U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Unboxing & Weight
On Monday U.S. Bank released their new premium credit card Altitude Reserve. Designed to compete with offerings like the Citi Prestige, Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve, this card has a hefty annual fee of $400, but offsets that with travel credits, 3X bonus categories and a 50,000 point bonus.
For more info see these posts:
- Approved! My U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Application Experience Including Their Strange Process
- The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Launches Tomorrow: Here is a Recap & What You Need to Know
- Here Is What U.S. Bank Is Telling Their Employees About Their New Altitude Reserve Premium Card
- Head to Head: Sapphire Reserve vs. Altitude Reserve. Which Card Comes Out on Top?
- More Details Leaked: U.S. Bank’s New Altitude Reserve Card is a GAMECHANGER!
The Unboxing
Despite saying it would take 7 days to reach us, my wife’s card arrived after just two days. She applied on Monday morning (5/1), the card was shipped on Tuesday (5/2) and it just arrived this morning. On the label, the “From” portion says “Altitude”. Nice touch.
Altitude Reserve Unboxing – The Box
Of course it’s what’s inside that is meaningful. It is clear that U.S. Bank spent some time, effort and money designing the Altitude Reserve’s black box. The card’s name is engraved on the front which is another nice touch.
Open the box and the product continues to impress. On the bottom you will find all of the relevant paperwork including a product guide and disclosures. At the top, surrounded by felt is the card itself.
Altitude Reserve Unboxing – The Card
The card itself definitely has a premium feel compared to the old plastic we are used to. On the front you will find the name of the cardholder along with an “A” to represent Altitude. It seems like the “A” is affixed to the card after manufacturing and is slightly raised from the card surface.
The back of the card contains the number, cardholder name and security code. Pretty much standard with premium cards these days.
Altitude Reserve Weight
Like the Sapphire Reserve, Ritz Carlton Visa Infinite and now the personal Amex Platinum, the Altitude Reserve card is metal. The Altitude Reserve weight is 5/8 oz.
This makes it slightly heavier than the Sapphire Reserve which weighs 1/2 oz. The new metal Amex Platinum is heavier at .7 oz. and the Ritz Carlton Visa Infinite is a full 1 oz! Of all of those cards, I still think Amex has found the perfect medium of weight/feel with their .7 oz card.
Altitude Reserve Unboxing – Conclusion
The Altitude Reserve isn’t the most impressive card, but it looks really nice and U.S. Bank spent a lot of effort on the box design. Overall this card is a winner because of its bonus categories and travel credit, although it won’t be for everyone.
Did you apply for the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve? If so, has your card come yet? What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments!
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[…] This is a great bonus with easy requirements and it is available nationwide. You can usually do these US Bank bonuses about once a year. There’s no fee if you have a credit card with them and go for the Gold Checking account, but you can also waive the fee on the Silver Checking with little work. Another plus is that having a checking account with US Bank opens the way to get the Altitude Reserve Card. […]
I don’t care either but based on the number of people that were excited about the Amex Platinum going to metal there is definitely a group out there that cares. I got mine today and it was interesting you had to call to activate and it was not automated. The associate was really pushing the mobile pay, he said, “I’ll hold on the line while you add the card to your phone.” Since I had apple double authentication for the iphone SE (which apparently goes to my wife) I told him I would call back. I added it later but didn’t need to call, got an email from US Bank that both devices were activated. Going to try at my grocery store that takes mobile (but the 3x not that much better than Amex PRG 2x, so not that big of a deal to me). Could be a bigger deal for Best Buy or something like that to get 3x in person. Will be nice to get 3x on a lot of the $4,500 minimum spend required.
Really? A card arrives in the mail and this deserves a post? It’s a credit card. Metal? Plastic? So what. Shawn, I like the useful posts and all, but this is just fluff. I just do not see the point of this.
He just wanted to make sure he was first on all the reporting for this new card ( which he has been so far – based upon the few blogs I follow), from rumor of its release to the unboxing.
Maybe next, we’ll get a video of the merchant comment on the weight of the card & how firm it feels in her hand. …or maybe as it’s inserted into a card reader for the first time!!
Some people do like these types of posts and I try to make it clear in the title what it is about so people who aren’t interested can avoid them. I definitely appreciate the feedback.
Got my approval today. went to US Bank Altitude reward site and checked opportunities using points. Quite the selection of products and travel. Compared against the rental car I already have reserved in Fairbanks AK for 10 days vacation later this year… The cost is 710.00 on costco travel, more on other sites, but only 37,000 points using US bank Altitude points. If I only need to use 37K points to save 700 $$, and still have the travel credits to use, I can see a true total savings of 1K. think this card is a great find and I am pleased to have been approved.
I can care less about the box. Gonna be in the recycling bin. I care more about the card and the benefits that come with it. It can be shipped to me via a drone, for all I care.
Give me a 5% cash back card and they could print it on cardboard for all I care.
Are you planning to pay utils and earn 3x on mobile wallet?
I am planning to pay whatever I can through mobile wallet (that doesn’t otherwise earn 3X/5X with other cards).