Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

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Shorty
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Shorty »

Is it an Advantage Relationship account? Opened longer than 3 months? You’ve been a PR member > 3 months?

Should still be $75k per account. I just verified mine is. Deposit limit is per account.
athan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:41 pm Anybody else having to deal with mobile check deposit amounts going from 75k/month to 15k/month recently? Very annoying and maybe enough for me to switch banks since there is no BofA in my town.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Shorty wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:59 am Is it an Advantage Relationship account? Opened longer than 3 months? You’ve been a PR member > 3 months?

Should still be $75k per account. I just verified mine is. Deposit limit is per account.
athan wrote: Thu Nov 18, 2021 8:41 pm Anybody else having to deal with mobile check deposit amounts going from 75k/month to 15k/month recently? Very annoying and maybe enough for me to switch banks since there is no BofA in my town.
+1. I also just checked. My BoA Advantage Relationship account also still has a $75k mobile check deposit limit, while my ME CMA has a only a $50k mobile check deposit limit.
spickups09
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spickups09 »

BOA appears to have stopped actively marketing the black Premium Rewards card, but you can still apply for it if you search, and there's a $500 bonus for $3k spend in first three months. tinyurl.com/5nkzbzbx I have a Premium Rewards card already, but I was thinking of having my wife apply for another so we could get the $500 bonus. Does anyone here know if you have to keep a new card open for so long after receiving the bonus? I do not really want another black card open for no reason, if I don't have to. Thanks in advance.
student
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by student »

spickups09 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:47 pm BOA appears to have stopped actively marketing the black Premium Rewards card, but you can still apply for it if you search, and there's a $500 bonus for $3k spend in first three months. tinyurl.com/5nkzbzbx I have a Premium Rewards card already, but I was thinking of having my wife apply for another so we could get the $500 bonus. Does anyone here know if you have to keep a new card open for so long after receiving the bonus? I do not really want another black card open for no reason, if I don't have to. Thanks in advance.
From what I have read, one should keep the card for one year before cancelling to avoid any clawback due to some fine prints.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

spickups09 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:47 pm BOA appears to have stopped actively marketing the black Premium Rewards card, but you can still apply for it if you search, and there's a $500 bonus for $3k spend in first three months. tinyurl.com/5nkzbzbx I have a Premium Rewards card already, but I was thinking of having my wife apply for another so we could get the $500 bonus. Does anyone here know if you have to keep a new card open for so long after receiving the bonus? I do not really want another black card open for no reason, if I don't have to. Thanks in advance.
You have to pay the $95 annual fee on the first statement, so you have already paid for that first year...
spickups09
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spickups09 »

anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:31 pm
spickups09 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:47 pm BOA appears to have stopped actively marketing the black Premium Rewards card, but you can still apply for it if you search, and there's a $500 bonus for $3k spend in first three months. tinyurl.com/5nkzbzbx I have a Premium Rewards card already, but I was thinking of having my wife apply for another so we could get the $500 bonus. Does anyone here know if you have to keep a new card open for so long after receiving the bonus? I do not really want another black card open for no reason, if I don't have to. Thanks in advance.
You have to pay the $95 annual fee on the first statement, so you have already paid for that first year...
Yeah I was thinking cancelling in advance of the second annual fee might be the sweet spot. Of course I already have to pay the the $95 on my other PR card too, but I know you can buy AA gift cards, and hell we might actually take a flight or two in the next year.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

spickups09 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:36 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:31 pm
spickups09 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:47 pm BOA appears to have stopped actively marketing the black Premium Rewards card, but you can still apply for it if you search, and there's a $500 bonus for $3k spend in first three months. tinyurl.com/5nkzbzbx I have a Premium Rewards card already, but I was thinking of having my wife apply for another so we could get the $500 bonus. Does anyone here know if you have to keep a new card open for so long after receiving the bonus? I do not really want another black card open for no reason, if I don't have to. Thanks in advance.
You have to pay the $95 annual fee on the first statement, so you have already paid for that first year...
Yeah I was thinking cancelling in advance of the second annual fee might be the sweet spot. Of course I already have to pay the the $95 on my other PR card too, but I know you can buy AA gift cards, and hell we might actually take a flight or two in the next year.
Yeah, I just bought a $100 AA eGC this month and got the $100 statement credit on my PR.
drk
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by drk »

spickups09 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 3:36 pm Yeah I was thinking cancelling in advance of the second annual fee might be the sweet spot.
No need to do it in advance. If you close the account within 30 days of the annual fee posting, BofA will waive/refund the fee.
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MisterBill
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

I applied for a second PR card in my wife's name. Got approved, but realized that her BofA login does not show Preferred Rewards. Turns out I never set up a ME login for her so it isn't linked on the BofA login. So I got one created, but now it wants her to update her profile as soon as she logs in, and we cannot get past the profile page, and no error is being displayed. Tried a second browser, even. Ugh.

Fortunately, I was able to link the ME account from the BofA site, and it now shows up there. Now we need to figure out how to get her PR turned on. Hopefully it won't be the three-month deal. Ugh.. just realized that my checking accounts are in my name only! Just set up an appointment at the branch tomorrow to get a checking account switched to joint.
Last edited by MisterBill on Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
leland
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by leland »

Could I request a referral in the thread for some ROI analysis? I'm sure it's been written up exhaustively somewhere here and I apologize but definitely didn't find the right post in this thread.

Trying to work out the program value here. I optimize my credit card spend pretty well, with least return at 2% back (Fidelity). I optimize pretty well for the rest. Probably only about 10k/yr is at 2%, but even if it's 20k or 30k I'm at $60-$180 incremental return if that increases to 2.625%? Am I missing something for a much better return? To be fair I could probably drop my CSR, but I'm a pretty heavy user of the benefits and keep a few other fee-based cards for free nights and such so may not make up much ground on fees.

I can move over 100 or 200k for the new account bonus, just trying to work out if it's worth separating a bit of my VTI investment from main brokerage account for this, currently it's in a cash acct so it's going to be moving to an investment somewhere anyway.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

leland wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:51 pm Could I request a referral in the thread for some ROI analysis? I'm sure it's been written up exhaustively somewhere here and I apologize but definitely didn't find the right post in this thread.

Trying to work out the program value here. I optimize my credit card spend pretty well, with least return at 2% back (Fidelity). I optimize pretty well for the rest. Probably only about 10k/yr is at 2%, but even if it's 20k or 30k I'm at $60-$180 incremental return if that increases to 2.625%? Am I missing something for a much better return? To be fair I could probably drop my CSR, but I'm a pretty heavy user of the benefits and keep a few other fee-based cards for free nights and such so may not make up much ground on fees.

I can move over 100 or 200k for the new account bonus, just trying to work out if it's worth separating a bit of my VTI investment from main brokerage account for this, currently it's in a cash acct so it's going to be moving to an investment somewhere anyway.
If you also get the Customized Cash Rewards Visa, with Platinum Honors you can get 3.5% and 5.25% cash back on certain categories (on up to $2.5k spend/quarter). I have the Premium Rewards Visa and 2x Customized Cash Rewards Visas (so up to $5k spend/quarter). A large % of my monthly CC spend is Costco and groceries, where I can get 3.5% cash back using Customized Cash Rewards Visa. Obviously very YMMV, but you can do better then 2.62% cash back.
SpinPsycholer
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by SpinPsycholer »

I just started the process of moving some etf’s over to ME for the transfer bonus and the Preferred Honor’s cc rewards. Was offered $1K bonus for $300K a week ago. Caveat is that I need to keep the equities at ME for 9 months before I get the bonus. It was just going to be sitting at Fidelity anyway, so might as well put it to work. The ME advisor had to get the transfer bonus approved since the funds are split between after tax and a TIRA. He had a screen of different bonus levels based on the transferred asset value he showed me. I just targeted the bonus amount I wanted. I had one other motivating factor which was wanting to switch from a local Credit Union for banking needs like depositing cash to BofA which of course is a full service bank with many branches.
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leland
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by leland »

anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:56 pm If you also get the Customized Cash Rewards Visa, with Platinum Honors you can get 3.5% and 5.25% cash back on certain categories (on up to $2.5k spend/quarter). I have the Premium Rewards Visa and 2x Customized Cash Rewards Visas (so up to $5k spend/quarter). A large % of my monthly CC spend is Costco and groceries, where I can get 3.5% cash back using Customized Cash Rewards Visa. Obviously very YMMV, but you can do better then 2.62% cash back.
Thanks for not raking me over the coals there. Clearly missed the barn door with CCR. I do decently well with Chase and Discover 5% categories, although doesn't seem like that's as useful or as straightforward CCR. I'm estimating another $100/yr return there so conservatively thinking +$250/yr to keep 100k/yr at BofA. Additional 0.25% return or so? Maybe $350/yr if we switch my partner, too. Debating if worth the hassle, the fun of it is a draw, but have been annoyed with my BofA account for about 20 years now... I guess going deeper is one answer :wink:
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

leland wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:29 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:56 pm If you also get the Customized Cash Rewards Visa, with Platinum Honors you can get 3.5% and 5.25% cash back on certain categories (on up to $2.5k spend/quarter). I have the Premium Rewards Visa and 2x Customized Cash Rewards Visas (so up to $5k spend/quarter). A large % of my monthly CC spend is Costco and groceries, where I can get 3.5% cash back using Customized Cash Rewards Visa. Obviously very YMMV, but you can do better then 2.62% cash back.
Thanks for not raking me over the coals there. Clearly missed the barn door with CCR. I do decently well with Chase and Discover 5% categories, although doesn't seem like that's as useful or as straightforward CCR. I'm estimating another $100/yr return there so conservatively thinking +$250/yr to keep 100k/yr at BofA. Additional 0.25% return or so? Maybe $350/yr if we switch my partner, too. Debating if worth the hassle, the fun of it is a draw, but have been annoyed with my BofA account for about 20 years now... I guess going deeper is one answer :wink:
If you do a lot of online shopping you can get 5.25% cash back with the CCR. The Chase and Discovery categories are often more limited. If you pay your taxes via credit card the fee is less than 2.62% , so you can capture the spread between the cash back and fee.
aj44
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by aj44 »

anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 10:13 pm
leland wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:29 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:56 pm If you also get the Customized Cash Rewards Visa, with Platinum Honors you can get 3.5% and 5.25% cash back on certain categories (on up to $2.5k spend/quarter). I have the Premium Rewards Visa and 2x Customized Cash Rewards Visas (so up to $5k spend/quarter). A large % of my monthly CC spend is Costco and groceries, where I can get 3.5% cash back using Customized Cash Rewards Visa. Obviously very YMMV, but you can do better then 2.62% cash back.
Thanks for not raking me over the coals there. Clearly missed the barn door with CCR. I do decently well with Chase and Discover 5% categories, although doesn't seem like that's as useful or as straightforward CCR. I'm estimating another $100/yr return there so conservatively thinking +$250/yr to keep 100k/yr at BofA. Additional 0.25% return or so? Maybe $350/yr if we switch my partner, too. Debating if worth the hassle, the fun of it is a draw, but have been annoyed with my BofA account for about 20 years now... I guess going deeper is one answer :wink:
If you do a lot of online shopping you can get 5.25% cash back with the CCR. The Chase and Discovery categories are often more limited. If you pay your taxes via credit card the fee is less than 2.62% , so you can capture the spread between the cash back and fee.
That online shopping category is ridiculous, I mean the other categories-gas, home improvement, even restaurants using gift cards can be creatively charged as online.
Stubbie
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Stubbie »

aj44 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 10:44 pm
That online shopping category is ridiculous, I mean the other categories-gas, home improvement, even restaurants using gift cards can be creatively charged as online.
Yes, and I like the fact that you can have multiple cards and change your category once a month on other cards if you run up against the limit for online on one particular card.
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dodecahedron
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by dodecahedron »

aj44 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 10:44 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 10:13 pm
leland wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:29 pm Thanks for not raking me over the coals there. Clearly missed the barn door with CCR. I do decently well with Chase and Discover 5% categories, although doesn't seem like that's as useful or as straightforward CCR. I'm estimating another $100/yr return there so conservatively thinking +$250/yr to keep 100k/yr at BofA. Additional 0.25% return or so? Maybe $350/yr if we switch my partner, too. Debating if worth the hassle, the fun of it is a draw, but have been annoyed with my BofA account for about 20 years now... I guess going deeper is one answer :wink:
If you do a lot of online shopping you can get 5.25% cash back with the CCR. The Chase and Discovery categories are often more limited. If you pay your taxes via credit card the fee is less than 2.62% , so you can capture the spread between the cash back and fee.
That online shopping category is ridiculous, I mean the other categories-gas, home improvement, even restaurants using gift cards can be creatively charged as online.
Heartily agree that the BoA CCR online category is amazingly expansive. Lots of travel (e.g., buying plane/train/bus tickets online), Uber/Lyft and even just loading funds onto your public transit passes online, all of these are coded as online and earn 5.25%.

I don't mess around with giftcards any more, but restaurants turn into online purchases if you use the order ahead method for takeout (and some restaurants are even encouraging the order-ahead for dine-in).

I also do order-ahead and curbside pickup for a lot of routine purchases at Lowes or Target or even my favorite independent bookstore which codes them as online. My CSA farmshare purchase was online.
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jeffyscott
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by jeffyscott »

leland wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:29 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:56 pm If you also get the Customized Cash Rewards Visa, with Platinum Honors you can get 3.5% and 5.25% cash back on certain categories (on up to $2.5k spend/quarter). I have the Premium Rewards Visa and 2x Customized Cash Rewards Visas (so up to $5k spend/quarter). A large % of my monthly CC spend is Costco and groceries, where I can get 3.5% cash back using Customized Cash Rewards Visa. Obviously very YMMV, but you can do better then 2.62% cash back.
Thanks for not raking me over the coals there. Clearly missed the barn door with CCR. I do decently well with Chase and Discover 5% categories, although doesn't seem like that's as useful or as straightforward CCR. I'm estimating another $100/yr return there so conservatively thinking +$250/yr to keep 100k/yr at BofA. Additional 0.25% return or so? Maybe $350/yr if we switch my partner, too. Debating if worth the hassle, the fun of it is a draw, but have been annoyed with my BofA account for about 20 years now... I guess going deeper is one answer :wink:
I'm also considering putting $100K there for the credit card rebates. We're low spenders and optimize the cards we have, getting 2-5% on everything. I estimate that we'd get maybe $150-$300 per year in extra rebates, largely depending on whether we take 3.5% at Costco or buy their "shop cards" online and get 5.25% and, similarly, whether grocery pick-up counts as online purchase for 5.25% vs. 3.5%. We also go for new credit card sign-up bonuses a few times per year, if we continue with that it will further reduce the amount gained. I've got a ~$200K Roth that I decided to take on a circuitous route, collecting bonuses along the way, to consolidating things at Schwab. I will eventually decide whether or not make a stop at ME and then whether or not to leave about 1/2 of it there.

B of A does have some annoyances. No secure message system for credit card accounts and no chat either. Unlike every other card we have, they do not adjust automatic credit card payments when the balance owed is less than the statement balance. For example, if you have it set to pay the full balance and you owe $500 when the statement comes out, but then redeem rewards for $100 or return a $100 item, so that you now owe $400, they still pull $500.The credit card statements also do not state anything about the automatic payment, unlike every other credit card that we have. But those last two will be less of an issue if we are using the cards regularly.

On the positive side, this B of A thing might simplify our credit card use in some ways and I could think about retiring from the sign-up bonus game :) .
danaht
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by danaht »

dodecahedron wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:01 am
aj44 wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 10:44 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 10:13 pm
leland wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:29 pm Thanks for not raking me over the coals there. Clearly missed the barn door with CCR. I do decently well with Chase and Discover 5% categories, although doesn't seem like that's as useful or as straightforward CCR. I'm estimating another $100/yr return there so conservatively thinking +$250/yr to keep 100k/yr at BofA. Additional 0.25% return or so? Maybe $350/yr if we switch my partner, too. Debating if worth the hassle, the fun of it is a draw, but have been annoyed with my BofA account for about 20 years now... I guess going deeper is one answer :wink:
If you do a lot of online shopping you can get 5.25% cash back with the CCR. The Chase and Discovery categories are often more limited. If you pay your taxes via credit card the fee is less than 2.62% , so you can capture the spread between the cash back and fee.
That online shopping category is ridiculous, I mean the other categories-gas, home improvement, even restaurants using gift cards can be creatively charged as online.
Heartily agree that the BoA CCR online category is amazingly expansive. Lots of travel (e.g., buying plane/train/bus tickets online), Uber/Lyft and even just loading funds onto your public transit passes online, all of these are coded as online and earn 5.25%.

I don't mess around with giftcards any more, but restaurants turn into online purchases if you use the order ahead method for takeout (and some restaurants are even encouraging the order-ahead for dine-in).

I also do order-ahead and curbside pickup for a lot of routine purchases at Lowes or Target or even my favorite independent bookstore which codes them as online. My CSA farmshare purchase was online.
Looks like gas purchases showing as "online" is now a hit/miss. Sam's club scan and go used to show up as an online purchase for gas - but no longer does. It now only shows up as "gas". Good thing I have another CCR card for my regular gas purchases. Hopefully B of A / Walmart / Kroger do not start re-coding the in-store app purchases as "grocery" instead of "online". Otherwise we will have to go back to the lesser grocery rewards. I guess the worst case scenario is that I might need to get a lot more CCR cards if online category starts to get coded less. :?
Last edited by danaht on Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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dodecahedron
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by dodecahedron »

danaht wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:12 am Looks like gas purchases showing as "online" is now a hit/miss. Sam's club scan and go used to show up as an online purchase for gas - but no longer does. It now only shows up as "gas". Good thing I have another CCR card for my regular gas purchases. Hopefully B of A / Walmart / Kroger do not start re-coding the in-store app purchases as "grocery" instead of "online". Otherwise we will have to go back to the lesser grocery rewards.
I drive so little and therefore buy gas so infrequently these days that I typically only fill-up once every couple months, and even that is with a target of keeping my tank always half full or nearabouts. I have two CCR cards that are normally set to "online" as a default setting. When it looks like I will need to fill up my tank, I usually do it near the end of a month and just reset the category to gas on one of the cards immediately before my gas purchase, then switch it back to online a couple days later (after the 1st of the month).
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

jeffyscott wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:09 am
leland wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 9:29 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:56 pm If you also get the Customized Cash Rewards Visa, with Platinum Honors you can get 3.5% and 5.25% cash back on certain categories (on up to $2.5k spend/quarter). I have the Premium Rewards Visa and 2x Customized Cash Rewards Visas (so up to $5k spend/quarter). A large % of my monthly CC spend is Costco and groceries, where I can get 3.5% cash back using Customized Cash Rewards Visa. Obviously very YMMV, but you can do better then 2.62% cash back.
Thanks for not raking me over the coals there. Clearly missed the barn door with CCR. I do decently well with Chase and Discover 5% categories, although doesn't seem like that's as useful or as straightforward CCR. I'm estimating another $100/yr return there so conservatively thinking +$250/yr to keep 100k/yr at BofA. Additional 0.25% return or so? Maybe $350/yr if we switch my partner, too. Debating if worth the hassle, the fun of it is a draw, but have been annoyed with my BofA account for about 20 years now... I guess going deeper is one answer :wink:
I'm also considering putting $100K there for the credit card rebates. We're low spenders and optimize the cards we have, getting 2-5% on everything. I estimate that we'd get maybe $150-$300 per year in extra rebates, largely depending on whether we take 3.5% at Costco or buy their "shop cards" online and get 5.25% and, similarly, whether grocery pick-up counts as online purchase for 5.25% vs. 3.5%. We also go for new credit card sign-up bonuses a few times per year, if we continue with that it will further reduce the amount gained. I've got a ~$200K Roth that I decided to take on a circuitous route, collecting bonuses along the way, to consolidating things at Schwab. I will eventually decide whether or not make a stop at ME and then whether or not to leave about 1/2 of it there.

B of A does have some annoyances. No secure message system for credit card accounts and no chat either. Unlike every other card we have, they do not adjust automatic credit card payments when the balance owed is less than the statement balance. For example, if you have it set to pay the full balance and you owe $500 when the statement comes out, but then redeem rewards for $100 or return a $100 item, so that you now owe $400, they still pull $500.The credit card statements also do not state anything about the automatic payment, unlike every other credit card that we have. But those last two will be less of an issue if we are using the cards regularly.

On the positive side, this B of A thing might simplify our credit card use in some ways and I could think about retiring from the sign-up bonus game :) .
If you have Preferred Rewards status you can call a special phone number. I have called before, no hold time and it is manned by more knowledgeable senior customer service reps.
https://www.bankofamerica.com/preferred ... s/details/

Priority service (888.888.RWDS), a dedicated team of specialists available to handle your product and service needs.
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jeffyscott
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by jeffyscott »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:51 amIf you have Preferred Rewards status you can call a special phone number. I have called before, no hold time and it is manned by more knowledgeable senior customer service reps.
Yes, but I would prefer to not call a phone number, no matter how special it may be.

At Schwab, I can call either the general number or my own "financial consultant", but I can also email or secure message both of those or start a chat. At Fidelity I can secure message or chat. Even at Vanguard, I can secure message (though I may have to be aware that clicking on "upload document" is now the way to get there, even if I am not uploading anything).

With every other credit card company, except Amex, I believe that I can still send secure messages about anything at all. With Amex, I can chat.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

jeffyscott wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:02 am
anon_investor wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:51 amIf you have Preferred Rewards status you can call a special phone number. I have called before, no hold time and it is manned by more knowledgeable senior customer service reps.
Yes, but I would prefer to not call a phone number, no matter how special it may be.

At Schwab, I can call either the general number or my own "financial consultant", but I can also email or secure message both of those or start a chat. At Fidelity I can secure message or chat. Even at Vanguard, I can secure message (though I may have to be aware that clicking on "upload document" is now the way to get there, even if I am not uploading anything).

With every other credit card company, except Amex, I believe that I can still send secure messages about anything at all. With Amex, I can chat.
Yeah, unfortunately no such options at BoA/ME.

I personally do like Fidelity's Live Chat. Vanguard's secure messaging isn't great lately, they take forever to respond and often tell you to call them.

How often do you contact your CC company?
FedGuy
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FedGuy »

dodecahedron wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:24 amI have two CCR cards that are normally set to "online" as a default setting.
I'm just curious, Dodecahedron: do you have other CCRs as well, or just the two? I have two, one of which I use for online purchases and the other for dining. I plan to apply for a third once the 24 month cool-down between CCR applications is up, which I plan to mostly use at drug stores (allowing me to set aside my Chase Freedom Flex) but also to switch to home improvement for my occasional purchases at the local hardware store. I'm just curious about whether you have other cards that cover the other categories or if it's just that you spend enough online that having two cards that you mostly use online makes more sense than setting one to a different category.
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jeffyscott
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by jeffyscott »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:06 am
jeffyscott wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:02 am
anon_investor wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:51 amIf you have Preferred Rewards status you can call a special phone number. I have called before, no hold time and it is manned by more knowledgeable senior customer service reps.
Yes, but I would prefer to not call a phone number, no matter how special it may be.

At Schwab, I can call either the general number or my own "financial consultant", but I can also email or secure message both of those or start a chat. At Fidelity I can secure message or chat. Even at Vanguard, I can secure message (though I may have to be aware that clicking on "upload document" is now the way to get there, even if I am not uploading anything).

With every other credit card company, except Amex, I believe that I can still send secure messages about anything at all. With Amex, I can chat.
Yeah, unfortunately no such options at BoA/ME.

I personally do like Fidelity's Live Chat. Vanguard's secure messaging isn't great lately, they take forever to respond and often tell you to call them.

How often do you contact your CC company?
Not very and most often it is to cancel a card with an annual fee after having gotten a bonus :) . This lack won't be deciding factor. I will avoid signing up for any B of A cards with an annual fee, which is no big deal. The premium rewards card is popular here, but not worth the $95 annual fee to me.

We did have a fraudulent transaction on a card recently, but it appears that B of A does allow submitting a dispute online?

That is the worst, when the response to a message is: "call us". Our Schwab rep tends to call us in response to emails, that's acceptable to me.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

jeffyscott wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:29 am
anon_investor wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:06 am
jeffyscott wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:02 am
anon_investor wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:51 amIf you have Preferred Rewards status you can call a special phone number. I have called before, no hold time and it is manned by more knowledgeable senior customer service reps.
Yes, but I would prefer to not call a phone number, no matter how special it may be.

At Schwab, I can call either the general number or my own "financial consultant", but I can also email or secure message both of those or start a chat. At Fidelity I can secure message or chat. Even at Vanguard, I can secure message (though I may have to be aware that clicking on "upload document" is now the way to get there, even if I am not uploading anything).

With every other credit card company, except Amex, I believe that I can still send secure messages about anything at all. With Amex, I can chat.
Yeah, unfortunately no such options at BoA/ME.

I personally do like Fidelity's Live Chat. Vanguard's secure messaging isn't great lately, they take forever to respond and often tell you to call them.

How often do you contact your CC company?
Not very and most often it is to cancel a card with an annual fee after having gotten a bonus :) . This lack won't be deciding factor. I will avoid signing up for any B of A cards with an annual fee, which is no big deal. The premium rewards card is popular here, but not worth the $95 annual fee to me.

We did have a fraudulent transaction on a card recently, but it appears that B of A does allow submitting a dispute online?

That is the worst, when the response to a message is: "call us". Our Schwab rep tends to call us in response to emails, that's acceptable to me.
Yes, you can dispute a CC transaction online.

The UCR with unlimited 2.62% cash back is a good everything else card if you don't want the PR.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Stratotanker »

B of A does have some annoyances. No secure message system for credit card accounts and no chat either.
I don't have secure messaging for either BoA or ME but the chat function is available when I log into either one. At times the chat button may disappear for a few minutes (all reps busy?) but then it comes back.
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sarabayo
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sarabayo »

Stratotanker wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 1:01 pm At times the chat button may disappear for a few minutes (all reps busy?) but then it comes back.
Man, is that what's going on? I've seen a little chat icon appear on the Merrill Edge website, but I refreshed and it disappeared... I thought I was imagining things! :oops:

That's a rather bizarre design, though. They should leave the icon up, even if there are no available reps, so that you can at least be put on hold... As it stands, I guess you just have to sit there refreshing the page until the chat icon appears again? :annoyed
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

sarabayo wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 1:05 pm
Stratotanker wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 1:01 pm At times the chat button may disappear for a few minutes (all reps busy?) but then it comes back.
Man, is that what's going on? I've seen a little chat icon appear on the Merrill Edge website, but I refreshed and it disappeared... I thought I was imagining things! :oops:

That's a rather bizarre design, though. They should leave the icon up, even if there are no available reps, so that you can at least be put on hold... As it stands, I guess you just have to sit there refreshing the page until the chat icon appears again? :annoyed
Wow, I must never have seen the chat since I usually only login at night (when it isn't available).
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riverant
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by riverant »

sarabayo wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 1:05 pm
Stratotanker wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 1:01 pm At times the chat button may disappear for a few minutes (all reps busy?) but then it comes back.
Man, is that what's going on? I've seen a little chat icon appear on the Merrill Edge website, but I refreshed and it disappeared... I thought I was imagining things! :oops:

That's a rather bizarre design, though. They should leave the icon up, even if there are no available reps, so that you can at least be put on hold... As it stands, I guess you just have to sit there refreshing the page until the chat icon appears again? :annoyed
My theory is that they have some AI on when and who to offer the chat link too so that they can staff fewer reps. If chat is always there, people would be more inclined to use it for “quick questions”
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

sarabayo wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 1:05 pm
Stratotanker wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 1:01 pm At times the chat button may disappear for a few minutes (all reps busy?) but then it comes back.
Man, is that what's going on? I've seen a little chat icon appear on the Merrill Edge website, but I refreshed and it disappeared... I thought I was imagining things! :oops:

That's a rather bizarre design, though. They should leave the icon up, even if there are no available reps, so that you can at least be put on hold... As it stands, I guess you just have to sit there refreshing the page until the chat icon appears again? :annoyed
That's odd, I just visited ME and the chat icon is there; tried a couple of times.

As a Platinum Honors Diamond Elite Gold Sapphire customer, I expect to see the icon every time...not that I had any questions to ask, though.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Cranberry44 »

Speaking of ME's Chat... I just got off chat with ME because I hadn't heard any news regarding my account transfer from Fidelity to ME. The rep. looked into it and said the request was returned and canceled because there was "no transfer form included in the request." 1) Not sure why they didn't notify me or put an alert on the website, and 2) I'm not sure how that's even possible as you have to fill out out all the required info on their website's form and then upload a current statement before you can even click submit . ... oh well... trying again.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by dodecahedron »

FedGuy wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:08 am
dodecahedron wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 8:24 amI have two CCR cards that are normally set to "online" as a default setting.
I'm just curious, Dodecahedron: do you have other CCRs as well, or just the two? I have two, one of which I use for online purchases and the other for dining. I plan to apply for a third once the 24 month cool-down between CCR applications is up, which I plan to mostly use at drug stores (allowing me to set aside my Chase Freedom Flex) but also to switch to home improvement for my occasional purchases at the local hardware store. I'm just curious about whether you have other cards that cover the other categories or if it's just that you spend enough online that having two cards that you mostly use online makes more sense than setting one to a different category.
I just have two CCR cards. My usual default setting is online on both, because that is indeed the lion's share of my purchases but during periods when I have anticipated significant dining expenses, I have switched one of them to dining. However, most of my 2021 dining out happened this past summer (when Covid rates were lower, the weather was favorable for eating outside and also I was traveling a lot) and I didn't bother switching a CCR to dining for July through September, because the Discover 5% category was restaurants.

Getting a third CCR seems to be pushing the edge of reasonability for me. I already have a lot of BoA cards (Premium Rewards, Travel Rewards, 2 CCRs, and Amtrak.)
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by riverant »

Cranberry44 wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 2:53 pm Speaking of ME's Chat... I just got off chat with ME because I hadn't heard any news regarding my account transfer from Fidelity to ME. The rep. looked into it and said the request was returned and canceled because there was "no transfer form included in the request." 1) Not sure why they didn't notify me or put an alert on the website, and 2) I'm not sure how that's even possible as you have to fill out out all the required info on their website's form and then upload a current statement before you can even click submit . ... oh well... trying again.
Did you also notice that the paper form is asked for on the “check your transfer” screen but is not linked to, nor available when searching, on their website at all. The only way I found it was when I called and had the service rep send me a secure message. The chat rep had never heard of the form. This 2.625% should ultimately be worth it, but ME is incompetent.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FedGuy »

dodecahedron wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:05 pmGetting a third CCR seems to be pushing the edge of reasonability for me. I already have a lot of BoA cards (Premium Rewards, Travel Rewards, 2 CCRs, and Amtrak.)
Thanks, Dodecahedron. I have 2 CCRs and an old Bank Americard Better Balance Rewards card. I plan to apply for a Premium Rewards card shortly. I rode Amtrak pretty frequently before the pandemic but am not convinced that either Amtrak credit card would yield rewards better enough than the CCR (set to "travel" or "online") to justify opening the extra account, while in looking at my drug store and home improvement spend it's pretty easy to quantify how much more I'd get from a third CCR. In any case, I'll apply for Premium Rewards first, and then wait at least 6 months or so before seriously considering another application.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

TJat wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:36 pm
Cranberry44 wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 2:53 pm Speaking of ME's Chat... I just got off chat with ME because I hadn't heard any news regarding my account transfer from Fidelity to ME. The rep. looked into it and said the request was returned and canceled because there was "no transfer form included in the request." 1) Not sure why they didn't notify me or put an alert on the website, and 2) I'm not sure how that's even possible as you have to fill out out all the required info on their website's form and then upload a current statement before you can even click submit . ... oh well... trying again.
Did you also notice that the paper form is asked for on the “check your transfer” screen but is not linked to, nor available when searching, on their website at all. The only way I found it was when I called and had the service rep send me a secure message. The chat rep had never heard of the form. This 2.625% should ultimately be worth it, but ME is incompetent.
Transferring ETFs from Vanguard (taxable) was easy, no extra form required.
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dodecahedron
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by dodecahedron »

FedGuy wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:45 pm
dodecahedron wrote: Sat Nov 20, 2021 3:05 pmGetting a third CCR seems to be pushing the edge of reasonability for me. I already have a lot of BoA cards (Premium Rewards, Travel Rewards, 2 CCRs, and Amtrak.)
Thanks, Dodecahedron. I have 2 CCRs and an old Bank Americard Better Balance Rewards card. I plan to apply for a Premium Rewards card shortly. I rode Amtrak pretty frequently before the pandemic but am not convinced that either Amtrak credit card would yield rewards better enough than the CCR (set to "travel" or "online") to justify opening the extra account, while in looking at my drug store and home improvement spend it's pretty easy to quantify how much more I'd get from a third CCR. In any case, I'll apply for Premium Rewards first, and then wait at least 6 months or so before seriously considering another application.
I take Amtrak quite a bit (especially during the pandemic I find it far nicer than air travel to my preferred current destinations) and the perks that come with the Amtrak BoA card seemed worth it to me so far (free companion passes, one class upgrades, big upfront bonus points, 20% rebate on cafe purchases, free passes to the snazzy new first class lounge in the new Moynihan train hall) but I agree that for lots of folks the 5.25% CCR with category set to travel or online for purchasing Amtrak tickets may be just fine.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by leland »

I still remember the halcyon days of the Amtrak card being the best for Continental miles. Perhaps dating myself a bit ;)

Thanks for the updated ROI discussion - seems like with a few CCR cards would add a few hundred dollars. Not great on its own for the hassle, but perhaps timing is right as I'm in the position of needing to establish an "ours" account or two & my partner would prefer a bit less card optimization.

Could I request similar thread pointers referral for how Preferred Rewards could be shared with a partner? Currently I use BofA in my individual accounts and could get platinum in an individual account. If I added a joint checking would my partner then be able to open their own cards with the platinum bonus so we could get a few more? In terms of access assume only the joint pieces visible online to the partner? While not a blocker I'd prefer the "my" checking and investment to not become "ours".
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sailaway »

leland wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:00 am I still remember the halcyon days of the Amtrak card being the best for Continental miles. Perhaps dating myself a bit ;)

Thanks for the updated ROI discussion - seems like with a few CCR cards would add a few hundred dollars. Not great on its own for the hassle, but perhaps timing is right as I'm in the position of needing to establish an "ours" account or two & my partner would prefer a bit less card optimization.

Could I request similar thread pointers referral for how Preferred Rewards could be shared with a partner? Currently I use BofA in my individual accounts and could get platinum in an individual account. If I added a joint checking would my partner then be able to open their own cards with the platinum bonus so we could get a few more? In terms of access assume only the joint pieces visible online to the partner? While not a blocker I'd prefer the "my" checking and investment to not become "ours".
DH and I have joint checking, but only he has preferred rewards. I have moved my own money to Merrill to get the additional cash back rewards in the future.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by leland »

sailaway wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:05 am DH and I have joint checking, but only he has preferred rewards. I have moved my own money to Merrill to get the additional cash back rewards in the future.
Ah, so basically would only be my cards with an authorized user to get Preferred Rewards? Was not what I was thinking for how it might get setup. Do not think my partner has the spare funds to make an independent move to ME or any inclination to follow me on that path.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

leland wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:16 am
sailaway wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:05 am DH and I have joint checking, but only he has preferred rewards. I have moved my own money to Merrill to get the additional cash back rewards in the future.
Ah, so basically would only be my cards with an authorized user to get Preferred Rewards? Was not what I was thinking for how it might get setup. Do not think my partner has the spare funds to make an independent move to ME or any inclination to follow me on that path.
Someone else can confirm, but if both the checking and ME CMA accounts are joint accounts, would both spouses get independent Preferred Rewards status?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by mighty72 »

anon_investor wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:19 am
leland wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:16 am
sailaway wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:05 am DH and I have joint checking, but only he has preferred rewards. I have moved my own money to Merrill to get the additional cash back rewards in the future.
Ah, so basically would only be my cards with an authorized user to get Preferred Rewards? Was not what I was thinking for how it might get setup. Do not think my partner has the spare funds to make an independent move to ME or any inclination to follow me on that path.
Someone else can confirm, but if both the checking and ME CMA accounts are joint accounts, would both spouses get independent Preferred Rewards status?
In my case, both accounts are under the name of a living trust with my spouse and I as trustees. We both have preferred rewards status. I think you need to create separate ME and BOA online accounts and make sure that the shared accounts show up for both of you
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by ShadowRegent »

anon_investor wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:19 am
leland wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:16 am
sailaway wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:05 am DH and I have joint checking, but only he has preferred rewards. I have moved my own money to Merrill to get the additional cash back rewards in the future.
Ah, so basically would only be my cards with an authorized user to get Preferred Rewards? Was not what I was thinking for how it might get setup. Do not think my partner has the spare funds to make an independent move to ME or any inclination to follow me on that path.
Someone else can confirm, but if both the checking and ME CMA accounts are joint accounts, would both spouses get independent Preferred Rewards status?
Yes. I have exactly this setup and the assets in the joint accounts contribute to each of our balances for Preferred Rewards.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by leland »

Thanks! In my case individual ME account is not intended to be joint which would have the bulk of the funds to meet the minimum. Could just use cards all in my name with my partner as an authorized user and paying out of the joint account, just would probably miss ability to get an extra card or two for add'l custom categories / bonused spend.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spickups09 »

leland wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 9:13 pm Thanks! In my case individual ME account is not intended to be joint which would have the bulk of the funds to meet the minimum. Could just use cards all in my name with my partner as an authorized user and paying out of the joint account, just would probably miss ability to get an extra card or two for add'l custom categories / bonused spend.
Correct. Assuming you and your spouse treat your finances as a joint operation, then the only reason you both need preferred rewards status is so can more quickly assemble more BOA credit cards for maximizing cash back.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

I finally got my wife set up as a Preferred Rewards member. Has anyone tried getting a second free safe deposit box on their spouse's membership if both names are on the first box?

This is also relevant to the current discussion about the need to have both spouses be PR members. I never had my wife set up as a PR member, never had the need until we applied for a second Premium Rewards card, in her name. Then I realized she was not set up with a checking account and the ME brokerage account was not linked to her BofA login (in fact, she didn't even have an ME login). Fortunately, I was able to get her my checking account changed to a joint account at the branch, and her PR membership became available overnight.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Hyperchicken »

leland wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:16 am
sailaway wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:05 am DH and I have joint checking, but only he has preferred rewards. I have moved my own money to Merrill to get the additional cash back rewards in the future.
Ah, so basically would only be my cards with an authorized user to get Preferred Rewards? Was not what I was thinking for how it might get setup. Do not think my partner has the spare funds to make an independent move to ME or any inclination to follow me on that path.
There are two ways to do this:

1) You open your own credit card account, add your partner as an authorized user, so they get their own card tied to yours. You both get Preferred Rewards benefits, since the credit card account is yours.

2) You have joint checking account and Merrill Edge account with your partner (of course this would only work if you want the money to actually be in joint ownership between the two of you). That way, you both qualify for Preferred Rewards. Then, each of you can open your own credit card account. You can still add each other as authorized users.

Option (2) has some advantages compared to option (1):

- Higher credit card limit.
- Higher rewards limit.
- You can now select two Preferred Rewards categories. For example, you select online, and your partner selects dining. Then each of you pays either with your own card or with your partner's card to maximize the rewards.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by dan23 »

Well, BOA updated their site to show what tier you are when you log in again on the home page and it shows the new tiers and you can click to show further details.

Main item to share is that while BOA says it reimburses third party fees for domestic ATMs, it is very clear it does not do so for international ATMs (suspected since this is how it was reputed to work for wealth management clients). "Preferred Rewards Diamond and Diamond Honors clients using a Bank of America debit or ATM card will not be charged the non-Bank of America ATM fee. Your deposit account statement will reflect the U.S. dollar equivalent of your international ATM withdrawal. Third-party fees may be assessed by the ATM operator or network at international ATMs."

In addition, foreign transaction fees on debit card transactions and ATM waived for Diamond+
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by need403bhelp »

MisterBill wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 11:04 am I finally got my wife set up as a Preferred Rewards member. Has anyone tried getting a second free safe deposit box on their spouse's membership if both names are on the first box?

This is also relevant to the current discussion about the need to have both spouses be PR members. I never had my wife set up as a PR member, never had the need until we applied for a second Premium Rewards card, in her name. Then I realized she was not set up with a checking account and the ME brokerage account was not linked to her BofA login (in fact, she didn't even have an ME login). Fortunately, I was able to get her my checking account changed to a joint account at the branch, and her PR membership became available overnight.
We have two. Each spouse PR and both are listed on both boxes (but I think one person is primary and other person is secondary).
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

Hyperchicken wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 11:25 am - You can now select two Preferred Rewards categories. For example, you select online, and your partner selects dining. Then each of you pays either with your own card or with your partner's card to maximize the rewards.
I am confused about this. It seems like you are talking about the 3/5.25% category on the Customized Cash Rewards card, which is not Preferred Rewards categories. But one person could have multiples, no need for the second person to apply for a card.
Last edited by MisterBill on Mon Nov 22, 2021 1:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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