US Bank Now Allows for Instant Reward Redemptions for Travel Booked Anywhere
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
US Bank just introduced a new and incredibly easy way to redeem rewards for travel. US Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite Card and US Bank FlexPerks Travel Rewards Visa Signature Card are now eligible for instant point redemptions against travel purchases via its "Real-Time Mobile Rewards" feature.
Once enrolled, you'll be able to redeem points against purchases right after you've completed the transaction. US Bank will send you a text message asking if you want to use points, and if so, you just reply with "Redeem." US Bank had real-time mobile rewards before, but it had excluded travel purchases.
What makes this a valuable feature is that you don't have to book through a travel portal to redeem your points. If you're not transferring to a travel partner, a popular way to book travel is to go through a bank's travel portal where points have a fixed rate and are treated like cash — like with the Chase Sapphire Reserve at 1.5 cents per point or Citi Premier® Card for 1.25 cents per point.
Essentially, this move doesn't restrict you to a bank's travel portal, so you have the option of booking anyway you please. Bank portals can be hard to navigate, sometimes show higher prices than other options and can sell restrictive bulk airfares that can cause difficulties when trying to apply upgrades. You can also book through online shopping portals that can offer extra miles and points on purchases, and you should actually receive points for making the purchase itself too.
You'll have to activate the feature under the 'card benefits' section by logging into your US Bank account on a desktop browser.
H/T: Frequent Miler