topic Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues in Credit Cards

And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

xenon3030 — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 22:28:48 GMT

After several months of waiting, I could finally receive the missed 2X reward points (digital wallet), by US Bank. Today, I tried twice to book flight tickets via Southwest but I did not receive any RTR SMS to redeem the points. I opted-out and opted-in to the RTR program but there was no difference.

While the rewards program is quite appealing, using this card effectively is quite frustrating. They have severe IT or algo issues.

Besides calling them and submitting ticket, does anyone have recommendations to work with this RTR program properly?

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 03:30:50 GMT

One problem is that RTR has always been a little hit-and-miss (again IT). I thought it wasn't working then I got it for some United flight.

BTW, how do you opt in and out, I couldn't find a way? (Even though that didn't fix it for you!)

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

xenon3030 — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 03:52:50 GMT

My Rewards --> Sign-up for Real-Time Rewards --> it will let you to opt-in and opt-out from RTR.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

UncleB — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 05:03:19 GMT

I've been fortunate... the few times I've planned to redeem a travel charge using RTR it's worked, but I admit I always held my breath a bit knowing there was nothing that could be done if it didn't work. (I usually only redeem once per year - or less - so when I intend to redeem points it's quite important to me that it works.)

This is the main weakness of the AR for me. I'd much prefer to have a 'purchase eraser' type feature where I could manually cover an eligible travel charge using the dashboard, but as long as the RTR work-arounds are viable I'll keep playing along.

I'm sorry you're having this issue... hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come for AR cardholders.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

NoHardLimits — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 06:43:38 GMT

I've also been fortunate with my RTR experiences. I have my USBAR account setup to only allow for travel category RTR redemptions and it has worked quite well for my hotel stays. It consistently redeems at 1.5 cents per point when I have enough points to cover the full charge. I average about 1 redemption every 3-4 months.

For my two other US Bank cards, I allow all categories of expenses to be eligible for RTR and redeem at 1 cent per point. This allows me to work around the minimum $25 cash redemption. I average about 1 redemption every month on each card.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

G2244 — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 16:38:50 GMT

@NoHardLimits wrote:
I've also been fortunate with my RTR experiences. I have my USBAR account setup to only allow for travel category RTR redemptions and it has worked quite well for my hotel stays. It consistently redeems at 1.5 cents per point when I have enough points to cover the full charge. I average about 1 redemption every 3-4 months.

For my two other US Bank cards, I allow all categories of expenses to be eligible for RTR and redeem at 1 cent per point. This allows me to work around the minimum $25 cash redemption. I average about 1 redemption every month on each card.

Same on the settings. I have my RTR set to only trigger on travel (were I will get the max value of 4.5% cash back). Once doing that it has worked when I needed it to (a few times a year). My biggest wish for an improvement to this card would be an easier and more reliable method to get the cash back. I agree, the ideal would be to be able to just apply to a charge of your choice once it posts. Still, the value I get from the card makes all the hoop jumping and IT issues still worth the trouble.

To the OP, no idea why Southwest would not trigger it. That has worked for me in the past - of course as long as you have the cash back to cover the charge.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 18:47:47 GMT

@G2244 wrote:

To the OP, no idea why Southwest would not trigger it. That has worked for me in the past - of course as long as you have the cash back to cover the charge.

And I think you need the full amount, i.e. as if it was redeeming at 1 point = 1 cent, even though in the end it redeems at 1.5cpp. Probably another IT issue that they never bothered to address! (If I have the correct points for the actual redemption, I shouldn't be blocked because I don't have the points for a non-existent redemption!)

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

UncleB — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:35:23 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@G2244 wrote:

To the OP, no idea why Southwest would not trigger it. That has worked for me in the past - of course as long as you have the cash back to cover the charge.
And I think you need the full amount, i.e. as if it was redeeming at 1 point = 1 cent, even though in the end it redeems at 1.5cpp. Probably another IT issue that they never bothered to address! (If I have the correct points for the actual redemption, I shouldn't be blocked because I don't have the points for a non-existent redemption!)

I've been able to redeem points before when only having enough points for a 1.5ccp redemption. I know their IT can be squirrelly so my experience might not be the same as everyone else's (the anecdotal reports on this are all-over-the-place).

Also, I have no idea if this helps (or makes any difference at all) but I have my RTR notifications set so that I get a text for any/every purchase on the AR (I think there's a $10 min, but otherwise I get a text for everything). I admit it's a bit 'extra' and yes, I have to delete the texts after a shopping run, but I've never had an issue with getting a text when it mattered. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 00:47:26 GMT

@UncleB wrote:

Also, I have no idea if this helps (or makes any difference at all) but I have my RTR notifications set so that I get a text for any/every purchase on the AR (I think there's a $10 min, but otherwise I get a text for everything). I admit it's a bit 'extra' and yes, I have to delete the texts after a shopping run, but I've never had an issue with getting a text when it mattered. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That's an interesting idea. But I wonder if a travel transaction X doesn't currently give me a text, if I turn on all notifications, would I get one for X but really only for 1cpp? Guess I can try

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

UncleB — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 01:00:03 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:

Also, I have no idea if this helps (or makes any difference at all) but I have my RTR notifications set so that I get a text for any/every purchase on the AR (I think there's a $10 min, but otherwise I get a text for everything). I admit it's a bit 'extra' and yes, I have to delete the texts after a shopping run, but I've never had an issue with getting a text when it mattered. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That's an interesting idea. But I wonder if a travel transaction X doesn't currently give me a text, if I turn on all notifications, would I get one for X but really only for 1cpp? Guess I can try

That's a good question. Sadly (luckily?) I have no data points on that since it's always worked for me as it should. <knocks on wood>

I've considered adjusting my settings so that I only get the text for travel purchases, but since it's working now I figured it's best to just leave it alone. I usually use points once a year (sometimes less) so if it ever stopped working I would have to start using the 'work-around' to redeem points (not a huge problem, but I'd rather the system work organically).

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 11:30:16 GMT

@UncleB wrote:

I've considered adjusting my settings so that I only get the text for travel purchases, but since it's working now I figured it's best to just leave it alone. I usually use points once a year (sometimes less) so if it ever stopped working I would have to start using the 'work-around' to redeem points (not a huge problem, but I'd rather the system work organically).

Which work-around? Refundable tickets or something easier?

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

UncleB — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 20:23:57 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@UncleB wrote:

I've considered adjusting my settings so that I only get the text for travel purchases, but since it's working now I figured it's best to just leave it alone. I usually use points once a year (sometimes less) so if it ever stopped working I would have to start using the 'work-around' to redeem points (not a huge problem, but I'd rather the system work organically).
Which work-around? Refundable tickets or something easier?

Yep, refundable tickets or refundable prepaid car rentals (my last prepaid rental with Hertz triggered RTR at the time of the reservation). I wish there was something easier but these will be workable in a pinch. Thankfully so far I've never needed to bother, though.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

xenon3030 — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 04:27:16 GMT

The SMS issue still continues here. I did a checkout using digital wallet at a grocery store and I never received SMS to redeem points. I purchased one refundable Southwest flight ticket to double check it and still no SMS and I cancelled the flight a few hours later (I also checked AA and Jetblue and still no SMS).

I called US Bank and I submitted another ticket to investigate the issue. It would take up to a month to re-dig into it.

It might be a hidden coding issue (e.g. some specific points might not be eligible for redeeming such as SUB).

The only guide that US Bank provided was that the SMS would be sent, only if having sufficient points to redeem for a complete checkout. The partial checkout with points is not possible.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

SpaethCo — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 01:45:47 GMT

Enrolling in Real-time Rewards by itself will generate a "welcome" text message.

If you've changed mobile providers it's possible that there might be a carrier that didn't update their SMS routing accordingly.

One workaround could be to go to https://voice.google.com and sign-up for a free number. I just tested it with my Cash+ card and confirmed that I can receive US Bank text messages on my Google Voice number.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

xenon3030 — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 02:26:56 GMT

@SpaethCo wrote:
Enrolling in Real-time Rewards by itself will generate a "welcome" text message.

If you've changed mobile providers it's possible that there might be a carrier that didn't update their SMS routing accordingly.

One workaround could be to go to https://voice.google.com and sign-up for a free number. I just tested it with my Cash+ card and confirmed that I can receive US Bank text messages on my Google Voice number.

Did you receive SMS message to redeem RTR points, on your VoIP number?

I can receive SMS from US Bank for passcodes, enrolling, un-enrolling. The issue happens only for redeeming points.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

SpaethCo — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 02:54:42 GMT

@xenon3030 wrote:

Did you receive SMS message to redeem RTR points, on your VoIP number?

I can receive SMS from US Bank for passcodes, enrolling, un-enrolling. The issue happens only for redeeming points.

All my other US Bank text messages come from Short code 52643 for Apple Pay enrollments, 872265 for Account alerts, 29946 for SMS 2FA verification, and 733336 for Realtime Rewards.

The first message you get from Realtime Rewards should be "Real-Time Rewards: Welcome! You will now receive Real-Time Rewards Text Messages. Text HELP for help or STOP to opt-out. Msg&DataRatesMayApply"

If you get that text from 733336, I believe you should get the other redemption text messages. If short code 733336 ended up getting blocked it would still allow you to get all the rest of the US Bank messages but not the RTR redemption text messages.

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 03:00:47 GMT

@SpaethCo wrote:
@xenon3030 wrote:

Did you receive SMS message to redeem RTR points, on your VoIP number?

I can receive SMS from US Bank for passcodes, enrolling, un-enrolling. The issue happens only for redeeming points.
All my other US Bank text messages come from Short code 52643 for Apple Pay enrollments, 872265 for Account alerts, 29946 for SMS 2FA verification, and 733336 for Realtime Rewards.

The first message you get from Realtime Rewards should be "Real-Time Rewards: Welcome! You will now receive Real-Time Rewards Text Messages. Text HELP for help or STOP to opt-out. Msg&DataRatesMayApply"

If you get that text from 733336, I believe you should get the other redemption text messages. If short code 733336 ended up getting blocked it would still allow you to get all the rest of the US Bank messages but not the RTR redemption text messages.

I know in the past I have received RTR at Google Voice, VOIP numbers are not allowed for "main" phone number though

Re: And the issue with US Bank Altitude Reserve continues

xenon3030 — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 03:17:56 GMT

So, that could be a good workaround. I would wait till the ongoing ticket gets closed and they complete their investigations. Afterward, I test the RTR program using VoIP.

It seems that the RTR SMS program was done in different way that the rest of US Bank SMS messaging system. In my view, they are a mess, in terms of IT and programming