Solid 0% APR offer, but little long-term rewards value

The U.S. Bank Business Shield™ Visa® Card is a 0% APR card with no annual fee. If you’re a business owner who wants to lower interest charges, you can use this card to transfer an existing debt balance or finance new purchases. The tradeoff? You’ll get little long-term rewards value.

U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa overview

Additional info about the U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa Card

This card’s primary benefit is its 0% introductory APR for purchases and balance transfers, but there are a few more perks for longer-term value:

• $50 annual statement credit: Spend at least $5,000 each account anniversary year on travel booked through the U.S. Bank Travel Center, and you can earn a $50 statement credit to your account.

• U.S. Bank Spend Management: Access U.S. Bank’s platform for business owners. You can monitor and track spending across your account (including employee cards), integrate your card account with your accounting software, set permissions and spending limits, and more.

• Purchase Security: Protect your eligible purchases against damage or theft for the first 90 days. This covers repairs, replacement, or reimbursement up to the purchase price with a $10,000 maximum per claim and $50,000 maximum per cardholder.

How to earn rewards

This card is primarily a 0% APR card, so you won’t earn many rewards. 

Still, you can get 5% cash back on prepaid airfare, hotel bookings, and car rentals booked through the U.S. Bank Travel Center. If you spend $5,000 annually through the Travel Center — enough to earn the $50 annual statement credit — you could get up to $250 cash back. Combined with the $50 statement credit, that’s significant savings. However, you’ll need to be willing to book all of your business travel through the portal.

How to redeem rewards

You can redeem your cash back rewards as a statement credit to your account or for a deposit into a U.S. Bank savings, checking, or money market account. 

Minimum redemption amounts may vary, but you can also use Real-Time Rewards to redeem cash back toward a specific eligible purchase.

Your points won’t expire as long as your account remains active. To keep your account active, you should have rewards, a balance, or purchase activity at least once every 12 billing cycles.

Who is the U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa Card best for?

The U.S. Bank Business Shield card is best for business owners seeking a 0% APR introductory period. 

You can use the 0% APR on balance transfers if you have debt you want to pay off without interest. Transfer your debt within 30 days of opening your account, and be prepared to pay a balance transfer fee equal to 5% of the amount you transfer or $5, whichever is greater.

The 0% APR on purchases, on the other hand, can be helpful for financing a large purchase you have coming up or for floating your expenses over the intro period without interest. 

If you take advantage of either 0% APR offer, make sure you have a plan to pay down your balance by the time the intro period ends. Any amount you have left to pay after that will start accruing interest at your card’s regular ongoing APR. 

This card may not be right for you if your primary goal is earning rewards on your business spending. While you can get cash back on U.S. Bank Travel Center purchases, there are plenty of other business credit cards with great rewards on all travel or on everyday expenses like office supplies, cell phone providers, dining out, gas stations, and more. 

Some other business rewards cards also offer introductory 0% APRs — so you can use them to pay down your debt and then focus on earning rewards long-term.  

U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa Card pros

• No annual fee: You won’t pay any annual fee to own this card. 

• 0% APR introductory period: The U.S. Bank Business Shield is competitive among other 0% APR business cards with no annual fee. It has a long intro period and offers a 0% APR on both balance transfers and new purchases.

• $50 annual statement credit: If you can book your business travel through the U.S. Bank Travel Center, you can benefit from this card’s $50 statement credit after you spend $5,000 on eligible prepaid trips each year. 

U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa Card cons

• Limited rewards: You won’t get many long-term rewards on your spending with the U.S. Bank Business Shield card. The only rewards category offered is 5% cash back on prepaid travel through the U.S. Bank Travel Center. If you want to earn rewards on business travel, this could limit your booking options.

• No welcome bonus: You can benefit from this card’s 0% APR as a new cardholder, but you won’t be able to earn any bonus cash via a welcome bonus offer. Plenty of other business cash-back cards with 0% APRs have welcome bonuses. 

• Balance transfer fee: Many 0% APR cards charge fees for balance transfers. With this card, you’ll pay the greater of 5% of your transferred balance or $5.

Where can you use the U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa Card?

As a Visa card, the U.S. Bank Business Shield can be used anywhere Visa is accepted online or in-store. Visa is one of the largest and most widely-accepted card networks in the world, so you shouldn’t have a problem using it for your business spending.

However, this card does charge foreign transaction fees. You’ll pay an extra 3% fee on top of your purchase when you use it abroad. If your business frequently takes you on international trips, look instead for a card with no foreign transaction fees.  

How to make a U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa Card payment

• Log into your online account or U.S. Bank’s mobile app to make a payment. You can use a central billing account to make one payment for all cards, including employee cards, on your account. 

• Send payments by mail to: U.S. Bank P.O. Box 790408 St. Louis, MO 63179

U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa Card customer service info

• Customer service is available 24/7

• Phone number: 866-485-4545 or call the number on the back of your card

• Chat online with a representative after logging into your account or mobile app from 8 am to 8 pm, Monday-Friday Central Time

• Visit a U.S. Bank branch during business hours

• U.S. Bank login page

Alternative cards to consider

The U.S. Bank Business Shield Visa has a great 0% APR offer for new cardholders. But if it’s not right for your business, here are some similar no-annual-fee cards to consider.

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

Why we like it: The Amex Blue Business Cash card has an introductory APR for new purchases only. Combining that benefit with its cash welcome bonus could help you save significantly on a major upcoming purchase for your business. Long-term, you can use this card to earn a flat 2% cash back on everything you buy. You’ll only earn the full 2% on the first $50,000 spent annually, though. After that, every purchase earns 1% cash back. 

Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Why we like it: With a valuable cash welcome bonus and an introductory APR on new purchases, the Ink Business Unlimited is another good option for financing a large business purchase. You’ll also earn long-term rewards with this card. Each purchase earns 1.5% cash back, with no cap on how much you can earn. 

Ink Business Cash® Credit Card

Why we like it: The Ink Business Cash has a similarly solid intro APR period and cash welcome bonus, but its long-term rewards work a bit differently. First, get a great 5% cash back on up to $25,000 spent annually at office supply stores and on internet, cable, and phone services. You’ll also get 2% cash back on dining and gas purchases up to the same $25,000 cap. Outside of those categories, everything else earns 1% cash back.

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