US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards vs. US Bank Cash+: A Clash of Customizable Cards

In the world of credit card rewards, bigger is better. But it’s not that simple if you’re trying to choose between the US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive and the US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card.

The US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive earn 6% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined spend per quarter at two eligible retailers of your choice (from a list of 24, see drop down menu below); 3% back on up to $1,500 per quarter in an “everyday” category of your choice (including gas and electric vehicle charging stations, wholesale clubs, bills and public services) ; and 1.5% back on everything else. It comes with the following annual fees: Intro at $0 the first year, then $95.

The US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card earn 5% cash back on up to $2,000 in combined spend per quarter in two eligible categories of your choice (from a list of 12, see drop down menu below); an uncapped discount of 2% per quarter in an “everyday” category of your choice (including grocery stores, gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations, and restaurants); and 1% back on everything else. It does not charge any annual fee.

Both cards offer customizable rewards and are designed for optimizers who are willing to actively manage their card, as they will need to activate bonus categories each quarter and keep these quarterly spending caps in mind.

The US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive is technically more restrictive, since you only earn 6% at specific retailers, compared to 5% broader categories like “department stores” with the US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card. However, that 6% of retailers (both in-store and online) might be where you already spend the most: they include Walmart, Home Depot, Amazon.com, Target, and more. This could make tracking easier and maximize your rewards.

Here’s how to choose the card that’s right for you.

This map features a large list of 24 merchants eligible to earn bonuses, which can help you maximize rewards throughout the year.

Buying a new laptop from Apple? Updating your home with materials from Lowe’s or Home Depot? Taking new furniture from Ikea? These can be expensive purchases. Luckily, you can earn $360 a year by maxing out the quarterly spending cap of $1,500 on the US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive.

The ability to switch merchants each quarter will allow you to plan for expected spending. Maybe you’re heading to a Disney park over the summer or looking for a new entertainment system from Best Buy over the holidays. Simply select the merchants where you will have known the upcoming spend and plan to lock those rewards for three months.

The opportunity to earn big cashback rewards is not limited to merchants on the 6% cashback list. You can also select a daily category to earn 3% back, up to $1,500 in spending per quarter, including: bills and utilities, wholesale clubs like Sam’s Club and Costco, and l gasoline and electric vehicle charging stations. It is relatively rare to have bills included in a bonus category, which US Bank defines as home utilities, cell phone, and TV/Internet/streaming services.

The US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive offers cardholders 1.5% cashback on all non-bonus purchases. This solid base reward rate is higher than you’ll find on other cards with rotating bonus categories, and it could help make this card the one you hit the most often.

The US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive offers a bigger possible first year bonus than many other cashback cards: Get a $250 bonus after spending $2,000 on qualifying purchases within the first 120 days of account opening. This will help offset the card $95 annual fee, and it’s higher than what US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card offers.

With the US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card, you can earn a high reward rate in broader categories, rather than specific merchants. And, best of all, there are no annual fees to worry about.

The US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card allows you to select two 5% bonus categories from a list of 12 each quarter. This means more freedom to shop wherever you want.

Time to refresh that wardrobe? Instead of being stuck with just a few options, you can select both “department stores” and “select clothing stores” as two bonus categories for a quarter and get 5% back on up to $2,000 of combined spending for those three months at over 25 possible retailers, including Macy’s, Old Navy, Aeropostale, Saks Fifth Avenue and more.

Or maybe you love gadgets and the latest technology. Selecting “electronics stores” as your quarterly bonus category would mean you would qualify for the 5% rate (up to the quarterly spending cap) at over 15 popular merchants, including Apple, Best Buy and Bose.

The US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card offers 5% cash back on up to $2,000 combined spend per quarter in the two bonus categories you select. This means that if you max out this cap, you could earn up to $400 per year in these categories with the US Bank Cash+ card.

And since there’s no annual fee, that cash back stays in your pocket. By comparison, as shown above, you can earn $360 per year by maximizing the 6% quarterly spending cap with the US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive — while having the $ from the card95 annual fees payable.

Each quarter, you can select an additional daily category to earn 2% with no spending cap. Categories include grocery stores, restaurants, and gas and electric vehicle charging stations. The US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card may offer more value to people who have huge grocery bills or frequently dine out.

Both US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive and the US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card offer similar value to cardholders who can maximize their quarterly bonus earnings.

The US Bank Shopper Cash Rewards™ Visa Signature® Card – NerdWallet Exclusive will be the best choice for regular shoppers at retailers on the bonus merchant list. (However, note that if you tend to spread your spending across multiple merchants throughout the year, this may require more maintenance.) The opportunity to earn 3% in useful, everyday categories will also be attractive to many people.

The US Bank Cash+® Visa Signature® card best suited for consumers who value flexibility. Since the map offers bonus categories instead of singular bonus merchants, you will be able to shop around and find the best deals that suit you. And since there’s no annual fee, you won’t have to worry about whether you’re earning enough rewards to make it worthwhile.