Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

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

Post by slalom »

When does preferred deposit pay interest?

I was expecting to see a payment at the end of March but i looked at the transactions and there was nothing but a single dollar of interest paid on March 15th which is like the same day my deposit cleared i think.
TheBogler
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by TheBogler »

Last day of the month. I see the interest credited on 3/31.
slalom
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by slalom »

TheBogler wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 12:36 am Last day of the month. I see the interest credited on 3/31.
Something’s very wrong then, i got zero interest for $100k on 3/31

EDIT: oops it did eventually appear, $186 for 3-15 to 3-30
spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

bbrock wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 1:13 pm Does purchasing gift cards from online Simon Mall qualify as online shopping?
Plan is to make five Visa debit card payments for my 1040, and the sixth on the UCR.
Some people report it being coded as online shopping. My experience is consistently the opposite.
moneywise3
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by moneywise3 »

Can we change the category midway through the billing cycle? I had chosen online shopping, but my expenses are higher on travel
FedGuy
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FedGuy »

moneywise3 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:17 am Can we change the category midway through the billing cycle? I had chosen online shopping, but my expenses are higher on travel
You can change once per month, even in the middle of the month.
stilllurking
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by stilllurking »

moneywise3 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:17 am Can we change the category midway through the billing cycle? I had chosen online shopping, but my expenses are higher on travel
Yes you may. One time a month and then you’re stuck on that one until the first of the next month.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

leland wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 10:59 pm Seems like FFTXX just jumped in yield for those at a relatively high federal rate. I've been tracking that one as it's been below market for a while, now seems worth switching into.
The rate actually jumped about a week and a half ago and has been falling ever since.
dukeblue219
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by dukeblue219 »

FedGuy wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:28 am
moneywise3 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:17 am Can we change the category midway through the billing cycle? I had chosen online shopping, but my expenses are higher on travel
You can change once per month, even in the middle of the month.
It's not retroactive though, is it?
stilllurking
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by stilllurking »

dukeblue219 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:58 am
FedGuy wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:28 am
moneywise3 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:17 am Can we change the category midway through the billing cycle? I had chosen online shopping, but my expenses are higher on travel
You can change once per month, even in the middle of the month.
It's not retroactive though, is it?
It is not. Just the day of switch onwards to the end of the month will count towards your newly selected category.
moneywise3
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by moneywise3 »

stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:00 am It is not. Just the day of switch onwards to the end of the month will count towards your newly selected category.
Ah Ok, thanks.
spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

moneywise3 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:11 am
stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:00 am It is not. Just the day of switch onwards to the end of the month will count towards your newly selected category.
Ah Ok, thanks.
If I have discretion over when I make planned big-ticket purchases and need to adjust a category to capture it, I'll wait to close to the end of the month. You're locked into that category until the end of the calendar month. As of the 1st, you can change it again. That approach allows you to change it back or leave it in the revised category and don't use the card until another specific need arises. Adjust the category then, if needed.
wenchleaf
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by wenchleaf »

stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:00 am
dukeblue219 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:58 am

It's not retroactive though, is it?
It is not. Just the day of switch onwards to the end of the month will count towards your newly selected category.
Would it be retroactive then just for transactions earlier on the day of change, or does it track the exact time?
stilllurking
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by stilllurking »

wenchleaf wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:09 pm
stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:00 am
dukeblue219 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:58 am

It's not retroactive though, is it?
It is not. Just the day of switch onwards to the end of the month will count towards your newly selected category.
Would it be retroactive then just for transactions earlier on the day of change, or does it track the exact time?
I haven’t tested this to be sure.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

spammagnet wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 10:40 pm
bbrock wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 1:13 pm Does purchasing gift cards from online Simon Mall qualify as online shopping?
Plan is to make five Visa debit card payments for my 1040, and the sixth on the UCR.
Some people report it being coded as online shopping. My experience is consistently the opposite.
Thx Spam.

And to check in, I did an experiment and had my Visible mobile service charge to my CCR, and wife’s charged to my UCR, it looks like on the CCR it got categorized as 1%. And this was having it paid through PayPal. I thought by using PayPal, it would’ve coded as online, especially when the transaction details at BofA show online.

As such I canceled all my auto payments from PayPal and I’m just gonna have them paid via the UCR.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

spammagnet wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 9:23 am
moneywise3 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:11 am
stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:00 am It is not. Just the day of switch onwards to the end of the month will count towards your newly selected category.
Ah Ok, thanks.
If I have discretion over when I make planned big-ticket purchases and need to adjust a category to capture it, I'll wait to close to the end of the month. You're locked into that category until the end of the calendar month. As of the 1st, you can change it again. That approach allows you to change it back or leave it in the revised category and don't use the card until another specific need arises. Adjust the category then, if needed.
That’s a great plan spam
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

Found some great info.

I have been purchasing multiple $500 Costco digital cash cards (online shopping) I’ve just been keeping an ongoing email with my wife showing the balance.

Anyways, my big hangup is returns. Just return some stuff today at a Costco and spoke with one of the supervisors. You can make purchases with the digital cash card, and then if returns are necessary you can have it credited back to your Costco visa card. That way you don’t have to sweat getting a physical cash card.

Plan: keep purchasing Costco $500 digital cash cards, returns to the Costco visa if needed.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

I was also going to take advantage of the online shopping (3% for me right now) and purchasing $500 Simon visa gift cards, but my 75% platinum honors bonus isn’t going to kick in in time. Neither is my 75% bonus to my UCR. Wish I could take advantage of it to pay my hefty balance due for our 1040 taxes.

I called be a BofA as well as Merrill to waive and expedite this preferred rewards 90 day average balance baloney, but they’re dragging their feet. They won’t do it.
bbrock
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:00 pm
spammagnet wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2023 10:40 pm
bbrock wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2023 1:13 pm Does purchasing gift cards from online Simon Mall qualify as online shopping?
Plan is to make five Visa debit card payments for my 1040, and the sixth on the UCR.
Some people report it being coded as online shopping. My experience is consistently the opposite.
Thx Spam.

And to check in, I did an experiment and had my Visible mobile service charge to my CCR, and wife’s charged to my UCR, it looks like on the CCR it got categorized as 1%. And this was having it paid through PayPal. I thought by using PayPal, it would’ve coded as online, especially when the transaction details at BofA show online.

As such I canceled all my auto payments from PayPal and I’m just gonna have them paid via the UCR.
This is 100% expected because PayPal forwards the merchant code, and mobile carriers are explicitly excluded from the online shopping catagory as they fall under "telecom". So if you ever plan to buy a cell phone directly from a mobile carrier, don't use your CCR.
rama13
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by rama13 »

bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:07 pm Plan: keep purchasing Costco $500 digital cash cards, returns to the Costco visa if needed.
I give them a VISA debit card for returns. That way I don't lose any cash back on a credit card.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

rama13 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:25 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:07 pm Plan: keep purchasing Costco $500 digital cash cards, returns to the Costco visa if needed.
I give them a VISA debit card for returns. That way I don't lose any cash back on a credit card.
How will you lose it on a credit card? It just goes against purchases. In our case we still use our Costco visa so it’s just gonna be credited there.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

How do you request the E- bills and have it paid electronically automatically to an outside bank? I’m trying to get my CCR and UCR auto paid to my Ally checking. I added the external bank, got that account verified, trying to go onto the Bank of America website and request Ebills because I think that’s part of the process to have it auto paid, but it keeps rejecting it and saying that Ebills are not available. Is this because this will be the first billing cycle? Is there some trick to this?
bbrock
stilllurking
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by stilllurking »

bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:49 pm How do you request the E- bills and have it paid electronically automatically to an outside bank? I’m trying to get my CCR and UCR auto paid to my Ally checking. I added the external bank, got that account verified, trying to go onto the Bank of America website and request Ebills because I think that’s part of the process to have it auto paid, but it keeps rejecting it and saying that Ebills are not available. Is this because this will be the first billing cycle? Is there some trick to this?
I’ve dropped using Ally but all of what you want to accomplish is done in Ally. If you set up the payee in Ally bill pay, you can then setup e-bills there along with the automatic payment. No need to involve BoA bill pay.

Haven’t seen an issue even if it’s the first cycle since there is usually a warning to pay your current amount due and it’ll pick up thereafter.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

Great! Thx stilllurking.

Out of curiosity, Who do you use now for bill pay or banking? I hear a lot of people moving to Fidelity for convenience and ease of use.
bbrock
lstone19
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by lstone19 »

Question on the Merrill Edge bonuses. I opened a new Roth IRA in December using the appropriate code for the bonus (and have a screen print of it). The account was funded 12/22 by ACATS transfer from Fidelity (even have an email from them the next day saying "Your new account is funded and ready". 90 days from then was 3/22 and their fine print says they pay it within two weeks of the 90 days which is today. But no bonus yet. Should I have expected it by today or is the timing actually the 45 days to fund, then 90 days, then 14 days.

Should I be concerned I haven't seen the bonus yet? Give it a couple more days? Or something else?
stilllurking
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by stilllurking »

bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:39 pm Great! Thx stilllurking.

Out of curiosity, Who do you use now for bill pay or banking? I hear a lot of people moving to Fidelity for convenience and ease of use.
I got sick of tracking the 6 withdrawals from savings accounts (even though they were reimbursing the $10 fees) and moved to Fidelity. I love it. No limits on the withdrawals. Higher yields and auto liquidation from the MMFs to cover bill payments and the rare ATM withdrawals.

Just thought of something. If you do want to set up your BoA CCs at BoA checking account, that can also be done. You will need to set up ebills there instead of Ally in order to get auto pay. Maybe that’s what you’re referring to about the error you are receiving on the BoA side?

I have my BoA CCs pull from my Fidelity CMA from BoA checking on auto pay.
lstone19
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by lstone19 »

bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:49 pm How do you request the E- bills and have it paid electronically automatically to an outside bank? I’m trying to get my CCR and UCR auto paid to my Ally checking. I added the external bank, got that account verified, trying to go onto the Bank of America website and request Ebills because I think that’s part of the process to have it auto paid, but it keeps rejecting it and saying that Ebills are not available. Is this because this will be the first billing cycle? Is there some trick to this?
Are you in the BillPay tab of the BofA website? The CCs should appears there but you may be right that you need to wait until after the first billing cycle. I don't recall what I had to do to that level of detail. Are these brand new cards? Have you requested Ebills for them from a different bill pay service?
bandoba
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bandoba »

lstone19 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 5:04 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:49 pm How do you request the E- bills and have it paid electronically automatically to an outside bank? I’m trying to get my CCR and UCR auto paid to my Ally checking. I added the external bank, got that account verified, trying to go onto the Bank of America website and request Ebills because I think that’s part of the process to have it auto paid, but it keeps rejecting it and saying that Ebills are not available. Is this because this will be the first billing cycle? Is there some trick to this?
Are you in the BillPay tab of the BofA website? The CCs should appears there but you may be right that you need to wait until after the first billing cycle. I don't recall what I had to do to that level of detail. Are these brand new cards? Have you requested Ebills for them from a different bill pay service?
+1 I had to wait for first bill before I could setup auto pay using checking account from diff bank.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:56 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:39 pm Great! Thx stilllurking.

Out of curiosity, Who do you use now for bill pay or banking? I hear a lot of people moving to Fidelity for convenience and ease of use.
I got sick of tracking the 6 withdrawals from savings accounts (even though they were reimbursing the $10 fees) and moved to Fidelity. I love it. No limits on the withdrawals. Higher yields and auto liquidation from the MMFs to cover bill payments and the rare ATM withdrawals.

Just thought of something. If you do want to set up your BoA CCs at BoA checking account, that can also be done. You will need to set up ebills there instead of Ally in order to get auto pay. Maybe that’s what you’re referring to about the error you are receiving on the BoA side?

I have my BoA CCs pull from my Fidelity CMA from BoA checking on auto pay.
Yes stilllurking I was thinking I had to set it up on the BoA side to Autopay. That’s what I’ve been trying to accomplish.

Got it set also at Ally for ebills. Guess it doesn’t matter if it’s from BoA side or Ally to autopay. I just want it seamless.

I’m tempted as well to make that switch to Fidelity, it’s just I’m being lazy as I got everything already set up at Ally from direct deposit, to the account inventory for my revocable trust. But laziness never helped anyone. Something for consideration.

Do you have the choice of MMF you get to keep your cash reserves in? I’d love to compare that yield against Ally savings.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

lstone19 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 5:04 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:49 pm How do you request the E- bills and have it paid electronically automatically to an outside bank? I’m trying to get my CCR and UCR auto paid to my Ally checking. I added the external bank, got that account verified, trying to go onto the Bank of America website and request Ebills because I think that’s part of the process to have it auto paid, but it keeps rejecting it and saying that Ebills are not available. Is this because this will be the first billing cycle? Is there some trick to this?
Are you in the BillPay tab of the BofA website? The CCs should appears there but you may be right that you need to wait until after the first billing cycle. I don't recall what I had to do to that level of detail. Are these brand new cards? Have you requested Ebills for them from a different bill pay service?
Yeah, I’m thinking it’s attributable to the first billing cycle as they are new cards
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

bandoba wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 5:39 pm
lstone19 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 5:04 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 3:49 pm How do you request the E- bills and have it paid electronically automatically to an outside bank? I’m trying to get my CCR and UCR auto paid to my Ally checking. I added the external bank, got that account verified, trying to go onto the Bank of America website and request Ebills because I think that’s part of the process to have it auto paid, but it keeps rejecting it and saying that Ebills are not available. Is this because this will be the first billing cycle? Is there some trick to this?
Are you in the BillPay tab of the BofA website? The CCs should appears there but you may be right that you need to wait until after the first billing cycle. I don't recall what I had to do to that level of detail. Are these brand new cards? Have you requested Ebills for them from a different bill pay service?
+1 I had to wait for first bill before I could setup auto pay using checking account from diff bank.
Got it. Thx for the input.
bbrock
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:07 pm
stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:56 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:39 pm Great! Thx stilllurking.

Out of curiosity, Who do you use now for bill pay or banking? I hear a lot of people moving to Fidelity for convenience and ease of use.
I got sick of tracking the 6 withdrawals from savings accounts (even though they were reimbursing the $10 fees) and moved to Fidelity. I love it. No limits on the withdrawals. Higher yields and auto liquidation from the MMFs to cover bill payments and the rare ATM withdrawals.

Just thought of something. If you do want to set up your BoA CCs at BoA checking account, that can also be done. You will need to set up ebills there instead of Ally in order to get auto pay. Maybe that’s what you’re referring to about the error you are receiving on the BoA side?

I have my BoA CCs pull from my Fidelity CMA from BoA checking on auto pay.
Yes stilllurking I was thinking I had to set it up on the BoA side to Autopay. That’s what I’ve been trying to accomplish.

Got it set also at Ally for ebills. Guess it doesn’t matter if it’s from BoA side or Ally to autopay. I just want it seamless.

I’m tempted as well to make that switch to Fidelity, it’s just I’m being lazy as I got everything already set up at Ally from direct deposit, to the account inventory for my revocable trust. But laziness never helped anyone. Something for consideration.

Do you have the choice of MMF you get to keep your cash reserves in? I’d love to compare that yield against Ally savings.
There are multiple Fidelity money market options yielding over 4.5%.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

anon_investor wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:11 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:07 pm
stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:56 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:39 pm Great! Thx stilllurking.

Out of curiosity, Who do you use now for bill pay or banking? I hear a lot of people moving to Fidelity for convenience and ease of use.
I got sick of tracking the 6 withdrawals from savings accounts (even though they were reimbursing the $10 fees) and moved to Fidelity. I love it. No limits on the withdrawals. Higher yields and auto liquidation from the MMFs to cover bill payments and the rare ATM withdrawals.

Just thought of something. If you do want to set up your BoA CCs at BoA checking account, that can also be done. You will need to set up ebills there instead of Ally in order to get auto pay. Maybe that’s what you’re referring to about the error you are receiving on the BoA side?

I have my BoA CCs pull from my Fidelity CMA from BoA checking on auto pay.
Yes stilllurking I was thinking I had to set it up on the BoA side to Autopay. That’s what I’ve been trying to accomplish.

Got it set also at Ally for ebills. Guess it doesn’t matter if it’s from BoA side or Ally to autopay. I just want it seamless.

I’m tempted as well to make that switch to Fidelity, it’s just I’m being lazy as I got everything already set up at Ally from direct deposit, to the account inventory for my revocable trust. But laziness never helped anyone. Something for consideration.

Do you have the choice of MMF you get to keep your cash reserves in? I’d love to compare that yield against Ally savings.
There are multiple Fidelity money market options yielding over 4.5%.
Wow. And you can use those akin to an Ally regular savings acct. (i.e. overdraft protection, instant transfers to/fro your checking acct.)?
bbrock
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:12 pm
anon_investor wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:11 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:07 pm
stilllurking wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:56 pm
bbrock wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:39 pm Great! Thx stilllurking.

Out of curiosity, Who do you use now for bill pay or banking? I hear a lot of people moving to Fidelity for convenience and ease of use.
I got sick of tracking the 6 withdrawals from savings accounts (even though they were reimbursing the $10 fees) and moved to Fidelity. I love it. No limits on the withdrawals. Higher yields and auto liquidation from the MMFs to cover bill payments and the rare ATM withdrawals.

Just thought of something. If you do want to set up your BoA CCs at BoA checking account, that can also be done. You will need to set up ebills there instead of Ally in order to get auto pay. Maybe that’s what you’re referring to about the error you are receiving on the BoA side?

I have my BoA CCs pull from my Fidelity CMA from BoA checking on auto pay.
Yes stilllurking I was thinking I had to set it up on the BoA side to Autopay. That’s what I’ve been trying to accomplish.

Got it set also at Ally for ebills. Guess it doesn’t matter if it’s from BoA side or Ally to autopay. I just want it seamless.

I’m tempted as well to make that switch to Fidelity, it’s just I’m being lazy as I got everything already set up at Ally from direct deposit, to the account inventory for my revocable trust. But laziness never helped anyone. Something for consideration.

Do you have the choice of MMF you get to keep your cash reserves in? I’d love to compare that yield against Ally savings.
There are multiple Fidelity money market options yielding over 4.5%.
Wow. And you can use those akin to an Ally regular savings acct. (i.e. overdraft protection, instant transfers to/fro your checking acct.)?
You can just use your Fidelity account as a checking, Fidelity will auto liquidate your money market funds, pretty hands off. I wish Merrill Edge could do this.
slalom
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by slalom »

Does anyone know where you can check the interest rate of Preferred Deposit at any given time?

I see nothing in the ME account UI.. I know the internal fund symbol behind the scenes is MLPDA but that doesn’t seem to help.
OrangeKiwi
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by OrangeKiwi »

I search for “Merrill preferred deposit” or “merrill cash management solutions” and this pdf is in the top few results:

https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content ... eSheet.pdf
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

OrangeKiwi wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 5:23 am I search for “Merrill preferred deposit” or “merrill cash management solutions” and this pdf is in the top few results:

https://olui2.fs.ml.com/Publish/Content ... eSheet.pdf
Yep, Merrill Edge updates this document daily.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by lstone19 »

lstone19 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:53 pm Question on the Merrill Edge bonuses. I opened a new Roth IRA in December using the appropriate code for the bonus (and have a screen print of it). The account was funded 12/22 by ACATS transfer from Fidelity (even have an email from them the next day saying "Your new account is funded and ready". 90 days from then was 3/22 and their fine print says they pay it within two weeks of the 90 days which is today. But no bonus yet. Should I have expected it by today or is the timing actually the 45 days to fund, then 90 days, then 14 days.

Should I be concerned I haven't seen the bonus yet? Give it a couple more days? Or something else?
Following up on this, I called ME today (no wait - I guess Preferred Rewards helps with that). Unfortunately, they really gave me no information other than they'll look into it and please allow four business days.

I'd say at this point, ME is not off to a good start with me. Which is why I generally start new financial relationships slowly and build from there.
boglegirl
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by boglegirl »

lstone19 wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 11:01 am
lstone19 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:53 pm Question on the Merrill Edge bonuses. I opened a new Roth IRA in December using the appropriate code for the bonus (and have a screen print of it). The account was funded 12/22 by ACATS transfer from Fidelity (even have an email from them the next day saying "Your new account is funded and ready". 90 days from then was 3/22 and their fine print says they pay it within two weeks of the 90 days which is today. But no bonus yet. Should I have expected it by today or is the timing actually the 45 days to fund, then 90 days, then 14 days.

Should I be concerned I haven't seen the bonus yet? Give it a couple more days? Or something else?
Following up on this, I called ME today (no wait - I guess Preferred Rewards helps with that). Unfortunately, they really gave me no information other than they'll look into it and please allow four business days.

I'd say at this point, ME is not off to a good start with me. Which is why I generally start new financial relationships slowly and build from there.
That's a bummer - keep us updated. I too opened an ME account and am expecting a $1k bonus the end of May.
GaryA505
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by GaryA505 »

boglegirl wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 11:30 am
lstone19 wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 11:01 am
lstone19 wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:53 pm Question on the Merrill Edge bonuses. I opened a new Roth IRA in December using the appropriate code for the bonus (and have a screen print of it). The account was funded 12/22 by ACATS transfer from Fidelity (even have an email from them the next day saying "Your new account is funded and ready". 90 days from then was 3/22 and their fine print says they pay it within two weeks of the 90 days which is today. But no bonus yet. Should I have expected it by today or is the timing actually the 45 days to fund, then 90 days, then 14 days.

Should I be concerned I haven't seen the bonus yet? Give it a couple more days? Or something else?
Following up on this, I called ME today (no wait - I guess Preferred Rewards helps with that). Unfortunately, they really gave me no information other than they'll look into it and please allow four business days.

I'd say at this point, ME is not off to a good start with me. Which is why I generally start new financial relationships slowly and build from there.
That's a bummer - keep us updated. I too opened an ME account and am expecting a $1k bonus the end of May.
After I opened my account and transferred the assets, I called them to confirm the correct promo code was on the account.
Then, they called me to see if I needed any help with anything (including management services) and I confirmed the promo code again.
Get most of it right and don't make any big mistakes. All else being equal, simpler is better. Simple is as simple does.
atdharris
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by atdharris »

TTTXX should jump at the end of the month. It looks like the Treasury note earning 2.1% matures and will come out of the fund.
spickups09
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spickups09 »

This page on Merrill's website says to talk to your advisor about setting up Preferred Deposit. https://www.ml.com/solutions/preferred-deposit.html

I (and I am assuming many others on here) do not have an advisor, and just use Merrill Edge's self-directed investment accounts. Can I still call Merrill Edge and have them set up Preferred Deposit for me, or do I have to have a Merrill financial advisor?
GaryA505
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by GaryA505 »

spickups09 wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 2:24 pm This page on Merrill's website says to talk to your advisor about setting up Preferred Deposit. https://www.ml.com/solutions/preferred-deposit.html

I (and I am assuming many others on here) do not have an advisor, and just use Merrill Edge's self-directed investment accounts. Can I still call Merrill Edge and have them set up Preferred Deposit for me, or do I have to have a Merrill financial advisor?
They call some of their telephone customer support people "advisors".
Get most of it right and don't make any big mistakes. All else being equal, simpler is better. Simple is as simple does.
Marseille07
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Marseille07 »

spickups09 wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 2:24 pm This page on Merrill's website says to talk to your advisor about setting up Preferred Deposit. https://www.ml.com/solutions/preferred-deposit.html

I (and I am assuming many others on here) do not have an advisor, and just use Merrill Edge's self-directed investment accounts. Can I still call Merrill Edge and have them set up Preferred Deposit for me, or do I have to have a Merrill financial advisor?
As a HNW client, they contacted me and I now have one even though I didn't ask for one. I might ask my advisor how I'd go about setting up PD.
bbrock
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bbrock »

Alright, after a lot of hooing and hahing over multiple days and multiple calls both to BoA and ME I got them today to enroll me in PR. Shows on my account Gold status as of now. He stated that I'll just have to wait for the PH status to kick in when they do the account look-back. It is strange though b/c my Roth has been sitting there since 3/10 with $165k. So, I don't know where they are coming up with an average balance as of today of $38k. Whatever, I'll take it and just wait for PH to kick in.

Too many calls; I've met my quota for the next couple of years. :D
bbrock
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

bbrock wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:35 pm Alright, after a lot of hooing and hahing over multiple days and multiple calls both to BoA and ME I got them today to enroll me in PR. Shows on my account Gold status as of now. He stated that I'll just have to wait for the PH status to kick in when they do the account look-back. It is strange though b/c my Roth has been sitting there since 3/10 with $165k. So, I don't know where they are coming up with an average balance as of today of $38k. Whatever, I'll take it and just wait for PH to kick in.

Too many calls; I've met my quota for the next couple of years. :D
They normally do avg daily balance over last 90 days.
lstone19
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by lstone19 »

anon_investor wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:39 pm
bbrock wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:35 pm Alright, after a lot of hooing and hahing over multiple days and multiple calls both to BoA and ME I got them today to enroll me in PR. Shows on my account Gold status as of now. He stated that I'll just have to wait for the PH status to kick in when they do the account look-back. It is strange though b/c my Roth has been sitting there since 3/10 with $165k. So, I don't know where they are coming up with an average balance as of today of $38k. Whatever, I'll take it and just wait for PH to kick in.

Too many calls; I've met my quota for the next couple of years. :D
They normally do avg daily balance over last 90 days.
By reverse engineering it, it’s average each of the last three calendar months, then average those three with no weighting for length of month. $38K sounds about right.
diyer1
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by diyer1 »

Sorry for a noob post. I did read several pages, but got lost in the details :(, so thanks in advance.

I don't have a bofa or merrill edge account. If I wanted to move 250k into merrill edge and get the bofa credit cards, what's the best way to sequence them? Open a bofa checking account with a $100 bonus, then open Merrill Edge, move funds with a $1000 bonus, and hopefully qualify for Preferred Rewards soon after? Also, the funds are in VUSXX at etrade. I should be able to transfer them in kind to Merrill Edge? Can I keep the same fund? thanks.
sycamore
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sycamore »

diyer1 wrote: Sat Apr 08, 2023 4:10 pm ... Also, the funds are in VUSXX at etrade. I should be able to transfer them in kind to Merrill Edge? Can I keep the same fund? thanks.
You can, but Edge charges 19.95 to buy or sell Vanguard funds, including money market funds like VUSXX. Maybe you won't mind paying that transaction fee (depends on how often you trade it). What many people here use for a money market fund at Edge is TTTXX. Its expense ratio is higher (0.17% vs 0.09%) than VUSXX but its yield is still pretty good.
dan23
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by dan23 »

Does anyone know if I would be able to do a partial ACAT of my FIGXX from Merrill to Fidelity and then be able to hold FIGXX at Fidelity (and then use it as free overdraft for my fidelity smartcash CMA)? Minimum to get in directly is 1M cash at Fidelity which I do not have. I've been using FZDXX which is not much worse a rate, but is prime, and this thread has made me realize that it is preferable to have government MMFs over prime ones.
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