Altitude Reserve Mobile Wallets Issue

There has been an ongoing Altitude Reserve mobile wallets issue that US Bank seems to have no idea on how to fix. Over the past 3-4 months the Altitude Reserve has been earning 1x on mobile wallet purchases instead of the 3x it should be. That is a missing 3% in return on that spend, since the points can be worth up to 1.5 cents each. Which is no small issue if you use mobile wallet often. The weird thing is it seems to be happening to some accounts and not others. No rhyme or reason with this one.

What Is Happening?

For some reason unbeknownst to me, everyone else, and even US Bank, their system has gone haywire rolling into the new year. A process that has worked without issue for years no longer functions properly. For some reason the coding has changed in their system and it no longer recognizes mobile wallet purchases as such. That is leaving cardholders short changed on their earnings each month, since at least December of 2023.

Statements continue to cut with the wrong earnings shown which is completely unacceptable. I don't care if you need to manually credit them or what, the cardholders should be made whole each month.

Does A CFPB Complaint Help?

You might be thinking that US Bank probably just doesn't know about the Altitude Reserve mobile wallets issue, right? That isn't exactly the case as you can see from myFICO member longtimelurker‘s CFPB complaint response. (A CFPB complaint is a way for us to fight back a bit against financial institutions. It is one way to almost guarantee a response when you are getting nowhere with a bank.)

We received your request for assistance from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns regarding rewards points. Allow us to begin by saying that we are committed to the products and services we offer, but more importantly, the customers we serve each day. We understand that you have concerns with the mobile wallet rewards points that you are receiving. Please allow us this opportunity to provide you with additional information regarding this matter.

We were made aware at the end of December and into January, mobile wallet transactions weren’t appropriately being defined as mobile purchases. This issue prevented U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Visa cardmembers from earning the proper rewards points for these transactions. We are working to resolve the issue and ensure cardmembers are awarded the designated rewards they earned for their mobile wallet transactions.

Our records show on February 13, we mailed you the enclosed letter explaining that we are still researching this issue and will contact you by mail as soon as our research is complete. Please rest assure that you will be awarded the correct number of rewards points for your mobile wallet transactions once this issue is fixed.

We have taken the time to review the recorded telephone calls on January 23, and February 7, for verification of accuracy and quality. We believe the representatives conducted themselves in a professional manner and provided information to the best of their ability. As mentioned in your correspondence, we can confirm that you were given 5,000 rewards points as a gesture of appreciation for your business. We reviewed the call on January 26, and can confirm the representative did not understand your concerns in a timely manner. We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this matter has created for you. We expect our employees to be professional and knowledgeable at all times. Please refer to the enclosed letter mentioned above that was mailed in response to the research request the agent opened for you.

We apologize for any misunderstanding that may have occurred. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused for you. Please reach out to us directly at 888-342-5733 with case number XXXXX if you have further questions or concerns related to this response. For additional account questions, please contact our Cardmember Service department at 844-357-2015 (we accept relay calls).

This means that US Bank knows there is a problem, but do not have a fix, or a way to make people's accounts whole. There have also been posts about this entire situation on reddit if you want to read further.

What About Other Compensation?

While US Bank does not seem to have any clue on what is causing this Altitude Reserve mobile wallets issue, some cardholders are receiving compensation for the pain it has caused. If you reach out and express your frustration and aggravation (in a respectful way) they will likely give you courtesy points. My buddy was able to get 15,000 points. Others have reported receiving 5,000 points. That is the bare minimum I would accept.

The best way to go about this is to call in and report the issue. You could then ask for some type of compensation for the hassle and missing points. Hopefully you get an agent that is able and willing to help there. If they offer you only 5,000 points I would say something like: that is nice but 10,000 or 15,000 feels more appropriate.

Altitude Reserve Mobile Wallets Issue: ToP Thoughts

Having points not post properly is not a unique issue to US Bank. We have seen it in the past with American Express etc., but they didn't take what is going on 4 months to figure it out. This is especially bizarre since this isn't a new product or earning rate. The bugs should have already been worked out!

Hopefully they get these Altitude Reserve mobile wallets issue fixed soon. I would reach out and request courtesy points if you have been caught up in all of this. After that, I wouldn't use my card again until it is fixed. Who knows if they ever properly compensate people for their missing points after all. No reason to continue throwing good spend in after the bad.

Let me know if you have been having problems with mobile wallet purchases with your US Bank Altitude Reserve card over in the ToP Facebook Group.