Bogleheads.org

I've been checking out Bing because of this thread. I see people talking about rewards, and I signed up and have already earned a couple of hundred points, but what can you get for them, really? Yeah, I see Amazon gift cards and a couple of other small things, but is it possible to earn enough rewards over time to cash out for, say, a Surface laptop? Or at least get a decent credit towards purchasing one?

I've been reasonably happy with both BoA and Merrill, but I'm mostly interested in the credit card rewards. If those went away, I'd probably close my BoA and Merrill accounts and consolidate those assets with my existing assets at Charles Schwab.

heartwood wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 4:24 pmedit: I'm using a chromebook witht teh Chrome browser.

Are you suggesting that a computer made my Google, running a browser made by Google, would make it difficult to use a search engine other than Google?

No, bbrock. The BBR is an older card that hasn't been offered to new applicants in years. The gimmick was that you would earn $25/quarter ($30, if you had a BoA checking or savings account) if you paid at least the minimum balance on time every month. The trick, then, was to spend a small amount on the card (around $5/month, or $15/quarter) so you would actually make your spend back and more.

The CCR is unaffected by the discontinuation of the BBR.

The Better Balance Rewards cards are getting discontinued on 5/16/23 and replaced with the Unlimited Cash Rewards, but it sounds like the better card is actually the Custom Cash Rewards? I'll ask to product change to the CCR but only after collecting the $20 bonus that they're giving out in addition to your normal quarterly rewards. Not sure if there is a better annual fee-free card at BofA to combine with PH status? I got the letter too. I'm disappointed, but since I get roughly 190% cash back on this card (I charge a little over $5 per month and get $30 back each quarter, the equivalent of $10 back per month) I guess I'm not surprised. I agree that the CCR is a better card. I already have the Premium Rewards card, and the Unlimited Cash ...

SmileyFace, when I quit YoutubeTV I signed up for Sling, which has most of what I need for significantly less. I supplement with Paramount+ (which is constantly running deals for a free month) and Disney+, both of which have shows that I watch that aren't available anywhere else. In 2021, I signed up for a year of Hulu on a great Black Friday deal; in 2022, I signed up for a year of Peacock Premium on a great Black Friday deal. I find that I have all the TV options I need.

I dropped YouTube TV after their previous price increase. I don't know what disappoints me more: that they're continuing to raise prices, or that they have enough price-insensitive subscribers to permit them to raise prices.

I was told that you have to use the card fives times per month in order to get the rent rebate. Is this true? If so, it might be a dealbreaker. Also, which credit bureau (if known) do I unlock to apply for this? Per your billing cycle. It is true. Anywhere 5 transactions. How is it a dealbreaker? Not sure if bureau they go through. Just unlock all 3 then lock it. Can I buy $1 of gas five times at one gas station visit? It’s a dealbreaker because I generally use Mr BofA Premium Rewards card and get 2.625% back. Yes. What is the annual fee on that card? Zero The AF on the Premium Rewards card is $95. There are various credits on the card that can cause the net AF to be negative, but it's misleading to say that the AF is zero. The BoA Unlimit...

tj wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 9:38 pm

anon_investor wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 7:54 pm

Lyrrad wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 7:46 pm

anon_investor wrote: ↑Wed Mar 08, 2023 7:23 pm
She can just shop at Costco with the CCR and get 3.5% cash back on up to $2.5k/qtr. That is what we do.

Some CCR cards use Mastercard, and are not accepted at US Costco warehouses.

I dont think BoA issues new MC CCRs anymore. All 4 of my CCRs are Visas. I never saw an option for a MC version.

My former MLB card is a CCR MC.

Older CCRs are Mastercards. I have one of those. Those issued in the last few years are Visas. I have one of those too.

Chadnudj wrote: ↑Mon Mar 06, 2023 11:19 am It's been awhile, but I was a fan of Hotel Monaco. You're at 7th and F Street NW, which puts you walking distance (assuming a 1-2 mile walk is doable) to Ford's Theater, National Portrait Gallery, White House, FBI, Spy Museum, Smithsonians, Navy Museum, etc.

Just as an update, the Spy Museum has moved to a new, larger location near the Wharf. It's no longer anywhere near 7th and F.

mrspock wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 2:45 pm+1 on Schwab customer service, the best in the business especially if you are at Pinnacle level or higher,

This might be an "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" type situation, but what's "Pinnacle level"?

aj44 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 12:58 pmThere also are data points of BOA shutting down more than 4 cards per person, it hasn’t been everyone.

I currently have 4 cards and am planning to apply for a fifth, so I really wish there was better understanding of the "4 cards per person, sometimes" limit. I'm Platinum Honors, and BoA seems to be more lenient with their program members so maybe things will work out, but I wish we had more datapoints on this.

FYI, BoA changed their terms and conditions a year or so ago so that they now state that they may not approve you if you apply for a CCR if you already have one, or if you've had one in the last 24 months. This seems to refer only to the generic Customized Cash Rewards cards and not to the "affinity cards," such as the Susan G. Komen and National Trust for Historic Preservation cards that anon_investor got.

The Customized Cash Rewards card gives 2% cash back at grocery stores, which increases to 3.5% cash back with Platinum Honors status. There's a cap of $2500/quarter in spending, which applies to the total spend in both the customized (3 - 5.25%) category and the (2 - 3.5%) grocery category. Is it possible to get 2 BoA Cash Rewards Credit Cards ? :D Yes. You used to be able to apply for another one if you waited at least 24 months after your most recent application, but BoA recently changed the rules in a way that seems to prevent that. Another option is to apply for an "affinity card," which is a functionally identical credit card issued in partnership with a charity, professional association, or alumni association. BoA considers...

sailaway wrote: ↑Sat Feb 25, 2023 10:56 amThat BoA cards can get you 5.25% on gas, but I think the best you can do in groceries is 2.6%

The Customized Cash Rewards card gives 2% cash back at grocery stores, which increases to 3.5% cash back with Platinum Honors status. There's a cap of $2500/quarter in spending, which applies to the total spend in both the customized (3 - 5.25%) category and the (2 - 3.5%) grocery category.

The Unlimited Cash Rewards and Premium Rewards cards offer 1.5% cash back on everything, which increases to 2.625% with Platinum Honors status.

jb10 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 11:19 am Since Ameritrade sold to Schwab, anyone who transfers their HSA to Lively will be investing at Schwab.

Similarly, my health insurance provider, GEHA, uses HSA Bank as the custodian for my HSA funds. HSA Bank allows you to invest through TD Ameritrade, so I started doing so recently on the understanding that my HSA balances at TD Ameritrade will start showing up under my Schwab login in the near future. I also figured out how to set up my HSA Bank account to automatically roll cash into the TD Ameritrade investment account. It seems to be working pretty well so far.

Eno Deb wrote: ↑Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:27 amI'd strongly recommend to take a look at their treasury money market funds. Better yield (and some are state tax exempt) and you don't need to call in.

Yeah, I've been wondering about this. I put my CMA funds into Preferred Deposit. I had planned to do the same with the IRA I have at Merrill, but Preferred Deposit is not an option for retirement accounts, so I invested that in TTTXX instead. But I noticed that the rates for TTTXX and Preferred Deposit are usually pretty similar, and TTTXX is largely tax free. Is there any benefit to investing in Preferred Deposit over TTTXX?

dukeblue219 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:40 am

Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:32 am I pay my Federal income tax with the Preferred Rewards VISA to get 2.625% back due to having over $100K at Merrill Edge. That's the biggest advantage of this card for me. Is there any way to get 5.25% back on income tax payments? Although the $2500 per quarter limit kind of quashes that thinking I guess.

I tried with "online shopping" as my category (I have just the one custom card) and it didn't give a category bonus at pay1040 this year.

The description for the "online shopping" category on this card explicitly states, "Some classes of merchants are excluded from the Online Shopping category such as...government services and taxes...."

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX. I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA? Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA. Looks like this Preferred Deposit (HY Savings account) requires 100,000 minimum opening deposit. https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content/application/pdf/GWMOL/ICCRateSheet.pdf True, you need $100,000 minimum to open. Once it's opened, you can withdraw funds and go below that limit. In answer to your other question, I only have a Roth IRA and a CMA at Merrill, so I'm not sure how it works with a brokerage ac...

Carno wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:22 pmI'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX. I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

Found this thread just now. I'm a BoA Preferred Rewards member owing to keeping 100k+ in my BoA checking and savings accounts. I've had the BoA Cash Rewards card for many years which I use to get 5.25% cash back (mainly for online shopping). With HYSA and T-Bills paying good yields now, I am thinking of moving my cash from BoA savings (which is paying close to $0 interest/month) and thereby losing the my Preferred Rewards status. Could someone please advice if this makes sense ? I am sure I can earn much more interest in HYSA / T-Bills than getting the 75% additional cash back from the Cash Rewards credit card. I suggest that you open a Merrill Lynch account, move most of your BoA money to that account, and invest in the Preferred Deposit ...

Thanks, everyone. So, just to make sure I understand, if I apply the excess contribution as part of my 2023 contribution, and if I do it before April 15, I won't have to pay the 6% excise tax even though the form says that this "may cause a 6% excise tax," correct?

If you leave the $75 in the HSA past April 15 you will owe 6% excise tax on it. Then you can under contribute by $75 for 2023 to absorb this excess and not have to pay the 6% again next year. Why should I leave it past April 15? I'm prepared to send the form in tomorrow. which is probably less than HSA bank charges to remove the $75 and it's earnings before April 15th, which is your other option. Again, while I understand it's common for HSA custodians to charge for things like this, HSA Bank has given me no indication that they will do so either on the excess contribution removal form or on the cover letter. I had to fill out a similar form with HSA Bank years ago (with different fine print, hence my need to ask about it now)--that one wa...

For various dumb reasons, I accidentally contributed $75 in excess of the statutory maximum to my HSA for 2022. My custodian, HSA Bank, mailed me a form offering me the choice between (1) having the excess contribution returned to me and (2) having my excess contribution applied as a 2023 contribution. I see nothing in the cover letter or in the form itself telling me that I will be charged a fee for choosing either option. I notice that the version of the form available for download on HSA Bank's website is slightly different, and cautions that choosing to have the excess contribution applied as a 2023 contribution "may cause a 6% excise tax." My understanding is that the excise tax only applies if I have not rectified the overco...

Is there a way to find out when your annual anniversary is for obtaining Preferred Rewards? I started as Gold, then reached Platinum a few months later, then Platinum Honors a few months after that. I briefly transferred some funds out of BoA/ML late last year and was surprised to receive a letter from BoA warning me that my funds had gotten too low and I was in danger of losing status if I didn't get my balances back up; the timing wasn't what I expected given when I reached Preferred Rewards (as Gold) and later Platinum Honors, so I'm curious about what date BoA is using.

Marcus will have to offer a lot more than $100 for me to be willing to open an account when Goldman's own CEO is telling everyone who will listen that Marcus has underperformed and won't get a lot of support going forward.

md80only wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 2:28 pmI also was looking at Schwab today because I have a bunch of amex membership rewards from My platinum card (signed up because of the 150k bonus, this card does not seem to be worth it to me other than that) and if you have a schwab brokerage they are worth 1.25 cents. The blogs say to transfer to airlines for miles but that's not very appealing to me. So I'd have to get it switched to a schwab platinum I'm order to avail myself of that 1.25 but shouldn't be an issue I don't think?

The 1.25 cents was dropped to 1.1 cents a year or two ago.

Harmanic wrote: ↑Fri Jan 13, 2023 8:05 am20 years ago, people would have said "One thing you want to ask yourself. Is my email provider still going to be there 30 or 40 years from now? AOL, Yahoo! and Hotmail are more likely to be around than gmail, protonmail, or outlook."

To be fair, I have contacts that continue to use AOL and Yahoo accounts, and I myself use a Hotmail account as an alternate address for newsletters and retailers.

I noticed on the Citi website that the sign-up bonus on the Premier has dropped to $600.

boston10 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 04, 2023 4:16 amOption 3: Multiple vanilla CCR's - BoA allows you to apply for a new one every 2 years

This may have changed: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bank-of- ... wards-etc/ (Note the "Update 12/20/21").

APX32 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 31, 2022 1:39 amThe study does conclude that you need to be eating copious amounts (like 1 entire bar per day) to encounter any harmful effects.

My mother and sister would scoff at the notion that one bar per day would be considered "copious."

cbox wrote: ↑Mon Dec 26, 2022 8:27 amAt the moment, I can't think of a worse failure of management and execution in recent memory.

I don't disagree with your overall point, but...Twitter.

softwaregeek wrote: ↑Sun Dec 18, 2022 2:01 pmIndustry leading credit card cash back for platinum customers and a non-advertised travel card that exceeds 3% return on everything and 4.375% on certain categories without limit.

Can you tell us more about the non-advertised travel card? This isn't the blue Travel Rewards card, is it?

I think the number of available affinity cards has decreased dramatically. I have one in mind that I see is still available, but a lot of the others have quietly disappeared. I suspect that BoA is winding down the program and is allowing its various affinity relationships to expire. I'd been planning on taking my time to apply for my third CCR, but now I'm planning to fast track it in case they all disappear sooner rather than later.

anon_investor wrote: ↑Sat Dec 10, 2022 3:58 pm If I plan to apply for my 3rd CCR (my 4th BoA overall) soon one of the affinity ones (currently have Red CCR, Susan G Komen CCR and PR); I should be okay under the BoA 2/3/4 rule if my last BoA card app was over 12 months ago, right?

The 2/3/4 refers to 2 within a month, 3 within a year, and 4 within 24 months, so I think you shouldn't have any trouble.

The last time I was in the local train station, I saw that there was a "virtual" Bank of America branch location. No one works there, but apparently you get access with your ATM card, and while there you can have a video conversation with a banker at a remote location.

I'm not sure why that's any better from just banking online or calling from home, but it's an interesting way for them to justify reducing their headcount slightly.

Leesbro63 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:57 am

student wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:06 am

NYCaviator wrote: ↑Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:25 am Thinking of moving some funds over to BoA / Merrill to hit the 100k platinum honors status. Is it worth it for the added bonus on the credit cards? Any catches? I’m not planning on using any banking services.

There is also no harm in getting a safe deposit box, free for platinum and above on a small one. I know in some areas, it is difficult to get.

I didn't know this. I have well over $100,000 at Merrill Edge and have the BofA Platinum Rewards card. So can I get a free safe deposit box?

I haven't looked into this myself, but I've read that the waiting list for a safety deposit box, at least in some areas, is about a decade long.

Shallowpockets wrote: ↑Sun Nov 20, 2022 5:32 am How much money are you talking about? A home down payment could be anything, I guess, but I will go with 20%. So let’s say the home cost is $1 million. 20% is $100,000.

I don't think that's right.

cvsvm2007 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:09 pm ok Thanks for the responses.

Can someone please clarify how the other poster mentioned got "4.625% BofA bonus rewards"

CVS

If you have a Premium Rewards or Unlimited Cash Rewards card and you're at the Platinum Honors level (meaning that you have $100,000 or more in combined assets at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch), you get 2.625% cash back on those cards. With the extra 2% on November 5, that gets you to 4.625%.

MisterBill wrote: ↑Wed Nov 09, 2022 10:46 amAlso, where was this double rewards thing publicized? I did not see anything about it

By "double rewards," do you mean the extra 2%? I saw it in a ton of places. Doctorofcredit.com had something like three different posts and reminders on it.

Preferred Deposit's 2.69% is suddenly looking pretty sad.

Doctor of Credit is reporting contradicting guidance from Ally on this point. It sounds like mass confusion over there right now.

Thanks, yes I was waiting on chat forever today but never got connected. Just tried to clarify this via chat. It displays this message: “Our team is swamped and trying their best to get back to everyone as quickly as possible. You’ll be waiting much longer than expected (more than 4 hours), so you may want to come back later or use online services if you can. Thanks for being patient with us.” Ally's customer service issues predated its current promotion. It shouldn't, but it always surprises me when businesses have big sales/deals/promotions in an apparent attempt to drum up more business without ensuring that their customer service, website, etc. can handle the volume. It seems counterproductive for a business to attract a lot of attenti...

Bank of America has a Premium Rewards Card that has up to 2.625% cash back. There is an annual fee of $95, which can be "offset" by a $100/yr airline credit for incidental charges like baggage fees. To get the best rewards also require $100,000+ in BoA / Merrill Edge accounts - many park a taxable or retirement account at Merrill Edge to satisfy this requirement. Bank of America also has the "Unlimited Cash Rewards" card that offers similar cash back as the Premium Rewards without the annual fee. (The UCR does have a foreign transaction fee, and is missing the Premium Reward's $100 airline credit, travel insurance, and slightly higher cash back on restaurants and travel, but the lack of an annual fee will make the UCR a...

Trying to make my first trade with my new ME account, moved over $1000 from BoA, tried to purchase 1000 of FSIXX and gives me the following error: Trading is now closed for this fund. Please re-enter your order during available trading hours. (RES_MMFN0030) So does that mean I can only put in an order for a mutual fund during trading hours? Did you try UTIXX or TTXXX? I actually tried it with TTXXX a few hours ago and got the same error message. Try tomorrow morning. I have placed trades before market open with success, but I forget what time. But I know these treasury only money market funds close early so you have to place order before 12pm ET sometimes. If you do it during market open in the morning it definitely works. Thanks, I'll try...

Trying to make my first trade with my new ME account, moved over $1000 from BoA, tried to purchase 1000 of FSIXX and gives me the following error: Trading is now closed for this fund. Please re-enter your order during available trading hours. (RES_MMFN0030) So does that mean I can only put in an order for a mutual fund during trading hours? Did you try UTIXX or TTXXX? I actually tried it with TTXXX a few hours ago and got the same error message. Try tomorrow morning. I have placed trades before market open with success, but I forget what time. But I know these treasury only money market funds close early so you have to place order before 12pm ET sometimes. If you do it during market open in the morning it definitely works. Thanks, I'll try...

anon_investor wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 6:53 pm

radiowave wrote: ↑Sun Oct 23, 2022 4:55 pm Trying to make my first trade with my new ME account, moved over $1000 from BoA, tried to purchase 1000 of FSIXX and gives me the following error:

Trading is now closed for this fund. Please re-enter your order during available trading hours. (RES_MMFN0030)

So does that mean I can only put in an order for a mutual fund during trading hours?

Did you try UTIXX or TTXXX?

I actually tried it with TTXXX a few hours ago and got the same error message.

Thanks, anon_investor!

Edited to add: Thanks to student as well!

I recently moved a Roth IRA to Merrill and was surprised to learn that the Preferred Deposit product is not available for retirement accounts. (The ML associate who conveyed this to me was surprised as well, did some digging, and told me that this prohibition was instituted a little over two years ago.) Is there a general consensus about the best alternative? For the moment I'm looking for a fixed income product, preferably FDIC insured, with an okay return after fees. (I'll be relying on my Roth to maintain my Preferred Rewards status, so I don't want to invest in anything that might lose value and drop me down a tier.) Thanks!

Gryphon wrote: ↑Sat Oct 15, 2022 11:07 pm

FS51 wrote: ↑Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:49 pm Sorry. Saturday night math. Say the Dec 5th deposit is 65k

It doesn't matter how big the December deposit is, it won't help. Any withdrawals between now & Jan 15 will reduce the amount of the bonus; adding money back in December won't offset that.

Are you sure? TravelGeek quoted a rule above that says "Net New Funds – We’ll calculate your bonus using the Net New Funds —the total of any New Money minus any withdrawals you make—in your Eligible Account(s) during the Funding Period and Retention Period." Doesn't that mean that new funds added during the Retention Period (November through January 15) offset any withdrawals made during the same period?