8/2024 Update: Bumping to say 10k offer in 2024. 5 years in a row now.
8/5/2023 Update: Bumping an old post to say that I have had 10k points retention offer 4 years in a row. It appears I had written a separate post regarding the retention offer in 2021 and I shall link it here.
Regular readers of this blog might know that I like the Altitude Reserve card. Back around when Altitude Reserve was launched, this blog was one of the few to call it a good card. One of the primary reasons I like this card is because it earns 3x points on mobile payments. Samsung Pay (and even LG Pay) works more or less everywhere a card can be swiped so it is fairly easy to earn 3x points on day-to-day transitions.
Anyway, my renewal for the card recently came up, so I called the number on the back of the card and asked for a retention offer. I was not transferred over to another person like some other banks do (probably because US Bank does not have a dedicated retention branch?) and I welcome that very much, particularly when hold times are long due to the pandemic.
The agent offered me two choices: downgrade to a card without an annual fee or take 10,000 points with no spending required. I gladly took the latter option which I value at exactly $150. Since the card has an annual fee of $400 and provides $325 of credit, after factoring in the retention offer, it is practically as if I am getting paid $75 to hold this card.
Closing Thoughts
It seems like a lot of people are getting 5k and 10k retention offers so if your renewal time is here, then do give them a call.