Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

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

Post by Stratotanker »

I applied for the Susan G. Komen card this morning (as I already have the red/basic Customized Cash Rewards card) and noticed it's the only branded version left. I remember seeing MLB, WWF and possibly other versions last year, which at some point disappeared, leaving only US Pride and Komen versions when I checked again about a month or two ago. It makes me wonder if Komen will be discontinued next, making it impossible to enjoy multiple CCR cards. Just thought I'd share if anyone was considering applying soon.
tomsense76
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tomsense76 »

Stratotanker wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:37 pm I applied for the Susan G. Komen card this morning (as I already have the red/basic Customized Cash Rewards card) and noticed it's the only branded version left. I remember seeing MLB, WWF and possibly other versions last year, which at some point disappeared, leaving only US Pride and Komen versions when I checked again about a month or two ago. It makes me wonder if Komen will be discontinued next, making it impossible to enjoy multiple CCR cards. Just thought I'd share if anyone was considering applying soon.
Thanks for letting us know! Was thinking about getting another CCR card. Maybe should just do that now :wink:
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Stratotanker
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Stratotanker »

Thanks for letting us know! Was thinking about getting another CCR card. Maybe should just do that now :wink:
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

tomsense76 wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:41 pm
Stratotanker wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:37 pm I applied for the Susan G. Komen card this morning (as I already have the red/basic Customized Cash Rewards card) and noticed it's the only branded version left. I remember seeing MLB, WWF and possibly other versions last year, which at some point disappeared, leaving only US Pride and Komen versions when I checked again about a month or two ago. It makes me wonder if Komen will be discontinued next, making it impossible to enjoy multiple CCR cards. Just thought I'd share if anyone was considering applying soon.
Thanks for letting us know! Was thinking about getting another CCR card. Maybe should just do that now :wink:
Yikes. How long do we have to wait to get our 3rd card? I applied for and got 2 cards (PR+CCR) back in mid-August. I want to make sure I can get a second CCR.
Stratotanker
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Stratotanker »

Yikes. How long do we have to wait to get our 3rd card? I applied for and got 2 cards (PR+CCR) back in mid-August. I want to make sure I can get a second CCR.
Doctor of Credit has a post about the BofA 2/3/4 rule: They'll only approve you for at most two cards per rolling 2 months, three cards per rolling 12 months, and four cards per rolling 24 months. If that's the case, sounds like you'll be good to go in a couple of weeks.

The same DoC post (https://www.doctorofcredit.com/things-e ... f-america/) does add a caveat for too many accounts across all banks: Reports indicate a soft limit of 6 new cards in the past 12 months for those who have deposit accounts with the bank; 2 new cards in the past 12 months for those who don’t.
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sarabayo
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sarabayo »

Stratotanker wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:37 pm I applied for the Susan G. Komen card this morning (as I already have the red/basic Customized Cash Rewards card) and noticed it's the only branded version left. I remember seeing MLB, WWF and possibly other versions last year, which at some point disappeared, leaving only US Pride and Komen versions when I checked again about a month or two ago. It makes me wonder if Komen will be discontinued next, making it impossible to enjoy multiple CCR cards. Just thought I'd share if anyone was considering applying soon.
Figured this would happen. That's why I started by amassing three branded cards and still haven't gone for the unbranded one, which I expect will be available indefinitely.

Looks like I missed out on the US Pride one, though. Oh well, that was the worst looking of them anyway...
Last edited by sarabayo on Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Stratotanker
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Stratotanker »

That's why I started by amassing three branded cards and still haven't gone for the unbranded one, which I expect will be available indefinitely.
Kicking myself for not employing the same strategy... :oops:
tomsense76
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tomsense76 »

Stratotanker wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:56 pm
That's why I started by amassing three branded cards and still haven't gone for the unbranded one, which I expect will be available indefinitely.
Kicking myself for not employing the same strategy... :oops:
Do you have a bunch of red ones?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by aj44 »

Stratotanker wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:37 pm I applied for the Susan G. Komen card this morning (as I already have the red/basic Customized Cash Rewards card) and noticed it's the only branded version left. I remember seeing MLB, WWF and possibly other versions last year, which at some point disappeared, leaving only US Pride and Komen versions when I checked again about a month or two ago. It makes me wonder if Komen will be discontinued next, making it impossible to enjoy multiple CCR cards. Just thought I'd share if anyone was considering applying soon.

There are still other options, they just aren't advertised on the BOA website. Just googling around I see National Wildlife Federation, U of Iowa and U of Michigan.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Stratotanker »

Do you have a bunch of red ones?
I wish! didn't join the BofA / Merrill Edge ecosystem until last year and read on forums and financial sites that multiple red cards were not allowed by that point so I knew I'd have to go after the branded cards. Should have done that first! Or at least I shouldn't have waited this long to start applying. I was hoping to snag US Pride too... bummer. I guess I'll have to be happy with 2 CCRs, which is not the end of the world but less than ideal given the $2500 quarterly limit (per card) on 3.5% grocery + 5.25% categories.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Stratotanker »

There are still other options, they just aren't advertised on the BOA website.
Awesome!!! Thanks so much for the tip! :beer
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Stratotanker wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 2:56 pm
That's why I started by amassing three branded cards and still haven't gone for the unbranded one, which I expect will be available indefinitely.
Kicking myself for not employing the same strategy... :oops:
I am kicking myself now too... I hope I am not too late I have to wait a couple of weeks.

Does anyone know if I have to wait 60 days from when I applied for my last cards or when I activated the card?
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riverant
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by riverant »

I wouldn’t beat yourself up too much. I probably put 70k on my card each year and not spreading it across all the BoA cards maybe costs me 100 a year in rewards…
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

TJat wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 4:16 pm I wouldn’t beat yourself up too much. I probably put 70k on my card each year and not spreading it across all the BoA cards maybe costs me 100 a year in rewards…
That is like 1 share of ITOT! Of course like any good BH, I want to maximize every dollar! But I get your point.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by drk »

anon_investor wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 4:11 pm Does anyone know if I have to wait 60 days from when I applied for my last cards or when I activated the card?
It's the approval date.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

drk wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 4:40 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 4:11 pm Does anyone know if I have to wait 60 days from when I applied for my last cards or when I activated the card?
It's the approval date.
Sweet, less than 2 weeks, hopefully the breast cancer card is still around then!
FedGuy
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FedGuy »

I'm confused by the posts saying that BoA limits people to a single unbranded red card. My understanding was that you could hold multiple unbranded red cards. When I applied for my second unbranded red card about three months ago, I was approved immediately, without incident.
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sarabayo
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sarabayo »

FedGuy wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:21 pm I'm confused by the posts saying that BoA limits people to a single unbranded red card. My understanding was that you could hold multiple unbranded red cards. When I applied for my second unbranded red card about three months ago, I was approved immediately, without incident.
Did you also get a second $200 bonus? If not, maybe that's why people aren't getting multiple red cards - not worth it compared to getting different branded ones, which do have separate independent bonuses.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FedGuy »

sarabayo wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:26 pmDid you also get a second $200 bonus?
I did; it just posted a couple of weeks ago.

I've had my first red card for a while, though, and don't recall if I got a sign-on bonus for that one.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bfhu »

As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
You might want to hold off until Nov 12th then, when they will announce new reward tiers. It's possible some tiers won't have this nonsensical $3 charge on outgoing ACHs.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bfhu »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:50 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
You might want to hold off until Nov 12th then, when they will announce new reward tiers. It's possible some tiers won't have this nonsensical $3 charge on outgoing ACHs.
Is this confirmed? Thanks.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bfhu »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:50 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
You might want to hold off until Nov 12th then, when they will announce new reward tiers. It's possible some tiers won't have this nonsensical $3 charge on outgoing ACHs.
I just Googled and found this. If so, that won't help me. I don't have over 1mm with BofA.

As of November 12, 2021, or such later date as we may provide you notice of, the Preferred Rewards for Wealth Management program will be discontinued. If you are enrolled in the program on that day, your enrollment will be automatically transferred to the new Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. The new program will be expanded by adding two new tiers for clients with a qualifying balance of $1,000,000 or more. If your three month combined average daily balance is below $1,000,000 on the third business day of the month in which Preferred Rewards for Wealth Management discontinues, you will transition to the Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors tier.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by drk »

bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America.
Here you go:
drk wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:43 pm There's no fee for ACH pushes from Merrill Edge, so I just move the cash from BofA checking to Merrill CMA and make the transfer from there. YMMV.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

drk wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:15 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America.
Here you go:
drk wrote: Thu Sep 09, 2021 2:43 pm There's no fee for ACH pushes from Merrill Edge, so I just move the cash from BofA checking to Merrill CMA and make the transfer from there. YMMV.
Also no fee if you do an ACH pull initiated by an outside bank. I just initiate a pull from Ally Bank.
student
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by student »

bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
I agreed that this is bad. My understanding is that there is no ACH fee from Merrill Edge. So if you have ME, transfer money from BoA to ME, then to external account. Alternately, just write a check from your BoA checking account.
bfhu
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bfhu »

student wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:40 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
I agreed that this is bad. My understanding is that there is no ACH fee from Merrill Edge. So if you have ME, transfer money from BoA to ME, then to external account. Alternately, just write a check from your BoA checking account.
I need to setup repetitive transfer from my BofA checking account. So it is not convenient to transfer to Merrils first, then external account. I am just very disappointed. As an Platinum Honor member, I still need to pay those fees that other bank customers don't need to pay.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:13 pm
student wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:40 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
I agreed that this is bad. My understanding is that there is no ACH fee from Merrill Edge. So if you have ME, transfer money from BoA to ME, then to external account. Alternately, just write a check from your BoA checking account.
I need to setup repetitive transfer from my BofA checking account. So it is not convenient to transfer to Merrils first, then external account. I am just very disappointed. As an Platinum Honor member, I still need to pay those fees that other bank customers don't need to pay.
Where are you transferring to? If it is another one of your bank accounts, you can schedule from the other account to pull from BoA (at least you can do this at Ally Bank).
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by drk »

bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:13 pm I need to setup repetitive transfer from my BofA checking account. So it is not convenient to transfer to Merrils first, then external account. I am just very disappointed. As an Platinum Honor member, I still need to pay those fees that other bank customers don't need to pay.
Set it up as an ACH pull from the other bank. Not hard, and there's no fee.
anon_investor wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:17 pm (at least you can do this at Ally Bank)
Right. Thanks to churning, I've had checking accounts at a lot of places, and every single one of them has supported this.
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student
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by student »

bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:13 pm
student wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:40 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
I agreed that this is bad. My understanding is that there is no ACH fee from Merrill Edge. So if you have ME, transfer money from BoA to ME, then to external account. Alternately, just write a check from your BoA checking account.
I need to setup repetitive transfer from my BofA checking account. So it is not convenient to transfer to Merrils first, then external account. I am just very disappointed. As an Platinum Honor member, I still need to pay those fees that other bank customers don't need to pay.
I understand. Even Wells Fargo does not charge the fee. https://www.mybanktracker.com/checking/ ... ees-290332
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

student wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 8:26 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:13 pm
student wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:40 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
I agreed that this is bad. My understanding is that there is no ACH fee from Merrill Edge. So if you have ME, transfer money from BoA to ME, then to external account. Alternately, just write a check from your BoA checking account.
I need to setup repetitive transfer from my BofA checking account. So it is not convenient to transfer to Merrils first, then external account. I am just very disappointed. As an Platinum Honor member, I still need to pay those fees that other bank customers don't need to pay.
I understand. Even Wells Fargo does not charge the fee. https://www.mybanktracker.com/checking/ ... ees-290332
But surprisingly BoA is not the only one that charges a fee...
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by BrandonBogle »

FedGuy wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:21 pm I'm confused by the posts saying that BoA limits people to a single unbranded red card. My understanding was that you could hold multiple unbranded red cards. When I applied for my second unbranded red card about three months ago, I was approved immediately, without incident.
I also have two CCRs, one as a Visa and the other as a MC. Thankfully, the two have been sufficient so far. I think it’s been a year now so I could open a fourth card (I did three last year). But so far I haven’t needed the extra category space enough to warrant another card in the stable.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by student »

bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:13 pm
student wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 6:40 pm
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
I agreed that this is bad. My understanding is that there is no ACH fee from Merrill Edge. So if you have ME, transfer money from BoA to ME, then to external account. Alternately, just write a check from your BoA checking account.
I need to setup repetitive transfer from my BofA checking account. So it is not convenient to transfer to Merrils first, then external account. I am just very disappointed. As an Platinum Honor member, I still need to pay those fees that other bank customers don't need to pay.
Another possibility is use Zelle,in BoA. It is free but it has a $2,500 a day limit.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by BrandonBogle »

student wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:46 am Another possibility is use Zelle,in BoA. It is free but it has a $2,500 a day limit.
I wonder if that is a BoA individual limit. I just Zelle’d $3,500 a few hours ago, but that was to my BoA account.
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sarabayo
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sarabayo »

bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
BofA as a bank has a pretty terrible reputation as far as I've seen. For one thing, they have some of the lowest interest rates around, and they're known for nickle-and-diming people with various charges (like what you've experienced). I'd never consider actually using them as a bank, which is why I was surprised to learn that their Preferred Rewards credit cards are so good.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by student »

BrandonBogle wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:57 am
student wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:46 am Another possibility is use Zelle,in BoA. It is free but it has a $2,500 a day limit.
I wonder if that is a BoA individual limit. I just Zelle’d $3,500 a few hours ago, but that was to my BoA account.
I don't know. I just googled it. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-expe ... als-venmo/ Maybe it has been updated.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by drk »

student wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 2:35 pm I don't know. I just googled it. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-expe ... als-venmo/ Maybe it has been updated.
My daily send limit is $3,500. This page has the limits, and it doesn't appear to be personalized.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

sarabayo wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:58 am
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
BofA as a bank has a pretty terrible reputation as far as I've seen. For one thing, they have some of the lowest interest rates around, and they're known for nickle-and-diming people with various charges (like what you've experienced). I'd never consider actually using them as a bank, which is why I was surprised to learn that their Preferred Rewards credit cards are so good.
Pretty sure many folks in this thread would not be using BoA if not for the Preferred Rewards program and the cash back multiplier for credit cards. I certainly would not be. I usually keep no more than $10 in my BoA checking, the only activity is really the credit card cash back redemption deposits.
student
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Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2015 6:58 am

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by student »

drk wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 2:53 pm
student wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 2:35 pm I don't know. I just googled it. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-expe ... als-venmo/ Maybe it has been updated.
My daily send limit is $3,500. This page has the limits, and it doesn't appear to be personalized.
So they have increased the limit. That's good.
cabfranc
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Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2019 12:46 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by cabfranc »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:46 pm
sarabayo wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:58 am
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
BofA as a bank has a pretty terrible reputation as far as I've seen. For one thing, they have some of the lowest interest rates around, and they're known for nickle-and-diming people with various charges (like what you've experienced). I'd never consider actually using them as a bank, which is why I was surprised to learn that their Preferred Rewards credit cards are so good.
Pretty sure many folks in this thread would not be using BoA if not for the Preferred Rewards program and the cash back multiplier for credit cards. I certainly would not be. I usually keep no more than $10 in my BoA checking, the only activity is really the credit card cash back redemption deposits.
Yes, BoA is not a bank for people who do not have money. They stopped offering a free checking account several years ago. And they require large deposits/investments to waive fees. For example, to get one free non-BoA ATM withdrawal per statement, you need to be platinum ($50K). Most local and regional banks and credit unions have lower fees. For some people the extra couple of hundred dollars a year in cash back on a credit card is worth supporting BoA.
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sarabayo
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sarabayo »

cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:19 pm Yes, BoA is not a bank for people who do not have money.
Sadly enough, people who do not have money do tend to bank with them anyway. I guess they have really good advertising, historical brand recognition, or something. Could also be because they have a branch on every street corner.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:19 pm
anon_investor wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:46 pm
sarabayo wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:58 am
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
BofA as a bank has a pretty terrible reputation as far as I've seen. For one thing, they have some of the lowest interest rates around, and they're known for nickle-and-diming people with various charges (like what you've experienced). I'd never consider actually using them as a bank, which is why I was surprised to learn that their Preferred Rewards credit cards are so good.
Pretty sure many folks in this thread would not be using BoA if not for the Preferred Rewards program and the cash back multiplier for credit cards. I certainly would not be. I usually keep no more than $10 in my BoA checking, the only activity is really the credit card cash back redemption deposits.
Yes, BoA is not a bank for people who do not have money. They stopped offering a free checking account several years ago. And they require large deposits/investments to waive fees. For example, to get one free non-BoA ATM withdrawal per statement, you need to be platinum ($50K). Most local and regional banks and credit unions have lower fees. For some people the extra couple of hundred dollars a year in cash back on a credit card is worth supporting BoA.
Once I get PH status, I think the extra cash back annually for me may be over $1k, I plan to pay my taxes with with a BoA card since the CC processing fee (~1.99%) is less than the PH boosted cash back (2.62%).
cabfranc
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by cabfranc »

sarabayo wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:22 pm
cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:19 pm Yes, BoA is not a bank for people who do not have money.
Sadly enough, people who do not have money do tend to bank with them anyway. I guess they have really good advertising, historical brand recognition, or something. Could also be because they have a branch on every street corner.
Interestingly, I saw a recent article (tried to find it again but can't) that said that only 11% of BoA customers qualified for Preferred Rewards. That was from Gold on up and there were no statistics on how many qualified for the Platinum Honors that so many Bogleheads like.
cabfranc
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by cabfranc »

cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:33 pm
sarabayo wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:22 pm
cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:19 pm Yes, BoA is not a bank for people who do not have money.
Sadly enough, people who do not have money do tend to bank with them anyway. I guess they have really good advertising, historical brand recognition, or something. Could also be because they have a branch on every street corner.
Interestingly, I saw a recent article (tried to find it again but can't) that said that only 11% of BoA customers qualified for Preferred Rewards. That was from Gold on up and there were no statistics on how many qualified for the Platinum Honors that so many Bogleheads like.
I should also note we are currently Gold just to keep our checking accounts free. Preferred Rewards really does not seem worth it unless you go all in for PH. For $20K tied up you really do not get much. I just haven't gotten the inertia to transfer invested assets to ME.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:35 pm I should also note we are currently Gold just to keep our checking accounts free. Preferred Rewards really does not seem worth it unless you go all in for PH. For $20K tied up you really do not get much. I just haven't gotten the inertia to transfer invested assets to ME.
Moving assets to ME is really easy, just an ACAT transfer. Tbh the credit card churning game requires more effort.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Marseille07 wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:38 pm
cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:35 pm I should also note we are currently Gold just to keep our checking accounts free. Preferred Rewards really does not seem worth it unless you go all in for PH. For $20K tied up you really do not get much. I just haven't gotten the inertia to transfer invested assets to ME.
Moving assets to ME is really easy, just an ACAT transfer. Tbh the credit card churning game requires more effort.
+1. It took me about 2 minutes of effort (all online) to transfer ETFs from Vanguard to ME, the rest just waiting a week.
bfhu
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bfhu »

cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:19 pm
anon_investor wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 3:46 pm
sarabayo wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 11:58 am
bfhu wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:48 pm As a BofA Platinum Honor member, I just found out that I have to pay $3 ACH fee, when I need to initial an ACH transfer to external bank via Bank of America. So disappointed with BofA. I am going to move some of my assets from BofA/ML to Chase. Will maintain the minimum 100K level for Platinum Honor level. But I am very disappointed with BofA.

With Chase,
I will get ATM withdrawal without any fees worldwide. Free outgoing wire transfer. And no-commission for purchasing mutual funds. I will keep my BofA Platinum Honor level to keep my 75% cash back bonus . But that's it.
BofA as a bank has a pretty terrible reputation as far as I've seen. For one thing, they have some of the lowest interest rates around, and they're known for nickle-and-diming people with various charges (like what you've experienced). I'd never consider actually using them as a bank, which is why I was surprised to learn that their Preferred Rewards credit cards are so good.
Pretty sure many folks in this thread would not be using BoA if not for the Preferred Rewards program and the cash back multiplier for credit cards. I certainly would not be. I usually keep no more than $10 in my BoA checking, the only activity is really the credit card cash back redemption deposits.
Yes, BoA is not a bank for people who do not have money. They stopped offering a free checking account several years ago. And they require large deposits/investments to waive fees. For example, to get one free non-BoA ATM withdrawal per statement, you need to be platinum ($50K). Most local and regional banks and credit unions have lower fees. For some people the extra couple of hundred dollars a year in cash back on a credit card is worth supporting BoA.
Well, I like the PH’s 75% credit card cash back feature.
MisterBill
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

sarabayo wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:22 pm
cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:19 pm Yes, BoA is not a bank for people who do not have money.
Sadly enough, people who do not have money do tend to bank with them anyway. I guess they have really good advertising, historical brand recognition, or something. Could also be because they have a branch on every street corner.
Probably not a surprise, but people who do not have very much money don't seem to be as diligent about (or even interested in) finding deals as those who do have money.
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sarabayo
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sarabayo »

MisterBill wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 4:05 pm
sarabayo wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:22 pm
cabfranc wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:19 pm Yes, BoA is not a bank for people who do not have money.
Sadly enough, people who do not have money do tend to bank with them anyway. I guess they have really good advertising, historical brand recognition, or something. Could also be because they have a branch on every street corner.
Probably not a surprise, but people who do not have very much money don't seem to be as diligent about (or even interested in) finding deals as those who do have money.
On the contrary, people who do not have very much money are often the most obssessive coupon-clippers of all. I think it's more a matter of financial education - they don't know what they're missing and what other options are out there or even how to research that.
bandoba
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bandoba »

What's the best way to use cash back earned on PR or Custom Cash reward cards? Move to checking and use for payment/withdraw/invest in ME or anything else?
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