Good news for those of you who, like me, jumped on the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa for that sweet 4% cashback! There was initially an announcement that the perk of 100 free trades per year through U.S. Bancorp Investments would be axed in February 2026, along with some shuffling of their investment affiliates. This would have impacted anyone using the brokerage account associated with the card, especially those who made regular trades.

However, it looks like U.S. Bank is shifting gears! The latest update indicates they're actually moving towards fee-free trading for ETFs, stocks, and mutual funds. So, while the original "100 free trades" offer is technically going away, it's being replaced by something even better: potentially unlimited free trades!

This is a big win for Smartly cardholders because it eliminates a potential downside. Many of us likely maintain the brokerage account with at least $100k to keep the card active but don't actively trade, so this change probably won't affect you much. But now, if you do want to dabble in investing, you can do so without worrying about those pesky trading fees eating into your returns. Always nice to see a potential negative turn into a positive!