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The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card is a great travel rewards credit card for military servicemembers and their spouses. The annual fee of $400 is waived for active duty US military and their spouses with the Military Lending Act (MLA).
This military annual fee reduction is similar to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express military fee reduction to $0.
Eligible military servicemembers and military spouses who apply for the US Bank Altitude Reserve card automatically have their Social Security numbers checked against the MLA database. If there is a positive match, your annual fees are reduced to $0.
- US Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite card
- Earn 50,000 points worth $750 towards travel when you spend $4500 in the first 90 days of account opening
- Earn 5x points on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked through Altitude Rewards Center
- 3x points on mobile wallet (Apple Pay, Google Pay) and travel purchases
- $325 annual statement credit on travel purchases
- You must be a U.S. Bank customer before applying
US Bank Altitude Reserve Points Value
Altitude Reserve points are earned at 5x for prepaid hotels and car rentals booked through the Altitude Reserve center, 3x on mobile wallet and travel purchases, and 1x on everything else.
US Bank has a unique rewards system called “Real Time Rewards.” You can use your points earned instantly to offset charges as you make them. The credit will post to your account within 3 business days.
Points are redeemed at 1.5 cents per point when redeeming for airlines, hotels, car rental companies, taxis, limousines, passenger trains, and cruise lines.
This gives you effectively 7.5% cash back on prepaid hotels and car rentals, 4.5% back on mobile wallet and travel, and 1.5% on everything else.
The value of these points are fixed and there are no travel transfer partners to move the points to. That makes this card weak for scoring big military travel points redemptions, but good for offsetting travel purchases.
Altitude Reserve vs Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Reserve
Military servicemembers and their spouses don't need to worry about comparing the US Bank Altitude Reserve vs the Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve. You can get all 3 cards without paying an annual fee!
Compare the Chase Sapphire Reserve vs the Amex Platinum for military in this article.
| US Bank Altitude Reserve | Chase Sapphire Reserve | |
| Welcome Bonus Offer Earned with Minimum Spend | 50,000 | 60,000 |
| Value of Welcome Bonus | $750 | $1,200+ |
| Bonus Categories | 3x Travel and Mobile Wallets | 3x on Travel and Restaurants |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None | None |
| Airport Lounge Access | Only 4 Priority Pass Visits Per Year | Unlimited Priority Pass + Guest |
| $100 Global Entry Credit | Yes | Yes |
| Annual Fee Waived for MLA | $400 | $550 |
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site
- $550 annual fee waived to $0 for US military + spouses with Chase MLA policy
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually.
- 3x Points on other Travel (airfare, hotels) after earning the $300 travel credit
- 3x Dining restaurants, takeouts, delivery
- Chase Ultimate Reward Points redeemed through Chase Travel℠ are worth 1.5 cents, a 50% bonus.
- Priority Pass lounge and restaurant access with over 1300+ airport lounges worldwide
- Up to $120 application fee credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck® or NEXUS every 4 years
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Primary coverage with Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- No foreign transaction fees, Member FDIC
- Learn more in the Chase Sapphire Reserve review
US Bank Altitude Reserve Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
You must be a U.S. Bank customer before you apply for a US Bank Altitude Reserve card.
Yes, the US Bank Altitude Reserve waives annual fees for servicemembers with the Military Lending Act (MLA). This is similar to how Chase and Amex waive annual fees for active duty military and spouses.
As of 2021, I believe that the Altitude Reserve also waives annual for military spouses. I could use a few more data points, so please leave a comment if your spouse's annual fees were waived, thanks!
Yes, US Bank waives annual fees on their Altitude Reserve card for military servicemembers.
The $325 travel credit on the Altitude Reserve covers purchases directly from airlines, hotels, car rentals, taxicabs, limousines, passenger trains and cruise line companies.
The card now seems to be easier to get and some datapoints show you can get multiple of them by applying outright at least every 60 days, maybe 30. Good thing to stack after stacking 10 Platinums and 5 Hilton Aspires. (Unless you’re in Chase 5/24 purgatory)
5/24 definitely does not apply to this card either.
From my understanding, the Altitude Reserve is one of the only remaining cards that is offering the priority pass restaurant benefit, how does this affect your thoughts on the card and what do you think that benefit is worth? Does it make this card worth acquiring or is it a mostly extraneous perk?
The card is pain in the butt to get compared to Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum. But, it’s definitely worth it for the advanced military traveler looking to pick up Priority Pass restaurant benefit.
How long do you need to have an account with U.S. Bank before you can be approved for this card?
Any datapoints on that yet?
My wife got approved for the US Bank Altitude Reserve card and we just started to spend on it. I’ll update in a couple months if she had her fee waived.
Thanks, we will appreciate the data point.
Did it get waived?
Data point from AUG21 — I’d had the prerequisite no-fee US Bank “military checking account” for about a year with $50 in it before applying. Received card and couple days later received letter confirming “…we will also eliminate all fees while you are subject to the terms of MLA,” and “…for the MLA terms to apply, a borrower must be an Active Duty servicemember or must be a spouse of dependent at the time of application for a new account.” Signing up spouse for her own no-fee US Bank “military checking account” now!
hey PAS, did you submit any documents for your US bank military checking account? or they just verify it for you? I kind want to have the checking and then apply their credit cards, thank you!