Consumer complaint received 2025-12-25 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Advertising and marketing, including promotional offers — Confusing or misleading advertising about the credit card
Company: U.S. BANCORP
State: PA

Complaint narrative:
Product : U.S. Bank Smartly credit card ending in XXXX, and related accounts Checking ending in XXXX and Savings ending in XXXX Company : U.S. Bank Issue Type : Credit card rewards/ misleading terms/ incorrect information from representatives Attachments : XXXX. U.S. Bank letter announcing the program change, with my notes from calls on XX/XX/XXXX and XX/XX/XXXX XXXX. XXXX showing the reduced rewards value from the XX/XX/XXXX credit card statement Complaint Narrative In XX/XX/XXXX, I applied for and opened a U.S. Bank credit card that was advertised as offering 4 % cash back, contingent on meeting certain relationship requirements. To qualify, I was required to : Open a U.S. Bank investment account and maintain a balance of {$100000.00} Open and maintain both a checking and savings account I met all of these requirements in reliance on the advertised terms and did, in fact, receive the 4 % cash back for several months. 

Several months later, U.S. Bank sent a letter announcing a change to the qualification requirements effective XX/XX/XXXX, stating that the investment account balance would no longer qualify and that instead a {$10000.00} checking account balance would be required. I contacted U.S. Bank customer service initially on XX/XX/XXXX and again on XX/XX/XXXX and spoke with a representative named XXXX ( call confirmation # XXXX ). I was explicitly told that I was not affected by this change due to when I opened the account ( XX/XX/XXXX ), I was effectively grandfathered, and that I would definitely continue to receive the 4 % cash back. She also stated that only cards opened after XX/XX/XXXX were affected by this change, and not to worry, I would continue to receive the 4 % cash back. 

This information later turned out to be incorrect. I subsequently learned that I was affected by the change and that my rewards rate was reduced to 2 %. 

Due to this misleading and incorrect information, as well as the retroactive change to the program, I closed my U.S. Bank checking and savings accounts in XX/XX/XXXX and began transferring my investment assets out of U.S. Bank. 

When my most recent credit card billing cycle closed, I attempted to redeem XXXX rewards points as a statement credit, expecting a value of {$35.00}, consistent with the advertised cash back. However, the redemption interface showed the points were worth only {$26.00}, representing a materially lower value. 

I immediately contacted U.S. Bank customer service and spoke with a representative named XXXX on XX/XX/XXXX ( call confirmation # XXXX ). Neither the representative nor I could locate any disclosure in the cards terms and conditions stating that redeeming rewards as a statement credit would result in a reduced value. The representative confirmed that he could not find any such disclosure either and stated that he would submit a request for a supervisor to follow up with me. 

Given the effort involved in setting up multiple accounts and transferring substantial funds to qualify for the original offer, this undisclosed reduction in rewards value appears to be yet another material change that was not clearly communicated. At that point, I believed it was appropriate to submit a complaint. 

This series of events raises serious concerns, including : Material changes to program eligibility after I met the original requirements Repeated provision of incorrect information by U.S. Bank representatives Lack of clear disclosure that cash back rewards are worth significantly less when redeemed as a statement credit Consumer reliance involving large financial balances and account openings At no point was I clearly informed that redeeming rewards as a statement credit would result in a reduced value, nor was this limitation discoverable in the terms when I reviewed them.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation