Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

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cvsvm2007
Posts: 105
Joined: Thu May 02, 2019 3:26 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by cvsvm2007 »

Can someone please educate me on how pay1040.com will work with BofA preferred rewards. This is my understanding:

I see pay1040.com charging 1.87% charges for Credit card payments.
With my Bonus category as online payments and when I pay $2500 to IRS, I will get 5.25%-1.87% back.
Am I right?

Thank you
CVS
yougotitdude
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Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2017 12:40 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by yougotitdude »

cvsvm2007 wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 4:54 pm Can someone please educate me on how pay1040.com will work with BofA preferred rewards. This is my understanding:

I see pay1040.com charging 1.87% charges for Credit card payments.
With my Bonus category as online payments and when I pay $2500 to IRS, I will get 5.25%-1.87% back.
Am I right?

Thank you
CVS
Pretty sure the 5.25% is not triggered via taxes.
skibummer
Posts: 59
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2019 5:44 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by skibummer »

yougotitdude wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 5:00 pm
cvsvm2007 wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 4:54 pm Can someone please educate me on how pay1040.com will work with BofA preferred rewards. This is my understanding:

I see pay1040.com charging 1.87% charges for Credit card payments.
With my Bonus category as online payments and when I pay $2500 to IRS, I will get 5.25%-1.87% back.
Am I right?

Thank you
CVS
Pretty sure the 5.25% is not triggered via taxes.
Taxes won’t trigger any of the bonus categories with the custom cash rewards cards, but if you have the premium rewards you will get the 2.625% cash back (standard 1.5% plus the 75% bonus) if you have Platinum Honors level of Preferred Rewards.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

skibummer wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 5:12 pm
yougotitdude wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 5:00 pm
cvsvm2007 wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 4:54 pm Can someone please educate me on how pay1040.com will work with BofA preferred rewards. This is my understanding:

I see pay1040.com charging 1.87% charges for Credit card payments.
With my Bonus category as online payments and when I pay $2500 to IRS, I will get 5.25%-1.87% back.
Am I right?

Thank you
CVS
Pretty sure the 5.25% is not triggered via taxes.
Taxes won’t trigger any of the bonus categories with the custom cash rewards cards, but if you have the premium rewards you will get the 2.625% cash back (standard 1.5% plus the 75% bonus) if you have Platinum Honors level of Preferred Rewards.
It also works with the Unlimited Cash Rewards Visa.
cvsvm2007
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Joined: Thu May 02, 2019 3:26 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by cvsvm2007 »

ok Thanks for the responses.

Can someone please clarify how the other poster mentioned got "4.625% BofA bonus rewards"

CVS
FedGuy
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FedGuy »

cvsvm2007 wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:09 pm ok Thanks for the responses.

Can someone please clarify how the other poster mentioned got "4.625% BofA bonus rewards"

CVS
If you have a Premium Rewards or Unlimited Cash Rewards card and you're at the Platinum Honors level (meaning that you have $100,000 or more in combined assets at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch), you get 2.625% cash back on those cards. With the extra 2% on November 5, that gets you to 4.625%.
pc01
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by pc01 »

I am a BOA customer (Preferred Rewards Gold--the low tier) and I just opened a new Merrill Edge account with the intent of moving the money I have in BOA savings accounts (which pay close to nothing) to a money market fund (most likely FISXX or FIGXX) and opening a 1-year brokered CD at some point (when there are some available).

I see Merrill charges a $39.95 fee for short-term redemption of NTF mutual funds. Are the money market funds listed on the Cash Management Solutions page exempt from that fee?

Thanks!
impatientInv
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Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2021 1:26 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by impatientInv »

sailaway wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 6:49 pm
impatientInv wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 6:41 pm Saw this offer from BotA credit card
0% APR on new purchases on the credit cards until Mar 2023.

FAQ- What types of Purchases qualify for the Purchase promotional offer?
Purchases made online, in stores and recurring payments directly billed to your credit card, such as utilities and subscriptions, qualify for Purchase promotional offers.
Have others used this offer and gotten no interest charge? I have large balances every month that I pay off in full. I am considering paying just the minimum for a few months.. Don't want to surprised by interest charge..
We have been using these offers since late Spring. DH's expires in January, mine in April. No idea what triggered the offer or the different dates, but we haven't paid a penny in interest. Just make sure it is paid off before the statement date of the offer month.

Oh, and that you have the means to pay it off. After putting the bulk of what we wanted on the CC's, DH found out that was a miscommunication/ SNAFU regarding his new compensation package and we won't be getting an expected lump sum. We will have to dip into our portfolio to pay these off and still be able to contribute to 401k next year. I have detailed elsewhere about the many ways in which Megacorp completely botched his transition to part time, but since we are FI, it isn't a big deal and because of their incompetence he works even fewer hours than originally expected.

ETA: look at your most recent statement: on mine, the end date of the 0% interest offer is very clear in the interest section at the end of the statement.
I am buying T-bills expiring in March instead of paying off CC every month. Will pay lumpsum in March. 0% interest on purchases is definitely worth it. I should done this sooner..

I guess people might be doing this with 0% balance transfers (with 3% fees) that is available till 2024.. There is a 1.6% difference between this and the 4.6% T-Bill for 1 year. One can only balance transfer to non BofA CCs. Not sure it is worth it.

I have two CCs from BofA - one customized CC (with 3% choice category) and other unlimited CC 1.5% - plus tier bump up. most of my expenses between these two CCs..
No individual stocks.
MisterBill
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

anon_investor wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 7:05 pm
atdharris wrote: Thu Nov 10, 2022 10:36 am So Cardcash is accepting AA Gift cards again? I guess I'll keep my PR card then if that's the case
Oh nice! Hopefully they will still be buying AA eGCs it in January!
They aren't currently (again), which is too bad since I still need to buy for my second card. I should have done both at the same time. They're not buying Southwest either at the moment. I should probably buy the AA card since it's bound to come back at some point, won't cost me anything since I have no other incidental credit to use the deal on before the end of the year. And that way I'd have the gift card to sell as soon as it comes back, since AA makes you wait three days before you can access the gift card.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

pc01 wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:54 pm I am a BOA customer (Preferred Rewards Gold--the low tier) and I just opened a new Merrill Edge account with the intent of moving the money I have in BOA savings accounts (which pay close to nothing) to a money market fund (most likely FISXX or FIGXX) and opening a 1-year brokered CD at some point (when there are some available).

I see Merrill charges a $39.95 fee for short-term redemption of NTF mutual funds. Are the money market funds listed on the Cash Management Solutions page exempt from that fee?

Thanks!
I think so, because I sold all of my TOIXX and FSIXX after less than a month of holding and was not charged. Currently holding TTTXX.
vanguard111
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by vanguard111 »

vaylie wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:37 am I bought $5k worth of Blackrock TMCXX last week, and there were no transaction fees and no requirements to use the phone, just the $1k minimum. I'll see how it works out (I think dividends pay out monthly? I've never invested in money market funds before so I'm not familiar with how they work.)
In Merrill Edge, I bought some Blackrock TMCXX too, on Nov 2 (two weeks ago). Sold it on Nov 14. Didn't receive any interest yet. Does it come at the end of the month?

I'm asking because previously when I bought Federated TOIXX in my Merrill Edge account, I received the interest the day after I sold TOIXX.
vaylie
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by vaylie »

vanguard111 wrote: Fri Nov 18, 2022 1:48 am
vaylie wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 11:37 am I bought $5k worth of Blackrock TMCXX last week, and there were no transaction fees and no requirements to use the phone, just the $1k minimum. I'll see how it works out (I think dividends pay out monthly? I've never invested in money market funds before so I'm not familiar with how they work.)
In Merrill Edge, I bought some Blackrock TMCXX too, on Nov 2 (two weeks ago). Sold it on Nov 14. Didn't receive any interest yet. Does it come at the end of the month?

I'm asking because previously when I bought Federated TOIXX in my Merrill Edge account, I received the interest the day after I sold TOIXX.
I took a look at the dates on my account:
- 7/1/2022: Purchased TMCXX
- 7/22/2022: Sold TMCXX
- 8/1/2022: TMCXX Dividend

It looks like it comes at the beginning of the month.
vanguard111
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by vanguard111 »

Perfect, thanks!
pc01
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by pc01 »

anon_investor wrote: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:56 pm
pc01 wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 8:54 pm I am a BOA customer (Preferred Rewards Gold--the low tier) and I just opened a new Merrill Edge account with the intent of moving the money I have in BOA savings accounts (which pay close to nothing) to a money market fund (most likely FISXX or FIGXX) and opening a 1-year brokered CD at some point (when there are some available).

I see Merrill charges a $39.95 fee for short-term redemption of NTF mutual funds. Are the money market funds listed on the Cash Management Solutions page exempt from that fee?

Thanks!
I think so, because I sold all of my TOIXX and FSIXX after less than a month of holding and was not charged. Currently holding TTTXX.
Great - thank you!
28fe6
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by 28fe6 »

I can never figure out how much of the $2400/quarter spending limit I have left. If there any way to view it on the website or app? I know I am close to the $2500/quarter limit for online, but I don't know how close.
spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

28fe6 wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 3:49 pm I can never figure out how much of the $2400/quarter spending limit I have left. If there any way to view it on the website or app? I know I am close to the $2500/quarter limit for online, but I don't know how close.
I created tags for different bonus % in Quicken. I review how the bonuses were applied in the bank of america web site, then edit the corresponding transactions in Quicken by adding the tag (or not). A report in Quicken filtered for the tags and subtotaled by account for the most recent (current?) quarter shows how much account has accumulated.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

28fe6 wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 3:49 pm I can never figure out how much of the $2400/quarter spending limit I have left. If there any way to view it on the website or app? I know I am close to the $2500/quarter limit for online, but I don't know how close.
I just have a google sheet with a running tally and input purchases to keep track (I can view and input on my phone). But I don't usually have more than a handful of purchases a week, so not a heavy lift.
need403bhelp
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by need403bhelp »

28fe6 wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 3:49 pm I can never figure out how much of the $2400/quarter spending limit I have left. If there any way to view it on the website or app? I know I am close to the $2500/quarter limit for online, but I don't know how close.
If you try to change online shopping to different category on your app, before changing it will show you all your spend per category for each month including online shopping. Just add up values for each month in quarter.

EDITED TO ADD: Works on the website also. Compared total to my spreadsheet and it is exactly same.
Last edited by need403bhelp on Tue Nov 22, 2022 4:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
SuzBanyan
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by SuzBanyan »

pshonore wrote: Sat Oct 15, 2022 9:33 am
Soon2BXProgrammer wrote: Sat Oct 15, 2022 8:03 am
SuzBanyan wrote: Fri Oct 14, 2022 7:49 pm My husband had qualified for a Platinum Honors several years ago, but he recently passed away and his credit card accounts were just closed. I have been told that because I was named as an additional cardholder on his cards, I need to re-qualify for Platinum Honors status, which will take at least 90 days.

I have qualified for the credit cards in my own name, so that is started. I am in the process of transferring his Roth IRA at Merrill to my Roth at Merrill which will satisfy the minimum investment requirement once completed. We had a joint Advantage Banking account that has a $5/month fee, which was waived due to his status. Is there a way to get the fee on the bank account waived for the 90 days or is such an account even needed to qualify for Platinum Honors?
I'd suggest talking with a banker in person about your expectations about how you want to be taken care of as a long time customer. Some of the bankers have flexibility to wave fees and such.
I believe BOA will waive fees if you have a direct deposit: payroll, pension, SS etc. And lucky me has the option of splitting my pension into two direct deposits.
After being charged a $25 fee on the checking account, I used the Chat feature to see if it could be waived. I was told that even if I was not a Preferred Rewards member, having $10,000 in my Merrill account would have been sufficient to waive the fee automatically, had that account been linked to my BofA account. But I need to talk to Merrill about getting them linked (which is apparently different than just being able to access both BofA and Merrill accounts through the same online portal). In the meantime, once I pulled the widow card, the current fee was waived.
czaj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by czaj »

This isn't preferred rewards specific, but I recently learned about Bank of America's Museums on Us program, which gives free admission to many museums to Bank of America cardholders during the first weekend of each month.
atdharris
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by atdharris »

Does BoA refund an AF on the Premium Rewards card if I already paid it? I got the UCR card recently and already have a CSP, so having this card is redundant if I can't use the AA GC hack, which I don't know will come back. I know some banks pro-rate a refund and some don't at all.
careerdata
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by careerdata »

SuzBanyan wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:48 am
After being charged a $25 fee on the checking account, I used the Chat feature to see if it could be waived. I was told that even if I was not a Preferred Rewards member, having $10,000 in my Merrill account would have been sufficient to waive the fee automatically, had that account been linked to my BofA account. But I need to talk to Merrill about getting them linked (which is apparently different than just being able to access both BofA and Merrill accounts through the same online portal). In the meantime, once I pulled the widow card, the current fee was waived.
Thank you for sharing this! Very interesting. Does just having $10,000 in the Merrill account keep the Gold Preferred Rewards level as well? My daily average balance will come down quite a bit as I moved money out of our Merrill MMF for our I Bond purchases and at some point, in the next month or two possibly, I think the rolling three-month daily average balance will drop below $20k as I only have just a little over $10k left in the Merrill MMF and $1k in BofA checking. Avoiding BofA banking fees and being able to keep the Gold level with just $10k with Merrill would be a great option for now while we focus on other financial items.

Regards,

Joe
SuzBanyan
Posts: 2015
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by SuzBanyan »

careerdata wrote: Wed Nov 23, 2022 7:35 pm
SuzBanyan wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:48 am
After being charged a $25 fee on the checking account, I used the Chat feature to see if it could be waived. I was told that even if I was not a Preferred Rewards member, having $10,000 in my Merrill account would have been sufficient to waive the fee automatically, had that account been linked to my BofA account. But I need to talk to Merrill about getting them linked (which is apparently different than just being able to access both BofA and Merrill accounts through the same online portal). In the meantime, once I pulled the widow card, the current fee was waived.
Thank you for sharing this! Very interesting. Does just having $10,000 in the Merrill account keep the Gold Preferred Rewards level as well? My daily average balance will come down quite a bit as I moved money out of our Merrill MMF for our I Bond purchases and at some point, in the next month or two possibly, I think the rolling three-month daily average balance will drop below $20k as I only have just a little over $10k left in the Merrill MMF and $1k in BofA checking. Avoiding BofA banking fees and being able to keep the Gold level with just $10k with Merrill would be a great option for now while we focus on other financial items.

Regards,

Joe
I think it just waives the maintenance fee on the bank account. I have been told (and I have asked a number of times) that I am not eligible for Preferred Rewards at the current time. The Merrill account was in my husband’s name and I have now assumed the entire balance into my Roth IRA. My 3 month balance will be from the point in time the funds were transferred to my account.

I still have to follow up to get the credit card rewards that had built up under my husband’s account. I have been told that I will get them (as long as the credit card balances have been paid in full within 59 days after the Bank is notified of the named account holder’s death) although the timing was not clear. Paying this balance is harder than you might think because the online access was closed and no statement has been sent. I ended up paying by phone.
careerdata
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Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 7:12 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by careerdata »

SuzBanyan wrote: Wed Nov 23, 2022 8:28 pm
I think it just waives the maintenance fee on the bank account. I have been told (and I have asked a number of times) that I am not eligible for Preferred Rewards at the current time. The Merrill account was in my husband’s name and I have now assumed the entire balance into my Roth IRA. My 3 month balance will be from the point in time the funds were transferred to my account.

I still have to follow up to get the credit card rewards that had built up under my husband’s account. I have been told that I will get them (as long as the credit card balances have been paid in full within 59 days after the Bank is notified of the named account holder’s death) although the timing was not clear. Paying this balance is harder than you might think because the online access was closed and no statement has been sent. I ended up paying by phone.
Thank you for sharing, and my condolences on the passing of your husband. I am 57 and my wife is 44, so I have set up our banking, brokerage, and CMAs as joint with rights of survivorship to be safe. I am gradually adding her as a joint owner to some of my older credit cards as they are helping her FICO score. The new credit cards we have opened since our marriage are almost all joint owner cards. On the list for 2023 is a will and making sure she has access to all the key account passwords for the retirement accounts (Fidelity and Vanguard). She already has the password to the BofA accounts.

For us, next month will be a test to see if the three-month average balance finally falls below $20k, and if so, how long it takes for BoA to take away the Gold 25% bonus on our new BofA Customized Cash Credit Card. Our Preferred Rewards anniversary is the month of May and it is a little unclear to me just how long the Preferred Rewards will still be active if we don't restore the three-month average balance up to at least $20k. It would be nice if they could give us until our anniversary in May 2023 so we could focus on Roth IRA and other budget priorities in Q1 of 2023. In any event, we will definitely keep at least $10k in the Merrill CMA based upon your experience, as it sounds like that can at least prevent us from having charges on our BoA checking and savings account, which have less than $1.5k now that we are using Fidelity's CMA for paying our bills.

Regards,

Joe
sailaway
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sailaway »

careerdata wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 6:44 pm
SuzBanyan wrote: Wed Nov 23, 2022 8:28 pm
I think it just waives the maintenance fee on the bank account. I have been told (and I have asked a number of times) that I am not eligible for Preferred Rewards at the current time. The Merrill account was in my husband’s name and I have now assumed the entire balance into my Roth IRA. My 3 month balance will be from the point in time the funds were transferred to my account.

I still have to follow up to get the credit card rewards that had built up under my husband’s account. I have been told that I will get them (as long as the credit card balances have been paid in full within 59 days after the Bank is notified of the named account holder’s death) although the timing was not clear. Paying this balance is harder than you might think because the online access was closed and no statement has been sent. I ended up paying by phone.
Thank you for sharing, and my condolences on the passing of your husband. I am 57 and my wife is 44, so I have set up our banking, brokerage, and CMAs as joint with rights of survivorship to be safe. I am gradually adding her as a joint owner to some of my older credit cards as they are helping her FICO score. The new credit cards we have opened since our marriage are almost all joint owner cards. On the list for 2023 is a will and making sure she has access to all the key account passwords for the retirement accounts (Fidelity and Vanguard). She already has the password to the BofA accounts.

For us, next month will be a test to see if the three-month average balance finally falls below $20k, and if so, how long it takes for BoA to take away the Gold 25% bonus on our new BofA Customized Cash Credit Card. Our Preferred Rewards anniversary is the month of May and it is a little unclear to me just how long the Preferred Rewards will still be active if we don't restore the three-month average balance up to at least $20k. It would be nice if they could give us until our anniversary in May 2023 so we could focus on Roth IRA and other budget priorities in Q1 of 2023. In any event, we will definitely keep at least $10k in the Merrill CMA based upon your experience, as it sounds like that can at least prevent us from having charges on our BoA checking and savings account, which have less than $1.5k now that we are using Fidelity's CMA for paying our bills.

Regards,

Joe
You maintain your status for one year after the balance falls.
careerdata
Posts: 332
Joined: Sat Sep 09, 2017 7:12 pm

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by careerdata »

sailaway wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 6:46 pm
careerdata wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 6:44 pm
SuzBanyan wrote: Wed Nov 23, 2022 8:28 pm
I think it just waives the maintenance fee on the bank account. I have been told (and I have asked a number of times) that I am not eligible for Preferred Rewards at the current time. The Merrill account was in my husband’s name and I have now assumed the entire balance into my Roth IRA. My 3 month balance will be from the point in time the funds were transferred to my account.

I still have to follow up to get the credit card rewards that had built up under my husband’s account. I have been told that I will get them (as long as the credit card balances have been paid in full within 59 days after the Bank is notified of the named account holder’s death) although the timing was not clear. Paying this balance is harder than you might think because the online access was closed and no statement has been sent. I ended up paying by phone.
Thank you for sharing, and my condolences on the passing of your husband. I am 57 and my wife is 44, so I have set up our banking, brokerage, and CMAs as joint with rights of survivorship to be safe. I am gradually adding her as a joint owner to some of my older credit cards as they are helping her FICO score. The new credit cards we have opened since our marriage are almost all joint owner cards. On the list for 2023 is a will and making sure she has access to all the key account passwords for the retirement accounts (Fidelity and Vanguard). She already has the password to the BofA accounts.

For us, next month will be a test to see if the three-month average balance finally falls below $20k, and if so, how long it takes for BoA to take away the Gold 25% bonus on our new BofA Customized Cash Credit Card. Our Preferred Rewards anniversary is the month of May and it is a little unclear to me just how long the Preferred Rewards will still be active if we don't restore the three-month average balance up to at least $20k. It would be nice if they could give us until our anniversary in May 2023 so we could focus on Roth IRA and other budget priorities in Q1 of 2023. In any event, we will definitely keep at least $10k in the Merrill CMA based upon your experience, as it sounds like that can at least prevent us from having charges on our BoA checking and savings account, which have less than $1.5k now that we are using Fidelity's CMA for paying our bills.

Regards,

Joe
You maintain your status for one year after the balance falls.
Thank you! That sounds great, as it would give us time to address other financial items in early 2023 (Roth IRA, I Bond, and/or TIPs) that we have been discussing. I have been tracking our three-month average balance for the last several updates from BoA. I think we may just be able to get another month above $20k (get us through December 2022 still above $20k as a three-month average):

August 2020 = $30,832
September 2022 = $39,442
October 2022 = $43,860
November 2022 = $38,530

The big drop from $43.9k to $10.6k was primarily related to taking $30k out from our Merrill CMA for I Bond purchases we made over the last several months.

Regards,

Joe
SlowMovingInvestor
Posts: 3487
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by SlowMovingInvestor »

sailaway wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 6:46 pm You maintain your status for one year after the balance falls.
I think my 3-month balance was > 100K until around August of this year, now it's around 30K. Does this mean I have till August 2023 to again reach a 100K balance and get Platinum Honors status? I would probably transfer securities in May/June 2023 just to be sure.

I'm getting online notices from BoA telling me that my balance has fallen - can I just ignore those until May/June 2023?

Thanks!
Lyrrad
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Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2008 10:59 am

Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Lyrrad »

SlowMovingInvestor wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:29 pm I'm getting online notices from BoA telling me that my balance has fallen - can I just ignore those until May/June 2023?
No, I don't think so.

While you should maintain your initial status for at least 15 months, my understanding is that you can drop down tiers three months after each anniversary of the initial enrollment in Preferred Rewards.

You can drop down if your average balance is below the minimum for your current tier for both a) the three month period leading up to your Preferred Rewards anniversary and B) the three month period after the anniversary.

You can see their detailed explanation at: https://promotions.bankofamerica.com/pr ... rewards/en

Look at the answer to the question "What happens if my program balance drops after I enroll in Preferred Rewards and I go into a grace status?", and the explanation after clicking/tapping "Learn more about how we calculate your balance and tier level"
softwaregeek
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by softwaregeek »

careerdata wrote: Wed Nov 23, 2022 7:35 pm
SuzBanyan wrote: Tue Nov 22, 2022 11:48 am
After being charged a $25 fee on the checking account, I used the Chat feature to see if it could be waived. I was told that even if I was not a Preferred Rewards member, having $10,000 in my Merrill account would have been sufficient to waive the fee automatically, had that account been linked to my BofA account. But I need to talk to Merrill about getting them linked (which is apparently different than just being able to access both BofA and Merrill accounts through the same online portal). In the meantime, once I pulled the widow card, the current fee was waived.
Thank you for sharing this! Very interesting. Does just having $10,000 in the Merrill account keep the Gold Preferred Rewards level as well? My daily average balance will come down quite a bit as I moved money out of our Merrill MMF for our I Bond purchases and at some point, in the next month or two possibly, I think the rolling three-month daily average balance will drop below $20k as I only have just a little over $10k left in the Merrill MMF and $1k in BofA checking. Avoiding BofA banking fees and being able to keep the Gold level with just $10k with Merrill would be a great option for now while we focus on other financial items.

Regards,

Joe
No, but it probably would have been sufficient to hit the $20k amount with what she currently has. $20k across all accounts.
need403bhelp
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by need403bhelp »

Does anyone know if you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Unlimited Cash Rewards to cash them out? How about to the Business Unlimited Cash Rewards? Thanks!
spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:12 pm Does anyone know if you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Unlimited Cash Rewards to cash them out? How about to the Business Unlimited Cash Rewards? Thanks!
With respect to personal cards, yes. It's all just cash. It doesn't transfer to unlimited cash rewards - it transfers to your BA checking account. (You have to have one to participate in the rewards program.)

I have no experience with BA business cards but suspect the same is true.
need403bhelp
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by need403bhelp »

spammagnet wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 4:46 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:12 pm Does anyone know if you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Unlimited Cash Rewards to cash them out? How about to the Business Unlimited Cash Rewards? Thanks!
With respect to personal cards, yes. It's all just cash. It doesn't transfer to unlimited cash rewards - it transfers to your BA checking account. (You have to have one to participate in the rewards program.)

I have no experience with BA business cards but suspect the same is true.
Thanks. So it sounds like you cannot transfer points to the unlimited cash rewards from another card to cash them out, correct?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 8:52 pmThanks. So it sounds like you cannot transfer points to the unlimited cash rewards from another card to cash them out, correct?
They're not points. Rewards are "cashed out" by cashing them out to a checking account or by statement credit. To my knowledge there is no relationship between the cash rewards on one credit card and cash rewards on another, like transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points from one card to another, to redeem at a higher value. For BA, the higher points are gained when the points are awarded, not when they're redeemed.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:12 pm Does anyone know if you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Unlimited Cash Rewards to cash them out? How about to the Business Unlimited Cash Rewards? Thanks!
I think you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Premium Rewards can then cash them out. But if you have the Premium Rewards, the Travel Rewards is kind of redundant and a product change to another Customized Cash Rewards would make sense.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by need403bhelp »

anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:33 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:12 pm Does anyone know if you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Unlimited Cash Rewards to cash them out? How about to the Business Unlimited Cash Rewards? Thanks!
I think you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Premium Rewards can then cash them out. But if you have the Premium Rewards, the Travel Rewards is kind of redundant and a product change to another Customized Cash Rewards would make sense.
Ok, thanks so much. You used to be able to transfer to the AAA card also but now it is no longer with BofA.

DW has a TR and I currently have PR Elite, but probably will not keep it long term.

I suppose another CCR could make sense if they let her change her TR to that .

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

Post by anon_investor »

need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:14 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:33 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:12 pm Does anyone know if you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Unlimited Cash Rewards to cash them out? How about to the Business Unlimited Cash Rewards? Thanks!
I think you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Premium Rewards can then cash them out. But if you have the Premium Rewards, the Travel Rewards is kind of redundant and a product change to another Customized Cash Rewards would make sense.
Ok, thanks so much. You used to be able to transfer to the AAA card also but now it is no longer with BofA.

DW has a TR and I currently have PR Elite, but probably will not keep it long term.

I suppose another CCR could make sense if they let her change her TR to that .

Thanks!
I found the $95/yr fee on the PR worth it. I am guessing the much larger fee on the PR Elite not so much?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by djheini »

SlowMovingInvestor wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 10:29 pm
sailaway wrote: Sat Nov 26, 2022 6:46 pm You maintain your status for one year after the balance falls.
I think my 3-month balance was > 100K until around August of this year, now it's around 30K. Does this mean I have till August 2023 to again reach a 100K balance and get Platinum Honors status? I would probably transfer securities in May/June 2023 just to be sure.

I'm getting online notices from BoA telling me that my balance has fallen - can I just ignore those until May/June 2023?

Thanks!
My understanding from looking into this before: They will re-evaluate your balance vs. level requirements on your anniversary month of enrolling in Preferred Rewards. If you've fallen below the average balance needed for your current level, you'll have a 3-month grace period to bring your 3 month rolling average balance back up before you get demoted.

edit: didn't notice that Lyrrad had already replied with essentially the same info but with better supporting links :oops:
need403bhelp
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by need403bhelp »

anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:23 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:14 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:33 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:12 pm Does anyone know if you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Unlimited Cash Rewards to cash them out? How about to the Business Unlimited Cash Rewards? Thanks!
I think you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Premium Rewards can then cash them out. But if you have the Premium Rewards, the Travel Rewards is kind of redundant and a product change to another Customized Cash Rewards would make sense.
Ok, thanks so much. You used to be able to transfer to the AAA card also but now it is no longer with BofA.

DW has a TR and I currently have PR Elite, but probably will not keep it long term.

I suppose another CCR could make sense if they let her change her TR to that .

Thanks!
I found the $95/yr fee on the PR worth it. I am guessing the much larger fee on the PR Elite not so much?
Probably not worth it for me at least. Haven’t tried booking travel with the points yet at 20% extra value (so technically 1.20 * 2.625 for all spend if booked through their travel portal) so that I think is their selling point at least.

I mainly opened for sign up bonus plus the first year credits. Since credits are per calendar year, I will have received two $300 airline incidental credits and two $150 lifestyle credits so not a horrible deal even after the higher annual fee (technically net positive if one is able to use them for first card year, at least).
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

need403bhelp wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:18 am
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:23 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:14 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:33 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:12 pm Does anyone know if you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Unlimited Cash Rewards to cash them out? How about to the Business Unlimited Cash Rewards? Thanks!
I think you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Premium Rewards can then cash them out. But if you have the Premium Rewards, the Travel Rewards is kind of redundant and a product change to another Customized Cash Rewards would make sense.
Ok, thanks so much. You used to be able to transfer to the AAA card also but now it is no longer with BofA.

DW has a TR and I currently have PR Elite, but probably will not keep it long term.

I suppose another CCR could make sense if they let her change her TR to that .

Thanks!
I found the $95/yr fee on the PR worth it. I am guessing the much larger fee on the PR Elite not so much?
Probably not worth it for me at least. Haven’t tried booking travel with the points yet at 20% extra value (so technically 1.20 * 2.625 for all spend if booked through their travel portal) so that I think is their selling point at least.

I mainly opened for sign up bonus plus the first year credits. Since credits are per calendar year, I will have received two $300 airline incidental credits and two $150 lifestyle credits so not a horrible deal even after the higher annual fee (technically net positive if one is able to use them for first card year, at least).
For a big traveler, that 20% extra boost on 2.625%/3.5% = 3.15%/4.2%, plus the extra perks, isn't bad actually.
skibummer
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by skibummer »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:49 am
need403bhelp wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:18 am
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:23 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:14 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:33 pm

I think you can transfer points from the Travel Rewards to the Premium Rewards can then cash them out. But if you have the Premium Rewards, the Travel Rewards is kind of redundant and a product change to another Customized Cash Rewards would make sense.
Ok, thanks so much. You used to be able to transfer to the AAA card also but now it is no longer with BofA.

DW has a TR and I currently have PR Elite, but probably will not keep it long term.

I suppose another CCR could make sense if they let her change her TR to that .

Thanks!
I found the $95/yr fee on the PR worth it. I am guessing the much larger fee on the PR Elite not so much?
Probably not worth it for me at least. Haven’t tried booking travel with the points yet at 20% extra value (so technically 1.20 * 2.625 for all spend if booked through their travel portal) so that I think is their selling point at least.

I mainly opened for sign up bonus plus the first year credits. Since credits are per calendar year, I will have received two $300 airline incidental credits and two $150 lifestyle credits so not a horrible deal even after the higher annual fee (technically net positive if one is able to use them for first card year, at least).
For a big traveler, that 20% extra boost on 2.625%/3.5% = 3.15%/4.2%, plus the extra perks, isn't bad actually.
So you are close but not correct with your 20% boost above. The terms state the card give you a 20% discount when you redeem your points for airline tickets through the BOA portal ($1000 ticket costs 80,000 points, not 100,000 points, which is a 20% discount). Domestic tickets seem to be same price as directly from airline websites when we compare each time. When you do the math the other the direction to calculate the boost a 20% discount mathematically is a 25% boost, not 20%. 80,0000 x 1.25 = 100,000 (not X 1.2). So the boost on the 2.625% is 1.25X, not 1.20X. That makes the cash back value go from 2.625%/3.5% to 3.28%/4.375% (not 3.15%/4.2%. That is the best deal going for everyday spending cash back. When you pair that back with the quarterly 5.25% cash back rewards with the CCR cards ($2500 quarterly limit) it is a great "team cash back" setup. The PR card is basically free as the $95 AF is offset by the $100 airline credit that can easily be used up by buying an American Airlines gift card for $100 that doesn't expire and we use for flights although I hear some sell them on GC sites, but the Premium Reward Elite is a better deal, even long term.

For us the Premium Rewards Elite is a keeper card, even with the $550 AF as the airline credits are $300/yr and can be spent in the same manner as with the PR and we use the $150 lifestyle credit for stuff like streaming, uber eats, Peloton fees. That makes the card have a "real" cost of $100. The break even on the everything spend category for the added $100 fee for the PR Elite card is that I need to spend $15,267 yr on the card (we easily do) to make having the PR Elite and using it to buy domestic airline tickets a better deal than just the PR card by itself. It also makes paying your taxes more viable as you have 3.28% cash back as your threshold. Pay1040.com charges 1.89% so I still net 1.39% paying my taxes.
need403bhelp
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by need403bhelp »

skibummer wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:15 am
anon_investor wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:49 am
need403bhelp wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:18 am
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:23 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:14 pm

Ok, thanks so much. You used to be able to transfer to the AAA card also but now it is no longer with BofA.

DW has a TR and I currently have PR Elite, but probably will not keep it long term.

I suppose another CCR could make sense if they let her change her TR to that .

Thanks!
I found the $95/yr fee on the PR worth it. I am guessing the much larger fee on the PR Elite not so much?
Probably not worth it for me at least. Haven’t tried booking travel with the points yet at 20% extra value (so technically 1.20 * 2.625 for all spend if booked through their travel portal) so that I think is their selling point at least.

I mainly opened for sign up bonus plus the first year credits. Since credits are per calendar year, I will have received two $300 airline incidental credits and two $150 lifestyle credits so not a horrible deal even after the higher annual fee (technically net positive if one is able to use them for first card year, at least).
For a big traveler, that 20% extra boost on 2.625%/3.5% = 3.15%/4.2%, plus the extra perks, isn't bad actually.
So you are close but not correct with your 20% boost above. The terms state the card give you a 20% discount when you redeem your points for airline tickets through the BOA portal ($1000 ticket costs 80,000 points, not 100,000 points, which is a 20% discount). Domestic tickets seem to be same price as directly from airline websites when we compare each time. When you do the math the other the direction to calculate the boost a 20% discount mathematically is a 25% boost, not 20%. 80,0000 x 1.25 = 100,000 (not X 1.2). So the boost on the 2.625% is 1.25X, not 1.20X. That makes the cash back value go from 2.625%/3.5% to 3.28%/4.375% (not 3.15%/4.2%. That is the best deal going for everyday spending cash back. When you pair that back with the quarterly 5.25% cash back rewards with the CCR cards ($2500 quarterly limit) it is a great "team cash back" setup. The PR card is basically free as the $95 AF is offset by the $100 airline credit that can easily be used up by buying an American Airlines gift card for $100 that doesn't expire and we use for flights although I hear some sell them on GC sites, but the Premium Reward Elite is a better deal, even long term.

For us the Premium Rewards Elite is a keeper card, even with the $550 AF as the airline credits are $300/yr and can be spent in the same manner as with the PR and we use the $150 lifestyle credit for stuff like streaming, uber eats, Peloton fees. That makes the card have a "real" cost of $100. The break even on the everything spend category for the added $100 fee for the PR Elite card is that I need to spend $15,267 yr on the card (we easily do) to make having the PR Elite and using it to buy domestic airline tickets a better deal than just the PR card by itself. It also makes paying your taxes more viable as you have 3.28% cash back as your threshold. Pay1040.com charges 1.89% so I still net 1.39% paying my taxes.
Thanks for the helpful corrections!

We have a toddler at home so doing very little (if any) air travel over next year. We did book an international trip but didn’t have any points at that time yet on PR Elite (certainly not anywhere near enough) and it is a mixed airline flight that I don’t believe was available for purchase through major airlines
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BoA Preferred Rewards - worth it? any catches?

Post by NYCaviator »

Thinking of moving some funds over to BoA / Merrill to hit the 100k platinum honors status. Is it worth it for the added bonus on the credit cards? Any catches? I’m not planning on using any banking services.
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Re: BoA Preferred Rewards - worth it? any catches?

Post by anon_investor »

NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:25 am Thinking of moving some funds over to BoA / Merrill to hit the 100k platinum honors status. Is it worth it for the added bonus on the credit cards? Any catches? I’m not planning on using any banking services.
I think it is worth it.

There is an entire mega thread on this topic:
viewtopic.php?t=150033&start=3900
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Pops1860 »

The post above merged with this on-going thread. Thanks to members who brought it to our attention.

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spammagnet
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Re: BoA Preferred Rewards - worth it? any catches?

Post by spammagnet »

NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:25 am Thinking of moving some funds over to BoA / Merrill to hit the 100k platinum honors status. Is it worth it for the added bonus on the credit cards? Any catches? I’m not planning on using any banking services.
You have to open a checking account but you don't have to use it. If you auto-pay your statement balance by pulling from checking, it needn't be that BA checking account.

Read through this topic for details about maintaining PH status. Once you have it, they check your balance once a year and give you a 3-month grace period to get back to the required level, if you moved it elsewhere.
student
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Re: BoA Preferred Rewards - worth it? any catches?

Post by student »

NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:25 am Thinking of moving some funds over to BoA / Merrill to hit the 100k platinum honors status. Is it worth it for the added bonus on the credit cards? Any catches? I’m not planning on using any banking services.
There is also no harm in getting a safe deposit box, free for platinum and above on a small one. I know in some areas, it is difficult to get.
need403bhelp
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by need403bhelp »

skibummer wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 7:15 am
anon_investor wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 5:49 am
need403bhelp wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 4:18 am
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:23 pm
need403bhelp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:14 pm

Ok, thanks so much. You used to be able to transfer to the AAA card also but now it is no longer with BofA.

DW has a TR and I currently have PR Elite, but probably will not keep it long term.

I suppose another CCR could make sense if they let her change her TR to that .

Thanks!
I found the $95/yr fee on the PR worth it. I am guessing the much larger fee on the PR Elite not so much?
Probably not worth it for me at least. Haven’t tried booking travel with the points yet at 20% extra value (so technically 1.20 * 2.625 for all spend if booked through their travel portal) so that I think is their selling point at least.

I mainly opened for sign up bonus plus the first year credits. Since credits are per calendar year, I will have received two $300 airline incidental credits and two $150 lifestyle credits so not a horrible deal even after the higher annual fee (technically net positive if one is able to use them for first card year, at least).
For a big traveler, that 20% extra boost on 2.625%/3.5% = 3.15%/4.2%, plus the extra perks, isn't bad actually.
So you are close but not correct with your 20% boost above. The terms state the card give you a 20% discount when you redeem your points for airline tickets through the BOA portal ($1000 ticket costs 80,000 points, not 100,000 points, which is a 20% discount). Domestic tickets seem to be same price as directly from airline websites when we compare each time. When you do the math the other the direction to calculate the boost a 20% discount mathematically is a 25% boost, not 20%. 80,0000 x 1.25 = 100,000 (not X 1.2). So the boost on the 2.625% is 1.25X, not 1.20X. That makes the cash back value go from 2.625%/3.5% to 3.28%/4.375% (not 3.15%/4.2%. That is the best deal going for everyday spending cash back. When you pair that back with the quarterly 5.25% cash back rewards with the CCR cards ($2500 quarterly limit) it is a great "team cash back" setup. The PR card is basically free as the $95 AF is offset by the $100 airline credit that can easily be used up by buying an American Airlines gift card for $100 that doesn't expire and we use for flights although I hear some sell them on GC sites, but the Premium Reward Elite is a better deal, even long term.

For us the Premium Rewards Elite is a keeper card, even with the $550 AF as the airline credits are $300/yr and can be spent in the same manner as with the PR and we use the $150 lifestyle credit for stuff like streaming, uber eats, Peloton fees. That makes the card have a "real" cost of $100. The break even on the everything spend category for the added $100 fee for the PR Elite card is that I need to spend $15,267 yr on the card (we easily do) to make having the PR Elite and using it to buy domestic airline tickets a better deal than just the PR card by itself. It also makes paying your taxes more viable as you have 3.28% cash back as your threshold. Pay1040.com charges 1.89% so I still net 1.39% paying my taxes.
I will also add that, for a travel card, trip cancellation insurance limits are pretty low ($2.5k per trip for all passengers from memory?). I did look at this quite a bit when booking our international trip with toddler and ended up booking on chase Sapphire reserve card instead where limit is much higher.
Leesbro63
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Re: BoA Preferred Rewards - worth it? any catches?

Post by Leesbro63 »

student wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:06 am
NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:25 am Thinking of moving some funds over to BoA / Merrill to hit the 100k platinum honors status. Is it worth it for the added bonus on the credit cards? Any catches? I’m not planning on using any banking services.
There is also no harm in getting a safe deposit box, free for platinum and above on a small one. I know in some areas, it is difficult to get.
I didn't know this. I have well over $100,000 at Merrill Edge and have the BofA Platinum Rewards card. So can I get a free safe deposit box?
FedGuy
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by FedGuy »

Leesbro63 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:57 am
student wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:06 am
NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:25 am Thinking of moving some funds over to BoA / Merrill to hit the 100k platinum honors status. Is it worth it for the added bonus on the credit cards? Any catches? I’m not planning on using any banking services.
There is also no harm in getting a safe deposit box, free for platinum and above on a small one. I know in some areas, it is difficult to get.
I didn't know this. I have well over $100,000 at Merrill Edge and have the BofA Platinum Rewards card. So can I get a free safe deposit box?
I haven't looked into this myself, but I've read that the waiting list for a safety deposit box, at least in some areas, is about a decade long.
student
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Re: BoA Preferred Rewards - worth it? any catches?

Post by student »

Leesbro63 wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:57 am
student wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 10:06 am
NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2022 9:25 am Thinking of moving some funds over to BoA / Merrill to hit the 100k platinum honors status. Is it worth it for the added bonus on the credit cards? Any catches? I’m not planning on using any banking services.
There is also no harm in getting a safe deposit box, free for platinum and above on a small one. I know in some areas, it is difficult to get.
I didn't know this. I have well over $100,000 at Merrill Edge and have the BofA Platinum Rewards card. So can I get a free safe deposit box?
Yes. You can. It depends on the availability. In my branch, there were plenty when I got mine, as it seems people want larger than a small one.
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