"Buy-and-hold, long-term, all-market-index strategies, implemented at rock-bottom cost, are the surest of all routes to the accumulation of wealth" - John C. Bogle
Well, there is an annual fee which is a showstopper for me. I would not keep the card long-term because of this.
You must bank with BOA in order to truly get 1.5%. Banking with BOA might have its own additional costs.
I like the fact that it has a smart chip, though.
If I charged $450 in gas (total gas spending per quarter for the one Prius we have; the other car is 100%electric) - and $1050 in groceries each quarter, and accounting for the 50% bonus when depositing to BOA, that would translate to an additional 3% on gas and an additional 1.5% on groceries. Which is $54 per year for gas, and $63 for groceries. Ie. $117. It would pay the annual fee and a little bit more. Except that Costco won't take this card for either gas or groceries, so I probably wouldn't be able to reach this level of rewards.
You can get a 1.5% card from FIA, Fidelity VISA, which no fee. And I got the chip on it, too. If you are a big spender it goes to 2% over a certain amount, with no limit unlike the BOA card.
BOA = FIA actually. But the FIA card is a better deal, IMO.
BofA's Travel Rewards card is free and comes with Chip & Signature.
1.5 points per dollar which is applied towards previous travel purchases on their card for the previous 12 months.
3 points per dollar if you book travel through their travel portal.
10% annual bonus if you have a BofA account.
Everybody's got a plan until they get punched in the face - Mike Tyson
I actually have this card and I find it very useful. I think that the annual fee is waived if you have a certain minimum balance in your accounts (as I have yet been charged an annual fee).
the $75 Annual Fee will be waived each year if: (1) you have a combined balance of $50,000 or more of average daily balances for the month, or month-end balances in deposit accounts and/or eligible investment balances (excluding 401(k) or other employer sponsored plans, and 529 plans) with Bank of America or its affiliates; or, (2) you are a U.S. Trust® client at the time we review your account.
They'll waive the annual fee if you're a Platinum Privileges member by having at least $50,000 in either BoA banking or Merrill Edge investment accounts. You can think of it as a 4.5% gas cash-back, 3% groceries, 1.5% everything else with the 50% bonus for redeeming into a BoA account. They'll also give you 30 free Stock/ETF trades a month on Merrill Edge with BoA Platinum Privileges.
I had an older card that was converted to this. I never once used it and converted it to something else when BoA introduced an alternative.
As others have noted, you can get free cards paying more than 1% cash back elsewhere. The American Express Blue Cash Everyday card gives you 3% cash back at supermarkets with no annual fee, while the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card gives you 6% cash back at supermarkets with an annual fee of $75. I live in Manhattan and don't drive, but I understand that there are cards that match if not exceed the gas rewards on this card (people talk a lot about a card from PenFed, but I know very little about it).
I guess if you really, really don't want to carry more than one card, this one might be worth a look, but if you're willing to carry two or three cards you can get more cash back for lower (or no) fees and without having to bank with BoA.
I'm a CapOne Quicksilver user. 1.5% back on everything no fee and rewards automatically credited to my statement in real time. I love it.
"While some mutual fund founders chose to make billions, he chose to make a difference." - Dedication to Jack Bogle in 'The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing'.
I found this card interesting because it seems to have broken the 1.5% cash rewards ceiling for VISA cards.
"Buy-and-hold, long-term, all-market-index strategies, implemented at rock-bottom cost, are the surest of all routes to the accumulation of wealth" - John C. Bogle
When did it go to 50% bonus? I bank with B of A and have their 1-2-3 Visa rewards card; 1% all, 2% groceries, 3% gas, +10% when redeemed into B of A checking account (and why not, since I already bank with them?). But mine doesn't have an annual fee, and I'm only getting about $100-125/year in rewards from the card anyway, so it's probably not worth it for me to pay the fee for this version, even if it's available to me.
"What was true then is true now. Have a plan. Stick to it." -- XXXX, _Layer Cake_ |
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I survived my first downturn and all I got was this signature line.
Clever_Username wrote:When did it go to 50% bonus? I bank with B of A and have their 1-2-3 Visa rewards card; 1% all, 2% groceries, 3% gas, +10% when redeemed into B of A checking account (and why not, since I already bank with them?). But mine doesn't have an annual fee, and I'm only getting about $100-125/year in rewards from the card anyway, so it's probably not worth it for me to pay the fee for this version, even if it's available to me.
The fee version of the card has the "Privileges" label added to it.
I use this card for gas and groceries. Another nice thing about this card is that there are sometimes deals (called BankAmeriDeals) which give more cashback than the usual (for instance, there was a recent deal for 10% cashback at Starbuck's).
I know that people complain about B of A's customer service, but I have had nothing but good service from them in the 15 years I have banked with them.