[2016/3] A 30,000-point welcome bonus is now available. Korean Air was once infamous worldwide for its poor flight safety record. However, after sweeping reforms over the past decade or two, flying Korean Air (KE) is no longer nearly as nerve-racking as it used to be. Of course, odd incidents still happen from time to time, such as the well-known recent “nut rage return-to-gate incident.” This credit card is a more premium co-branded card issued by US Bank and Korean Air. Its standard public welcome bonus is 15,000 Korean Air miles. If you have a Korean Air SKYPASS account, you may also occasionally receive targeted offers with a welcome bonus as high as 40,000 Miles.
[Application Link] US Bank Korean Air SKYPASS Visa Signature
[Welcome Bonus] Make any one purchase to earn 15,000 Korean Air SKYPASS miles, then earn another 15,000 miles after spending $2,000 within the first 90 days of account opening.
[Annual Fee] $80, waived for the first year
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Pros of the US Bank Korean Air SKYPASS Visa Signature
- No minimum spending requirement for the first part of the welcome bonus.
- Earn 2x SKYPASS miles on Korean Air ticket purchases and 1x miles on all other purchases.
- Receive 2,000 SKYPASS miles each year when paying the annual fee.
- Receive two one-time Korean Air KAL Lounge passes each year, usable only when flying Korean Air.
- No foreign transaction fee.
- Includes trip delay and trip cancellation insurance.
Cons of the US Bank Korean Air SKYPASS Visa Signature
- The Korean Air lounge passes are not very valuable, because almost all KAL Lounges can also be accessed with Priority Pass.
- If you are not targeted for a better offer, the welcome bonus is fairly weak. 15,000 miles is not enough for any flight redemption at all (except domestic flights within Korea), so you would need SPG and Chase Ultimate Rewards to top off your balance.
- Overall, the annual fee is quite high relative to the limited benefits.
- All of the benefits above are based on the Visa Signature version. US Bank may automatically downgrade applicants who do not qualify for Visa Signature to the SKYPASS Visa version, which comes with a much worse welcome bonus and weaker benefits.
[Application Link] US Bank Korean Air SKYPASS Visa Signature
Should You Apply?
For most people, we do not recommend applying for this card. If you are targeted for a better offer, then it may be worth considering. Overall, the benefits are fairly mediocre: the annual mileage bonus is small, yet the annual fee is relatively high. The KAL Lounge passes are also redundant if you already have any card that provides Priority Pass Select. On top of that, US Bank often inexplicably downgrades applicants to the regular Visa version, which further reduces the benefits. Therefore, our suggestion is that even if you do open it, you should probably keep it for only one year before canceling. Have you applied for the US Bank SKYPASS Visa Signature credit card? Share your experience with us in the comments.