How the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards Card Stacks Up vs. the Competition – NerdWallet

• Earn 6% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined quarterly spending at two eligible retailers of your choice from a list of 24. (See the retailers below.)

• Earn 3% back in one everyday category on up to $1,500 in spending per quarter. Eligible categories include wholesale clubs, gas and electric vehicle charging, bills and utilities.

• Earn 1.5% back on all other purchases.

You must choose your 6% and 3% categories each quarter. If you decline to do so, you’ll earn only the base rate of 1.5% back.

Sign-up bonus: Get a $250 bonus after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening.

APR: The ongoing APR is 18.24%-28.24% Variable APR.

Other benefits: Earn 5.5% back on prepaid hotels and rental cars booked through the U.S. Bank Rewards Travel Center.

Here’s how the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive compares with other cards that earn impressive amounts of cash back.

To view rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, see this page.

Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

• Earn 6% cash back on up to $6,000 in spending per year at U.S. supermarkets.

• Earn 6% back on select U.S. streaming service subscriptions.

• Earn 3% back at U.S. gas stations and on transit including taxis and ridesharing services, parking, tolls, trains and buses.

• Earn 1% back on all other purchases.

Welcome bonus: Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months. Terms Apply.

• $84 in statement credits toward a Disney Bundle subscription (as a $7 monthly credit) when you spend $13.99 or more each month.

• $120 in statement credits toward an Equinox+ membership (as a $10 monthly credit).

APR: 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 17.74%-28.74% Variable APR.

How it compares with the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive: Both cards have similar annual fees and earn up to 6% cash back, an enviable rate. But the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a bit simpler to use because you don’t have to select new merchants each quarter. It comes down to where you spend more: If the bulk of your budget goes toward groceries (and you don’t buy those groceries at big-box retailers like Target or Walmart), the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express could be a fit. If you’d prefer to earn more cash back on other spending, like home improvement, furniture or clothing, the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive offers a wide variety of eligible retailers to choose from.

• Earn 5% cash back on up to $2,000 in combined quarterly spending in two categories you choose (from a list).

• Earn 2% back on one everyday category you choose each quarter, including gas stations and electric vehicle charging, grocery stores or restaurants.

• Earn 1% back on all other purchases.

As of November 2022, 5% categories include shopping (furniture stores, electronics stores, sporting goods stores and select clothing and department stores), services and utilities (home utilities, cell phone providers, gym memberships and ground transportation) and entertainment (movie theaters, fast food, TV, internet and streaming services).

You must choose your 5% and 2% bonus categories each quarter. If not, you’ll earn only 1% back on everything.

Sign-up bonus: $200 bonus after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening.

Other benefits: Earn 5% back on prepaid airfare, hotels and rental cars booked through the U.S. Bank Rewards Travel Center.

APR: 0% intro APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-28.24% Variable APR.

How it compares with the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive: The U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card comes up a wee bit short of the cash-back rate you can get with the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive, but the annual fee is a hard-to-beat $0. Plus, the 5% categories are broader. Instead of, say, Macy’s, you can earn more cash back at department stores in general. If an annual fee is a dealbreaker, or you’re willing to sacrifice a top rewards rate for some more flexibility, the U.S. Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® Card wins out — though it, too, will require some maintenance in terms of tracking bonus categories and quarterly spending caps.

• Earn 5% cash back on up to $500 per billing cycle in your top eligible spending category (from a list, see below), then 1% back after reaching the spending limit.

• Earn 1% back on all other purchases.

Eligible 5% categories include restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel and transit, select streaming service subscriptions, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment.

Sign-up bonus: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

APR: 0% intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 15 months, and then the ongoing APR of 17.74%-27.74% Variable APR.

How it compares with the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive: The $500 monthly spending cap to earn 5% cash adds up to the same $6,000 per year as the quarterly $1,500 spending cap for the 6% merchants with the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive. That means with the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card, you’re looking at $60 less in cash back per year, assuming you max out the high-earning categories or merchants — but the Citi card’s annual fee is $0. Another benefit of the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card is that you don’t have to select categories. You’ll automatically earn the highest cash-back rate where you spend the most that month. You also earn rewards in the form of ThankYou points, which can be redeemed for travel.

The U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive includes the big three of big-box stores among its 6% merchants: Amazon, Target and Walmart. Here’s how it compares with those merchants’ store cards:

The Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card earns 5% cash back on Amazon.com, at physical Amazon stores and at Whole Foods Market; 2% back at gas stations and restaurants; and 1% back on everything else. Though the annual fee is $0, you must have an Amazon Prime membership to get this card, meaning you effectively pay $139 per year. You don’t need a Prime membership with the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive, but if you shop on Amazon.com a lot anyway, you might already be paying for Prime.

The Target REDcard™ Credit Card offers 5% off most in-store and online Target purchases. You also get an extra 30 days to return or exchange items. Note that some Target purchases are excluded from earning 5% back, such as prescriptions, Target Optical eye exams, Target gift cards and prepaid cards. The annual fee is $0, and there’s no spending cap on that 5% discount. Loyal Target shoppers who spend more than $7,200 per year there will come out on top with the Target REDcard™ Credit Card. But if you don’t spend that much or you want the flexibility to switch to other merchants, the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive could win out.

The Capital One® Walmart Rewards™ Mastercard® earns 5% cash back at Walmart.com; 2% back in Walmart stores, at restaurants and on travel; and 1% back on everything else. There’s no annual fee, but the fact that in-store purchases earn just 2% back after the first year is a big drawback to this card — one that might have you reaching for the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive instead, unless you make most Walmart purchases online.

Of the 24 possible 6%-back retailers you can choose from with the U.S. Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive, many of them already offer $0-annual-fee store credit cards that earn rewards as high as 5% back. Here’s a list: