The
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card is a great credit card to get if you need years to pay off big purchases or balance transfers and your credit score is
700 or higher. It’s worth considering this card because it has the longest 0% intro APR promotion on the market right now (
0% for 24 months) and does not charge an annual fee.
This card does have an expensive balance transfer fee, however. If you don’t need the full
24 months to pay off your debt, you might be able to save more with a card that has a
shorter 0% period and a lower transfer fee. Similarly, if you don’t need quite as long to pay off purchases, you could earn more rewards with a
different 0% card.
What I Like About the U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card
0% for 24 months on new purchases
This is the longest 0% intro purchase APR promotion on the market – by a few months. It’s about twice as long as
average too, based on the 1,500+ cards we track. Having this long without interest charges will make it a lot easier and a lot less expensive to pay off what you owe.
You can plan out the monthly payments needed to get out of debt using
WalletHub’s credit card payoff calculator.
0% for 24 months on balance transfers
The
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card has the longest 0% intro balance transfer APR promotion on the market as well. It gives people with high-interest debt an almost unprecedented opportunity to flip the script and pay off what they owe once and for all. You can use our balance transfer calculator to see how much you might be able to save.
Up to 4% cash back
Cards with 0% APR promotions as long as the
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card’s usually don’t offer rewards. U.S. Bank Shield isn’t your average card, though. You’ll earn
4% cash back on prepaid air, hotel and car reservations booked directly in the Rewards Center if you decide to apply and you’re fortunate enough to get approved.
$20 annual credit offer
If you make at least one purchase for 11 consecutive months, you will get a $20 credit. This is an annual bonus, so you can earn it year after year.
No annual fee
Credit cards with long 0% introductory APRs usually don’t have fees, since the target audience for these cards is focused on keeping costs low. Still, not having to pay an annual fee to own the
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card saves you an average of
$27.85 compared to other credit card offers, and it allows you to keep your account open for longer, even if you’re not consistently using the card to make purchases.
What I Don’t Like About the U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card
5% (min $5) balance transfer fee
If the
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card had even an average balance transfer fee, it would be far and away the best balance transfer credit card on the market. It’s still in the top tier, but a lot of people will be able to save more with a 0% APR for 18-21 months and a 3% transfer fee.
High regular APR
If you carry a balance from month to month after the 0% promotion expires, you’ll give a lot of your savings back to U.S. Bank in interest payments. This isn’t as big of a concern with the
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card as it is with cards that have shorter introductory periods, but it’s still important to note.
Most purchases don’t earn rewards
With most rewards cards, you earn at least 1% cash back or 1 point/mile per $1 spent on all purchases. With the
U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card, you only earn rewards on eligible purchases made through the U.S. Bank Rewards Center. All other purchases get you nothing.
Requires at least good credit
You probably won’t have great odds of getting approved if your credit score is below
700, unfortunately. A lot of people who could really benefit from this card simply won’t be able to get it as a result.
You can
check your credit score for free here on WalletHub to estimate your chances. We’ll also give you specific recommendations for things you can do to improve your score.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
