I had heard that US Bank was a terrible bank, but I didn’t really understand how bad it could be until I opened a checking account and applied for one of its credit cards. After this experience, I’m pretty much done with this bank. Unless they offer a really compelling bonus in the future, I’ll probably stay away. Of course, maybe my case was an outlier, but I still wanted to share it so others can avoid running into the same issues I did—even though I don’t think I actually did anything wrong.
Checking Account
At the time, I wanted to apply for a US Bank credit card, and I had heard that opening a checking account first could help. I also saw an online offer for a $300 account opening bonus, so I applied for that as well. I submitted the application on March 13, and the bonus offer deadline was March 18.
On March 15, they asked me for various pieces of information, and the checking account was finally approved on March 22. Since that was already past the bonus deadline, I emailed to ask whether I would still be eligible for the bonus. I received the reply below, and after that I never got any further email or phone update about the final result. I had to keep calling and emailing them myself. After I completed the DD requirement in April, I emailed that address again and still got no response.
Actually, after receiving that email, I called customer service again. The representative told me that as long as I had entered the promo code when applying, I would receive the bonus. So I naively believed them, assumed I would get the bonus, completed the DD requirement, and waited. But by the end of May, the bonus still had not posted. During that time, I called customer service again, and the representative reviewed my DD and said I had completed everything correctly and should just keep waiting. Later I emailed again to ask for the final result, and the answer was basically: no bonus.
Honestly, if the bank had just told me from the beginning that I wasn’t getting the bonus, that would have been fine. Then I wouldn’t have had to complete the DD requirement, spend time calling them (the hold times were long every time), and keep sending emails. It ended up costing me a lot of time. But customer service kept telling me to complete the DD first and that they would discuss the bonus afterward, without ever giving me a definite answer. In the end, I closed the checking account in July.
So if you want to earn a checking bonus in the future, make sure you factor in the approval timeline. Don’t give the bank a chance to play games with you.
Cash+ Credit Card Application
After depositing some money into the checking account, I applied for the Cash+ credit card on April 9. At the time, they didn’t ask for any additional information, and I was approved quickly. The card showed up in the App, and if I remember correctly, the credit limit was $25,000. But a few days later, before I had even received the card, it mysteriously disappeared from my account.
After the card arrived, I couldn’t activate it online, so I called in. Customer service told me the card could not be activated for the time being and that I needed to verify some information before the application could be approved again. I later received a physical letter explaining in detail what documents were needed and which email address or fax number to send them to, but unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it.
On May 1, I sent in all the requested materials. If I remember correctly, the deadline was around May 10. After sending everything, I did not receive any email confirmation. Before the deadline, I called customer service to ask about it. They gave me the phone number for the relevant department, but after calling for several days in a row, no one answered. When I called customer service again, they told me to just wait—which was the same line as before—and once again I naively believed them. Then a few days after the deadline, I guess that department finally got back to work and called me proactively to say they had not received any of my documents. Because the deadline had already passed, they could only deny the application. They would not accept any late submission either. If I wanted the card, I would have to apply again and take another HP!
Later, this card never showed up on my credit report, so I think it should count as a denial rather than a closed card.
Final Thoughts
Based on my personal experience, US Bank really was awful in an almost unbelievable way. You simply can’t trust what customer service tells you, and there also seemed to be a lot of finger-pointing and runaround between departments. Compared with several other major banks, it really doesn’t measure up. If you’re planning to go after bonuses or other deals from US Bank, be extra careful so you don’t run into the same problems I did.