On the heels of my publication of the US Bank Altitude Reserve Complete Guide., Doctor of Credit asked an important question: Will the card offer 3X for Samsung Pay MST purchases?
@FrequentMiler Also what about MST (looppay) purchases? Do you have full access to the guide to benefits or similar?
— Doctor Of Credit (@Drofcredit) April 20, 2017
For review, the US Bank Altitude Reserve card (to be released in May) will offer 3X points for travel and mobile wallet payments. Points will be worth 1 cent each when redeemed for cash, or 1.5 cents each when redeemed for travel. This makes the 3X categories worth either 3 cents or 4.5 cents per dollar, depending upon how the points are used. See also: Surprising details about the US Bank Altitude Reserve.
What is MST and why do we care? (3X everywhere)
MST is a Samsung Pay technology, previously known as LoopPay, which sends a magnetic signal from a phone to an old fashioned credit card swipe reader to make it think that a credit card swipe transaction has happened. Surprisingly (to me, anyway), MST is known to work even with terminals that accept EMV (as long as they still support old fashioned swipes as well).
This is huge because it means that, unlike rivals Apple Pay and Android Pay, Samsung Pay can work nearly anywhere. It will work with NFC (near field communication) if present or with MST otherwise. This means that US Bank’s Altitude Reserve (which offers 3X points for mobile wallet payments) would very nearly be a “3X everywhere” card, for in-person payments, via Samsung Pay. That is, it would be if the card really offers 3X for MST payments.
Unfortunately for many of us, Samsung Pay is available only with Samsung phones.
The Answer: Yes, 3X for LoopPay / MST
After Randy Petersen’s huge interview with US Bank, I had a chance to ask followup questions. One of the questions I asked was about Samsung Pay / MST / LoopPay, as follows:
Question: What happens if someone pays with LoopPay (technology used with Samsung Pay)? Do those purchases count for 3X? These devices use MST (magnetic secure transmission) to simulate a credit card swipe.
Answer: LoopPay will earn 3X
There you have it.
More about MST from Samsung Support
What is MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission)?
Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) is a technology that emits a magnetic signal that mimics the magnetic strip on a traditional payment card. MST sends a magnetic signal from your device to the payment terminal’s card reader (to emulate swiping a physical card without having to upgrade the terminal’s software or hardware). MST technology is accepted at nearly all payment terminals with a card reader. Some payment terminals may require software updates. Simply select a card from Samsung Pay, and transmit the payment information by moving your device within an inch of the payment terminal. Your transaction and payment information will be kept private and secure with the use of tokenization. MST is more secure than using a traditional payment card and is as secure as paying with Near Field Communication (NFC).
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[…] we’ve noted before in discussing US Bank’s Altitude Reserve mobile payments bonus, those with Samsung Pay are in position to maximize this offer quite easily. As Samsung Pay works […]
[…] While we don’t usually post hard-to-find clearance deals, we did post one a few weeks ago that had the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 down to $199 and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge at $399 at many stores. It appears that Walmart is continuing to clearance out some of the older Samsung phones: a user on Slickdeals reported finding the Verizon Samsung Galaxy S6 bundled with a Samsung Level Box Mini Bluetooth speaker for $149. The Galaxy S6 will work with Samsung Pay / Loop Pay. This means you could essentially get 3X almost everywhere with the US Bank Altitude Reserve. Read more about how Samsung Pay / LoopPay works. […]
I’ve never had a smart phone, nor felt the need, so if Samsung Pay attracts me it’s strictly for mercenary purposes. I’ve already noticed a number of banks now include mobile wallet transactions among bonus activity requirements. Could you link an Ink Cash to Samsung Pay and go visit Staples? Only Samsung phones include this? What’s the least expensive Samsung product with this feature? Do you need a phone contract to access the feature, or will it work with WiFi?
Only Samsung phones include Samsung pay which works with regular swipe terminals. Other modern phones include Apple Pay or Android Pay, both of which require contactless payment terminals.
I don’t know whether or not Ink Cash is specifically supported with Samsung Pay.
I burrowed down into the Chase website in the meantime, where it says among Chase products Samsung Pay supports the same cards as Apple & android pay systems. That means business and personal debit cards, both Freedoms, plain Sapphire & CSP but not CSR, and Slate. No business cards, per the website, but of course there are the quarterly 5% episodes with Freedom.
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[…] but with the launch of the US Bank Altitude Reserve and the ability to earn 3X on that card with Samsung’s Samsung Pay/LoopPay/MST, we thought some readers may be interested in a clearance sale on Samsung phones: select Walmart […]
How can they give 3x on LoopPay? If it mimics a magnetic swipe, how will they know you used LoopPay?
I think that Samsung Pay interfaces with the bank and gets a one-time credit card number to use for the swipe.
[…] Frequent Miler was able to ask John Steward (president of Retail Payments at U.S. Bank) if MST or Lo…. This is huge news, that means this card will earn 3x points (worth 4.5¢ towards travel) per $1 spent. […]
How about samsung pay working at simon mall ?
Now one 10 k purchase if it works, ill be covering my annual fee
Yeah I’m curious if this will work. I’m also waiting to see if there’s a way to pay utility bills with this card for 3x point.
YMMV I guess. I am not sure it will work at places that verify card and ID. Not a MST limitation as much as a process problem.
Weird in my experience Samsung Mst has worked 99% of the time. One place it did not work the terminal was very old. Otherwise, sometimes you get a card read error the first time you try but the second time it works. Of course you can’t use them in places where you insert the card into the machine like at the pump. Although with Samsung gear S3 mst I managed a back in some pumps if you insert a card like a Target red card and have the watch transmit some pumps like shell will recognize it. (I do this to get Samsung reward points)
Any idea on online pay like Amazon or payments via PayPal?
In my experience Samsung Pay MST is very iffy, it works at maybe 40% of store terminals, and feels awkward when they have to re-enter the payment mode as you’re fidgeting with your phone.