Gourmet No Annual Fee Card: Bank of America Altitude Go Visa Signature Credit Card Review
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, updated regularly with new information and offers.
Overview of the Bank of America Altitude® Go Visa Signature® card
The Bank of America Altitude® Go Visa Signature® Card is a solid no-annual-fee credit card with a pretty impressive rewards structure — especially for foodies. You’ll earn an impressive 4 points per dollar on takeout, delivery, and dining. However, the points earned are only worth a fixed 1 cent each, which makes this card essentially a cash-back credit card. Additionally, you won’t earn rewards on travel purchases – a key area of focus for many TPG readers. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐
*Card review based on the opinions of the TPG editorial board and not influenced by the card issuer.
I have seven credit card in my wallet right now and a wish list of at least three more products I want to add to it this year. But that’s not the case for everyone – especially beginner And busy family. For many people, the goal is to find a credit card (or maybe two) with an affordable annual fee that earns rewards on most, if not all, of their major spending categories.
The US Bank Altitude Go Visa Signature Card is a solid credit card for anyone looking for a simple “one-time” rewards credit card. It has no annual fee and is recommended credit score of 670.
Let’s dig into the details.
Information about Bank of America’s Altitude Go has been independently obtained by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Pros and cons of Bank of America Altitude Go
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US Bank Altitude Go welcome offer
Currently, the card offers 20,000 bonus points after you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening. Each point has a flat value of 1 cent, meaning this sign-up bonus is worth $200 toward gift cards, travel, statement credits, or cash back.
While this certainly doesn’t compete with bonuses from the top travel credit cards, it’s pretty on par with other bonuses. There is no annual fee Cash back credit card.
Benefits of Altitude Go by Bank of America
Since it doesn’t charge an annual fee, you shouldn’t expect a long list of perks that come with this card.
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However, there is one unique benefit to highlight: a $15 annual streaming credit. When you use the Bank of America Altitude Go Card to pay at least one of your monthly streaming service bills for 11 consecutive months, you’ll start earning an annual statement credit worth $15 to cover your streaming service subscriptions. Eligible streaming services include Spotify, Netflix, Apple TV+, etc
Of course, $15 per year is nothing to write home about, and the 11-month requirement of installing a streaming service onto your card is a significant amount of time to get through to start receiving this benefit. But there’s still $15 a year you won’t have to pay for streaming services if you don’t already have a card that earns more than 2% back on those purchases.
The card is also contactless and chargeable There are no foreign transaction fees. Plus, this is a Visa Signature card so you’ll get those benefits too.
Related: Everything you need to know about the benefits of the Visa Signature card
Earn points with US Bank’s Altitude Go
The highlight of this card is its monetization structure. You’ll earn 4 points for every dollar above eat and drink (includes takeout and delivery) and 2 points per dollar above grocery (include grocery delivery service), streaming services and gas stations/electric vehicle charging stations. Discount stores, supercenters and wholesale clubs will be removed from the rewards category effective September 9.
The card also earns 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
This card hits many of the most common spending categories — eat and drink, grocery, gas, streaming — no annual fees or income limits. Sure, you can find other cards that earn you more in one or two of these categories (though many of them have higher annual fees), but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a credit card that Free annual credits earn more points in all of these categories at once.
The only big category missing is travel, but if you only take one or two trips a year or you’re a budget traveler and only book trips when you have the rewards needed to cover at least Part of the cost will mean missing a trip. categories are not a big deal.
If you’re looking for a single-use credit card that will cover the majority of your daily expenses, you’ve got it with the US Bank Altitude Go Card.
Redeem points with Bank of America’s Altitude Go
Although cards earn points, they Points have a fixed value. This makes this card more suitable for a cash-back credit card than a rewards card that can be used to maximize travel purchases through different rewards charts.
You can redeem points up to a penny value for gift cards, merchandise, travel, statement credits, or cash back — great if you’re like the TPG writer Augusta Stone and prefer simpler rewards. If you choose cash back, you can choose your rewards to be deposited into a Bank of America checking or savings account (minimum 2,500 points).
US Bank also offers a program called Real Time Rewards where you can sign up and redeem your points in real time as you make purchases. Essentially, you’ll receive a text message whenever you make a purchase with your card that meets the preferences set up through your account.
You can then reply to that text message with a “yes” so that the points needed to offset the purchase are automatically applied to your account as a statement credit (assuming you have points to cover the fee). You can opt-in, opt-out and update your preferences through your online account.
Which cards compete with US Bank’s Altitude Go?
There are plenty of cash back cards that compete with US Bank’s Altitude Go’s fixed-value redemption options.
- If you want a higher rate of income: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express 6% back at US supermarkets (on purchases up to $6,000 per year, then 1% back), 6% back on select US streaming subscriptions, cash back 3% back on shipping, 3% back at US gas stations and 1% back on other shopping purchases. However, it has a $95 annual fee ($0 annual introductory fee for the first year; see exchange rates and fees). For more information, see Full review of the Blue Cash Preferred card.
- If you want more options to use your earnings: The Citi Double Cash® Card (see exchange rates and fees) has no annual fee and earn 2 points per dollar on all purchases – 1 point when you buy and another 1 point when you pay the bill. You can withdraw money from these points or Use them with hotel and airline programs for travel. For more information, see Full review of the Dual Cash Card.
- If you want flexible rewards and bonus categories: The Chase freedom Flex℠ no annual fee and 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase Travel portal, 3% back on dining, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and 1% back on purchases other. You’ll also get 5% back on purchases up to $1,500 in Rotate categories each quarter you activate. You can exchange your earnings for cash back or Turn these into points if you have certain travel cards from Chase. For more details, see Full review of the Freedom Flex card.
For more options, see our full list of best cash back credit cards.
Related: Should you get the Blue Cash Preferred or Blue Cash Everyday card?
Is Altitude Go by Bank of America worth it?
The Bank of America Altitude Go card offers solid earning categories, easy redemption options, and a decent sign-up bonus—all with no annual fee. This is not the card for you if you want rewards and travel benefits as it earns bonus points on almost every major spending category except travel and points are only redeemable for 1 cent per category item. But if those bonus categories and redemption options sound good, this card is a worthy addition to your wallet.
Bottom line
If you’re new to rewards or shopping for a busy family, having a disposable credit card like the US Bank Altitude Go has no annual fee and offers rewards in most spending categories. main target could be the perfect choice for you. It’s a card well worth signing up for if you’re looking for simple rewards.
Related: Best no-annual-fee credit cards
For Blue Cash Preferred rates and fees, click This.