U.S. Bank Altitude Connect Visa Signature Card

The U.S. Bank Altitude Connect is a no-annual-fee travel card that keeps perks usually reserved for cards charging $95 or more: airport lounge visits, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, and no foreign transaction fees. Checked against U.S. Bank's site in August 2026, it remains open to new applicants, unlike the premium Altitude Reserve, which stopped taking applications. Earning is travel-weighted: 5x points on prepaid hotels and rental cars booked through the U.S. Bank Travel Center, 4x on travel purchases, 4x at gas stations and EV charging stations on the first $1,000 each quarter, 2x on dining, streaming, and grocery stores, and 1x on everything else. The welcome offer is 20,000 points, worth $200, after $1,000 in net purchases in the first 90 days. New cardholders also get 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles, then a 17.49% to 27.49% variable APR. The perk list is what stands out at $0: a 12-month Priority Pass Select membership with four free lounge visits, a statement credit covering the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee once every four years, complimentary GigSky international mobile data plans in over 175 countries (currently redeemable through November 30, 2026), and no foreign transaction fees on purchases abroad. Two caveats keep expectations in check. Points are fixed value with no airline or hotel transfer partners as of August 2026, so 4x on travel means roughly 4% back toward travel redemptions rather than outsized award value. And the card has been trimmed in 2026: the $30 annual streaming credit is being discontinued, and the 4x on gas and EV charging, previously uncapped, now stops at $1,000 per quarter. A benefits list moving in one direction is worth watching before you build habits around it. Get it if you want real travel perks with zero carrying cost: road trippers and two-or-three-flights-a-year travelers get 4x on gas and travel, a few lounge visits, and PreCheck covered for free. Skip it if you are optimizing award travel, where transferable points from Chase, Amex, or Capital One are worth more per point, or if your spending is dominated by groceries and dining, where 2x here loses to dedicated cash back cards. The $200 bonus is also modest: if you can tolerate an annual fee, mid-tier travel cards routinely pay welcome offers worth three times as much.