US Bank & Korean Air Launch The Worst $450 Annual Fee Card I’ve Ever Seen

Premium rewards cards are all the rage nowadays. Cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card and American Express Platinum Card® offer perks and bonus categories that more than justify their hefty annual fees, in my opinion.

I’m always excited when a new premium credit card is introduced, since I hope it will have unique benefits that make the card worthwhile… and then there’s the new Korean Air SkyPass Select Visa Signature Card, issued by US Bank.

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Details of Korean Air’s new $450 annual fee card

The new SkyPass Select Visa Signature Card has a $450 annual fee and offers:

• A welcome bonus of 30,000 miles after spending $3,000 within the first three months of account opening
• A $200 annual statement credit on travel purchases (applied automatically towards airline, car rental, or hotel purchases)
• A TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit every four years
• 2 Korean Air Lounge passes every year (valid in North America and Seoul only)
• 2 Korean Air in-flight duty free vouchers of $25 each (each only redeemable on a purchase of $50 or more)
• $100 discount on a Korean Air ticket, valid for 90 days from when it’s issued, and some fares may not qualify

Those are the perks, and then here are the rewards the card offers on spend:

• 2x miles on Korean Air purchases
• 2x miles on airline ticket, car rental, and hotel purchases
• 1x miles on all other purchases
• 10,000 bonus miles every cardmember year where you spend $35,000

Just how bad is this card?

Usually if I’m not a fan of a card I’ll simply say that I think it could make sense for a certain type of consumer, even if it doesn’t make sense for most. However, in this case I think the card makes sense for… just about no one? This card is so spectacularly bad that I’m almost amused.

Let’s really call this a $250 annual fee card, after you subtract the $200 annual statement credit from the $450 annual fee, given that it’s easy enough to use. For that you’re getting a Global Entry fee credit once every four year (many of us have more of those than we can use), two restrictive Korean Air Lounge passes, two restrictive Korean Air duty free vouchers, and a restrictive $100 Korean Air flight discount.

Then the card doesn’t even have a compelling rewards structure, as you earn at most 2x miles per dollar spent in select categories, and 10,000 bonus miles when you spend $35,000 per year.

You can also redeem Ultimate Rewards points for travel in Korean Air first class

This $450 annual fee card offers:

• A welcome bonus of 50,000 points upon completing minimum spend (which can be converted into 50,000 Korean Air miles)
• A $300 annual travel credit (that will automatically be applied towards virtually any travel purchase)
• Triple points on dining and travel
• A Priority Pass™ membership that will get you access to Korean Air Lounges in North America and Seoul, just like the lounge passes offered by Korean Air, except you can bring two guests
• A TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit every four years

I understand some card issuers create niche products that won’t appeal to everyone, but I truly think US Bank and Korean Air have created a card that makes sense for no one. That takes effort.

Does anyone have a different take on Korean Air’s new premium credit card?

(Tip of the hat to Doctor Of Credit)