US Bank has quietly introduced a new business credit card, the Business Edge Select Rewards card. For those of you who don’t have the time to read the full review, the tl;dr version is “Meh”.
The good: no annual fee, and you get an uncapped three points / dollar bonus on one of the following categories, as defined by US Bank:
- Day-to-day expenses, such as shipping, advertising, utilities, office supplies, telecom and professional services.
- Automotive, such as gas, service, tires, tolls, dealerships, car washes and repairs.
- Travel and entertainment, such as airlines, auto rental, hotels, restaurants and travel agencies.
Note that those first two categories are a little more broadly defined than rewards categories usually are, so that’s a point in favor of this card.
The bad: first of all, three points per dollar for those categories is unexceptional, as for the most part there are equal or better alternatives available, like the Chase Ink, Amex SimplyCash, or Amex Biz Gold.
Second, US Bank is known for being a little more conservative in its underwriting than some of the other big banks, so if you were to get this card you might be inadvertently preventing yourself from getting another US Bank-issued card, such as the Club Carlson Visa.
Third, the sign-up bonus is only 10,000 points. Again, there are better alternatives.
I can’t think of too many people for whom this card is a screaming good deal. Maybe if you have a lot of auto-related expenses it could be useful. Beyond that, you can safely forget about this one.
This is actually a rebranding of their existing business product line. They also rebranded the business flex perks (20k sign up points bonus = $400 in travel) and the cash rewards card.