U.S. Bank Business Leverage Visa Credit Card Review 2024

The U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card offers a decent cash-back opportunity for those trying to leverage rewards on specific category spending—especially in categories not often used as bonus categories. Plus, you can maximize earnings the first year with the introductory annual fee: $0 Intro Annual Fee for the first year, $95 therafter. The U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card earns 5% cash back on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Rewards Center, 2% back in the top two categories each month and 1% back per dollar on all other eligible purchases.

With no introductory APR period, the best perks of the U.S. Bank Business Leverage Visa are a lack of foreign transaction fees, free employee cards and a suite of Visa Signature travel protections. However, all of these perks and better ongoing rewards are available on other business cards, even ones with no annual fee. We believe this card is best suited to those who want to leverage the unique reward structure—perhaps as a secondary business card.

• A $0 Intro Annual Fee for the first year, $95 therafter.
• Welcome bonus: Earn $750 in rewards after spending $7,500 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening
• Earn 5% cash back on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Rewards Center, 2% back in the top two categories each month and 1% back per dollar on all other eligible purchases
• No foreign transaction fees
• No additional charge for employee cards

Earning Rewards

The U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card earns an unlimited 5% cash back on prepaid hotels and car rentals booked directly in the Rewards Center, 2% back in the top two categories each month and 1% back per dollar on all other eligible purchases. The card offers nearly 50 unique earning categories ranging from florists to plumbers. Regardless of where your business spends the most money, this card offers the opportunity to maximize your rewards. Points expire five years from the end of the quarter in which they were earned.

The U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card offers a welcome bonus: $750 in rewards after spending $7,500 in eligible purchases within the first 120 days of account opening.

Redeeming Rewards

Points earned with the Business Leverage Visa may be redeemed for cash back in the form of a statement credit or a deposit into a U.S. Bank checking or savings account. You can also redeem your points for merchandise credit, travel or gift cards through U.S. Bank’s rewards center.

Rewards Potential

To determine the rewards potential of the U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card, we considered what a sole proprietor or small business might spend in the bonus categories. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies in order to determine both annual expenses and spending averages across various categories. Because the U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card allows you to choose rewards categories, we have selected a few that may be common choices for businesses to calculate rewards earnings. However, your rewards will vary based on what bonus categories you choose.

U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card Rewards Potential
Category	Earning Rate	Estimated Annual Spend	Estimated Annual Earnings
Hotels and rental cars	5%	$2,808	140
Restaurants and insurance	2%	$7,299	146
All other purchases	1%	$26,070	261
			Total: $547.08

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• Employee cards. No extra charge for employee cards.
• Primary auto rental insurance. If you’re using a rental car for business purposes you can be covered for damage caused by theft or collision. Coverage is secondary if you’re renting a car for personal reasons.
• Travel and emergency assistance services. Get access to help with referrals medical, legal, and travel services when you need them.
• Travel accident insurance. Receive automatic coverage for you and your family when you purchase travel fares on common carriers with your card.
• Lost luggage reimbursement. If your carry-on or checked luggage and its contents are lost due to theft or misdirection by the common carrier, you can be reimbursed.
• Purchase protections. The card comes with purchase security and extended warranty protection.
• Roadside dispatch. Get access to roadside dispatch for services including towing and fuel service.

Interest Rates

• Regular APR: 21.24% - 26.24% Variable
• Purchase intro APR: N/A
• Balance transfer intro APR: N/A

Fees

• Annual fee: $0 Intro Annual Fee for the first year, $95 therafter.
• Balance transfer fee: An introductory fee of either 5% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater for balances transferred with this application. After that, either 3% of the amount of each transfer or $5 minimum, whichever is greater.
• Foreign purchase transaction fee: None

U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card vs. Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

With strong rewards, introductory 0% APR offer and no annual fee, the Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card outshines the U.S. Bank Business Leverage card. The card earns 1.5% cash back rewards on every business purchase and comes with a 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases, then a 18.49% - 24.49% variable APR applies for purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee of either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater, applies. Like the U.S. Bank Business Leverage card, the Ink Business Unlimited also offers an array of valuable benefits ranging from primary auto rental damage collision waiver coverage to extended warranty and purchase protection coverage perks.

For those wanting to maximize rewards, combining the earning powers of these two cards may make sense if the overall earnings significantly outpace both the annual fee of the U.S. Bank Business Leverage Visa Card and the complexity of juggling an extra credit card.

U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card vs. Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card

The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card offers a points reward program and plenty of additional benefits, also without an annual fee. Business Advantage Travel Rewards cardholders earn 3 points per dollar spent on car, hotel or airline travel booked through the Bank of America® Travel Center and 1.5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card also comes with a 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first 9 billing cycles, then a 18.49% - 28.49% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers applies. A balance transfer fee of 4% of the amount of each transaction applies.

Additionally, it offers a wide array of almost entirely travel-related benefits, including travel accident insurance, trip delay and trip cancellation insurance and lost luggage insurance. The card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

For those who spend significantly on travel, the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card is likely to be a better fit. Those who qualify for Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program can earn as much as 75% more rewards on every dollar spent.

U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card vs. The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card

The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card (terms apply, see rates & fees) is user-friendly with a simple reward structure. It earns 2% cash back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%. New card holders can earn a welcome bonus: $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening. It has no annual fee and offers a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a 18.49% - 26.49% variable APR applies.

If your business spends less than $50,000 per year, The Blue Business Cash might be a better choice since it earns a higher earning rate on all your purchases. If not, this card may not be the most lucrative choice.

For someone who wants an easy to manage rewards structure and has two central expense categories charged to the card, the U.S. Bank Business Leverage® Visa Signature® Card may be a worthwhile choice. However, we recommend considering other no annual fee business cards since they often feature better earning rates across all purchase categories. Or, you may want to pair this card with another to maximize the rewards you earn on business expenses.

Forbes Advisor considers a variety of criteria when assigning credit cards a rating. Cards are graded based on numerous factors, including:

• Annual fees
• Welcome bonus offers
• Ongoing earning rates
• Value of individual points or miles
• Included travel or merchant credits
• Additional cardholder benefits

Card features we expect cardholders to use the most often are weighted more heavily in our ratings. Altogether, the factors came together to provide a star rating for each individual card.

Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Credit Cards

To view rates and fees for The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card please visit this page.