I was redeeming my first month of points for a statement credit, like I always do with my other cashback cards. But this time, I wasn’t paying attention and only realized after submitting the request that the redemption value was less than expected.
I went back to the terms and noticed that statement credit redemptions have a lower value. This means my cash back reward effectively dropped to 3% instead of the 4% I thought I’d get. You only get the full 4% if you deposit into a US Bank checking or savings account (no other banks are allowed).
Hopefully, sharing this will stop someone else from making the same mistake. Aside from this, I’ve had a good experience with the Smartly card overall.
BrandyMitchell said: @titusspinks
Exactly! I get that they want to keep the money in their ecosystem, but a statement credit feels like the same thing to me.
It’s only the same if you’re using a US Bank account to pay the card. Not everyone does that though.
BrandyMitchell said: @titusspinks
Exactly! I get that they want to keep the money in their ecosystem, but a statement credit feels like the same thing to me.
If you were running a rewards program giving 4% while only earning 2% in transaction fees, you’d probably try to cut costs anywhere you could too.
BrandyMitchell said: @titusspinks
Exactly! I get that they want to keep the money in their ecosystem, but a statement credit feels like the same thing to me.
I’ve seen others mention this too—that statement credit gives less value and you have to deposit into their accounts for the full amount.
Redeeming cash back as a statement credit is usually not the best option for any card.
With current interest rates, it’s smarter to redeem into an interest-earning account during the grace period. You miss out on potential gains when you redeem directly into your statement balance.
In a way, USB is doing us a favor by making the statement credit less appealing and encouraging us to deposit into an account instead.
@Wray
You’re not wrong. But for example, if someone redeems $100 into USB’s savings account at 3.5%, the interest lost for that month would be like 30 cents.
I’m planning to deposit rewards into my USB brokerage account and invest them going forward.
I put all my cash rewards from credit cards into my Fidelity brokerage account, where it’s automatically invested into FZFXX, which is yielding 4.24% right now.
I know you used $100 as an example, but I spend about $50–60k per year on cards, so roughly $5k a month. With that much, it makes sense for me to redeem cash back, earn interest, and pay the statement balance as late as possible across all cards.
Also, since USB Smartly offers 12 months of 0% APR, I’m only paying the minimum amount for now. I’ve set a reminder to switch to paying the full statement balance before the 12 months are up. Meanwhile, that extra money will also be earning interest.
Rylan said: @Wray
Think of all the pennies you’re missing out on!
This forum is all about chasing pennies. Every percentage point is just a dollar per hundred spent, so for most people, the benefits drop off after a few cards.
