US Bank Authorized User Offer
There is a new US Bank authorized user offer that hit my mailbox over the last week or so. I'll admit it, at first glance, I was super excited. I caught myself thinking, finally, someone else has gotten into the authorized user bonus offer game in a big way. It is a monopoly American Express has had for a while. The number seemed juicy too, promising up to $200! That excitement quickly wore off as I opened the flyer and saw more of the details. This US Bank authorized user offer ended up being laughably bad. Let's take a look at the details.
Details Of The Offer
Here are the details for the US Bank authorized user offer on one of our business cards:
- Enroll by August 31st
- Go to usbankcardoffers.com or call 833-498-5626. (There is a code so this appears to be targeted)
- Spend at least $5,000 per new employee card by September 30th, 2024 and get a $50 statement credit
- Can add up to 4 employee cards, for up to $200 in statement credits.
There is a lot to dislike about this authorized user offer. First up, the spend required ($5,000) for a measly $50 credit is pretty bad. That is only a return of 1% extra on those charges after all. Then you throw in the fact that you get like 45 days to complete the spend and it gets even worse. I have never seen an authorized user offer that gives you less than 3 months to complete the spend, with some giving as much as 6 months. If you accept this offer towards the end of the time frame the authorized user actually has less than 30 days to complete the requirements. Throw in the fact that you actually need the card in hand to do the spend, and it gets even worse. That could be a few weeks to spend $5K, all for a tiny 1% bonus. What?!
Now, add in the fact that you can add up to 4 authorized users for this offer, but you still have the same compacted time frame to complete each of these. It seems like they wanted to be able to post $200 on the outside of the mailer without giving most anyone a chance to actually earn the $200.
US Bank Authorized User Offer: ToP Thoughts
I have always been a big fan of authorized user offers, especially on business cards. It is why I had a big smile when I saw the promises of $200 sitting in my mailbox. That smile turned upside down pretty quickly when I saw the terms of the US Bank authorized user offer. The spend requirement for a lower end payout was laughable on its own, but then you notice the timeframe given to complete it and can't help but throw it right in the trash.
Hopefully this is just the beginning of things to come and US Bank sees how little this offer moves the needle. If they want to encourage people to add authorized user then they need to come up with something a bit better than this.
Let me know what you think about this authorized user offer, or if you got one yourself, over in the ToP Facebook Group.
