Uber VISA rewards cut

[Eric]

This was one of the best cash-back cards for dining, but unfortunately the rewards were too rich to last. I just received an email from them explaining that they will no longer pay rebates in cash (just "Uber Cash" redeemable for "Uber rides, Uber Eats, or rides with JUMP bikes and scooters"). They're also cutting the rebate percentage for restaurants and bars to 3% and cutting the rebate percentage for online purchases to 1%. More information below, from their email:

We’re making some changes

We wanted to let you know changes are coming to the rewards and benefits of your Uber Visa Card beginning in your February 2020 billing period. Your Uber Visa Card will now be called the Uber Credit Card and there will be changes to how you earn and redeem rewards.
What you’ll earn on your purchases under the new rewards program:

Car Icon
Go out or stay in
5% back in Uber Cash on all your Uber and JUMP rides and your favorite meals through Uber Eats

Plane Icon
Travel and dine in style
3% back in Uber Cash on hotels, airfare, takeout, restaurants and bars

Cart Icon
Earn at every turn with your card
1% back in Uber Cash on all other purchases

Here is what’s different:
• You will earn more on Uber purchases
• Your travel earn will remain the same
• Dining and online purchases will be reduced
• The subscription benefit is being removed+
+Until your next account anniversary date, you will continue to receive a $50 statement credit for online subscription services after you spend $5,000 or more on your card. After your next account anniversary date, this benefit will no longer be available.

Redemption updates
When you earn rewards with your Uber Credit Card, starting with your billing period in February 2020, they’ll come in the form of Uber Cash. You can redeem for Uber rides, Uber Eats, or rides with JUMP bikes and scooters. Uber Cash never expires.

Up until 24 hours before your product changes, you can continue to redeem your points for gift cards or statement credits as well as Uber Cash. When your product changes, any unredeemed points will be converted to Uber Cash.

Other changes you should know about
A valuable new cardmember benefit, Roadside Dispatch, will be added to your account effective November 1, 2019. This benefit is a pay-per-use roadside assistance program that provides you with added security and convenience wherever your travels take you.

If you have already set up your total monthly wireless bill to be charged to your Uber Credit Card, you may continue using your cell phone protection benefit without interruption. As of November 1, 2019, there will be changes to the insurance provider and to the maximum coverage levels and deductible amounts.

The following Visa benefits will no longer be available after November 1, 2019: Purchase Assurance, Price Protection and Satisfaction Guarantee. You can still submit claims for purchases made prior to November 1, 2019 through the time periods described in your current Guide to Benefits.
View the Guide to Benefits effective 11/1/19, for a full explanation of your updated coverages and details regarding specific time limits, eligibility and documentation requirements.

To review Frequently Asked Questions, click Learn More or call us at
866-823-7543.

[HomeStretch]

Thanks for sharing. Reducing the dining rewards, eliminating the subscription benefit and eliminating cash back are significant negative changes. This card just dropped off my “must have” list even if it retains the cell phone insurance.

[MotoTrojan]

Bummer. I will probably stop carrying mine around and using at all. I prefer my Wells Fargo Propel which gets 3% back on these categories (plus gas) but turns to 4.5% when used for airfare on a Visa Signature. Main issue is not all places accept Amex so I usually carry something else.

[Chrono Triggered]

Got the email too, such a shame. Probably because of people like me reaping rewards only to send them straight to my bank account instead of buying Uber credits.

[28fe6]

This completely ruins the card for me. It's probably still a decent card, but now it's just one out of hundreds of other decent cards. I will probably stop using it except for international because it's my only card with no FTF.

Eliminating cash back is the big one for me. I have no need at all for Uber Bucks or whatever, so it might as well be a 0% card now.

[deanmoriarty]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

[rolandtorres]

A shame. The BofA system is the better low-hassle way now for those wanting cashback and no annual fee for good dining/travel. As Frugal Professor wrote, you can get 5.25% back at Costco if you pick the Online category and buy Costco giftcards at costco.com to use in-store.

[scb175]

This is terrible. Wife and I used this card a lot for restaurants and online purchases. Guess I'll go back to the penfed card. Thinking about 2% Fidelity and moving everything there.

[TIAX]

Really disappointing. I'll stop using the card in February as well. Make sure you cash out before the February deadline, otherwise it will be converted to Uber Bucks.

[Jack FFR1846]

Wow, what garbage. I won't hit the 2500 points needed for a gift card, so it's now sock drawered.

[02nz]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

(Bolding mine) I have this card on the way and this caught my eye. I double-checked the BoA website, and there is indeed a 3% foreign transaction fee for this card.

[deanmoriarty]

(Bolding mine) I have this card on the way and this caught my eye. I double-checked the BoA website, and there is indeed a 3% foreign transaction fee for this card.

I should have specified better: the card I am referring to for "everything else" is the Bank of America® Travel Rewards. It has no foreign transaction fee, and no annual fee.

The other ones are the Cash Rewards (no fee version).

[02nz]

(Bolding mine) I have this card on the way and this caught my eye. I double-checked the BoA website, and there is indeed a 3% foreign transaction fee for this card.

I should have specified better: the card I am referring to for "everything else" is the Bank of America® Travel Rewards. It has no foreign transaction fee, and no annual fee.

The other ones are the Cash Rewards (no fee version).

Ah, I see. I actually converted from that to the Cash Rewards, as I had other cards with no foreign transaction fee.

[shorvath]

Random, vaguely on topic PSA:

You can link a Delta Skymiles account to your Lyft account to earn miles (1 per $1) independent of the payment method.

[MileKing]

Really disappointing. I'll stop using the card in February as well. Make sure you cash out before the February deadline, otherwise it will be converted to Uber Bucks.

The Uber VISA email about the changes reads: "When you earn rewards with your Uber Credit Card, starting with your billing period in February 2020, they’ll come in the form of Uber Cash." My bill cycle runs the 6th of the month thru the 5th of the following month so I'm interpreting the February billing period as running from January 6 - February 5, and thus would need to redeem and stop using card before January 6. Do you interpret the email differently?

[Sherwood]

My notice said I can get cash back until May 2020.
"When you earn rewards with your Uber Credit Card, starting with your billing period in May 2020, they’ll come in the form of Uber Cash. You can redeem for Uber rides, Uber Eats, or rides with JUMP bikes and scooters. Uber Cash never expires."

I'll put a note in my calendar to stop using the card in February and then put it in a draw. I'm assuming that the 4% back on restaurants is good until then (although that is not totally clear). It's a shame as I just got this card. The cell phone insurance and the "possible" chip and pin use in Europe were great benefits.

[justbpatient]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

BOA allows you to have 4 of the same credit card? Or are you primary on one and authorized on the others? Option #1 seems to good to be true.

[deanmoriarty]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

BOA allows you to have 4 of the same credit card? Or are you primary on one and authorized on the others? Option #1 seems to good to be true.

It's not too good to be true, I've been using this setup for a couple years now, all the cards are in my name, no authorized users. There are several different versions of the Cash Rewards on their web site, and they all have the same benefits.

[stan1]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

BOA allows you to have 4 of the same credit card? Or are you primary on one and authorized on the others? Option #1 seems to good to be true.

It's not too good to be true, I've been using this setup for a couple years now. There are several different versions of the Cash Rewards on their web site, and they all have the same benefits.

You might want to stop posting on the internet about how good it is.

[UpperNwGuy]

I had been thinking about applying for the Uber Visa card, but now I won't. These changes kill the card for me. I wanted cash back, not company scrip.

[rob]

Damn.... I only use it for dining out.... I guess I'm back in the market

[Supurdueper]

Dean - how many cash back cards do you have? Is that 3 cash back with the travel. I’m all BOA as well, have Uber. It will be stopping that one. My challenge is to get the wife to understand when to use what. Ha.

[HomeStretch]

Damn.... I only use it for dining out.... I guess I'm back in the market

CapitalOne Savor card offers 4% back on restaurants/bakeries and $95 annual fee. I signed up earlier this year when there was a $500 bonus and fee waived for first year. The current bonus is $300 when you spend $3,000.

[FedGuy]

I also only use this card for restaurants, and never take Uber. I plan to find another card, take all my rewards as a statement credit before the deadline, cash out, and cancel the card.

So, I'm looking for a replacement card.

CapitalOne Savor card offers 4% back on restaurants/bakeries and $95 annual fee. I signed up earlier this year when there was a $500 bonus and fee waived for first year. The current bonus is $300 when you spend $3,000.

There's also the CapitalOne Savor One card, which is like the Savor card except that it only offers 3% cash back on restaurants but has no annual fee. It's a better deal if you spend less than $9500 per year on restaurants (I think certain entertainment venues also count).

I know some people who held an early version of the Savor card (back when it was a lot like the current Savor One card) were upgraded to the current version of the Savor card but were grandfathered with no annual fee. I have a small savings account at Capital One and, even before the news about the Uber card broke, I've been trying to convince Capital One to let me convert my Quicksilver card into a Savor card or otherwise offer me some kind of deal, but they haven't been playing ball.

I'll keep watching this thread for alternatives.

[HEDGEFUNDIE]

My email said the changes will happen starting with my May 2020 billing period.

My account is brand new, so that must be why.

[runswithscissors]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

[chw]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

Now I understand why deanmoriarity has 4 of the same cards. I’m guessing it allows you to essentially raise the quarterly cap to 10k and get the higher rewards. I’m wondering- to get additional cards, would you need to hold an extra 100k at Merrill for each card?

[Supurdueper]

No. You just need the $100k in Merrill and all cards are eligible.

[jumbopapa]

Wow, what garbage. I won't hit the 2500 points needed for a gift card, so it's now sock drawered.

Same here. I need to spend $528.75 on dining by the time the card switches and I'm not sure if I will do that by February. I thought about calling customer service and asking if they can trigger cash back with less than 2500 points.

[wawoodjr]

Thanks for the update on the Uber card. It was on my list to fill in a few reward gaps on my other cards. I'll deep 6 that plan now.

[DVMResident]

Thanks for the update.

I think WF Propel is a great replacement for the Uber card. The WF Propel is offering $300 sign up bonus after $3k spending. Good time to switch.

My current combo is WF Propel AmEx for 3% gas/airfare/hotel/restaurants and Fido VISA for the general 2% -/+2% random promos (and occasional merchant who does not accept AmEx).

[segfault]

I used it for dining as well as the $50 subscription benefit. I usually open both Uber and Lyft apps and usually end up riding Lyft because it's cheaper. I spend maybe $100 a year with Uber, so I'll probably continue using the card after February, but will cash out my points while I still can, and try to keep the Uber credit balance under $100 or so.

[MichCPA]

Random, vaguely on topic PSA:

You can link a Delta Skymiles account to your Lyft account to earn miles (1 per $1) independent of the payment method.

This also works for Hilton and I think those two programs stack. World Elite Mastercards also have a credit after 5 Lyft rides in a month. You should not pay full price for frequent rideshares.

[geospatial]

I've primarily been using this card for dining and sporadic travel costs. This feels like a delayed bait and switch, and I'm starting to think the credit card industry as a whole may be trying out the idea of teaser benefits for a year or two before cutting back. A lot of the benefits of the Citi DoubleCash card were recently cut as well. Kinda hoping a mass exodus from the Uber card will serve as a warning to the companies that this kind of behavior won't be tolerated by the consumers.

Anyway, looking for a replacement. Capital One Savor is the same 4%, but they have the annual fee. Capital One Savor One is no annual fee but only 3%. Same goes for Wells Fargo Propel Amex.

I'm looking more closely at the U.S. Bank+ Visa Signature Card. No annual fee and you choose the two categories on a quarterly basis that you want to get 5% back on, up to $2000 spend per quarter. And another self-selected category with unlimited 2% back on. My dining out expenses per month are probably on the order of $200 to $300 (with some exceptions in special birthday months and the like), so I think this makes sense. Does anybody else use this, and if so, what have your experiences been like?

EDIT: It looks like Dining/Restaurants is relegated to only the 2% category. That makes it a non-starter for me. Back to the drawing board.

[ppdandekar]

I'm looking more closely at the U.S. Bank+ Visa Signature Card. No annual fee and you choose the two categories on a quarterly basis that you want to get 5% back on, up to $2000 spend per quarter. And another self-selected category with unlimited 2% back on. My dining out expenses per month are probably on the order of $200 to $300 (with some exceptions in special birthday months and the like), so I think this makes sense. Does anybody else use this, and if so, what have your experiences been like?

The 5% categories for US Bank Cash+ are different from those that come with Chase Freedom or Discover It. I have the US Bank Cash+ and use its utilities and internet categories for 5% cash back. The 2% category is not as useful if you have a 2% on everything card (like Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Rewards Visa). The cash back from Cash+ card can be redeemed as statement credit or cash (only if you have a US Bank checking account) with no minimum redemption amount. Their interface looks primitive compared to Chase/Amex/Citi but I don't spend too much time on their website anyways. Autopay works fine. For my spending pattern, it works perfectly without the need to carry it in my wallet.

[cusetownusa]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

The premium rewards card looks appealing to me. However, how are you getting the 5.25%? looks like there is a $95 annual fee and I am only seeing 3.5% on travel/dining and 2.625% on everything else with at least $100,000 at Merrill Edge.

If I can get 5.25%, 3.5% and 2.625% on everything else as indicated above then this seems like a no brainer even with the $95 annual fee and needing to move $100,000 to Merrill Edge.

[deanmoriarty]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

If you have multiple cards, you can easily switch reward categories and work around the issue (e.g. switch card A from gas to travel, and card B from travel to gas). There are quarters where I spend more than $2,500 on travel, so I do this.

[Supurdueper]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

The premium rewards card looks appealing to me. However, how are you getting the 5.25%? looks like there is a $95 annual fee and I am only seeing 3.5% on travel/dining and 2.625% on everything else with at least $100,000 at Merrill Edge.

If I can get 5.25%, 3.5% and 2.625% on everything else as indicated above then this seems like a no brainer even with the $95 annual fee and needing to move $100,000 to Merrill Edge.

Don’t get the card premium card. The other cards don’t have an annual fee. If you have $100k then you get the additional bump of 75% of that 3.0% to get to 5.25%. You have to choose the cash cards and then choose dining as your category.

[runswithscissors]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

If you have multiple cards, you can easily switch reward categories and work around the issue (e.g. switch card A from gas to travel, and card B from travel to gas). There are quarters where I spend more than $2,500 on travel, so I do this.

I apologize if this is a dumb question... but I'm assuming you would need a spouse as an additional card holder (under a totally different credit card account but same BoA/Vanguard account) in order to have multiple BoA Cash Rewards cards to raise the $2,500 quarterly cap on 5.25% CB. And even then it would be limited to two cards in two rewards categories. Each card would have a $2,500 quarterly cap allowing up to $5,000 per quarter in 5.25% CB spending. How does one have four similar cards?

[deanmoriarty]

I apologize if this is a dumb question... but I'm assuming you would need a spouse as an additional card holder (under a totally different credit card account but same BoA/Vanguard account) in order to have multiple BoA Cash Rewards cards to raise the $2,500 quarterly cap on 5.25% CB. And even then it would be limited to two cards in two rewards categories. Each card would have a $2,500 quarterly cap allowing up to $5,000 per quarter in 5.25% CB spending. How does one have four similar cards?

You are assuming wrong. At https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... dit-cards/ you will see that there are 5 different no-fee cards with the same exact benefits: Bank of America® Cash Rewards, Susan G. Komen® Cash Rewards, MLB®, World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Pride®. So, exactly like I have multiple Citi cards or multiple Chase cards, over the span of a couple years I opened 4 different BOA cards and I use each of them for a separate category, occasionally rotating them if I exceed the spending in a quarter.

[cowbman]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

The premium rewards card looks appealing to me. However, how are you getting the 5.25%? looks like there is a $95 annual fee and I am only seeing 3.5% on travel/dining and 2.625% on everything else with at least $100,000 at Merrill Edge.

If I can get 5.25%, 3.5% and 2.625% on everything else as indicated above then this seems like a no brainer even with the $95 annual fee and needing to move $100,000 to Merrill Edge.

Don’t get the card premium card. The other cards don’t have an annual fee. If you have $100k then you get the additional bump of 75% of that 3.0% to get to 5.25%. You have to choose the cash cards and then choose dining as your category.

EXCEPT...The Premium Rewards card allows you to redeem for cash while the free one does not. Also, the annual fee is easily offset by the airline credit and Global Entry credit.

[cusetownusa]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

The premium rewards card looks appealing to me. However, how are you getting the 5.25%? looks like there is a $95 annual fee and I am only seeing 3.5% on travel/dining and 2.625% on everything else with at least $100,000 at Merrill Edge.

If I can get 5.25%, 3.5% and 2.625% on everything else as indicated above then this seems like a no brainer even with the $95 annual fee and needing to move $100,000 to Merrill Edge.

Don’t get the card premium card. The other cards don’t have an annual fee. If you have $100k then you get the additional bump of 75% of that 3.0% to get to 5.25%. You have to choose the cash cards and then choose dining as your category.

Isn't the issue with the non annual fee cards thought that you only get the higher rewards on the first $2,500 in quarterly spending?

[Supurdueper]

Ah. Mine comes in as cash if you have a boa checking account. I believe to get premium reward you may need a boa account which you can do for $100

[cusetownusa]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

The premium rewards card looks appealing to me. However, how are you getting the 5.25%? looks like there is a $95 annual fee and I am only seeing 3.5% on travel/dining and 2.625% on everything else with at least $100,000 at Merrill Edge.

If I can get 5.25%, 3.5% and 2.625% on everything else as indicated above then this seems like a no brainer even with the $95 annual fee and needing to move $100,000 to Merrill Edge.

Don’t get the card premium card. The other cards don’t have an annual fee. If you have $100k then you get the additional bump of 75% of that 3.0% to get to 5.25%. You have to choose the cash cards and then choose dining as your category.

EXCEPT...The Premium Rewards card allows you to redeem for cash while the free one does not. Also, the annual fee is easily offset by the airline credit and Global Entry credit.

The more i read about the BofA premium rewards card the more I am liking it to replace both my Uber card and my Citi Double Cash card. Does this make sense to do?

What is the best way to get $100,000 into a Merrill Edge account? All of my money is currently at Vanguard in either a taxable account (over $100,000), ROTH IRA Accounts (2 accounts that total just under $100,000), or SEP IRA account (well over $100,000). If I move $100,000 out of my taxable account I will get hit with capital gains right? Would I be able to just move part of my SEP IRA account over? ROTH IRA?

[fast_and_curious]

I also got the same email about the benefits & rewards cuts to the Uber card. We used this card for the following reasons:

• High cash back (4%) on dining.

• No foreign transaction fee

• Chip & PIN (which has come in handy at some European self-serve gas stations and train ticket kiosks).

• No annual fee.

We very rarely use Uber, so definitely will be cancelling this card shortly as the rewards are almost useless to us now.

In looking for a replacement with similar features, I've come across the Sam's Club mastercard (https://www.samsclub.com/sams/pagedetai ... ame=credit). It seems to have:

• 3% cash back on dining. But also 5% cash back on gas stations, which helps make up for the fact that the dining reward isn't as good as the Uber card.

• No foreign transaction fee

• Chip & PIN (at least according to some sites I've seen - unfortunately the Sam's Club link above has very few details and doesn't confirm that it's Chip & PIN.

• No annual fee, although you need to be a Sam's club member ($45/year I think?) - for me personally, my company pays for a warehouse club membership as an employee benefit, so for me, it's free. Although certainly for others it's debatable whether the $45/year counts as an annual fee or not.

The main downside is that it looks like the cash back rewards are redeemable only once per year (not a huge deal for me) and only by physically appearing in a Sam's Club store to redeem (this is the biggest drawback, since it sounds like a pain).

I haven't seen this card mentioned in this thread as a potential replacement, so I figured I'd throw it out there in case it's helpful to anyone else, or in case anyone already has this card and wants to provide any positive or negative comments about it.

[FrugalProfessor]

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

The premium rewards card looks appealing to me. However, how are you getting the 5.25%? looks like there is a $95 annual fee and I am only seeing 3.5% on travel/dining and 2.625% on everything else with at least $100,000 at Merrill Edge.

If I can get 5.25%, 3.5% and 2.625% on everything else as indicated above then this seems like a no brainer even with the $95 annual fee and needing to move $100,000 to Merrill Edge.

Don’t get the card premium card. The other cards don’t have an annual fee. If you have $100k then you get the additional bump of 75% of that 3.0% to get to 5.25%. You have to choose the cash cards and then choose dining as your category.

EXCEPT...The Premium Rewards card allows you to redeem for cash while the free one does not. Also, the annual fee is easily offset by the airline credit and Global Entry credit.

The more i read about the BofA premium rewards card the more I am liking it to replace both my Uber card and my Citi Double Cash card. Does this make sense to do?

What is the best way to get $100,000 into a Merrill Edge account? All of my money is currently at Vanguard in either a taxable account (over $100,000), ROTH IRA Accounts (2 accounts that total just under $100,000), or SEP IRA account (well over $100,000). If I move $100,000 out of my taxable account I will get hit with capital gains right? Would I be able to just move part of my SEP IRA account over? ROTH IRA?

If married, the best way to get $100k to ME is through a joint brokerage account. That way you and your spouse can qualify for platinum honors status without needing to put $200k there, as would be the case if you were to transfer IRAs there.

Having both spouses qualify independently for platinum honors status is good because each can apply for cash rewards cards and add the other as authorized users, defeating the $2.5k/quarter cap per card. To be clear, the authorized user doesn't double the cap. Between my wife and I, we have 4 cash rewards cards and one premium card (and we're authorized users on each other's cards as well).

5.25% cash on most purchases (costco via online gift cards, travel, online, walmart via walmart pay app, restaurants, gas), 3.5% on groceries (not via costco / walmart), 2.625% on all else (doctors, property tax, etc). No net annual fee after recouping $100 travel credit.

It's unambiguously the best CC strategy on the planet right now, short of pumping and dumping for higher bonuses. But that requires a lot more time and patience than I have.

https://www.frugalprofessor.com/best-cr ... 9-edition/
https://www.frugalprofessor.com/an-audi ... y-2019-q3/

I'm expecting to get an average cash back in the neighborhood of 5% across all transactions for 2019Q4. Last quarter was 4.5% but I hadn't yet learned that Walmart (via the walmart pay app) counts as a 5.25% category, for example.

Edit: You won't be hit with any taxes upon moving a brokerage account to ME. I moved $100k of VTSAX at VG to ME without incident. Selling assets triggers taxable events. Moving assets does not.

[cowbman]

I used to own the Uber card but then ditched it for Bank of America. Get a few BOA Cash rewards card and get to their platinum level by parking 100k in Merrill Edge (free transactions and all Vanguard ETFs available, I use it as a second brokerage for diversification). I currently enjoy, with four of them:

- 5.25% on dining/bars
- 5.25% on gas
- 5.25% on travel expenses
- 5.25% on online purchases
- 3.5% on groceries (including Costco!)
- 2.625% on everything else (and no international fee)

Cash back automatically posts every month in my account. You can also get by with just one or two (rather than four) if you are not interested in all the categories or you are willing to change the reward category choice every month (and your spending pattern justifies it).

If you are not already a BOA customer (I have been, for 10+ years), it might be annoying to move liquid assets into Merrill Edge, so your mileage may vary.

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

The premium rewards card looks appealing to me. However, how are you getting the 5.25%? looks like there is a $95 annual fee and I am only seeing 3.5% on travel/dining and 2.625% on everything else with at least $100,000 at Merrill Edge.

If I can get 5.25%, 3.5% and 2.625% on everything else as indicated above then this seems like a no brainer even with the $95 annual fee and needing to move $100,000 to Merrill Edge.

Don’t get the card premium card. The other cards don’t have an annual fee. If you have $100k then you get the additional bump of 75% of that 3.0% to get to 5.25%. You have to choose the cash cards and then choose dining as your category.

Isn't the issue with the non annual fee cards thought that you only get the higher rewards on the first $2,500 in quarterly spending?

No, the rewards on your relationship status with Bank of America/Merrill (ie. how much money you have with them).

[Supurdueper]

It's a great card but there is a $2,500 quarterly spending cap for the Cash Rewards card it you want the 5.25% and 3.5% CB. Once you exceed $2,500 inside of three months, the rewards drop to 1%. And you don't get 2.625% on the cash rewards card on everything else. You need to use their Travel Rewards or Premium Rewards cards to get the 2.625% CB.

The premium rewards card looks appealing to me. However, how are you getting the 5.25%? looks like there is a $95 annual fee and I am only seeing 3.5% on travel/dining and 2.625% on everything else with at least $100,000 at Merrill Edge.

If I can get 5.25%, 3.5% and 2.625% on everything else as indicated above then this seems like a no brainer even with the $95 annual fee and needing to move $100,000 to Merrill Edge.

Don’t get the card premium card. The other cards don’t have an annual fee. If you have $100k then you get the additional bump of 75% of that 3.0% to get to 5.25%. You have to choose the cash cards and then choose dining as your category.

EXCEPT...The Premium Rewards card allows you to redeem for cash while the free one does not. Also, the annual fee is easily offset by the airline credit and Global Entry credit.

The more i read about the BofA premium rewards card the more I am liking it to replace both my Uber card and my Citi Double Cash card. Does this make sense to do?

What is the best way to get $100,000 into a Merrill Edge account? All of my money is currently at Vanguard in either a taxable account (over $100,000), ROTH IRA Accounts (2 accounts that total just under $100,000), or SEP IRA account (well over $100,000). If I move $100,000 out of my taxable account I will get hit with capital gains right? Would I be able to just move part of my SEP IRA account over? ROTH IRA?

Cusetown - PM if you would like. My good friend works there and he’s not a salesman but he can assist setting you up easily.

[cusetownusa]

If married, the best way to get $100k to ME is through a joint brokerage account. That way you and your spouse can qualify for platinum honors status without needing to put $200k there, as would be the case if you were to transfer IRAs there.

Having both spouses qualify independently for platinum honors status is good because each can apply for cash rewards cards and add the other as authorized users, defeating the $2.5k/quarter cap per card. To be clear, the authorized user doesn't double the cap. Between my wife and I, we have 4 cash rewards cards and one premium card (and we're authorized users on each other's cards as well).

5.25% cash on most purchases (costco via online gift cards, travel, online, walmart via walmart pay app, restaurants, gas), 3.5% on groceries (not via costco / walmart), 2.625% on all else (doctors, property tax, etc). No net annual fee after recouping $100 travel credit.

It's unambiguously the best CC strategy on the planet right now, short of pumping and dumping for higher bonuses. But that requires a lot more time and patience than I have.

https://www.frugalprofessor.com/best-cr ... 9-edition/
https://www.frugalprofessor.com/an-audi ... y-2019-q3/

I'm expecting to get an average cash back in the neighborhood of 5% across all transactions for 2019Q4. Last quarter was 4.5% but I hadn't yet learned that Walmart (via the walmart pay app) counts as a 5.25% category, for example.

Edit: You won't be hit with any taxes upon moving a brokerage account to ME. I moved $100k of VTSAX at VG to ME without incident. Selling assets triggers taxable events. Moving assets does not.

Thanks for the Info...I think I see how this works now.

Does it get confusing to follow the 4 cash reward cards each quarter to make sure you are staying under the $2,500 cap? Not sure my wife would be willing to put in that effort. If so, would the Premium Card by itself be worth it still? If so, then we would just need one Card and pretty much use that for everything right? Or would be get 2 of those and get the $500 bonus for each?

Also, Do I need to convert my VTSAX and VTIAX to ETFs first so that I don't have to pay a transaction fee?

[FrugalProfessor]

If married, the best way to get $100k to ME is through a joint brokerage account. That way you and your spouse can qualify for platinum honors status without needing to put $200k there, as would be the case if you were to transfer IRAs there.

Having both spouses qualify independently for platinum honors status is good because each can apply for cash rewards cards and add the other as authorized users, defeating the $2.5k/quarter cap per card. To be clear, the authorized user doesn't double the cap. Between my wife and I, we have 4 cash rewards cards and one premium card (and we're authorized users on each other's cards as well).

5.25% cash on most purchases (costco via online gift cards, travel, online, walmart via walmart pay app, restaurants, gas), 3.5% on groceries (not via costco / walmart), 2.625% on all else (doctors, property tax, etc). No net annual fee after recouping $100 travel credit.

It's unambiguously the best CC strategy on the planet right now, short of pumping and dumping for higher bonuses. But that requires a lot more time and patience than I have.

https://www.frugalprofessor.com/best-cr ... 9-edition/
https://www.frugalprofessor.com/an-audi ... y-2019-q3/

I'm expecting to get an average cash back in the neighborhood of 5% across all transactions for 2019Q4. Last quarter was 4.5% but I hadn't yet learned that Walmart (via the walmart pay app) counts as a 5.25% category, for example.

Edit: You won't be hit with any taxes upon moving a brokerage account to ME. I moved $100k of VTSAX at VG to ME without incident. Selling assets triggers taxable events. Moving assets does not.

Thanks for the Info...I think I see how this works now.

Does it get confusing to follow the 4 cash reward cards each quarter to make sure you are staying under the $2,500 cap? Not sure my wife would be willing to put in that effort. If so, would the Premium Card by itself be worth it still? If so, then we would just need one Card and pretty much use that for everything right? Or would be get 2 of those and get the $500 bonus for each?

Also, Do I need to convert my VTSAX and VTIAX to ETFs first so that I don't have to pay a transaction fee?

If you intend to transact in your ME account (to tax loss harvest, for example), then I'd convert from MF to ETF prior to transferring. I didn't do this but I don't particularly regret it. I prefer MF to ETF and dislike that the MF=>ETF conversion cannot ever be undone. If I need liquidity, I can sell the VTSAX I continue hold in my VG account (anything in excess of the $100k ME). Or alternatively, I could easily transfer from ME to VG to sell. If my ME account grows too much then I can transfer back to VG. The one nuisance I've found with MF, however, is that I can't easily manage which tax lot is transferred from ME to VG. For tax loss harvesting purposes, it'd be nice to specify the highest cost basis lots but I've had zero success with this.

Regarding the hassle of keeping track of the different cards, it's not horrific. 2 of the 4 accounts are permanently designated as "online." I purchase costco gift cards in $1k increments, so the balances are relatively easy to keep track of each quarter. Other spending is pretty simple to track as well, taking 2 minutes/month in Personal Capital + Excel. I wish that BoA would report that number (cumulative spending / quarter) but they don't.

Despite the "complexity," it's not bad at all. I store all card numbers, security codes, and expiration dates in LastPass, which we both have access to. Amazon, paypal, etc. stores our "online" card, so no complexity there. If we buy plane tickets, then we use the "travel" card. If we shop at Walmart/sams, the walmart/sams pay app stores the appropriate "online" cc. The only remaining card that we physically carry with us is the restaurant card which is dual-use as the (non-walmart) grocery card. That and the premium rewards card which is used for doctors, etc.