U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card review: Extra-long intro APR period helps you pay off debt at a sustainable pace

If leftover debt or soaring interest rates are stressing you out, opting for a longer introductory APR period credit card could help ease your mind. With a 21-billing cycle introductory APR period and reasonable fees, this card excels as a debt-busting helping hand, but we don’t recommend it for habitual credit card revolvers since its standard APR is steep. 

About the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card * The information for the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card * The information for the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. has long offered one of the most competitive introductory APR promotions around. Unlike many cards that cap interest-free periods at 12 or 15 months, U.S. Bank’s signature no-annual-fee low intro rate card gives borrowers a longer-than-average period of time to pay down new and transferred card balances before a higher rate kicks in.

That makes it especially valuable to cardholders who need help paying off both new and old and credit card charges at a manageable pace. For example, you’d need to pay just $278 a month to wipe out a $5,000 balance interest-free — assuming you have a strong enough credit score (somewhere in the good to excellent range) to qualify for the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card.  

This card’s fee schedule is also lighter and generally more forgiving than what some competitors charge. However, its standard APR is on the high side, so it may not be the wisest choice if you routinely carry a balance or if cash is so tight you’re unlikely to pay more than the bare minimum. To benefit from this card’s best features, you need to be willing and able to repay enough each month to eliminate all or most of your debt before the promotional rate expires. 

Also important: The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card isn’t a rewards card. So you won’t get much value from it beyond temporary interest savings. However, it does come with some handy perks, such as regular credit score access, ID theft monitoring, a fee-based installment option and cellphone insurance. So if you don’t have access to those benefits through other cards, you may still find this spare, utilitarian card worth using well beyond the introductory period.

U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card basics

• Annual fee: $0
• Welcome bonus: None.
• Rewards: None. 
• APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 21 billing cycles, then a variable APR of 18.74% to 29.74%. A balance transfer fee of either 5% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater, applies.
• Other perks and benefits: Monthly access to an educational credit score from TransUnion, cellphone insurance coverage, identity theft monitoring, a fee-based installment plan for qualifying customers and customizable repayment options.
• Does the issuer offer a preapproval tool? No.
• Recommended credit score: A score that’s in the good to excellent range.

Pros and cons of the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card

Pros

• Lengthy introductory period: If you’re dealing with a towering credit card balance, a lengthy interest-free period can make conquering it more feasible. With the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card, for example, you may be able to get away with making smaller monthly payments than if you picked a card with a 12- or 15-month promotion. You may also have more flexibility to briefly reduce your monthly payments when cash is tight, then comfortably increase your payments over time. 
• New purchases also get a time out from interest: Some competitors reserve their most generous interest-free periods for just balance transfer offers. Not so with the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card: with this card, you can reserve a portion of your credit limit for a 0% balance transfer offer and leave the rest open for everyday purchases. Or you can use it solely as an interest-free financing tool for pre-planned purchases. 
• Offers a fee-based installment plan: Thanks to the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card’s ExtendPay Plan, you can avoid paying interest on select purchases even after the card’s 0% APR period has ended. Like other credit card installment plans, ExtendPay charges a flat monthly fee instead of compounding interest. But if you compare terms, you’ll notice that the card’s maximum plan fee is a tad lower than what similar 0% APR cards charge. 
• Its cellphone insurance perk is genuinely useful: If you’ve ever lost a smartphone or watched in horror as it dropped to the floor and cracked, then you know just how painful it can be to replace one unexpectedly. But if you pay your phone’s monthly bill with the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card, you’ll be automatically enrolled in a complimentary insurance plan that helps cover the cost of a damaged or stolen phone. We consider this to be an A+ perk for a no-annual-fee card, but it isn’t that widely available: most of the U.S. Bank Card’s fiercest competitors don’t offer it. 

Cons

• Its standard APR range is way too high: Like many cards that offer an intro APR, the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum advertises a wide range of potential APRs. But regardless of whether you’re assigned the card’s lowest possible interest rate, its highest APR or a rate that’s in the middle, you’ll still be overpaying for whatever balance you revolve past the introductory period. For a card that requires good to excellent credit and doesn’t offer rewards, the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card is especially pricey.
• It offers free access to your VantageScore, not your FICO: Knowing your VantageScore is important since a growing number of lenders use it. But FICO still claims that its scores are more widely used by lenders. So if you’re considering applying for more financing, you may prefer a card that helps you track how FICO rates you.
• Its other perks are kind of boring: There’s not much else included that you can’t easily find elsewhere. If you’re worried about identity theft, you may appreciate the card’s ID Navigator tool. But it’s not an exclusive service: Any Visa cardholder can sign up for it. Mastercard offers a similar program. You won’t find once-ubiquitous perks, such as purchase protection, car rental insurance or extended warranty protection, on the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card. But you will find other common card benefits, such as automated payments and customizable due dates.  

U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card rewards

The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card doesn’t offer a rewards program. But for some cardholders, that counts as a net plus. If you’d rather not be tempted into overspending by extra cash back or bonus points—or if you just find rewards programs to be more trouble than they’re worth—then this card’s rewards-free simplicity could work well for you. 

U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card APR

The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card has a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 21 billing cycles, then a variable APR of 18.74% to 29.74%. A balance transfer fee of either 5% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater, applies. There’s no penalty APR. However, cash advances will be subject to an APR, as well as a cash advance fee.

Extra cardholder perks

• Cellphone insurance: Pay your cellphone with the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card and you’ll be automatically enrolled in a complimentary cellphone insurance plan that offers up to $1,200 in coverage ($600 per claim) every 12 months for stolen or damaged phones. 
• Ongoing credit score access: Track your credit progress with an educational VantageScore and other credit education tools provided by TransUnion.
• Credit card installment plan: Pay for select purchases over time with a linked installment plan that charges a fixed monthly fee instead of compounding interest.

How the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card compares to other 0% intro APR credit cards

The U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card vs. the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card * The information for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card * The information for the Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. offers a 0% intro APR for 21 months on eligible balance transfers from the date of the first transfer and 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases from date of account opening. After that, the variable APR will be 18.24% to 28.99%. Balance transfers must be completed in the first four months. A balance transfer fee of either $5 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies.

Though its balance transfer fee is the same as the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card’s, they are both quite a bit higher than average, which could seriously dent your savings. For example, a 5% fee on a $5,000 balance amounts to $250. A 3% fee, by contrast, would only cost you $150.

The Diamond Preferred card’s intro purchase APR offer is stingier and it also offers fewer perks than the U.S. Bank card: you won’t find cellphone insurance on this card, nor does it advertise free credit score access. But the Citi Diamond Preferred Card does offer an installment ‘FlexPlan’ plan option – albeit at a slightly higher fee. It also charges a steep penalty APR, making it riskier to carry a balance. But on the plus side, the Diamond Preferred card’s APR range is lower.

U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card vs. BankAmericard® credit card * The information for the BankAmericard® credit card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.  

The BankAmericard® credit card * The information for the BankAmericard® credit card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. currently advertises a 0% intro APR for 18 billing cycles for purchases and any balance transfers made in the first 60 days, and then a variable APR of 16.24% to 26.24%. An intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transaction made within 60 days of account opening applies. After that, the fee will be 4% of each transaction. But unlike the Citi Diamond Preferred, the introductory offer applies to new purchases as well as transferred balances. 

Its long-term APR is also far cheaper than most competing cards, including the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum, making it a much better fit for cardholders who habitually carry balances. In addition, it doesn’t charge a penalty rate. 

But similar to the U.S. Bank’s Visa Platinum card, the BankAmericard doesn’t offer much pizzazz beyond its introductory period and competitive APR. You won’t find a cellphone insurance plan or any similar benefits on this card. However, the BankAmericard does offer free access to a FICO credit score and additional credit education. 

U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card vs. Chase Slate Edge® * The information for the Chase Slate Edge® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you only compare terms, the Chase Slate Edge® * The information for the Chase Slate Edge® has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. isn’t too different from the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum card. It offers a 0% intro APR for the first 18 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a variable APR of 20.49% - 29.24% applies. An intro transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies on transfers made in the first 60 days. After that, a fee of either $5 or 5% of each transfer, whichever is greater applies.

Like the Citi Diamond Preferred Card, the Chase Slate Edge also charges a hefty penalty rate. But where the Chase Slate Edge Card shines is in its benefits. Among the Slate Edge card’s best perks is a unique APR reduction plan that awards an automatic 2% rate cut every year you charge at least $1,000 and successfully pay the past year’s bills on time. (This perk isn’t unlimited, though: it lasts until you reach a minimum rate, plus prime rate). 

The Slate Edge also offers an automatic credit limit review after just six months if you spend at least $500. This can be helpful if a high debt-to-limit ratio is weighing down your credit score. In addition, it offers a robust slate of traditional card benefits, such as secondary car rental insurance, extended warranty and purchase protection. But it doesn’t offer cellphone insurance.

Should you get the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card?

It depends: If you’re looking for a temporary tool to help stretch out payments, the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card is a top-tier pick. But beware if you’re a habitual credit card revolver or you’ve accumulated so much debt that you aren’t sure if the low intro period on this card is enough time to repay it. Cards with lower APRs or longer introductory periods do exist and may be better options. 

As you compare cards, take the time to really think about what you want and need from a new card. For example, if you get a kick out of earning rewards or value robust benefits, then the U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card may not offer enough long-term sizzle to hold your interest. In that case, a more rewarding card might be worth the shorter introductory period.

U.S. Bank Visa Platinum Card summary

U.S. BANK VISA PLATINUM CARD DETAILS
Annual fee	$0
Rewards	None
APR	0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 21 billing cycles, then a variable APR of 18.74% to 29.74%. A balance transfer fee of either 5% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater, applies
Foreign transaction fees	3% of each foreign transaction
Major perks	Free cell phone insurance, fee-based installment plan option

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