Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

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

Post by anon_investor »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:55 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:54 pm Good future tip, check do not solicit…
I'm going off of what another poster mentioned on this thread. I can confirm TDA has one though, as I pinged their chat support for the hell of it and they found & turned it on.
I think companies have to have it by law, but some make you call or write a letter.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:59 pm I think companies have to have it by law, but some make you call or write a letter.
Just go visit a branch nearby!
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:01 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:59 pm I think companies have to have it by law, but some make you call or write a letter.
Just go visit a branch nearby!
You might walk out with another CC and a savings account…
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:02 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:01 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:59 pm I think companies have to have it by law, but some make you call or write a letter.
Just go visit a branch nearby!
You might walk out with another CC and a savings account…
That's fine, each CC carries a $200 bonus. And we have the 5/24 rule.
tomsense76
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tomsense76 »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:44 pm The only regret is I couldn't mention to enable the "do not solicit" checkbox on my profile. It's not so easy when you just met a BofA banker for the first time and they're trying to sell you investment advisors in your face.
I think one can change their privacy preferences here ( http://bankofamerica.com/privacy )
"Anyone who claims to understand quantum theory is either lying or crazy" -- Richard Feynman
bling
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bling »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:44 am My shares show up in ME but haven't left the source brokerage. No cost basis on the ME side. Hopefully they're still doing something, though I don't mind doubling my shares this way :moneybag
i've done multiple brokerage transfers over the years, and while the positions themselves move over pretty much always in one business day, the cost basis usually takes about a week.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

bling wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:17 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:44 am My shares show up in ME but haven't left the source brokerage. No cost basis on the ME side. Hopefully they're still doing something, though I don't mind doubling my shares this way :moneybag
i've done multiple brokerage transfers over the years, and while the positions themselves move over pretty much always in one business day, the cost basis usually takes about a week.
Thank you. Little I knew ACAT only transfers the shares; and there's another process sending the cost basis. I'll give it till the EOW :beer
student
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by student »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:22 pm
bling wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:17 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:44 am My shares show up in ME but haven't left the source brokerage. No cost basis on the ME side. Hopefully they're still doing something, though I don't mind doubling my shares this way :moneybag
i've done multiple brokerage transfers over the years, and while the positions themselves move over pretty much always in one business day, the cost basis usually takes about a week.
Thank you. Little I knew ACAT only transfers the shares; and there's another process sending the cost basis. I'll give it till the EOW :beer
And if there are dividends that are paid around the time of the transfer, they will transfer in another sweep in about a week.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

student wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:43 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:22 pm
bling wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:17 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:44 am My shares show up in ME but haven't left the source brokerage. No cost basis on the ME side. Hopefully they're still doing something, though I don't mind doubling my shares this way :moneybag
i've done multiple brokerage transfers over the years, and while the positions themselves move over pretty much always in one business day, the cost basis usually takes about a week.
Thank you. Little I knew ACAT only transfers the shares; and there's another process sending the cost basis. I'll give it till the EOW :beer
And if there are dividends that are paid around the time of the transfer, they will transfer in another sweep in about a week.
I really hope so. I thought VOO receives dividends but ME says it's not eligible for dividends reinvestment. It's possible they haven't completed the process though :beer

Also, I don't know how much BofA factors in the ME account balance, but my first card had an insultingly low CL while my second card (after transferring VOO) came with a super high CL.
student
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by student »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:44 pm
student wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:43 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:22 pm
bling wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:17 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:44 am My shares show up in ME but haven't left the source brokerage. No cost basis on the ME side. Hopefully they're still doing something, though I don't mind doubling my shares this way :moneybag
i've done multiple brokerage transfers over the years, and while the positions themselves move over pretty much always in one business day, the cost basis usually takes about a week.
Thank you. Little I knew ACAT only transfers the shares; and there's another process sending the cost basis. I'll give it till the EOW :beer
And if there are dividends that are paid around the time of the transfer, they will transfer in another sweep in about a week.
I really hope so. I thought VOO receives dividends but ME says it's not eligible for dividends reinvestment. It's possible they haven't completed the process though :beer

Also, I don't know how much BofA factors in the ME account balance, but my first card had an insultingly low CL while my second card (after transferring VOO) came with a super high CL.
You will receive the dividends as cash deposit.
aj44
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by aj44 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:41 pm
MisterBill wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:24 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:14 pm Thanks for the datapoint. Now I just need to settle on which CC to aim for, I am considering either the Premium Rewards or the Unlimited Cash Rewards. Does anyone know if there is any benefit with going into a local branch to talk to someone, are there any extra perks they can hook you up with?
I've read in the past that BofA only does one pull a day, so you might consider applying for both the Premium Rewards and Customized Cash Rewards cards since they are both useful, assuming it does not put you in 5/24 risk.
Has anyone one else tried that? I would be affraid of both getting rejected.
BOA has a 2/3/4 rule, you can be accepted for two BOA cards in two months, 3 BOA cards in a year, and 4 BOA cards in 2 years. You also can't be approved for another version of a card until you have had it for 2 years. Google doctor of credit Bank of America for a list of all the guidelines.

I got the regular Customized Cash in May, the Premium Rewards a couple weeks ago and the US Pride version of the customized cash last week. The two I got this month only caused one credit pull.

In June of next year I'll apply for the Susan G Komen version of the Customized Cash.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:52 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:41 pm
MisterBill wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:24 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:14 pm Thanks for the datapoint. Now I just need to settle on which CC to aim for, I am considering either the Premium Rewards or the Unlimited Cash Rewards. Does anyone know if there is any benefit with going into a local branch to talk to someone, are there any extra perks they can hook you up with?
I've read in the past that BofA only does one pull a day, so you might consider applying for both the Premium Rewards and Customized Cash Rewards cards since they are both useful, assuming it does not put you in 5/24 risk.
Has anyone one else tried that? I would be affraid of both getting rejected.
BOA has a 2/3/4 rule, you can be accepted for two BOA cards in two months, 3 BOA cards in a year, and 4 BOA cards in 2 years. You also can't be approved for another version of a card until you have had it for 2 years. Google doctor of credit Bank of America for a list of all the guidelines.

I got the regular Customized Cash in May, the Premium Rewards a couple weeks ago and the US Pride version of the customized cash last week. The two I got this month only caused one credit pull.

In June of next year I'll apply for the Susan G Komen version of the Customized Cash.
So applying for 2 within minutes of each other works? Also do you know of you have to unfreeze all 3 bureaus?
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:55 pm So applying for 2 within minutes of each other works? Also do you know of you have to unfreeze all 3 bureaus?
Yeah, the banker was playing poker with me when they said they weren't sure if I get approved. If they have the 2/3/4 rule, of course I would.

And the rule confirms I'm completely stranded, having two 1.5% cards.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:02 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:55 pm So applying for 2 within minutes of each other works? Also do you know of you have to unfreeze all 3 bureaus?
Yeah, the banker was playing poker with me when they said they weren't sure if I get approved. If they have the 2/3/4 rule, of course I would.

And the rule confirms I'm completely stranded, having two 1.5% cards.
But now you get more than a college kid sized CL, so worth it! :sharebeer
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:09 pm But now you get more than a college kid sized CL, so worth it! :sharebeer
If I can transfer CL between cards, yes it turned out well. 2 months don't seem bad though, I might jot this down somewhere.
aj44
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by aj44 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:55 pm
aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:52 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:41 pm
MisterBill wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:24 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:14 pm Thanks for the datapoint. Now I just need to settle on which CC to aim for, I am considering either the Premium Rewards or the Unlimited Cash Rewards. Does anyone know if there is any benefit with going into a local branch to talk to someone, are there any extra perks they can hook you up with?
I've read in the past that BofA only does one pull a day, so you might consider applying for both the Premium Rewards and Customized Cash Rewards cards since they are both useful, assuming it does not put you in 5/24 risk.
Has anyone one else tried that? I would be affraid of both getting rejected.
BOA has a 2/3/4 rule, you can be accepted for two BOA cards in two months, 3 BOA cards in a year, and 4 BOA cards in 2 years. You also can't be approved for another version of a card until you have had it for 2 years. Google doctor of credit Bank of America for a list of all the guidelines.

I got the regular Customized Cash in May, the Premium Rewards a couple weeks ago and the US Pride version of the customized cash last week. The two I got this month only caused one credit pull.

In June of next year I'll apply for the Susan G Komen version of the Customized Cash.
So applying for 2 within minutes of each other works? Also do you know of you have to unfreeze all 3 bureaus?
I would think it would, I unfroze all 3 but they have only pulled Experian for me.

Speculation is BOA came up with the 2/3/4 rule after someone posted online they had 29 of the 30 MLB teams customized cash cards.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:24 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:55 pm
aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:52 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:41 pm
MisterBill wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:24 pm
I've read in the past that BofA only does one pull a day, so you might consider applying for both the Premium Rewards and Customized Cash Rewards cards since they are both useful, assuming it does not put you in 5/24 risk.
Has anyone one else tried that? I would be affraid of both getting rejected.
BOA has a 2/3/4 rule, you can be accepted for two BOA cards in two months, 3 BOA cards in a year, and 4 BOA cards in 2 years. You also can't be approved for another version of a card until you have had it for 2 years. Google doctor of credit Bank of America for a list of all the guidelines.

I got the regular Customized Cash in May, the Premium Rewards a couple weeks ago and the US Pride version of the customized cash last week. The two I got this month only caused one credit pull.

In June of next year I'll apply for the Susan G Komen version of the Customized Cash.
So applying for 2 within minutes of each other works? Also do you know of you have to unfreeze all 3 bureaus?
I would think it would, I unfroze all 3 but they have only pulled Experian for me.

Speculation is BOA came up with the 2/3/4 rule after someone posted online they had 29 of the 30 MLB teams customized cash cards.
What! :shock: 29? Most banks have overall cut offs...

Was it an instant decision when you applied?
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

Any way to cancel my CC application after it's approved? I really should've gotten Custom Cash rather than the Ultimate.
aj44
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by aj44 »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:26 pm
aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:24 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:55 pm
aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:52 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:41 pm

Has anyone one else tried that? I would be affraid of both getting rejected.
BOA has a 2/3/4 rule, you can be accepted for two BOA cards in two months, 3 BOA cards in a year, and 4 BOA cards in 2 years. You also can't be approved for another version of a card until you have had it for 2 years. Google doctor of credit Bank of America for a list of all the guidelines.

I got the regular Customized Cash in May, the Premium Rewards a couple weeks ago and the US Pride version of the customized cash last week. The two I got this month only caused one credit pull.

In June of next year I'll apply for the Susan G Komen version of the Customized Cash.
So applying for 2 within minutes of each other works? Also do you know of you have to unfreeze all 3 bureaus?
I would think it would, I unfroze all 3 but they have only pulled Experian for me.

Speculation is BOA came up with the 2/3/4 rule after someone posted online they had 29 of the 30 MLB teams customized cash cards.
What! :shock: 29? Most banks have overall cut offs...

Was it an instant decision when you applied?
For me it was, I did read others had to wait a few days for a decision.

BOA used to be the Wild West for approving multiple cards, I think it was about 2017 they started really cracking down on it.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:37 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:26 pm
aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:24 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:55 pm
aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:52 pm

BOA has a 2/3/4 rule, you can be accepted for two BOA cards in two months, 3 BOA cards in a year, and 4 BOA cards in 2 years. You also can't be approved for another version of a card until you have had it for 2 years. Google doctor of credit Bank of America for a list of all the guidelines.

I got the regular Customized Cash in May, the Premium Rewards a couple weeks ago and the US Pride version of the customized cash last week. The two I got this month only caused one credit pull.

In June of next year I'll apply for the Susan G Komen version of the Customized Cash.
So applying for 2 within minutes of each other works? Also do you know of you have to unfreeze all 3 bureaus?
I would think it would, I unfroze all 3 but they have only pulled Experian for me.

Speculation is BOA came up with the 2/3/4 rule after someone posted online they had 29 of the 30 MLB teams customized cash cards.
What! :shock: 29? Most banks have overall cut offs...

Was it an instant decision when you applied?
For me it was, I did read others had to wait a few days for a decision.

BOA used to be the Wild West for approving multiple cards, I think it was about 2017 they started really cracking down on it.
Okay, maybe I just apply for one.
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:30 pm Any way to cancel my CC application after it's approved? I really should've gotten Custom Cash rather than the Ultimate.

Nope. You can do a product change eventually though.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tj wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:41 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 11:30 pm Any way to cancel my CC application after it's approved? I really should've gotten Custom Cash rather than the Ultimate.

Nope. You can do a product change eventually though.
Damn it. Oh well, if the wait time is 2 months then I guess it's not the end of the world. Still, had I known the rules I'd have been more careful.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

It's kind of interesting BofA's systems are laggy as they seem to run a bunch of batch jobs to sync information.

I just got a notification to decline overdraft and they notified me about this 4 days later. Even at the branch, the banker kept saying that my account is "too new" indicating some information hasn't yet synced.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

BofA is really low tech.
You deleted this account sometime in the past, so you cannot add it again online. Fill out the Account Add form and mail it to us.
What the hell do they mean by "so"? This isn't logical at all.

I deleted it because a) they hid this account when I enrolled in checking (didn't show up for a day or two); and b) when the account magically reappeared, they used "null" for the *optional* bank name which I didn't fill out (showed up as "null-1234"), so I was concerned this configuration might not work as intended.
Last edited by Marseille07 on Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
sailaway
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sailaway »

Marseille07 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:54 am BofA is really low tech.
You deleted this account sometime in the past, so you cannot add it again online. Fill out the Account Add form and mail it to us.
What the hell do they mean by "so"? This isn't logical at all.
Actually, sounds like fairly standard fraud prevention. You deleted this, therefore in order to add it back in, you need to follow a process that is harder to hack.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

sailaway wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:58 am
Marseille07 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:54 am BofA is really low tech.
You deleted this account sometime in the past, so you cannot add it again online. Fill out the Account Add form and mail it to us.
What the hell do they mean by "so"? This isn't logical at all.
Actually, sounds like fairly standard fraud prevention. You deleted this, therefore in order to add it back in, you need to follow a process that is harder to hack.
I added the reasons as to why I deleted it. Their user experience was poor is the gist of it. Now they're making it even poorer.

I'm not so sure how this prevents hacking. I was able to link my account without verification the first time; if I were hacked, the hacker can easily add their account without verification. Hoping for a bad actor to make a mistake & delete a connection is not very effective.
Last edited by Marseille07 on Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Marseille07 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:01 am
sailaway wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:58 am
Marseille07 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:54 am BofA is really low tech.
You deleted this account sometime in the past, so you cannot add it again online. Fill out the Account Add form and mail it to us.
What the hell do they mean by "so"? This isn't logical at all.
Actually, sounds like fairly standard fraud prevention. You deleted this, therefore in order to add it back in, you need to follow a process that is harder to hack.
I added the reasons as to why I deleted it. Their user experience was poor is the gist of it. Now they're making it even poorer.
While you might have thought it logical to delete it, it sounds like you were not patient in letting them process populating your new accounts.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tj wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 11:09 am While you might have thought it logical to delete it, it sounds like you were not patient in letting them process populating your new accounts.
I got a CC and added BillPay (external account) first. It is beyond my comprehension that opening a checking account vanishes this BillPay account and made the checking account the only source of BillPay.

The BillPay account later came back, but there was no way to know that in advance and the way it came back looked buggy (the "null-1234" format). This is why I wanted to start over.
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Chip Munk
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Chip Munk »

Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:44 pm I thought VOO receives dividends but ME says it's not eligible for dividends reinvestment. It's possible they haven't completed the process though :beer
It's probably because the process hasn't completed yet. I hold VTI in my ME account and have it set to reinvest dividends.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

Chip Munk wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 1:59 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:44 pm I thought VOO receives dividends but ME says it's not eligible for dividends reinvestment. It's possible they haven't completed the process though :beer
It's probably because the process hasn't completed yet. I hold VTI in my ME account and have it set to reinvest dividends.
Thank you. I have someone at ME overseeing the ACAT process and I'll ask this when the process completes.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by BrandonBogle »

Marseille07 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 2:02 pm
Chip Munk wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 1:59 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:44 pm I thought VOO receives dividends but ME says it's not eligible for dividends reinvestment. It's possible they haven't completed the process though :beer
It's probably because the process hasn't completed yet. I hold VTI in my ME account and have it set to reinvest dividends.
Thank you. I have someone at ME overseeing the ACAT process and I'll ask this when the process completes.
Typically 14 days after the shares arrive. Think of it as a “true up” that comes after the initial move to reconcile things.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

BrandonBogle wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 3:06 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 2:02 pm
Chip Munk wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 1:59 pm
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:44 pm I thought VOO receives dividends but ME says it's not eligible for dividends reinvestment. It's possible they haven't completed the process though :beer
It's probably because the process hasn't completed yet. I hold VTI in my ME account and have it set to reinvest dividends.
Thank you. I have someone at ME overseeing the ACAT process and I'll ask this when the process completes.
Typically 14 days after the shares arrive. Think of it as a “true up” that comes after the initial move to reconcile things.
Whoa, that's longer than I thought. Once ME is all set, I actually have to make another ACAT somewhere else...I followed their instruction to cancel this ACAT but they didn't honor it.
island
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by island »

aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:52 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:41 pm
MisterBill wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:24 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:14 pm Thanks for the datapoint. Now I just need to settle on which CC to aim for, I am considering either the Premium Rewards or the Unlimited Cash Rewards. Does anyone know if there is any benefit with going into a local branch to talk to someone, are there any extra perks they can hook you up with?
I've read in the past that BofA only does one pull a day, so you might consider applying for both the Premium Rewards and Customized Cash Rewards cards since they are both useful, assuming it does not put you in 5/24 risk.
Has anyone one else tried that? I would be affraid of both getting rejected.
BOA has a 2/3/4 rule, you can be accepted for two BOA cards in two months, 3 BOA cards in a year, and 4 BOA cards in 2 years. You also can't be approved for another version of a card until you have had it for 2 years. Google doctor of credit Bank of America for a list of all the guidelines.

I got the regular Customized Cash in May, the Premium Rewards a couple weeks ago and the US Pride version of the customized cash last week. The two I got this month only caused one credit pull.

In June of next year I'll apply for the Susan G Komen version of the Customized Cash.
ajj4, Wow so you have 3 BOA credit cards, and will open another there in 6/22. Do you also have CCs from elsewhere?
Can you please give me some details on your use strategy? Just trying to figure out why so many from 1 bank. I have a few cards accumulated over the years, but usually only charge to 1-2 and charge everything possible. I'm guessing I'm not maximizing the savings or playing the game to the fullest.

I thought opening (and closing) credit cards often dings one's credit score or report, no?

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

Post by flyingcows »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:24 am
Marseille07 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:15 am
flyingcows wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:49 am
Marseille07 wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:19 pm I'm not pleased by how they handle the Debit card. They let me opt-out during the sign-up process, but apparently this is necessary to hook up an external account. Now trying to add, I'm facing this message:
This account isn't eligible to order cards online. For help, please call 800.432.1000 or visit a banking center.
What a joke this is.
For what its worth, if you have a debit card attached to an account you can set daily limits and lock/unlock it through the website. I have one on one of my BoA checking account but I just leave it locked
I see. I wish they didn't provide an option to opt-out when opting out renders my account useless. There was no fine print indicating I can't link external accounts w/o it (and I still don't comprehend why a debit card matters in this regard).
Your experience perfectly illustrates why people hate big banks... I am have reservations if I even want to try this Platinum Honors scheme. Does anyone know if Merrill Edge has any available bonuses for bringing over $100k in assets? It looks like there used to be a $300 bonus. I found a $100 signup bonus for setting up direct deposit on a new BoA checking account, that might be worth it for people trying for this Platinum Honors scheme. If I am going to move $100k from Vanguard, I kind of want to get paid.

There was a $900 bonus last May for 150k when I created the account, worth asking them about offers atleast
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aj44
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by aj44 »

island wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 3:28 pm
aj44 wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:52 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:41 pm
MisterBill wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 2:24 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 1:14 pm Thanks for the datapoint. Now I just need to settle on which CC to aim for, I am considering either the Premium Rewards or the Unlimited Cash Rewards. Does anyone know if there is any benefit with going into a local branch to talk to someone, are there any extra perks they can hook you up with?
I've read in the past that BofA only does one pull a day, so you might consider applying for both the Premium Rewards and Customized Cash Rewards cards since they are both useful, assuming it does not put you in 5/24 risk.
Has anyone one else tried that? I would be affraid of both getting rejected.
BOA has a 2/3/4 rule, you can be accepted for two BOA cards in two months, 3 BOA cards in a year, and 4 BOA cards in 2 years. You also can't be approved for another version of a card until you have had it for 2 years. Google doctor of credit Bank of America for a list of all the guidelines.

I got the regular Customized Cash in May, the Premium Rewards a couple weeks ago and the US Pride version of the customized cash last week. The two I got this month only caused one credit pull.

In June of next year I'll apply for the Susan G Komen version of the Customized Cash.
ajj4, Wow so you have 3 BOA credit cards, and will open another there in 6/22. Do you also have CCs from elsewhere?
Can you please give me some details on your use strategy? Just trying to figure out why so many from 1 bank. I have a few cards accumulated over the years, but usually only charge to 1-2 and charge everything possible. I'm guessing I'm not maximizing the savings or playing the game to the fullest.

I thought opening (and closing) credit cards often dings one's credit score or report, no?

Thanks!
I really just care about staying above 750 at all the credit reporting agencies, I have a flawless 20 year payment history and very low utilization as I pay them off each month so that pretty much keeps me there in spite of several hard inquiries and new accounts.

The reason I’m getting 4 BOA CC’s is I will have platinum honors so in keeping over $100k at BOA/Merrill (in Vanguard ETF’s) I’ll get a 2.62 back in general spend and 3.5 back on dining/travel with the Premium rewards card. Then each of the 3 customized cash cards will give me 5.25 back on up to $2500 a quarter on a category I choose monthly for each card.

I also have the following that are in the current rotation:

Amex Blue Preferred for 6% on groceries up to $6k and 6% streaming
US Bank Cash Plus for 5% utilities/internet
Chase Freedom Flex: 5% rotating quarterly categories
Amazon Store card: 5% back Amazon
Credit Union Card: Occasional deals
Apple Card: nothing really at this point

That’s about as far as I’m willing to go, other sites have super churners that go a lot further going after sign up bonuses.
MisterBill
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Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2015 2:21 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

island wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 3:28 pm ajj4, Wow so you have 3 BOA credit cards, and will open another there in 6/22. Do you also have CCs from elsewhere?
Can you please give me some details on your use strategy? Just trying to figure out why so many from 1 bank. I have a few cards accumulated over the years, but usually only charge to 1-2 and charge everything possible. I'm guessing I'm not maximizing the savings or playing the game to the fullest.

I thought opening (and closing) credit cards often dings one's credit score or report, no?

Thanks!
Closing cards doesn't really matter unless it's a really old card, and you don't have a lot of others, since the concern is the average age of the card. I looked at my credit report yesterday, and it says that my oldest card is 40 years old (which surprises me, maybe it's based on a different card I had with the same bank), so I'm not really concerned about that. You want to manage the number of "hard pulls" and the number of new cards you open to five within 24 months (look up the 5/24 rule), or some banks will not approve you for new cards, especially with lucrative bonuses. In my case, I just applied for a new Citi card this week, but I have only opened a couple of cards in the past two years and had four hard pulls, one of which is dropping off after this month since it's been two years.

My credit score is over 800. It even went up when I took out a 0.9% car loan earlier this year. That surprised me, but some site had been telling me that my score was suffering because I did not have any installment loans. Maybe it was right.

I have five BofA cards. Premium Rewards, Travel Rewards, and three Cash Rewards. Lots of other cards too, but this is not the place to discuss my card strategy.
placeholder
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Joined: Tue Aug 06, 2013 12:43 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by placeholder »

The advantage of multiple cards at boa is a signup bonus for each and you can target different high reward cash back categories (5.25% with platinum honors).
Marseille07
Posts: 16054
Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2020 12:41 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors is too good to be true. Like another poster, I wonder how (or if) they're making money running this program.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

MisterBill wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 6:14 pm
island wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 3:28 pm ajj4, Wow so you have 3 BOA credit cards, and will open another there in 6/22. Do you also have CCs from elsewhere?
Can you please give me some details on your use strategy? Just trying to figure out why so many from 1 bank. I have a few cards accumulated over the years, but usually only charge to 1-2 and charge everything possible. I'm guessing I'm not maximizing the savings or playing the game to the fullest.

I thought opening (and closing) credit cards often dings one's credit score or report, no?

Thanks!
Closing cards doesn't really matter unless it's a really old card, and you don't have a lot of others, since the concern is the average age of the card. I looked at my credit report yesterday, and it says that my oldest card is 40 years old (which surprises me, maybe it's based on a different card I had with the same bank), so I'm not really concerned about that. You want to manage the number of "hard pulls" and the number of new cards you open to five within 24 months (look up the 5/24 rule), or some banks will not approve you for new cards, especially with lucrative bonuses. In my case, I just applied for a new Citi card this week, but I have only opened a couple of cards in the past two years and had four hard pulls, one of which is dropping off after this month since it's been two years.

My credit score is over 800. It even went up when I took out a 0.9% car loan earlier this year. That surprised me, but some site had been telling me that my score was suffering because I did not have any installment loans. Maybe it was right.

I have five BofA cards. Premium Rewards, Travel Rewards, and three Cash Rewards. Lots of other cards too, but this is not the place to discuss my card strategy.
Curious why Premium Rewards and Travel Rewards. It seems that the Travel Rewards provides no extra benefit over Premium Rewards.
MisterBill
Posts: 1169
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2015 2:21 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

anon_investor wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:30 am Curious why Premium Rewards and Travel Rewards. It seems that the Travel Rewards provides no extra benefit over Premium Rewards.
Got Travel Rewards before Premium Rewards came out. Haven't bothered to change it to something else.
sycamore
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sycamore »

anon_investor wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:30 am ...It seems that the Travel Rewards provides no extra benefit over Premium Rewards.
Travel Rewards has no annual fee while Premium Rewards is $95/year so TR could be better depending on one's spending patterns.
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

sycamore wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 6:19 am
anon_investor wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:30 am ...It seems that the Travel Rewards provides no extra benefit over Premium Rewards.
Travel Rewards has no annual fee while Premium Rewards is $95/year so TR could be better depending on one's spending patterns.
Not really as the Premium Rewards have annual credits that offset the fee.
sycamore
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sycamore »

tj wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:46 am
sycamore wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 6:19 am
anon_investor wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:30 am ...It seems that the Travel Rewards provides no extra benefit over Premium Rewards.
Travel Rewards has no annual fee while Premium Rewards is $95/year so TR could be better depending on one's spending patterns.
Not really as the Premium Rewards have annual credits that offset the fee.
Agree; I attempted to cover that with "depending on one's spending patterns" :-)
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

I like TR. I'd rather not have AF than have AF and have to do something to offset it. The statement credit is somewhat limiting, but dining / takeout make it a non-issue.
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Marseille07 wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:54 am I like TR. I'd rather not have AF than have AF and have to do something to offset it. The statement credit is somewhat limiting, but dining / takeout make it a non-issue.
Dining /take out is a very new option and we have no way of knowing if it's a permanent change. It was travel only for years.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Does anyone know if beneficiaries be updated for a Merrill Edge taxable brokerage account online?
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tj wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:07 am
Marseille07 wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:54 am I like TR. I'd rather not have AF than have AF and have to do something to offset it. The statement credit is somewhat limiting, but dining / takeout make it a non-issue.
Dining /take out is a very new option and we have no way of knowing if it's a permanent change. It was travel only for years.
Do they ever take categories away? I'd imagine it'd be very difficult for them to do. At least that's my bet, anyway.
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

Marseille07 wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:19 am
tj wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:07 am
Marseille07 wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:54 am I like TR. I'd rather not have AF than have AF and have to do something to offset it. The statement credit is somewhat limiting, but dining / takeout make it a non-issue.
Dining /take out is a very new option and we have no way of knowing if it's a permanent change. It was travel only for years.
Do they ever take categories away? I'd imagine it'd be very difficult for them to do. At least that's my bet, anyway.
They've never added additional categories until the pandemic, so who knows.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

tj wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 10:25 am They've never added additional categories until the pandemic, so who knows.
I see. Traveling and dining go together very well, so let's hope they don't remove dining.
MisterBill
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

Marseille07 wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 9:54 am I like TR. I'd rather not have AF than have AF and have to do something to offset it. The statement credit is somewhat limiting, but dining / takeout make it a non-issue.
You get 3.5% back on travel and dining with the Premium Rewards card (2% without the kicker). With the Travel Rewards card, everything is 2.625%. Plus, you can get $500 for applying for the PR card. TR is only $250. And you can get reimbursed for Global Entry or TSA Pre-check with the PR card. No-brainer to get it, at least for the first year.

Personally, I use one of my Customized Cash Rewards cards for dining, I have the 3/5.25% category set to that. So my PR card is the one that I use if none of my other cards are better. Or for paying my estimated taxes or insurance if I haven't purchased gift cards at the supermarket.
Last edited by MisterBill on Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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