U.S. Bank Credit Card Approval Odds (Suggested Credit Score Given)

Short Answer

While U.S. Bank representatives could not provide information about its credit card approval process or its credit score requirements, you’ll have the best chances of being approved for a U.S. Bank credit card if your credit score is 660 or greater. If you have poor credit, you may want to consider applying for the U.S. Bank Platinum Visa or the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card. For more details, see below.

U.S. Bank Credit Card Approval Odds

U.S. Bank offers a variety of credit cards — from premium status cards to travel cards and cards with cash back offers. Upon submitting your application, U.S. Bank will review your credit report and stated income, but U.S. Bank customer service representatives could not provide specifics on its credit card approval process.

We were, however, able to find some information on approval odds for general-purpose credit cards — like those offered by U.S. Bank — from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

In its August 2019 publication titled The Consumer Credit Card Market, the CFPB stated that more than 80% of “superprime” credit card applicants (those with credit scores of 720 or greater) are approved for general-purpose credit cards. “Prime” applicants (those with scores between 660 and 719) have an approval rate of around 60%, “near-prime” applicants (those with scores between 620 and 659) have an approval rate of just under 40%, and “subprime” and “deep subprime” applicants (those with scores between 580 and 619 and those with scores below 580, respectively) are approved for general-purpose credit cards less than 20% of the time.

In general, banks and credit card companies like to see an established credit history with no record of late payments. You may want to review your credit report before applying for a credit card so you know what to expect. You can request a free copy of each of your credit reports (from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) once per year from AnnualCreditReport.com.

Options for Applicants With Poor Credit

If you have less-than-ideal credit, U.S. Bank customer service representatives recommend that you apply for the U.S. Bank Platinum Visa or the U.S. Bank Cash+ Visa Signature Card — both of which offer balance transfers. If you’re approved, you can take advantage of an interest-free period to pay down debt and boost your credit score.