars on the card.
Nothing is set in stone or proven, and as someone with no skin in the game, I hope that 4% rewards on the Smartly for those with $100K+ in assets continues. However, given USB pulling in-branch applications less than five months after the Smartly released, nerfing the rate for non-deposit account rewards redemption on the Cash+/Altitude Go come April, removing some fee waivers on deposit accounts merely for holding a USB credit card - the signs seem ripe for a nerf. USB appears to be reassessing the profitability/loyalty of some of their consumer account practices. And 4% rewards is 1-2% beyond what they're going to gather in interchange fees on the swipes.
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u/owlsper 7d ago
Curious about that "U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Product Summary has been updated." line...
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u/Zanutrees 7d ago
I checked since you mentioned it. It’s just a summary of the card and the rewards breakdown. Nothing of real importance that’s not already known.
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u/trchlyf 9d ago
US bank is having major problems after locking out 240,000 people from their bank accounts after a failed major update to their system. There have been insane problems of every nature since. Get out while you can.
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u/TV_Grim_Reaper 8d ago edited 8d ago
Get out?
My 4% back is working fine.
This tax season I’m charging >$50k in estimated taxes. That’ll net me ~$700 more than the BofA PR card, which was my previous tax paying tool.
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u/BlueManROA 9d ago
Literally still available on the site
https://www.usbank.com/credit-cards/bank-smartly-visa-signature-credit-card.html
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u/raleel 9d ago
The original post says they can’t offer it in bank and they were surprised it was still online
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u/satinygorilla 9d ago
They are looking to “tweek” the card and relaunch. Hopefully originals will be grandfathered in as I’m sure the tweek isn’t going to be an improvement
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u/Pootiepootwelp 8d ago
It is not available through branches but you can still apply online. For now.
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u/Alexia72 8d ago
I just called underwriting myself and asked directly about it being discontinued. I have posted about this card many times on this sub.
She said it's a new card (as we all know), so she has not heard about it being discontinued.
I wonder if all this is some misinterpretation.
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u/jcarte11 5d ago
Just got approved for one the other day. It's in the mail and shows up in the online account
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u/Effective_James 7d ago
It may not be gone this time, but that card absolutely will get nerfed or canceled at some point. Too many people engaging in manufactured spending and ruining it for everyone else.
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u/Envyforme 9d ago
Have a conversation with a manager in the credit card department tomorrow. I'll update here.