U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard Review

If you have a business that requires you to drive a lot, the U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards card might be right for you. It’s one of the few business cards to offer a higher earnings rate (3%, to be exact) for gas purchases. 

The U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards card also offers this higher cash-back rate on cellphone bills and at office supply stores, too. But if these are your primary spending categories, we’d recommend looking for a business card that offers better rates on those types of spending.

Pros Explained

• 25% annual bonus: Each year on your cardholder anniversary you’ll get a bonus of 25% of all the cash back you earned in the previous year. For example, if you earn $100 in cash back during your first year, you’ll get a $25 bonus at the start of your second year. The maximum annual bonus you can get is $250. 
• Good earnings rate on business gas purchases: You’ll earn 3% cash back on gas purchases for your business. This is among the best gas rewards rates out there, especially for a business card. 

Cons Explained

• Hard-to-reach new-cardholder bonus: You’ll earn an extra 3% cash back on all purchases during your first six months, up to a maximum of $500. Keep in mind that to reach that maximum, you’ll need to spend a whopping $16,667. 
• $25 redemption increments: Your rewards never expire on their own, but you can only redeem them in $25 increments. Should you decide to close the card, but still have a balance of $24 in cash back, for example, you’d lose your rewards. 
• Possible to lose your rewards: Make sure you set up autopay with this card. If you make two or more late payments in a row, you’ll forfeit your entire balance of cash-back rewards. 

U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard Bonus for New Cardholders

On the surface, the welcome bonus for this card—up to $500 cash back—sounds like one of the best welcome bonuses available for a business card. The gotcha is that you’ll need to spend a lot of money to earn it. 

Comparable business cards require you to spend up to $3,000 in order to receive a bonus of exactly $500. But in the case of the U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards Card, your bonus amount requires you to spend far more than that. You’ll earn an additional 3% cash back on all purchases (as opposed to in just a few categories) for the first 180 days, during which time you can reel in up to $500. But that requires you to spend $16,667—which could be a challenge for some businesses. 

Earning Points & Rewards

The rewards program for the U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards card is fairly straightforward. You’ll earn at least 1% cash back on all purchases, and 3% cash back on most gas purchases, on cell service bills, and at office supply stores. There are few other options out there for business owners to earn the same or more on gas purchases. 

Redeeming Rewards

Redeeming your rewards is also simple, but there are some strings attached. 

You can only redeem your rewards in increments of $25. That requires you to spend at least $834 on gas/office supplies/cell service, or $2,500 on anything else (or somewhere in between for a combination of category spending). If your business doesn’t have a ton of expenses (which may be why you might be interested in a no-annual-fee card in the first place), it might take you a while to reach the threshold. 

Your options for how to get that cash are threefold. The simplest for most people will be to opt for a statement credit. You can also get your cash in the form of a U.S. Bank Rewards Card (like a prepaid debit or gift card). Finally, if you already have a U.S. Bank savings, checking, or money market account, you can opt to have your rewards deposited into one of those accounts. 

How to Get the Most Out of This Card

You’ll get the most from this card if you need to make a large purchase (or a series of large purchases) totaling $16,667 or more over the first 180 days, and—importantly—you’ll also have the ability to pay that off within a year. That’s because this card’s 0% APR intro offer allows you to finance purchases interest-free for 12 months, while spending that amount (or close to it) allows you to earn more of the welcome bonus, up to $500. 

Second, we recommend this card for business owners who want to get something back for all of their gas spending. The 3% earnings on office supply and wireless phone purchases are also nice boosts. Depending on your business spending, you might consider pairing this card with another that offers rewards-earning rates on dining out or travel, or even a flat-rate card that gives you 1.5% back on every purchase. 

U.S. Bank Business Cash Rewards World Elite Mastercard’s Excellent Perks

This card offers one perk that we think could be particularly useful for you as a business owner:

• Cellphone coverage: Although this policy is secondary to any other insurance you have, if you lose your phone or it’s stolen, you can file a claim for up to $1,000 each year (or up to $800 each time, for up to two claims per year). 

Customer Experience

U.S. Bank ranked next to last in the 2020 J.D. Power survey of customer satisfaction among the major U.S. credit card issuers. It scored 786 out of 1,000 possible points. The industry average was 810. Only one bank—Credit One Bank—rated lower than U.S. Bank. 

However, it’s important to note that U.S. Bank does offer 24/7, U.S.-based customer support for this card. It also offers a mobile app that you may find useful as you’re driving around with this card. You can lock and unlock your card through the app, set travel notifications, and more. 

Security Features

This card comes with basic security features, such as 24/7 fraud monitoring and zero fraud liability.

Fees to Watch Out For

This card comes with some rather specific fees and a lot of them, especially for business owners. For example, if you travel abroad you’ll pay either a 2% foreign transaction fee for purchases made in U.S. dollars, or a 3% foreign transaction fee for purchases made in a foreign currency.