Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

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Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

Thank you. Seems like $0 is okay but safer to leave $10 or so :beer
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Marseille07 wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 6:59 pm Thank you. Seems like $0 is okay but safer to leave $10 or so :beer
Try $1! :twisted:
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daw007
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by daw007 »

I leave $.01 with no issues in my Bofa checking account...
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Any way to turn off the low balance emails when you have under $100 in there?
stilllurking
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by stilllurking »

tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:14 am Any way to turn off the low balance emails when you have under $100 in there?
Try in Accounts | Alerts | Low balance threshold and turn it off?
02nz
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by 02nz »

Marseille07 wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 6:40 pm Also, any repercussions if we leave the account at $0, provided I'm a Platinum Honors customer?
DO NOT LEAVE A ZERO BALANCE! After a while your account will be closed and you'll lose Preferred Rewards status. This happened to me, but thankfully I caught it in time before the status expired. I just leave $25 in there now.
scornovaca
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by scornovaca »

You can leave a 0 balance if you have some activity -- I get around this by auto redeeming my rewards monthly and then transferring the cash to another account as soon as it is available.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

02nz wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:32 am
Marseille07 wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 6:40 pm Also, any repercussions if we leave the account at $0, provided I'm a Platinum Honors customer?
DO NOT LEAVE A ZERO BALANCE! After a while your account will be closed and you'll lose Preferred Rewards status. This happened to me, but thankfully I caught it in time before the status expired. I just leave $25 in there now.
Thank you, this is good to know as I don't intend to use this account at all. In my case the rewards would be points, not cash, so they too wouldn't be hitting this account. I'll do $25 like you.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

stilllurking wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:30 am
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:14 am Any way to turn off the low balance emails when you have under $100 in there?
Try in Accounts | Alerts | Low balance threshold and turn it off?
There wasn't an alert turned on.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:01 am
stilllurking wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:30 am
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:14 am Any way to turn off the low balance emails when you have under $100 in there?
Try in Accounts | Alerts | Low balance threshold and turn it off?
There wasn't an alert turned on.
What now? If I do $25 like another poster suggested, I get alerts and no way to turn them off? Since the initial deposit for Relationship is $100 anyway, how about we just leave it?
scornovaca
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by scornovaca »

From the Bank of America website:

Help & Support -> Manage Alerts -> General & Security -> Balance Drops Below $100
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

scornovaca wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:10 am From the Bank of America website:

Help & Support -> Manage Alerts -> General & Security -> Balance Drops Below $100


Thanks!
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

Crisis averted. What's the minimum balance we need to keep? If $0 is bad, what about $1 (assume not much activity)?

Also, even if they do go ahead and try to close checking, we seem to receive some notification to avoid closure?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FrugalProfessor »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:18 am Crisis averted. What's the minimum balance we need to keep? If $0 is bad, what about $1 (assume not much activity)?

Also, even if they do go ahead and try to close checking, we seem to receive some notification to avoid closure?
I redeem my CC rewards into my checking account on a monthly basis. Then sweep to Vanguard leaving a $0 balance. Therefore, it has a $0 balance 99% of the month.

I haven't had any problems yet and don't intend to change things. Though maybe you could keep $1 there just to be safe.
I blog here: https://www.frugalprofessor.com/
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

FrugalProfessor wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:24 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:18 am Crisis averted. What's the minimum balance we need to keep? If $0 is bad, what about $1 (assume not much activity)?

Also, even if they do go ahead and try to close checking, we seem to receive some notification to avoid closure?
I redeem my CC rewards into my checking account on a monthly basis. Then sweep to Vanguard leaving a $0 balance. Therefore, it has a $0 balance 99% of the month.

I haven't had any problems yet and don't intend to change things. Though maybe you could keep $1 there just to be safe.
Thank you, I'll go with $1 then. In my case my rewards are points, so the checking won't have much activities if at all.
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:45 pm
FrugalProfessor wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:24 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:18 am Crisis averted. What's the minimum balance we need to keep? If $0 is bad, what about $1 (assume not much activity)?

Also, even if they do go ahead and try to close checking, we seem to receive some notification to avoid closure?
I redeem my CC rewards into my checking account on a monthly basis. Then sweep to Vanguard leaving a $0 balance. Therefore, it has a $0 balance 99% of the month.

I haven't had any problems yet and don't intend to change things. Though maybe you could keep $1 there just to be safe.
Thank you, I'll go with $1 then. In my case my rewards are points, so the checking won't have much activities if at all.
What do you redeem your BofA points for if not cash?
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:52 pm What do you redeem your BofA points for if not cash?
So I'm still new with BofA, but my understanding is that I earn points, and apply the points on certain qualifying items on my CC statement. Travel Rewards card is somewhat limited in this regard, only accepting travel-related expenses or dining / takeout.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tomsense76 »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:57 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:52 pm What do you redeem your BofA points for if not cash?
So I'm still new with BofA, but my understanding is that I earn points, and apply the points on certain qualifying items on my CC statement. Travel Rewards card is somewhat limited in this regard, only accepting travel-related expenses or dining / takeout.
Thought you had cash rewards too?

In any event could setup the points to auto-redeem as a statement credit.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tomsense76 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:00 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:57 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:52 pm What do you redeem your BofA points for if not cash?
So I'm still new with BofA, but my understanding is that I earn points, and apply the points on certain qualifying items on my CC statement. Travel Rewards card is somewhat limited in this regard, only accepting travel-related expenses or dining / takeout.
Thought you had cash rewards too?

In any event could setup the points to auto-redeem as a statement credit.
I can get cash rewards but the exchange rate isn't as good. This is the brilliance of points system - they get to define what a point is.

I'll look into auto-redeem, that's exactly what I want.
02nz
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by 02nz »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:57 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:52 pm What do you redeem your BofA points for if not cash?
So I'm still new with BofA, but my understanding is that I earn points, and apply the points on certain qualifying items on my CC statement. Travel Rewards card is somewhat limited in this regard, only accepting travel-related expenses or dining / takeout.
Technically, with the Travel Rewards card there's a cash option and a travel statement credit option. But it would be very silly to choose the former, since you get 40% less value (0.6 cent per point) than redeeming against travel purchases.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

02nz wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:21 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:57 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:52 pm What do you redeem your BofA points for if not cash?
So I'm still new with BofA, but my understanding is that I earn points, and apply the points on certain qualifying items on my CC statement. Travel Rewards card is somewhat limited in this regard, only accepting travel-related expenses or dining / takeout.
Technically, with the Travel Rewards card there's a cash option and a travel statement credit option. But it would be very silly to choose the former, since you get 40% less value (0.6 cent per point) than redeeming against travel purchases.
Exactly. Practically I need to spend the points as a statement credit on qualifying items. Alternatives are available but not appealing.

I also don't see auto-redeem for the Travel Rewards card, might have to be done manually - not that this is a huge deal though, once-a-quarter kind of thing.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:10 pm
tomsense76 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:00 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:57 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:52 pm What do you redeem your BofA points for if not cash?
So I'm still new with BofA, but my understanding is that I earn points, and apply the points on certain qualifying items on my CC statement. Travel Rewards card is somewhat limited in this regard, only accepting travel-related expenses or dining / takeout.
Thought you had cash rewards too?

In any event could setup the points to auto-redeem as a statement credit.
I can get cash rewards but the exchange rate isn't as good. This is the brilliance of points system - they get to define what a point is.

I'll look into auto-redeem, that's exactly what I want.
Switch the card from Travel Rewards to whatever the new one is that has cash back at the same rate.

https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... edit-card/
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:33 pm Switch the card from Travel Rewards to whatever the new one is that has cash back at the same rate.

https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... edit-card/
The problem is FTF 3% on that card. I'd rather take a statement credit + 0% FTF than cashback + 3% FTF.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by BrandonBogle »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:35 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:33 pm Switch the card from Travel Rewards to whatever the new one is that has cash back at the same rate.

https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... edit-card/
The problem is FTF 3% on that card. I'd rather take a statement credit + 0% FTF than cashback + 3% FTF.
I transfer my Travel Rewards points to the Premium Rewards card and redeem for cash back there (manually or via the automatic monthly redemption). If you have the Ultimate card, you may be able to do the same and thus, not need any qualifying transactions.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:41 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:35 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:33 pm Switch the card from Travel Rewards to whatever the new one is that has cash back at the same rate.

https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... edit-card/
The problem is FTF 3% on that card. I'd rather take a statement credit + 0% FTF than cashback + 3% FTF.
I transfer my Travel Rewards points to the Premium Rewards card and redeem for cash back there (manually or via the automatic monthly redemption). If you have the Ultimate card, you may be able to do the same and thus, not need any qualifying transactions.
Yeah this is an amazing set up if feasible. I just got the Travel card this month though, I'd imagine I have to wait for perhaps 6 months to apply for the Ultimate.

If anyone already has the Ultimate and could confirm the points transfer that'd be great.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:41 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:35 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:33 pm Switch the card from Travel Rewards to whatever the new one is that has cash back at the same rate.

https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... edit-card/
The problem is FTF 3% on that card. I'd rather take a statement credit + 0% FTF than cashback + 3% FTF.
I transfer my Travel Rewards points to the Premium Rewards card and redeem for cash back there (manually or via the automatic monthly redemption). If you have the Ultimate card, you may be able to do the same and thus, not need any qualifying transactions.
Why do you bother using the Travel if you have the Premium?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tomsense76 »

Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:10 pm
tomsense76 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:00 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:57 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 2:52 pm What do you redeem your BofA points for if not cash?
So I'm still new with BofA, but my understanding is that I earn points, and apply the points on certain qualifying items on my CC statement. Travel Rewards card is somewhat limited in this regard, only accepting travel-related expenses or dining / takeout.
Thought you had cash rewards too?

In any event could setup the points to auto-redeem as a statement credit.
I can get cash rewards but the exchange rate isn't as good. This is the brilliance of points system - they get to define what a point is.

I'll look into auto-redeem, that's exactly what I want.
Sorry I meant the cash rewards card, which one could redeem using cash back.

Yeah auto-redeem is pretty simple to setup if you go into rewards for the card. Idk how it works with Travel Rewards CC specifically, but with Cash Rewards and Premium Rewards they won't redeem unless on racks up at least $25 in rewards. Depending on how often you use the card, this may or may not be an issue.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
tomsense76
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tomsense76 »

tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:55 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:41 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:35 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:33 pm Switch the card from Travel Rewards to whatever the new one is that has cash back at the same rate.

https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... edit-card/
The problem is FTF 3% on that card. I'd rather take a statement credit + 0% FTF than cashback + 3% FTF.
I transfer my Travel Rewards points to the Premium Rewards card and redeem for cash back there (manually or via the automatic monthly redemption). If you have the Ultimate card, you may be able to do the same and thus, not need any qualifying transactions.
Why do you bother using the Travel if you have the Premium?
Also curious about this. Wondering if I'm missing something
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by BrandonBogle »

tomsense76 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:30 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:55 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:41 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:35 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:33 pm Switch the card from Travel Rewards to whatever the new one is that has cash back at the same rate.

https://www.bankofamerica.com/credit-ca ... edit-card/
The problem is FTF 3% on that card. I'd rather take a statement credit + 0% FTF than cashback + 3% FTF.
I transfer my Travel Rewards points to the Premium Rewards card and redeem for cash back there (manually or via the automatic monthly redemption). If you have the Ultimate card, you may be able to do the same and thus, not need any qualifying transactions.
Why do you bother using the Travel if you have the Premium?
Also curious about this. Wondering if I'm missing something
The Travel Rewards card came with 1 year 0% on purchases and Premium didn’t (though both also had spend bonuses). I’ve put home renovations on there and stringing along the funds at higher interest elsewhere.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

I'm doing ACAT from Brokerage A to Merrill Edge to park 100K+ to qualify for Platinum Honors. Now, I think I transferred too many shares and want to send 100 shares from ME to Brokerage B. Does anyone know how long I need to wait (if at all) before initiating an ACAT transfer from ME to Brokerage B?

Brokerage B only recognizes "Merrill Lynch" not "Merrill Edge," I'm asking their support if they're the same thing. Worst comes worst, I might have to ACAT back the 100 to Brokerage A, which Brokerage B recognizes.
Laundry_Service
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Laundry_Service »

BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:41 pm I transfer my Travel Rewards points to the Premium Rewards card and redeem for cash back there (manually or via the automatic monthly redemption). If you have the Ultimate card, you may be able to do the same and thus, not need any qualifying transactions.
I was not aware you can transfer points to another card. Thanks for the tip!
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:59 pm
tomsense76 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:30 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:55 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:41 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:35 pm

The problem is FTF 3% on that card. I'd rather take a statement credit + 0% FTF than cashback + 3% FTF.
I transfer my Travel Rewards points to the Premium Rewards card and redeem for cash back there (manually or via the automatic monthly redemption). If you have the Ultimate card, you may be able to do the same and thus, not need any qualifying transactions.
Why do you bother using the Travel if you have the Premium?
Also curious about this. Wondering if I'm missing something
The Travel Rewards card came with 1 year 0% on purchases and Premium didn’t (though both also had spend bonuses). I’ve put home renovations on there and stringing along the funds at higher interest elsewhere.
Is the Premium Rewards card the best all around with Platinum Honors? I see there is a $95/yr fee.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FrugalProfessor »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:38 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:59 pm
tomsense76 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:30 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:55 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:41 pm

I transfer my Travel Rewards points to the Premium Rewards card and redeem for cash back there (manually or via the automatic monthly redemption). If you have the Ultimate card, you may be able to do the same and thus, not need any qualifying transactions.
Why do you bother using the Travel if you have the Premium?
Also curious about this. Wondering if I'm missing something
The Travel Rewards card came with 1 year 0% on purchases and Premium didn’t (though both also had spend bonuses). I’ve put home renovations on there and stringing along the funds at higher interest elsewhere.
Is the Premium Rewards card the best all around with Platinum Honors? I see there is a $95/yr fee.
I use the premium rewards card for anything that doesn't qualify for a 5.25% with the cash rewards card.

https://frugalprofessor.com/best-credit ... 9-edition/

Every year I buy $100 of American airlines egift cards to take advantage of the $100 airline incidental credit and sell them for about 85 bucks. So the net cost of earning that car is about 10 bucks for me. But I also get the global entry credit every 4 years, so it's even better.

It's a good system. I recommend it.
I blog here: https://www.frugalprofessor.com/
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

anon_investor wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:02 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 6:59 pm Thank you. Seems like $0 is okay but safer to leave $10 or so :beer
Try $1! :twisted:
The question is whether $1 is enough. A poster said $0 got their checking closed, $25 seems OK. Another poster empties their account but they have account activities.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

FrugalProfessor wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:49 pm
anon_investor wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 6:38 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:59 pm
tomsense76 wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:30 pm
tj wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:55 pm

Why do you bother using the Travel if you have the Premium?
Also curious about this. Wondering if I'm missing something
The Travel Rewards card came with 1 year 0% on purchases and Premium didn’t (though both also had spend bonuses). I’ve put home renovations on there and stringing along the funds at higher interest elsewhere.
Is the Premium Rewards card the best all around with Platinum Honors? I see there is a $95/yr fee.
I use the premium rewards card for anything that doesn't qualify for a 5.25% with the cash rewards card.

https://frugalprofessor.com/best-credit ... 9-edition/

Every year I buy $100 of American airlines egift cards to take advantage of the $100 airline incidental credit and sell them for about 85 bucks. So the net cost of earning that car is about 10 bucks for me. But I also get the global entry credit every 4 years, so it's even better.

It's a good system. I recommend it.
How far apart was your spacing to apply to get both CCs?
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Is the proper strategy to:
#1 get the CC
#2 transfer $100k to Merrill Edge
#3 wait 3 month then open Advantage Relationship Checking and enroll in Preferred Rewards?
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:31 pm Is the proper strategy to:
#1 get the CC
#2 transfer $100k to Merrill Edge
#3 wait 3 month then open Advantage Relationship Checking and enroll in Preferred Rewards?
No need to wait for anything except Preferred Rewards. You can get CC, Relationship and ME at the same time and be fine.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Marseille07 wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:35 pm
anon_investor wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:31 pm Is the proper strategy to:
#1 get the CC
#2 transfer $100k to Merrill Edge
#3 wait 3 month then open Advantage Relationship Checking and enroll in Preferred Rewards?
No need to wait for anything except Preferred Rewards. You can get CC, Relationship and ME at the same time and be fine.
But the BoA website makes it sound like the fee for Advantage Relationship Check isn't waived until you can enroll in Preferred Rewards 3 months later.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:36 pm But the BoA website makes it sound like the fee for Advantage Relationship Check isn't waived until you can enroll in Preferred Rewards 3 months later.
You can use the balance in ME to get the fee waived. Be sure to put more than 10K in ME, but if you're after Platinum Honors you're parking 100K+ there anyway.
Maintain a combined balance of $10,000 in eligible linked accounts
OR
Are enrolled in Preferred Rewards
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 11:36 pm But the BoA website makes it sound like the fee for Advantage Relationship Check isn't waived until you can enroll in Preferred Rewards 3 months later.
It will be waived for a month or two at the start to begin with. If they charge a fee, I'm sure you will be able to get it waived when you explain the situation. You could possibly wait one month, but I certainly would not wait longer. You don't want to miss the monthly cutoff for calculating if you are eligible.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

FrugalProfessor wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 8:49 pm Every year I buy $100 of American airlines egift cards to take advantage of the $100 airline incidental credit and sell them for about 85 bucks. So the net cost of earning that car is about 10 bucks for me. But I also get the global entry credit every 4 years, so it's even better.
And if you fly and pay baggage fees on domestic airlines, there's not even any need to do that. Just charge your fees and they will be refunded. The gift cards are only a backup plan if you don't have another use for the credit.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

When opening the Merrill Edge and/or BoA checking, does anyone know if Experian, Equifax, Transunion, Chexsystems, and/or Innovis need to be un-frozen?
Aelron
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Aelron »

Marseille07 wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:23 pm The question is whether $1 is enough. A poster said $0 got their checking closed, $25 seems OK. Another poster empties their account but they have account activities.
I'm in roughly the same stage of this process as you are. I've found that I can only auto redeem the credit card cash back to either my BoA checking or Merrill account. Manual redemption can be applied as credit card statement credit, but auto cannot! That means I have to log in and "do something" every month anyway, so it might as well be moving money from BoA checking to either credit card statement balance or to another outside account (in my case, Fidelity). Then I should be able to keep $0 balance in checking and keep the account alive due to activity only.
tomsense76
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tomsense76 »

BrandonBogle wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 6:59 pm The Travel Rewards card came with 1 year 0% on purchases and Premium didn’t (though both also had spend bonuses). I’ve put home renovations on there and stringing along the funds at higher interest elsewhere.
Ah ok. That makes sense. Thanks for sharing :sharebeer
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tomsense76 »

anon_investor wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 7:22 am When opening the Merrill Edge and/or BoA checking, does anyone know if Experian, Equifax, Transunion, Chexsystems, and/or Innovis need to be un-frozen?
Already had a BOA account before freezing everything. So no idea about that. I don't think this is typically needed (Schwab used to do a soft inquiry for opening an online checking account not sure if they still do).

Applying for the Merrill Edge account did not require any unfreezing.

With the credit cards they had to run a check. That said, I actually just applied with my credit still frozen (based on some other comments in this thread). They called me back the next day and told me, "Hey we weren't able to check your credit as it was frozen. Can you please unfreeze?". They gave me a couple options as to which one to unfreeze. So picked one (think it was Experian). Finished the check on the phone and was approved. Card sent out in the mail shortly thereafter.
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

So I just opened Relationship and trying to hook up another bank so I can transfer money. I declined the ATM / Debit card as I don't intend to use this checking account much.

However, when I got to "Add account / recipient" business, I'm hit by this error:
Unable to add Secure Transfer.

We are unable to identify a valid debit card on your profile.
Of course, there isn't one as they gave me an option to opt-out and I opted out. Has anyone seen something like this and if so, what was your solution?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Don't link it on the BofA site, link it from the other bank.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tj wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:27 pm Don't link it on the BofA site, link it from the other bank.
Whenever I pay CC, I generally let my CC pull from checking. I guess I could try BillPay from Ally, but what's the issue with what I'm trying to do?

Also, iirc somewhere along the sign-up process they asked to transfer money but I was able to simply skip it and now the balance is $0. Is this simply a bluff? "The minimum opening deposit for this account is $100."

I'm trying to transfer some money but they aren't letting me, whining that I don't have a debit card on file (what does it have to do with adding an external bank account anyway, especially when they let me opt-out of a debit card :confused)
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Marseille07 wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:43 pm
tj wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:27 pm Don't link it on the BofA site, link it from the other bank.
Whenever I pay CC, I generally let my CC pull from checking. I guess I could try BillPay from Ally, but what's the issue with what I'm trying to do?

Also, iirc somewhere along the sign-up process they asked to transfer money but I was able to simply skip it and now the balance is $0. Is this simply a bluff? "The minimum opening deposit for this account is $100."

I'm trying to transfer some money but they aren't letting me, whining that I don't have a debit card on file (what does it have to do with adding an external bank account anyway, especially when they let me opt-out of a debit card :confused)
BofA charges fees for sending ACH's, so it's pretty dumb to use them if you have alternative options:

https://www.bankofamerica.com/online-ba ... at5_topic2
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

tj wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:07 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:43 pm
tj wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:27 pm Don't link it on the BofA site, link it from the other bank.
Whenever I pay CC, I generally let my CC pull from checking. I guess I could try BillPay from Ally, but what's the issue with what I'm trying to do?

Also, iirc somewhere along the sign-up process they asked to transfer money but I was able to simply skip it and now the balance is $0. Is this simply a bluff? "The minimum opening deposit for this account is $100."

I'm trying to transfer some money but they aren't letting me, whining that I don't have a debit card on file (what does it have to do with adding an external bank account anyway, especially when they let me opt-out of a debit card :confused)
BofA charges fees for sending ACH's, so it's pretty dumb to use them if you have alternative options:

https://www.bankofamerica.com/online-ba ... at5_topic2
Are these fees waived with Platinum Honors/Relationship checking?
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