How to get your annual fees waived on US Bank Credit Cards

Thus far on this blog we’ve gone over how to apply for and get benefits from credit card companies under the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA). One of the best aspects of that law is that most credit card companies will waive annual fees on credit cards, even rewards credit cards. We’ve seen how to get annual fees waived on American Express cards, Chase cards, Citi cards, Capital One cards, and Barclaycard cards. Today, we’ll go over how to get those fees waived on our US Bank cards.

Disclaimer: Before I get into the meat of this article, I want to issue a warning. One of our astute and loyal readers, @Benji, along with some others, have noted that some companies are stingier with waiving annual fees than other; for instance, it seems that no one has had a problem getting their benefits w/ American Express, but many other have had problems with Chase and Citi. With each recommendation I give you, (any with any recommendation you read on the internet), your mileage may vary (YMMV). That being said, let’s move on to how to do it with these cards.

          

US Bank, in my opinion, has some of the weaker card options of the major banks, but does have some standouts. My first US Bank card was the REI visa card (all are non-affiliate links). I love REI, but other than 5% back at REI, doesn’t offer a lot of other benefits. During my most recent app-o-rama (to be discussed in an upcoming post!), I applied for two other US Bank cards; the Avianca Lifemiles Visa Signature card and the Club Carlson Premier Visa Signature card. I will go over those cards in a soon upcoming post.

I was curious about SCRA benefits on these, because, although the Lifemiles card has the annual fee waived the first year ($75 thereafter), the Club Carlson has a $75 annual fee that is not waived the first year. (the REI card has no annual fee). I emailed US Bank about SCRA benefits, and received an email,below:

Account Ending in: 6482

Dear Andrew Sheep:

Good morning and thank you for contacting U.S. Bancorp Service Center, Inc. via our Website.

We thank you for your dedication and service to our country, Andrew, and appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance to you. To see if your account qualifies for benefits provided by the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act, please submit a request for SCRA benefits and include a copy of your active duty orders. You can fax this information to 866-568-7729 (701-461-4022), or mail this information to the following address:

Cardmember Service
Attn: Servicemembers
P.O. Box 6352
Fargo, ND 58125-6352

In addition, our records indicate that your account is set up to receive the Annual Account Summary online at usbank.com.

The 2013 Annual Account Summary is now available online. You can view the Annual Account Summary online by:

        Logging in to Internet Banking,
        Select the Messages link on the left hand side of the page,
        Select the message dated 02/04/2014, with a Subject of 2013 Annual Account Summary,
        Select the View Annual Account Summary link in the message,
       
The Annual Account Summary is available online for 180 days. Also, you may save and print a PDF format of the Annual Account Summary as many times as needed.

You are a valued cardmember, Andrew, and we appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance. Have a nice day!

Sincerely,

Omni R.
Cardmember Service Representative

This is great! You just need to copy your active duty orders, or get a letter from your CO, and either mail or fax it to 1-866-568-7729 to receive your SCRA benefits from US Bank.

 

Has anyone tried yet?

 ADDITION: On the original I pasted the letter I received from Citi, not from US Bank…sorry! 🙂