Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

[Carno]

I was informed by my ML Financial Solutions Advisor that the preferred deposit rate in a CMA is now 4.25% APY. Not sure if this applies to the default Sweep Account rate without me actively investing in a particular high-yield fund that offers that 4.25% APY?

[anon_investor]

About TSTXX

T-Fund invests at least 99.5% of its total assets in cash, U.S. Treasury bills, notes and other obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Treasury, and repurchase agreements secured by such obligations or cash

One thing that I have found is that TSTXX has a much lower % from government obligations that can be exempted from state taxes than some of the other funds. TSTXX (the T-fund) only had 23.49% of income from government obligations in 2022:

https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual ... letter.pdf

Fidelity hasn't released their 2022 numbers yet but their 2021 numbers for their "Treasury" fund FISXX (not Treasury Only) was much higher at 77%:

https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060 ... letter.pdf

Maybe that will change this year and be closer?

Fidelity released the 2022 %s on their institutional site:
https://institutional.fidelity.com/app/ ... 842885.PDF

That "treasury" money market fund (FISXX) only had 23.67% of its interest income government obligations, so similar to TSTXX.

[anon_investor]

I was informed by my ML Financial Solutions Advisor that the preferred deposit rate in a CMA is now 4.25% APY. Not sure if this applies to the default Sweep Account rate without me actively investing in a particular high-yield fund that offers that 4.25% APY?

The sweep account gets just about 0%...

[Carno]

I was informed by my ML Financial Solutions Advisor that the preferred deposit rate in a CMA is now 4.25% APY. Not sure if this applies to the default Sweep Account rate without me actively investing in a particular high-yield fund that offers that 4.25% APY?

The sweep account gets just about 0%...

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX (BANK OF AMERICA, NA RASP). I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

[FedGuy]

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX. I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

[Carno]

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX (BANK OF AMERICA, NA RASP). I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

So I need to open this HY Savings account aside from my IRA brokerage account and then move the cash to this Savings account? I think this rate is shown in the latest ME Cash Management Solutions fact sheet: https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content ... eSheet.pdf

[Carno]

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX (BANK OF AMERICA, NA RASP). I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

[Carno]

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX (BANK OF AMERICA, NA RASP). I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

[CrisisAverted]

Well, I got tired of constantly searching at ME for tbills that I could buy in quantities less than a 1000, so I just went ahead and placed an order for TTTXX. I'm sure it'll execute tomorrow morning.

I also reached out to ME to see if they can expedite me into Plat Honors, but we'll see how that goes.

[CrisisAverted]

That is unfortunate because some people (even here) that have applied for an ME account that brought in enough to get over plat honors had that status applied within just a couple days.

I'm one of those people and I didn't even ask for an expedited status upgrade

Lucky!!

[Carno]

That is unfortunate because some people (even here) that have applied for an ME account that brought in enough to get over plat honors had that status applied within just a couple days.

I'm one of those people and I didn't even ask for an expedited status upgrade

Lucky!!

I still don't understand what the big deal is with Platinum Honors and what the benefits and advantages are over other statuses?

[CrisisAverted]

That is unfortunate because some people (even here) that have applied for an ME account that brought in enough to get over plat honors had that status applied within just a couple days.

I'm one of those people and I didn't even ask for an expedited status upgrade

Lucky!!

I still don't understand what the big deal is with Platinum Honors and what the benefits and advantages are over other statuses?

Extra cash back/rewards, and I believe free safe deposit box.

[anon_investor]

That is unfortunate because some people (even here) that have applied for an ME account that brought in enough to get over plat honors had that status applied within just a couple days.

I'm one of those people and I didn't even ask for an expedited status upgrade

Lucky!!

I still don't understand what the big deal is with Platinum Honors and what the benefits and advantages are over other statuses?

It is the 75% boost to cash back for BoA CCs. So my lowest cash back on all of my spend is 2.625% and as high as 5.25%.

[CrisisAverted]

That is unfortunate because some people (even here) that have applied for an ME account that brought in enough to get over plat honors had that status applied within just a couple days.

I'm one of those people and I didn't even ask for an expedited status upgrade

Lucky!!

I still don't understand what the big deal is with Platinum Honors and what the benefits and advantages are over other statuses?

It is the 75% boost to cash back for BoA CCs. So my lowest cash back on all of my spend is 2.625% and as high as 5.25%.

I still have those old Better Balance Rewards cards ($25/quarter for on time payments, or $30/quarter when linked to a checking account). I have three of those, so $90/quarter.

Do you think I get the boost with Plat Honors? (Although, for now, I will only get Gold benefits until my 3 month calculation goes up).

[Lyrrad]

I still have those old Better Balance Rewards cards ($25/quarter for on time payments, or $30/quarter when linked to a checking account). I have three of those, so $90/quarter.

Do you think I get the boost with Plat Honors? (Although, for now, I will only get Gold benefits until my 3 month calculation goes up).

No, BBR does not qualify for the Preferred Rewards 25-75% bonus.

[Carno]

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX. I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

Looks like this Preferred Deposit (HY Savings account) requires 100,000 minimum opening deposit.
https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content ... eSheet.pdf

[Carno]

Note that some of the Cash Management Funds with high yields (such as TMCXX 4.48%) has the following addendum:
***You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Because the share price of the Fund will fluctuate, when you sell your shares they may be worth more or less than what you originally paid for them. The Fund may impose a fee upon sale of your shares or may temporarily suspend your ability to sell shares if the Fund’s liquidity falls below required minimums because of market conditions or other factors. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The Fund’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the Fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the Fund at any time.
https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content ... eSheet.pdf

[CrisisAverted]

I still have those old Better Balance Rewards cards ($25/quarter for on time payments, or $30/quarter when linked to a checking account). I have three of those, so $90/quarter.

Do you think I get the boost with Plat Honors? (Although, for now, I will only get Gold benefits until my 3 month calculation goes up).

No, BBR does not qualify for the Preferred Rewards 25-75% bonus.

Aww, shucks. OK, well, $360/yr for just having a few credit cards with a single recurring charge on each is still a pretty good deal even if I don't get the bonus.

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

[Lyrrad]

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

I got my 5th last year and I’ll probably try to get another one every 18 months or so, since I could use at least another two customized cash rewards cards.

I think there are limits to how many new cards you can get in a period of time.

I previously hit the limit of how much credit they were willing to extend to me, but they reallocated credit limits when I opened the last couple of cards.

[alexbogle]

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

I got my 5th last year and I’ll probably try to get another one every 18 months or so, since I could use at least another two customized cash rewards cards.

I think there are limits to how many new cards you can get in a period of time.

I previously hit the limit of how much credit they were willing to extend to me, but they reallocated credit limits when I opened the last couple of cards.

Interesting. What was the total amount of credit extended to you?

[Leesbro63]

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

I got my 5th last year and I’ll probably try to get another one every 18 months or so, since I could use at least another two customized cash rewards cards.

I think there are limits to how many new cards you can get in a period of time.

I previously hit the limit of how much credit they were willing to extend to me, but they reallocated credit limits when I opened the last couple of cards.

All sarcasm aside, can you explain why anyone would want multiple BofA cards?

[boston10]

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

I got my 5th last year and I’ll probably try to get another one every 18 months or so, since I could use at least another two customized cash rewards cards.

I think there are limits to how many new cards you can get in a period of time.

I previously hit the limit of how much credit they were willing to extend to me, but they reallocated credit limits when I opened the last couple of cards.

All sarcasm aside, can you explain why anyone would want multiple BofA cards?

Um... there are 89 pages of this thread that explain why. It's basically the whole point of the thread. BoA Customized Cash Rewards cards are category selector cards with enhanced cash back on a selected category. The selected category is capped at $2.5k/quarter per card.

[dukeblue219]

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

I got my 5th last year and I’ll probably try to get another one every 18 months or so, since I could use at least another two customized cash rewards cards.

I think there are limits to how many new cards you can get in a period of time.

I previously hit the limit of how much credit they were willing to extend to me, but they reallocated credit limits when I opened the last couple of cards.

All sarcasm aside, can you explain why anyone would want multiple BofA cards?

You can pick one category for 5.25% Cashback per customized cash rewards card.

[Leesbro63]

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

I got my 5th last year and I’ll probably try to get another one every 18 months or so, since I could use at least another two customized cash rewards cards.

I think there are limits to how many new cards you can get in a period of time.

I previously hit the limit of how much credit they were willing to extend to me, but they reallocated credit limits when I opened the last couple of cards.

All sarcasm aside, can you explain why anyone would want multiple BofA cards?

You can pick one category for 5.25% Cashback per customized cash rewards card.

I pay my Federal income tax with the Preferred Rewards VISA to get 2.625% back due to having over $100K at Merrill Edge. That's the biggest advantage of this card for me. Is there any way to get 5.25% back on income tax payments? Although the $2500 per quarter limit kind of quashes that thinking I guess.

[dukeblue219]

I pay my Federal income tax with the Preferred Rewards VISA to get 2.625% back due to having over $100K at Merrill Edge. That's the biggest advantage of this card for me. Is there any way to get 5.25% back on income tax payments? Although the $2500 per quarter limit kind of quashes that thinking I guess.

I tried with "online shopping" as my category (I have just the one custom card) and it didn't give a category bonus at pay1040 this year.

[FedGuy]

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX. I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

Looks like this Preferred Deposit (HY Savings account) requires 100,000 minimum opening deposit.
https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content ... eSheet.pdf

True, you need $100,000 minimum to open. Once it's opened, you can withdraw funds and go below that limit.

In answer to your other question, I only have a Roth IRA and a CMA at Merrill, so I'm not sure how it works with a brokerage account.

[Lastrun]

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX. I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

Looks like this Preferred Deposit (HY Savings account) requires 100,000 minimum opening deposit.
https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content ... eSheet.pdf

True, you need $100,000 minimum to open. Once it's opened, you can withdraw funds and go below that limit.

In answer to your other question, I only have a Roth IRA and a CMA at Merrill, so I'm not sure how it works with a brokerage account.

But most are not using this correct?

In the past, people used ultra-short bond ETFs. Merrill has much better cash options now with money market funds from Black Rock and Fidelity with $1,000 minimums, albeit these are non-sweep. These funds are competitive with Vanguard's funds.

[FedGuy]

I pay my Federal income tax with the Preferred Rewards VISA to get 2.625% back due to having over $100K at Merrill Edge. That's the biggest advantage of this card for me. Is there any way to get 5.25% back on income tax payments? Although the $2500 per quarter limit kind of quashes that thinking I guess.

I tried with "online shopping" as my category (I have just the one custom card) and it didn't give a category bonus at pay1040 this year.

The description for the "online shopping" category on this card explicitly states, "Some classes of merchants are excluded from the Online Shopping category such as...government services and taxes...."

[Leesbro63]

I pay my Federal income tax with the Preferred Rewards VISA to get 2.625% back due to having over $100K at Merrill Edge. That's the biggest advantage of this card for me. Is there any way to get 5.25% back on income tax payments? Although the $2500 per quarter limit kind of quashes that thinking I guess.

I tried with "online shopping" as my category (I have just the one custom card) and it didn't give a category bonus at pay1040 this year.

The description for the "online shopping" category on this card explicitly states, "Some classes of merchants are excluded from the Online Shopping category such as...government services and taxes...."

Aw man! (Thanks for that info, though)

[lstone19]

So I don't know if I should be concerned or just annoyed. In early December, I opened an ME Roth IRA account using the $600 promotion and transferred (via ACATS) part of my existing Roth from Fidelity. All seemed fine and for the Preferred Rewards invite at the end of December as Gold and was upgraded to Platinum Honors at the end of January as I expected when I started this two months ago. Based on the promotion terms, I don't expect the $600 until late March.

But yesterday and then again today, I received emails with the subject "Your account needs to be funded." Uh, I did, right after opening. And even if I hadn't, it's too late for the promotion which required funding within 45 days.

Anyone else who has recently opened an ME account getting these?

[Lastrun]

So I don't know if I should be concerned or just annoyed. In early December, I opened an ME Roth IRA account using the $600 promotion and transferred (via ACATS) part of my existing Roth from Fidelity. All seemed fine and for the Preferred Rewards invite at the end of December as Gold and was upgraded to Platinum Honors at the end of January as I expected when I started this two months ago. Based on the promotion terms, I don't expect the $600 until late March.

But yesterday and then again today, I received emails with the subject "Your account needs to be funded." Uh, I did, right after opening. And even if I hadn't, it's too late for the promotion which required funding within 45 days.

Anyone else who has recently opened an ME account getting these?

This may not be helpful but when I signed up for the program years ago I got the transfer bonus, a checking account bonus, and was supposed to get a bonus for opening up one of the credit cards. I received the first two but not the CC bonus. I called and they said, well you only get the CC bonus if you open it online (I had called in to open everything). I said, well no one told me that, I would have applied online. They gave me the bonus. Point is, call them. They worked with me, and hopefully will with you.

[impatientInv]

For some reason TTTXX is blocked for me, not sure why..

That sounds very weird.

About TSTXX

T-Fund invests at least 99.5% of its total assets in cash, U.S. Treasury bills, notes and other obligations issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. Treasury, and repurchase agreements secured by such obligations or cash

This fund holds mostly repurchase agreements rather than the underlying bonds directly. If you live in a high-tax state, you may want to use a treasury-only fund such as FSIXX instead, since repos are not state tax exempt.

Not sure what the issue is with TTTXX, FSIXX and other securities, I am unable to buy these in my account. On hold with Merrill Edge for 30+ minutes now.. At the end they did a broker assisted trade.

Everything with Merrill is like pulling teeth. Thats been my experience.. That's why I only keep ~100k in this account, including emergency fund.. Maybe I should be happy using TSTXX, SGOV and T-Bills instead..

[djheini]

I still have those old Better Balance Rewards cards ($25/quarter for on time payments, or $30/quarter when linked to a checking account). I have three of those, so $90/quarter.

Do you think I get the boost with Plat Honors? (Although, for now, I will only get Gold benefits until my 3 month calculation goes up).

No, BBR does not qualify for the Preferred Rewards 25-75% bonus.

Aww, shucks. OK, well, $360/yr for just having a few credit cards with a single recurring charge on each is still a pretty good deal even if I don't get the bonus.

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

I have six BoA cards open right now. The most recent description of the rule I've seen for them is:

they’ll only approve you for at most two cards per rolling 2 months, three cards per rolling 12 months, and four cards per rolling 24 months. Let’s call this the ‘2/3/4 rule‘.

[djheini]

I read somewhere that the max number of cards allowable at BofA is 4, but not sure if it means you can *have* 4, or if you *hit* 4 then they start denying cards (i.e. max 3)

I got my 5th last year and I’ll probably try to get another one every 18 months or so, since I could use at least another two customized cash rewards cards.

I think there are limits to how many new cards you can get in a period of time.

I previously hit the limit of how much credit they were willing to extend to me, but they reallocated credit limits when I opened the last couple of cards.

All sarcasm aside, can you explain why anyone would want multiple BofA cards?

You can pick one category for 5.25% Cashback per customized cash rewards card.

I pay my Federal income tax with the Preferred Rewards VISA to get 2.625% back due to having over $100K at Merrill Edge. That's the biggest advantage of this card for me. Is there any way to get 5.25% back on income tax payments? Although the $2500 per quarter limit kind of quashes that thinking I guess.

I haven't tried it, but I wonder if using one of the processors who accepts PayPal and then trying that as "online shopping" would work. I believe it worked in the past when PayPal was a Chase Freedom 5% category.

[WapelloHawk]

I signed up for the Platinum rewards with BoA and Merrill last week by placing enough at ML to satisfy the minimum Platinum requirement.

Within 3 days after ML received the funds, my BoA account began to show my status as "Platinum". Both the BoA website and app clearly state that I have Platinum status with BoA.

My question for anyone who has recently gone through this process, will I immediately begin to receive the 75% points bonus after receiving the Platinum status or does it take "up to 30 days" as BoA says in their disclaimer?

[erp]

I signed up for the Platinum rewards with BoA and Merrill last week by placing enough at ML to satisfy the minimum Platinum requirement.

Within 3 days after ML received the funds, my BoA account began to show my status as "Platinum". Both the BoA website and app clearly state that I have Platinum status with BoA.

My question for anyone who has recently gone through this process, will I immediately begin to receive the 75% points bonus after receiving the Platinum status or does it take "up to 30 days" as BoA says in their disclaimer?

You need "Platinum Honors" for the 75% CC boost.

Do you already have the cards? You can just try a purchase now and check your CC account in a couple of days. Under the Rewards tab you can expand each purchase to see what base and bonus amount you got.

[WapelloHawk]

Yes, I have Platinum “honors” status.

Yes, I have the credit card.

I have some large monthly charges that go on my CC, so I am trying to ask the timeliness of the 75% bonus after BoA said I have the Platinum honors status. I am better off leaving the charges on my old card if the 75% doesn’t kick in for 30 days.

Is it immediate or does it actually take “up to 30 days” after they state I have the status.

[CrisisAverted]

Is there a way that we can figure out what the different categories are? Any of them incorporate Costco? I need to figure out if it's worth doing a product swap from one of my discontinued Better Balance Reward cards based on my spend to see if the $30 a quarter is better than the cash back, I would earn with platinum honors

[WapelloHawk]

Is there a way that we can figure out what the different categories are? Any of them incorporate Costco? I need to figure out if it's worth doing a product swap from one of my discontinued Better Balance Reward cards based on my spend to see if the $30 a quarter is better than the cash back, I would earn with platinum honors

With Platinum status, Costco will earn 3.5% for in store purchases and 5.25% for gas, if you have a customized cash card set to gas.

You can google "bank of america customized cash rewards program rules" to find the list of MCC codes by card category.

I called Capital One and ran through a list of various merchants I frequent to get their MCC code and then cross checked it vs. the BoA program rules document.

[Looking4Answers]

Is there a way that we can figure out what the different categories are? Any of them incorporate Costco? I need to figure out if it's worth doing a product swap from one of my discontinued Better Balance Reward cards based on my spend to see if the $30 a quarter is better than the cash back, I would earn with platinum honors

https://www.mastercard.us/content/dam/p ... rchant.pdf

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/cred ... 1098043259

[erp]

Yes, I have Platinum “honors” status.

Yes, I have the credit card.

I have some large monthly charges that go on my CC, so I am trying to ask the timeliness of the 75% bonus after BoA said I have the Platinum honors status. I am better off leaving the charges on my old card if the 75% doesn’t kick in for 30 days.

Is it immediate or does it actually take “up to 30 days” after they state I have the status.

yes, I mean put a small charge on it today and check your account in 2-3 days. Then do your big charge if it worked. If you need to do the big charge by today, well, I guess you can check this massive thread for recent data points. Someone probably asked before.

[erp]

Is there a way that we can figure out what the different categories are? Any of them incorporate Costco? I need to figure out if it's worth doing a product swap from one of my discontinued Better Balance Reward cards based on my spend to see if the $30 a quarter is better than the cash back, I would earn with platinum honors

With Platinum status, Costco will earn 3.5% for in store purchases and 5.25% for gas, if you have a customized cash card set to gas.

You need "Platinum Honors" for the full 3.5% back at costco ("Platinum" is one step below that).

CCR always includes Costco (don't need to use a category for that.)

However, you can also purchase the "Shop Card" (their GC) on costco.com and it will post as an online purchase and then you can get 5.25% back with the Online category. A little more effort for a little more gain. In the past couple of months they did at least start selling electronic Shop Cards now so you can get it instantly instead of waiting for the USPS. But those can't be used in the self-checkout lanes (at least as of my last shopping trip).

[Carno]

I'm a bit confused as my sweep account rate currently shows 0.01% APY and the symbol for this fund is IIAXX. I don't understand what my advisor was referring to in his email by mentioning the preferred deposit rate in a CMA?

Preferred Deposit is basically a high-yield savings account available as a deposit option in a Merrill Lynch CMA.

Looks like this Preferred Deposit (HY Savings account) requires 100,000 minimum opening deposit.
https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content ... eSheet.pdf

True, you need $100,000 minimum to open. Once it's opened, you can withdraw funds and go below that limit.

In answer to your other question, I only have a Roth IRA and a CMA at Merrill, so I'm not sure how it works with a brokerage account.

But most are not using this correct?

In the past, people used ultra-short bond ETFs. Merrill has much better cash options now with money market funds from Black Rock and Fidelity with $1,000 minimums, albeit these are non-sweep. These funds are competitive with Vanguard's funds.

In the past, it seems ultra-short bond ETFs were the only option (not sure of the range and extent of availability of those funds at ME), but their price is by no means stable. Current funds from BR and Fidelity are pretty good. (I have been researching ME MM funds only very recently.) I used to transfer cash out of ME once balance exceeded $1,000 (and buy VMFXX, etc. at Etrade, etc.).

[Carno]

Maybe I should be happy using TSTXX, SGOV and T-Bills instead.

SGOV shows a yield of only 1.45% (https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SGOV/?p=SGOV).

[Carno]

I use Synchrony Bank issued PayPal CC (2% cash back on all purchases) and cash back is immediately available to redeem to PayPal account for any amount (even a penny). With a Plat. Status what would be the best and highest cash back CC available at Bank of America?

[sailaway]

I use Synchrony Bank issued PayPal CC (2% cash back on all purchases) and cash back is immediately available to redeem to PayPal account for any amount (even a penny). With a Plat. Status what would be the best and highest cash back CC available at Bank of America?

Platinum status is a .5 bonus, so the 1.5% unlimited cash back would be 2.25% on all purchases. You can redeem to your checking account at any time, but I just have it set to autoroll at the end of every month.

[spammagnet]

... I haven't tried it, but I wonder if using one of the processors who accepts PayPal and then trying that as "online shopping" would work. I believe it worked in the past when PayPal was a Chase Freedom 5% category.

Paypal doesn't automatically qualify as "online" for all vendors. They must pass the merchant code to Bank of America, which disqualifies some. It does result in more qualifying than if you pay the vendor directly.

I use it to pay as many bills as I can, where the vendor allows use of Paypal with no/low fee. That makes it easier to switch the card I'm using for that purpose. I have to do it in only one place (Paypal). But I sometimes have two cards registered for Paypal bills. One is an "online" category card, which I use for those vendors that qualify; the other is the "everything 1.5%" card for those that don't qualify as online. When doing that, I assign which card to use for each vendor, within Paypal. (Right now I'm simplifying that part with only one card because we're focusing on Chase for travel purposes.)

The tax processors would be in that category but it may be cheaper to buy Visa gift cards for a flat fee. Those process as debit cards for a $2.20 per payment fee through the tax payment processors, rather than as a % for a credit card. It depends on how much tax you have to pay, how large a denomination of debit gift card you can buy, and what you get back on your credit card.

[spammagnet]

I use Synchrony Bank issued PayPal CC (2% cash back on all purchases) and cash back is immediately available to redeem to PayPal account for any amount (even a penny). With a Plat. Status what would be the best and highest cash back CC available at Bank of America?

Platinum status is a .5 bonus, so the 1.5% unlimited cash back would be 2.25% on all purchases. You can redeem to your checking account at any time, but I just have it set to autoroll at the end of every month.

I believe Platinum is a 0.75 bonus, resulting in 2.625% on an unlimited 1.5% card.

[sailaway]

I use Synchrony Bank issued PayPal CC (2% cash back on all purchases) and cash back is immediately available to redeem to PayPal account for any amount (even a penny). With a Plat. Status what would be the best and highest cash back CC available at Bank of America?

Platinum status is a .5 bonus, so the 1.5% unlimited cash back would be 2.25% on all purchases. You can redeem to your checking account at any time, but I just have it set to autoroll at the end of every month.

I believe Platinum is a 0.75 bonus, resulting in 2.625% on an unlimited 1.5% card.

That is Platinum Honors. No idea why they couldn't come up with a separate precious thing.

[Lastrun]

I use Synchrony Bank issued PayPal CC (2% cash back on all purchases) and cash back is immediately available to redeem to PayPal account for any amount (even a penny). With a Plat. Status what would be the best and highest cash back CC available at Bank of America?

Platinum status is a .5 bonus, so the 1.5% unlimited cash back would be 2.25% on all purchases. You can redeem to your checking account at any time, but I just have it set to autoroll at the end of every month.

I believe Platinum is a 0.75 bonus, resulting in 2.625% on an unlimited 1.5% card.

Yes, just to be clear it is 75% enhancement bonus:

1.5% + (1.5% * 75% = 1.125%) = 2.625%

3% + (3% * 75% = 2.25%) = 5.25%