Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

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

Post by spammagnet »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 12:55 pmI actually put 100% of my cash back into ETFs, so overtime I think I will do better than the current 20% discount.
I put mine into dinner.
tj
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

I recall the drofcredit review concluded that the elite was nothing special over the premium, so I never even considered it
Lastrun
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Lastrun »

spammagnet wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 10:42 am
anon_investor wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 10:11 amI think the Elite has better travel insurance, but not worth the extra cost in my opinion. I have the regular Premium Rewards Visa.
I didn't think so but wasn't certain. The $500 new account bonus isn't better, either.
I pulled the trigger on it. I figure I am already 100 bucks ($95) in for the regular PR card and then you have the $150 credit. It is a Visa Signature product in terms of the benefits so Priority Pass, hotels, etc. which we use. Is this worth $300? To me, yes, but I understand why someone would stick with the PR.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

Lastrun wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 7:38 pm
spammagnet wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 10:42 am
anon_investor wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 10:11 amI think the Elite has better travel insurance, but not worth the extra cost in my opinion. I have the regular Premium Rewards Visa.
I didn't think so but wasn't certain. The $500 new account bonus isn't better, either.
I pulled the trigger on it. I figure I am already 100 bucks ($95) in for the regular PR card and then you have the $150 credit. It is a Visa Signature product in terms of the benefits so Priority Pass, hotels, etc. which we use. Is this worth $300? To me, yes, but I understand why someone would stick with the PR.
So you have both cards now?
Lastrun
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Lastrun »

anon_investor wrote: Sat Mar 26, 2022 7:40 pm So you have both cards now?
No, just the Elite. But for clarity, I also have the red cash rewards card. Burn it to $2500 and then put it in the drawer until the quarter turns.

Not as crazy as others here with multiple 5.25% cards. Actually, I am considering just consolidating with one card.
Holocene
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Holocene »

Holocene wrote: Mon Feb 28, 2022 9:08 pm Anyway, I don't spend very much and have been thinking of trying to pay income taxes with credit or debit cards. So I thought I'd try out buying a $500 Visa gift card with my new CCR to try and speed up hitting the minimum spend requirement and hopefully maximize the bonus category. I did set my cash credit limit to $200 before I did this to make sure it wouldn't code as a cash advance. I went through the Simon Gift Card Mall: https://simon.giftcardmall.com/. This seemed to have some of the lowest fees: $3.95 fee + $0.50 shipping or $4.45 total for a $500 gift card.

I'm pleased to share that this got the Online Shopping Category bonus! It coded as "BUSINESS SERVICES NOT ELSEWHERE CLASSIFIED" with the Online Purchase: Y. So I got $26.48 cash back for the $504.45 purchase. Net cash back after fees is 4.4%. I will likely use this first card to buy some contacts online since experience last year had it code as health/medical and not online shopping. I'll probably buy one more $500 gift card and attempt to use it for estimated taxes, mostly just to hit the $1k spend since I'm not buying much else at the moment.

It was pretty slow getting the Simon gift card so that's something to keep in mind. It took around 2 weeks to ship, then almost another week to be delivered. Also a bit nerve racking having $500 pretty much unsecured in the mail. I'm not sure that it's worth it to do on a regular basis. But thought I'd share anyway.
Thought I'd come back and update after purchasing 3 more Simon gift cards. I did one more physical card which came much quicker in less than a week. So it might have been just the first one was slow because I was a new customer or it was just a busy time. Then I realized they had Virtual Visa cards. So I bought one of those. Both the physical card and Virtual Visa worked fine with ACI Payments. I also did one Virtual Visa for my state taxes which worked fine as well. The virtual cards come within an hour and only have a $3.95 fee so I think they're one of the better deals around. All have gotten rewards for the Online Shopping bonus category. Weirdly, my last one from a few days ago does not have the Preferred Rewards bonus. My home page still shows Platinum Honors. We'll see if it shows up or if I have to complain. Wish BOA had chat functionality!

On another note, I got another UCR card as replacement for an MLB card I had. I was upset it wasn't going directly to a CCR and they wouldn't let me convert it to that when I first got the notice. But I got a nice surprise to see there was a $200 bonus for $1000 spend on this! So I'll pay the rest of my fed taxes with this and get the bonus. Then I'll try and get it converted to a CCR. Before they said they couldn't because it wouldn't allow them to transfer to a card of the same type. They thought I might be able to after the MLB card was transitioned, so we'll try again at some point.
spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

Holocene wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:03 pm... All have gotten rewards for the Online Shopping bonus category. ...
Was that in the past? Or current?
... Weirdly, my last one from a few days ago does not have the Preferred Rewards bonus. ...
My recent (and only) purchases of Simon VGCs failed to qualify as online purchases. I suspect BA tagged Simon as ineligible, despite it being an online purchase. The alternative is that Simon somehow changed how the process the purchases.
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whodidntante
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by whodidntante »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:27 am sending me a replacement card via UPS (expediated shipping is free for PR members).
It's not free. It is ripped from the bones of the shareholders, who frankly deserve more. Have you priced a monocle, lately?
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

whodidntante wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 10:34 pm
anon_investor wrote: Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:27 am sending me a replacement card via UPS (expediated shipping is free for PR members).
It's not free. It is ripped from the bones of the shareholders, who frankly deserve more. Have you priced a monocle, lately?
Well the shareholders are paying for my boosted cash back already, so what is another UPS overnight shipment? :twisted:

I think I need to get a top hat and coat with tails before a monocle. :sharebeer
JackoC
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by JackoC »

spammagnet wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:25 pm
Holocene wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:03 pm... All have gotten rewards for the Online Shopping bonus category. ...
Was that in the past? Or current?
... Weirdly, my last one from a few days ago does not have the Preferred Rewards bonus. ...
My recent (and only) purchases of Simon VGCs failed to qualify as online purchases. I suspect BA tagged Simon as ineligible, despite it being an online purchase. The alternative is that Simon somehow changed how the process the purchases.
We might try to nail down when this happened, just from curiosity. I made a purchase 1/6/22 that qualified, the one on 3/3/22 did not. The post you answered dated 2/28 without saying when the purchase was made. Or even if nobody cares when exactly this happened, it's probably worth repeating that it appears to be a general change not a glitch: apparently no more 5.25%, Customized Cash Reward Cards at Platinum Honors, on Simon VGC's.

Which in the overall scheme of things isn't a big deal, but for my use of BOA CCR's it is significant. We have 4 CCR's, whose $2.5k/qtr 5.25% could be pretty easily and consistently used up including the Simon gambit, mainly to pay federal estimated tax. We'd revert to using PR/UCR for some potential 5.25% purchases because the SVGC's gave the biggest pick up (not the biggest net cash back after fees, but biggest increase over just using PR/UCR instead). Without Simon we probably won't use the full capacity of all 4 cards most quarters. I may do $500 SecureSpend cards at CVS (5.25% drugstore, $6.95 fee) for cash gifts (~3.9% net), but paying estimated tax only ~$497.5 (~3.5% net) at a time is too much hoop jump for me (one time PayUSATax charged the GC but it never got to the IRS and it wasn't easy to get the money back, another time they rejected the billing zip code on the card, though hadn't before and Pay1040 didn't on same card; a lesson might be to avoid PayUSATax, but I take it more as general caution that paying taxes with gift cards used as debit cards can occasionally entail extra time/hassle to straighten out glitches).
spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

JackoC wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:01 am... We might try to nail down when this happened, just from curiosity. I made a purchase 1/6/22 that qualified, the one on 3/3/22 did not. The post you answered dated 2/28 without saying when the purchase was made. Or even if nobody cares when exactly this happened, it's probably worth repeating that it appears to be a general change not a glitch: apparently no more 5.25%, Customized Cash Reward Cards at Platinum Honors, on Simon VGC's. ...
The post from Holocene that I answered was dated 3/30, not 2/28, but I think the result is the same: no more 3% online category for Simon VGCs. My purchase that failed to qualify was on 3/8.
Holocene
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Holocene »

spammagnet wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:25 pm
Holocene wrote: Wed Mar 30, 2022 9:03 pm... All have gotten rewards for the Online Shopping bonus category. ...
Was that in the past? Or current?
... Weirdly, my last one from a few days ago does not have the Preferred Rewards bonus. ...
My recent (and only) purchases of Simon VGCs failed to qualify as online purchases. I suspect BA tagged Simon as ineligible, despite it being an online purchase. The alternative is that Simon somehow changed how the process the purchases.
My most recent Virtual Visa purchase was on Monday, 3/28. The relationship bonus showed up today. I guess the charge was still pending yesterday. The $503.95 purchase is showing rewards of $26.46. This is still pending in the rewards tab of my account, like everything else until the statement closes.

To be clear, this is the gift card I got: https://simon.giftcardmall.com/deal/def ... sa-egift-2

I believe you were doing the $1k gift cards through the separate Simon volume site? It could be that those are being coded differently.
spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

Holocene wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:36 pmMy most recent Virtual Visa purchase was on Monday, 3/28. The relationship bonus showed up today. I guess the charge was still pending yesterday. The $503.95 purchase is showing rewards of $26.46. This is still pending in the rewards tab of my account, like everything else until the statement closes.

To be clear, this is the gift card I got: https://simon.giftcardmall.com/deal/def ... sa-egift-2

I believe you were doing the $1k gift cards through the separate Simon volume site? It could be that those are being coded differently.
That is correct. I purchased the large denomination on the volume site to minimize the transaction cost, but the shipping kills that benefit. For $2,500 taxes paid, buying 5 $500 virtual cards without shipping nets more than 2 x $1000 + 1 x $500 physical cards with shipping. And, the virtual cards being purchased from the consumer site and delivered immediately to your email, they're much less effort.

That benefit assumes the virtual cards are charged as debit cards by the tax payment processors. Is that true?
Holocene
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Holocene »

spammagnet wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:34 pm
Holocene wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 9:36 pmMy most recent Virtual Visa purchase was on Monday, 3/28. The relationship bonus showed up today. I guess the charge was still pending yesterday. The $503.95 purchase is showing rewards of $26.46. This is still pending in the rewards tab of my account, like everything else until the statement closes.

To be clear, this is the gift card I got: https://simon.giftcardmall.com/deal/def ... sa-egift-2

I believe you were doing the $1k gift cards through the separate Simon volume site? It could be that those are being coded differently.
That is correct. I purchased the large denomination on the volume site to minimize the transaction cost, but the shipping kills that benefit. For $2,500 taxes paid, buying 5 $500 virtual cards without shipping nets more than 2 x $1000 + 1 x $500 physical cards with shipping. And, the virtual cards being purchased from the consumer site and delivered immediately to your email, they're much less effort.

That benefit assumes the virtual cards are charged as debit cards by the tax payment processors. Is that true?
I have only tried it with "ACI Payments" but yes, it did charge as a debit card with only the $2.20 fee. I need to put a big charge on my new UCR, so I probably won't try any other processors with the $500 gift cards this quarter. But since it worked on one, I'd assume it would work on others.
spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

Holocene wrote: Fri Apr 01, 2022 1:47 pm
spammagnet wrote: Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:34 pm... That benefit assumes the virtual cards are charged as debit cards by the tax payment processors. Is that true?
I have only tried it with "ACI Payments" but yes, it did charge as a debit card with only the $2.20 fee. I need to put a big charge on my new UCR, so I probably won't try any other processors with the $500 gift cards this quarter. But since it worked on one, I'd assume it would work on others.
I just bought a $25 card to confirm that BA codes as online. I used it on Amazon to reload my Amazon account. They treated it as a debit card. I'll buy Simon virtual cards at the end of the quarter to pay estimated taxes. Among other benefits, I can do it all from my desk and I don't have to change categories on the CCR card, which I would have to do if buying physical cards at CVS. Leaving the card as "online" allows maximizing use of the $2,5000/qtr limit.

I'm now at an optimum arrangement of rewards cards (primarily BA) and am not going to do more. We use 3 CCR/SGK, 1 Premium Rewards and a Chase Amazon Prime.

1. The Chase Amazon Prime Visa is used exclusively at Amazon. It's been set up for years and doesn't have a limit on rewards.
2. One of the SGKs is set for Dining. We carry it in our wallets to use for "Food" in a broad sense. If not getting 3% dining out, we get 2% on groceries.
3. We carry the Premium card in our wallets for "non-food". That same card is also used for recurring online bills that don't qualify as "online". We'll also use it for travel-related purchases. We're leaving on a 2-3 month trip soon so that will get used a lot on campsite rental.
4. Two CCR cards are set up as "online". One is used for recurring bills that qualify as online, for Paypal, for online shopping other than Amazon, and in our Publix, Walmart, and Sam's apps. (If Sam's doesn't qualify as 3% online by using the app, it should be captured as 2% warehouse.) The other is held in reserve to be used if the first exceeds $2,500 and to buy gift cards for taxes at the end of the quarter.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by toofaan »

Thanks for this thread. I've been following the strategy to have Fidelity for everything, but from the thread, it looks like Merrill/BOA provides better credit card rewards, while being similar for ETF investing. I currently have my taxable and IRA (Traditional, Roth) accounts at Fidelity, containing FTIHX and FSKAX. Can I transfer these over to Merrill? I understand that selling in Fidelity and buying in Merrill is not an option as it would incur capital gains tax.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by eukonomos »

toofaan wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 2:45 am Thanks for this thread. I've been following the strategy to have Fidelity for everything, but from the thread, it looks like Merrill/BOA provides better credit card rewards, while being similar for ETF investing. I currently have my taxable and IRA (Traditional, Roth) accounts at Fidelity, containing FTIHX and FSKAX. Can I transfer these over to Merrill? I understand that selling in Fidelity and buying in Merrill is not an option as it would incur capital gains tax.
You should be able to transfer over the Fidelity mutual funds. There will be a fee to purchase new shares at Merrill, but automatic reinvestments should be free.

In the IRA's, you could sell the funds first at Fidelity and buy ETFs if you like.

Many people prefer Fidelity, so another option is to just transfer enough to Merrill Edge to get the level of rewards boost you seek. You could transfer one IRA, or a portion of your taxable account, for example. Keep in mind that if you are married, a joint taxable account will qualify both of you for honors status, whereas each IRA can only qualify one person.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

eukonomos wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 4:55 pm
toofaan wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 2:45 am Thanks for this thread. I've been following the strategy to have Fidelity for everything, but from the thread, it looks like Merrill/BOA provides better credit card rewards, while being similar for ETF investing. I currently have my taxable and IRA (Traditional, Roth) accounts at Fidelity, containing FTIHX and FSKAX. Can I transfer these over to Merrill? I understand that selling in Fidelity and buying in Merrill is not an option as it would incur capital gains tax.
You should be able to transfer over the Fidelity mutual funds. There will be a fee to purchase new shares at Merrill, but automatic reinvestments should be free.

In the IRA's, you could sell the funds first at Fidelity and buy ETFs if you like.

Many people prefer Fidelity, so another option is to just transfer enough to Merrill Edge to get the level of rewards boost you seek. You could transfer one IRA, or a portion of your taxable account, for example. Keep in mind that if you are married, a joint taxable account will qualify both of you for honors status, whereas each IRA can only qualify one person.
I did something like that, I transferred a little bit more than $100k worth of ETFs from Vanguard to Merrill Edge to get the Platinum Honors tier Bank of America Preferred Rewards status. I don't really add new money to Merrill Edge, but I enjoy the 75% boost to cash back I receive on my Bank of America credit cards.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

spammagnet wrote: Fri Apr 01, 2022 2:14 pm... I just bought a $25 [Simon Visa eGift] card to confirm that BA codes as online. ...
Confirmed - they do.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MikeG62 »

anon_investor wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:08 pm
eukonomos wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 4:55 pm
toofaan wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 2:45 am Thanks for this thread. I've been following the strategy to have Fidelity for everything, but from the thread, it looks like Merrill/BOA provides better credit card rewards, while being similar for ETF investing. I currently have my taxable and IRA (Traditional, Roth) accounts at Fidelity, containing FTIHX and FSKAX. Can I transfer these over to Merrill? I understand that selling in Fidelity and buying in Merrill is not an option as it would incur capital gains tax.
You should be able to transfer over the Fidelity mutual funds. There will be a fee to purchase new shares at Merrill, but automatic reinvestments should be free.

In the IRA's, you could sell the funds first at Fidelity and buy ETFs if you like.

Many people prefer Fidelity, so another option is to just transfer enough to Merrill Edge to get the level of rewards boost you seek. You could transfer one IRA, or a portion of your taxable account, for example. Keep in mind that if you are married, a joint taxable account will qualify both of you for honors status, whereas each IRA can only qualify one person.
I did something like that, I transferred a little bit more than $100k worth of ETFs from Vanguard to Merrill Edge to get the Platinum Honors tier Bank of America Preferred Rewards status. I don't really add new money to Merrill Edge, but I enjoy the 75% boost to cash back I receive on my Bank of America credit cards.
I did the same. However, 2022 has not been kind to bond funds and my transferred asset (a bond fund) has declined in value close to the $100,000 cutoff. I've taken steps for now to prevent any further decline, but will need to address that for the longer term.
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spammagnet
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

MikeG62 wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:08 am
anon_investor wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:08 pmI did something like that, I transferred a little bit more than $100k worth of ETFs from Vanguard to Merrill Edge to get the Platinum Honors tier Bank of America Preferred Rewards status. I don't really add new money to Merrill Edge, but I enjoy the 75% boost to cash back I receive on my Bank of America credit cards.
I did the same. However, 2022 has not been kind to bond funds and my transferred asset (a bond fund) has declined in value close to the $100,000 cutoff. I've taken steps for now to prevent any further decline, but will need to address that for the longer term.
Rewards status is determined only once per year. I forget the exact timing details but I think you're okay as long as you have a balance >=$100K by the anniversary date. You can actually move most of your money elsewhere long enough to get a new account bonus at the other bank, then move it back by the anniversary. Valuations are made only once a month. I believe that's the end of the month.

Edit: to clarify, you will be upgraded in any month when your 3-mo balance hits the next level but your status will stay at least that high for a year.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

spammagnet wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:16 am
MikeG62 wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:08 am
anon_investor wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:08 pmI did something like that, I transferred a little bit more than $100k worth of ETFs from Vanguard to Merrill Edge to get the Platinum Honors tier Bank of America Preferred Rewards status. I don't really add new money to Merrill Edge, but I enjoy the 75% boost to cash back I receive on my Bank of America credit cards.
I did the same. However, 2022 has not been kind to bond funds and my transferred asset (a bond fund) has declined in value close to the $100,000 cutoff. I've taken steps for now to prevent any further decline, but will need to address that for the longer term.
Rewards status is determined only once per year. I forget the exact timing details but I think you're okay as long as you have a balance >=$100K by the anniversary date. You can actually move most of your money elsewhere long enough to get a new account bonus at the other bank, then move it back by the anniversary. Valuations are made only once a month. I believe that's the end of the month.

Edit: to clarify, you will be upgraded in any month when your 3-mo balance hits the next level but your status will stay at least that high for a year.
I don't want to have to think about it, so I transferred enough equity ETFs that even in a March 2020 situation I will still have enough time to transfer more equity ETFs to ME in order to maintain my PH status.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by drk »

spammagnet wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:16 am Rewards status is determined only once per year. I forget the exact timing details but I think you're okay as long as you have a balance >=$100K by the anniversary date.
It's actually better than that: if you're below the level at 12 months, they give you a three-month grace period to get your average balance back up to the required level, so you effectively get 15 months at the highest level you achieve.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by riverant »

anon_investor wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:08 pm
eukonomos wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 4:55 pm
toofaan wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 2:45 am Thanks for this thread. I've been following the strategy to have Fidelity for everything, but from the thread, it looks like Merrill/BOA provides better credit card rewards, while being similar for ETF investing. I currently have my taxable and IRA (Traditional, Roth) accounts at Fidelity, containing FTIHX and FSKAX. Can I transfer these over to Merrill? I understand that selling in Fidelity and buying in Merrill is not an option as it would incur capital gains tax.
You should be able to transfer over the Fidelity mutual funds. There will be a fee to purchase new shares at Merrill, but automatic reinvestments should be free.

In the IRA's, you could sell the funds first at Fidelity and buy ETFs if you like.

Many people prefer Fidelity, so another option is to just transfer enough to Merrill Edge to get the level of rewards boost you seek. You could transfer one IRA, or a portion of your taxable account, for example. Keep in mind that if you are married, a joint taxable account will qualify both of you for honors status, whereas each IRA can only qualify one person.
I did something like that, I transferred a little bit more than $100k worth of ETFs from Vanguard to Merrill Edge to get the Platinum Honors tier Bank of America Preferred Rewards status. I don't really add new money to Merrill Edge, but I enjoy the 75% boost to cash back I receive on my Bank of America credit cards.
I have everything else at fidelity but just have my entire taxable brokerage at Merrill. The interface isn’t terrible and it’s nice to immediately be able to move money from checking to brokerage (and back I suppose). That immediacy makes it unnecessary to worry about fractional shares since I can just transfer a few bucks over if needed to the next whole share. Only annoying experience so far is their poor TLH capabilities (max of 4 lots, must be whole shares or else they FIFO the remainder)
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

TJat wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 6:10 pm
anon_investor wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 5:08 pm
eukonomos wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 4:55 pm
toofaan wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 2:45 am Thanks for this thread. I've been following the strategy to have Fidelity for everything, but from the thread, it looks like Merrill/BOA provides better credit card rewards, while being similar for ETF investing. I currently have my taxable and IRA (Traditional, Roth) accounts at Fidelity, containing FTIHX and FSKAX. Can I transfer these over to Merrill? I understand that selling in Fidelity and buying in Merrill is not an option as it would incur capital gains tax.
You should be able to transfer over the Fidelity mutual funds. There will be a fee to purchase new shares at Merrill, but automatic reinvestments should be free.

In the IRA's, you could sell the funds first at Fidelity and buy ETFs if you like.

Many people prefer Fidelity, so another option is to just transfer enough to Merrill Edge to get the level of rewards boost you seek. You could transfer one IRA, or a portion of your taxable account, for example. Keep in mind that if you are married, a joint taxable account will qualify both of you for honors status, whereas each IRA can only qualify one person.
I did something like that, I transferred a little bit more than $100k worth of ETFs from Vanguard to Merrill Edge to get the Platinum Honors tier Bank of America Preferred Rewards status. I don't really add new money to Merrill Edge, but I enjoy the 75% boost to cash back I receive on my Bank of America credit cards.
I have everything else at fidelity but just have my entire taxable brokerage at Merrill. The interface isn’t terrible and it’s nice to immediately be able to move money from checking to brokerage (and back I suppose). That immediacy makes it unnecessary to worry about fractional shares since I can just transfer a few bucks over if needed to the next whole share. Only annoying experience so far is their poor TLH capabilities (max of 4 lots, must be whole shares or else they FIFO the remainder)
I stopped automatic dividend reinvestment because I had an issue when trying to do TLH at ME when trying to sell partial shares. I do my regular purchases in taxable at Fidelity, much easier to TLH with fractional ETF shares.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by RevFran »

I have to make a large contribution to my property manager via an online portal. Does anyone know if this will ping an honors reward category? Online? Home? There's a 2.99% charge for paying with a credit card so I'll pay via free e-check if honors points do not apply....
MisterBill
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

RevFran wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 7:36 am I have to make a large contribution to my property manager via an online portal. Does anyone know if this will ping an honors reward category? Online? Home? There's a 2.99% charge for paying with a credit card so I'll pay via free e-check if honors points do not apply....
Really hard to tell in advance. Can you make a $5 payment first and see how it posts? I see that BofA lists this under their travel category:

6513 Real Estate Agents and Managers

And of course, it could code as online.
djheini
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by djheini »

RevFran wrote: Tue Apr 19, 2022 7:36 am I have to make a large contribution to my property manager via an online portal. Does anyone know if this will ping an honors reward category? Online? Home? There's a 2.99% charge for paying with a credit card so I'll pay via free e-check if honors points do not apply....
Depending on how large you're talking about remember that the bonus rates (other than travel/dining on the premium rewards card) are capped at $2500/quarter.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by jrbdmb »

I've recently received a replacement for one of my BoA MLB cards (I curerntly have two of them). I get why they had to send a replacement card since their relationship with MLB has expired. But since my current MLB cards have a few years left on them before expiration do I really need to activate the new one now (and render the old MLB ones inactive) or can I keep using the MLB cards until they expire?
exarkun
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by exarkun »

If the cc number, cvv, and expiration date are the same then they will still work.
MisterBill
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

exarkun wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:48 pm If the cc number, cvv, and expiration date are the same then they will still work.
They were not, at least for me. I'm wonder if they will deactivate the old cards at some point. No harm in continuing to use it until it stops working.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by BrandonBogle »

MisterBill wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:03 pm
exarkun wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:48 pm If the cc number, cvv, and expiration date are the same then they will still work.
They were not, at least for me. I'm wonder if they will deactivate the old cards at some point. No harm in continuing to use it until it stops working.
I would be surprise if any financial institution has a way to create a card with the same ccv, card number, and expiration date. It would have to be some real exception process as that opens up the risk of the new card being intercepted in the mail and it essentially being active and usable. Or the old card be discarded insecurely and someone nabs it and uses it.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

BrandonBogle wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:31 pm I would be surprise if any financial institution has a way to create a card with the same ccv, card number, and expiration date. It would have to be some real exception process as that opens up the risk of the new card being intercepted in the mail and it essentially being active and usable. Or the old card be discarded insecurely and someone nabs it and uses it.
I've gotten a replacement card with identical info as the old card when I told them that the old card was damaged. And yes, it would seem odd since the card would be able to be used if stolen from my mailbox after being delivered.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

jrbdmb wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:19 pm I've recently received a replacement for one of my BoA MLB cards (I curerntly have two of them). I get why they had to send a replacement card since their relationship with MLB has expired. But since my current MLB cards have a few years left on them before expiration do I really need to activate the new one now (and render the old MLB ones inactive) or can I keep using the MLB cards until they expire?
Are the MLB ones Master Cards or Visa? Are the replacements the same card type?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bandoba »

anon_investor wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 8:30 pm
jrbdmb wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:19 pm I've recently received a replacement for one of my BoA MLB cards (I curerntly have two of them). I get why they had to send a replacement card since their relationship with MLB has expired. But since my current MLB cards have a few years left on them before expiration do I really need to activate the new one now (and render the old MLB ones inactive) or can I keep using the MLB cards until they expire?
Are the MLB ones Master Cards or Visa? Are the replacements the same card type?
Both types seem to be widely accepted, is there specific advantage for either type of card?
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

anon_investor wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 8:30 pm
jrbdmb wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:19 pm I've recently received a replacement for one of my BoA MLB cards (I curerntly have two of them). I get why they had to send a replacement card since their relationship with MLB has expired. But since my current MLB cards have a few years left on them before expiration do I really need to activate the new one now (and render the old MLB ones inactive) or can I keep using the MLB cards until they expire?
Are the MLB ones Master Cards or Visa? Are the replacements the same card type?
I would assume rhe replacements are the same because the card number doesn't change. Mine is a MC, I have no idea if the MLB card was only offered as MC or not. I recall MC being a sponsor of MLB
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

BrandonBogle wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:31 pm
MisterBill wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:03 pm
exarkun wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:48 pm If the cc number, cvv, and expiration date are the same then they will still work.
They were not, at least for me. I'm wonder if they will deactivate the old cards at some point. No harm in continuing to use it until it stops working.
I would be surprise if any financial institution has a way to create a card with the same ccv, card number, and expiration date. It would have to be some real exception process as that opens up the risk of the new card being intercepted in the mail and it essentially being active and usable. Or the old card be discarded insecurely and someone nabs it and uses it.
The ccv should change, the account number and expiration date are probably the same.
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anon_investor
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by anon_investor »

bandoba wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:06 pm
anon_investor wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 8:30 pm
jrbdmb wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:19 pm I've recently received a replacement for one of my BoA MLB cards (I curerntly have two of them). I get why they had to send a replacement card since their relationship with MLB has expired. But since my current MLB cards have a few years left on them before expiration do I really need to activate the new one now (and render the old MLB ones inactive) or can I keep using the MLB cards until they expire?
Are the MLB ones Master Cards or Visa? Are the replacements the same card type?
Both types seem to be widely accepted, is there specific advantage for either type of card?
I am only asking, because if the current card is a Master Card, and the new card is a Visa, there is a good chance they will shutdown the old card. I had this happen with store branded cards before.
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BrandonBogle
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by BrandonBogle »

MisterBill wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 8:18 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:31 pm I would be surprise if any financial institution has a way to create a card with the same ccv, card number, and expiration date. It would have to be some real exception process as that opens up the risk of the new card being intercepted in the mail and it essentially being active and usable. Or the old card be discarded insecurely and someone nabs it and uses it.
I've gotten a replacement card with identical info as the old card when I told them that the old card was damaged. And yes, it would seem odd since the card would be able to be used if stolen from my mailbox after being delivered.
Even the ccv? I concur with tj that this shouldn’t happen and at least the ccv should change? I’ve also reported damaged cards and gotten the same number and expiration, but never the same ccv (unless you want to talk about pre-ccv, so none lol).
tj wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:13 pm The ccv should change, the account number and expiration date are probably the same.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

BrandonBogle wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:33 pm Even the ccv? I concur with tj that this shouldn’t happen and at least the ccv should change? I’ve also reported damaged cards and gotten the same number and expiration, but never the same ccv (unless you want to talk about pre-ccv, so none lol).
tj wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:13 pm The ccv should change, the account number and expiration date are probably the same.
Could be that the CCV changed. I only noticed the expiration date and card number had not changed.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by tj »

MisterBill wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 10:14 pm
BrandonBogle wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:33 pm Even the ccv? I concur with tj that this shouldn’t happen and at least the ccv should change? I’ve also reported damaged cards and gotten the same number and expiration, but never the same ccv (unless you want to talk about pre-ccv, so none lol).
tj wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:13 pm The ccv should change, the account number and expiration date are probably the same.
Could be that the CCV changed. I only noticed the expiration date and card number had not changed.
The ccv absolutely changed. At some point any automatic payments you set up with the old ccv will stop working.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by MisterBill »

tj wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 10:28 pm The ccv absolutely changed. At some point any automatic payments you set up with the old ccv will stop working.
In my case it was a debit card, so no automatic payments and also why I would not have noticed the CVV.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by Lyrrad »

tj wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:13 pm The ccv should change, the account number and expiration date are probably the same.
I got my replacement card for the MLB. All information, including CVV is the same as the old one.

I think it's common for some card issuers to be able to issue cards with the same CVV.

With Chase, I've had additional users get cards with the same number, expiry, and CVV as the primary cardholder.

With the old Fidelity Amex credit card (that was administered by a subsidiary of BoA at the time, IIRC), they once accidentally sent me several identical replacement cards by mail in separate envelopes. I could use any of them interchangeably and they were the same as my existing card that was damaged.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by spammagnet »

BrandonBogle wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:31 pm
MisterBill wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:03 pm
exarkun wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:48 pm If the cc number, cvv, and expiration date are the same then they will still work.
They were not, at least for me. I'm wonder if they will deactivate the old cards at some point. No harm in continuing to use it until it stops working.
I would be surprise if any financial institution has a way to create a card with the same ccv, card number, and expiration date. It would have to be some real exception process as that opens up the risk of the new card being intercepted in the mail and it essentially being active and usable. Or the old card be discarded insecurely and someone nabs it and uses it.
BofA sent a new credit card to use because we changed product from customized cash to premium rewards. None of the associated numbers (accounts, advising date, CCV) changed.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by BrandonBogle »

tj and spammagnet, color me surprised. That is a very poor security practice. There is a reason why the ccv was added and the setup is supposed to be that a ccv is not predefined or reused on an account. Everything else can change since recurring subscriptions don’t have any updated info, while new charges need to provide the ccv to “assure” the pmt processor that the card is actually in the presence of the person using it.

As an engineer that is security focused in his job, things like this make me cringe.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by silvergga »

Anyone tried to pay the IRS with the preferred rewards cards? Does it qualify for "online" and the 5.25% cashback?

https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-t ... redit-card
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by sailaway »

silvergga wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:30 pm Anyone tried to pay the IRS with the preferred rewards cards? Does it qualify for "online" and the 5.25% cashback?

https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-t ... redit-card
It shouldn't, taxes and government fees are an explicitly excluded category. Some folks have work arounds.

I just used the one that gives me 2.xx% on everything. It slightly beat the fees I was charged and mine currently has a 0% APR through the end of the year so a few things are on there right now to manage cash flow over the next few months.
Last edited by sailaway on Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by euphonious »

silvergga wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:30 pm Anyone tried to pay the IRS with the preferred rewards cards? Does it qualify for "online" and the 5.25% cashback?

https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-t ... redit-card
I looked into this a few years ago. Everything I read said NO, online tax payments do not qualify for the CC online purchase category. :|
bandoba
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by bandoba »

sailaway wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:36 pm
silvergga wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:30 pm Anyone tried to pay the IRS with the preferred rewards cards? Does it qualify for "online" and the 5.25% cashback?

https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-t ... redit-card
It shouldn't, taxes and government fees are an explicitly excluded category. Some folks have work arounds.

I just used the one that gives me 2.xx% on everything. It slightly beat the fees I was charged and mine currently has a 0% APR through the end of the year so a few things are on there right now to manage cash flow over the next few months.
I agree, I don't think 5.25% works on tax/insurance payments as per the T&C. I use PR card and get 2.6x% and be happy with that.
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Re: Bank of America/Merrill Edge - Preferred Rewards

Post by isira »

euphonious wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 6:19 pm
silvergga wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 2:30 pm Anyone tried to pay the IRS with the preferred rewards cards? Does it qualify for "online" and the 5.25% cashback?

https://www.irs.gov/payments/pay-your-t ... redit-card
I looked into this a few years ago. Everything I read said NO, online tax payments do not qualify for the CC online purchase category. :|
The list of non-retail exclusions for the Online Shopping category is clearly stated in the program rules. MCC code 9311 Tax Payments is an excluded category.
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