US Bank Altitude Reserve: Still No Transfer Partners?
Since 2025, US Bank announced mostly negative changes to their flagship card Altitude Reserve through e-mails and regular mails. I sifted through my email and the message below was sent on August 1, 2025.
A key promise, likely the most important one, was the introduction of the ability to transfer Altitude Reserve points to partner airline and hotel loyalty programs. Ever since the changes went to effect on December 15, 2025, there has been no transfer partners yet as of the time of this post approaching mid-February.
What is going on?
Surprisingly, there’s not much publication yet about the lack of communication from US Bank in the lack of transfer partners. There were rumors that they were supposed to announce which transfer partners will be available some time in November, or a few weeks before December 15, but there were no words from US Bank.
After that, there wasn’t much coverage. The latest update I could find is a Reddit post from last month in January that said updates about transfer partners would be at the end of the month according to customer service. January has passed. Apparently few comments noted that they were told the same thing when asked a few months ago, with some being told that they’d know by the end of the week with news that never came.
Possibly the reason why this flew under the radar is because we’re too distracted by the disastrous launch of BILT 2.0 that made themselves their whole source of BILT Neighborhood Comedy.
I have no clue what’s going on, but it’s really a bad look for US Bank. This feels like a bait and switch. I’m sure that there are good number amount of cardholders who decided to renew the card with the anticipation that transfer partners would be readily available after the change.
I personally went with my guts and closed the card after my anniversary in late November after recognizing that there were no news regarding the new transfer partners.
Altitude Reserve Negative Changes
Other than “empty promises” of transfer partners, the changes to the Altitude Reserve are negative which further worsen the situation with the card. At least, these have been widely covered by other blogs.
Worse Redemption Value
The biggest nerf to the card is the lower redemption value of Altitude Reserve points. Before December 15, you can redeem them at 1.5 cents per point on most travel purchases including flights, hotels, rideshare, car rentals, and cruises through Real Time Rewards. Now, they brought it down to 1 cent per point.
Even without transfer partners, Altitude Reserve held a valuable spot for those who prefer cashback as they’d effectively get 4.5% back on most of their purchases thanks to the highly versatile mobile payment 3x multiplier. At least, it did serve me well whenever I needed extra cashback after having more points than I need from other flexible points programs.
Now, it becomes a catch-all 3% cashback card with a high annual fee which isn’t that competitive compared to many no annual fee cards that offer at least 2% cashback.
Less Flexible $325 Credit
Altitude Reserve’s $325 credit used to be much more flexible in which you can use them towards general travel and dining purchases. Now, it’s constrained to US Bank’s travel portal for use which does not have the most comprehensive inventory. For example, Turkish Airlines cannot be booked through US Bank’s travel portal.
Before, there were ways to turn that credit into statement credit like booking a refundable flight from an airline’s official site, wait for the credit to post, and then cancel the refundable flight. It may still be possible to do so through US Bank’s travel portal.
Capped Earnings on Mobile Payments
Previously, the 3x multiplier on mobile payment were uncapped, meaning you can earn as much Altitude Reserve points as you can from mobile payments. Now, it’s capped at $5000 in purchases per month before it earns 1x points. It’s not a big deal for many people since $5000 per month in mobile spend is a lot, and not many will be able to reach that cap. The move’s possibly to discourage those who manufacture spend.
What to Do Before Closing the Altitude Reserve
If you were disappointed and frustrated by US Bank’s lack of communication regarding Altitude Reserve’s transfer partners and you want to close the card because it left a bad taste in your mouth, then you could try double dipping the $325 credit.
The first $325 credit comes during the time you open the card within the cardmember year, and the next is when after the next annual fee comes. You’ll have spend it within 30 days after the annual fee posts to get the annual fee fully refunded.
Again, you can try booking a refundable flight through US Bank travel portal. Unfortunately, I’m not exactly sure if it’s works or if there will be a clawback since I don’t have the card anymore. Still, it’s worth a try. If not, then you can try committing to travel you book through the travel portal.
Unfortunately, cashing out the points won’t be as good as before. Or, you could hope they actually release the transfer partners before your next annual fee. If they ever do.
