Us bank interest rates on credit cards

If you're looking to finance a major purchase, the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is one of the best options on the market for buying time until you can pay it off.

That’s because the card charges an annual fee of $0, yet it offers a long 0% introductory interest rate on purchases, as well as a good interest-free period on balances you transfer from elsewhere.

You won't earn rewards with the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card. But it comes with cell phone insurance, a minor perk.

U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card: Basics

• APR offer: 0% intro APR for 18 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 18.74%-28.74% Variable APR.

• Balance transfer fee: 3% or $5 minimum, whichever is greater.

U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card: Benefits

Lengthy APR promotion on purchases. This is the defining feature of the card. If you’re facing a large expense you can’t pay right away, the extra-long interest-free period allows you to pay over time without piling on finance charges.

Balance transfer period. The card also offers a pretty long interest-free period for balances you transfer to it. But note the balance transfer fee, discussed below.

Annual fee of $0. Once you use the introductory interest-free period to pay your balance, the card won’t cost you anything to keep — although, it might eventually be relegated for use as a backup card.

Cell phone insurance. The card is one of a handful of cards that come with cell phone insurance. If you pay your cell phone bill every month with this card, you'll get coverage for damage or theft up to $600, with a $25 deductible, for up to two claims for a total of $1,200 per 12-month period. This covers your phone and additional lines on the account. However, the insurance is “secondary,” meaning it kicks in only after any other phone insurance you have.

U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card: Pitfalls and other possibilities

No rewards. If you want a card that's ideal for everyday spending, the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card is not for you. There are no rewards for spending with this card. If debt is not an issue for you and you pay your bills in full and on time every month, consider moving on to another card that offers you more benefits. Like the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, which has a solid introductory APR period, includes a bonus offer for new cardholders, and gives you 1.5% cash back on most every purchase.

No sign-up bonus. New cardholders get no bonus, which is disappointing since competing cards with almost-as-long 0% APR periods include at least a modest bonus. Some are $150, for example.

Foreign transaction fee. Forget about travel perks with this card. And it’s a poor choice for using abroad because of its fees for foreign transactions: 2% of each foreign purchase transaction or foreign ATM advance transaction in U.S. dollars or 3% if the transaction is in a foreign currency.

Requires good credit. If you have a mountain of debt and your credit rating is hurting because of it, you might have trouble getting approved for this card.

Is the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card right for you?

If you're looking for a card that offers a generous amount of time to pay down a new purchase, the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card could be a fit. While the card won't cost you anything to keep, even after you've said sayonara to the balance, you might find yourself graduating to a different card for the long term.

At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

Bankrate logo

The Bankrate promise

At Bankrate, we have a mission to demystify the credit cards industry — regardless or where you are in your journey — and make it one you can navigate with confidence. Our team is full of a diverse range of experts from credit card pros to data analysts and, most importantly, people who shop for credit cards just like you. With this combination of expertise and perspectives, we keep close tabs on the credit card industry year-round to:

• Meet you wherever you are in your credit card journey to guide your information search and help you understand your options.
• Consistently provide up-to-date, reliable market information so you're well-equipped to make confident decisions.
• Reduce industry jargon so you get the clearest form of information possible, so you can make the right decision for you.

At Bankrate, we focus on the points consumers care about most: rewards, welcome offers and bonuses, APR, and overall customer experience. Any issuers discussed on our site are vetted based on the value they provide to consumers at each of these levels. At each step of the way, we fact-check ourselves to prioritize accuracy so we can continue to be here for your every next.

Bankrate logo

Editorial integrity

Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions.

Key Principles

We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. Our editors and reporters thoroughly fact-check editorial content to ensure the information you’re reading is accurate. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team. Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.

Editorial Independence

Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information.

Bankrate logo

How we make money

You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.

Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers.

We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money.

Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service.

Advertiser Disclosure: The credit card offers that appear on the website are from companies from which this site receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all credit card companies or available credit card offers. Information about credit cards and card offers is accurate as of the date of publication.

Current credit card interest rates

What are the different types of credit card interest rates?

• Purchase APR: The interest rate on purchases, typically applied when your credit card balance isn’t paid in full each billing period
• Balance Transfer APR: The interest rate you owe on balances transferred from loans or other credit cards to the applicable credit card. For most cards, you begin with a low rate (even 0%) for a specified number of months before transitioning to the regular APR.
• Introductory APR: This is an incentive offered by credit card companies to new applicants to give an especially low rate for a certain time period once an account has been opened. This rate (often 0%) is consistently lower than the typical APR for each card. On average, credit cards with a 0% introductory APR on purchases offer around 10 months without interest, while balance transfer cards with introductory APR’s usually last a full year.
• Cash Advance APR: This rate is applied when withdrawing money from an ATM or bank using your credit card.
• Penalty APR: If you miss a due date, this rate could be applied. This rate is more extreme than typical APRs (can be as high as 29.99%) and will be lowered to the standard interest rate after six months of timely payments.

We have multiple resources to help you gain a better understanding of credit card interest rates. If you are interested in learning more, we recommend reading the following:

What is the interest rate on a US bank credit card?

How do I find out my US bank credit card interest rate?

Is US Bank credit card worth it?

Is 9.5 a good interest rate on a credit card?