BOA Cash Rewards?

[Anonymous]

I am PCing my cash rewards to a travel card which will give me 1.66% across the board. There are 2% cards out there but I don't have them, and this will complement my amex bce better. I lose the gas category but come out ahead overall. No HP this way.

Maybe one day I will have a 2% across the board card, then I will sock drawer BoA.

[Anonymous]

I love my 123 card. Use it for the 3.3% cb on gas mostly. Also I get the bonus gas/grocery % at places like Walmart and Sam's Club gas, which I don't get with my Chase Freedom or Amex BCP. The Amerideals offers are occasionally pretty sweet too IMO-- eg, usually 10% back which is comparable to most Amex Offers. I also like the virtual card ability, but you get the same with Citi.

Having said that, if you're insulted by your toy CL with the BoA and have no use for it, then you should probably just close it. I'm not a believer in keeping unused accounts open just because they have no AF. Also, there are obviously better reward rates, limits, and APRs to be had. And even regardless of all that, there's no CC product out there that's going to let any of us retire early, so putting too much thought into it isn't worth it IMO. Unless you're pushing hundreds of thousands of dollars through your cards a year or travel a lot, the difference in benefits between most of these CCs seems pretty negligible or non-existent.

[Anonymous]

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@chwebb1 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Bump. Anyone else have something different?

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1. Good customer service.

2. Will negotiate APRs if you call the Backdoor number. I got mine lowered from 18.99% on my BBR and 19.99% on my Cash Rewards to 11.99% and 12.99% respectively.

3. Generous with CLIs. I just put in a CLI, and although it was a HP, I went from $2500 to $6500. I also called the regular number to get an upgrade to Visa Signature, which they happily granted.

4. Gas and Grocery categories. You get 2% back on groceries and 3% back on gas.

5. If you have a fairly significant amount of money and a checking account with them, you can enroll in Preferred Rewards. This will grant you an extra 25%, 50%, or 75% cash back depending on the amount of money you have there. So this card could be even better than your Citi or Cap 1 IMO, with a 1.75% cash back on everything, 3.5% back on groceries, and 5.25% back on gas. That cash back rate is very competitive if you ask me. You can reach this amount by transferring any brokerage accounts/retirement accounts from previous employers (into Merrill Edge, and also get free trades)/checking accounts (into BoA), etc. This is my next big financial goal (to get to the top tier of Preferred Rewards, I'm currently the lowest tier and get a 25% bonus).

6. If you are unable to qualify for Preferred Rewards, if you have your bonus deposited into a BoA account, you get a 10% rewards bonus. So your cash back amounts are 1.1%, 2.2%, and 3.3%. Gas and Groceries here are better than either of your other cards.

7. You really want a minimum of 3 bank cards for FICO scoring. It appears that you currently only have 3 bank cards.

That's all I'm thinking of at the moment, but I'm sure there are other reasons too.

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You gave very good reasons. Thanks!

[bch238]

Let me add:

The BoA Cash Rewards gives 2% back at all groceries, including Target.  Most grocery bonus cards don't consider Target "groceries."

You can pay a $75 annual fee and upgrade to the "Privileges" version of the card (rarely seen or  promoted, but it looks like the business BoA cards), which gives you a 1.5 multiplier on cash back deposited directly into a BoA savings account, making it an 1.5/3/4.5 card.  My wife has it and nets about $90 monthly.  The fee is waived if you have sufficient funds on account.

[Anonymous]

So any purchase with the cash rewards at target is considered a grocery and receives 2% back? I have this card and rarely use it, just for gas but I constantly shop at target and might have to start using it more if that's the case!

[bch238]

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@Anonymous wrote:
So any purchase with the cash rewards at target is considered a grocery and receives 2% back? I have this card and rarely use it, just for gas but I constantly shop at target and might have to start using it more if that's the case!

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I just know my wife buys groceries at a Super Target, and it gets the bonus.  I don't know if that would be true if I bought an HDTV or an iPad.  I assume she has purchased some non-food items before, and they counted.

[chwebb1]

@Brianpop: yes, it works on all purchases at super targets. I personally use my Sallie Mae card at Target and get 5% cash back on anything I purchase there.

[Anonymous]

Another reason is the Bank Amerideals. I converted my 123 cash rewards to a BBR card when it was still possible, but still make use of Bank Amerideals every once in a while. They are usually 10% cashback (in addition to any normal cashback) at various retailers. Not gonna make you rich, but nice either way. 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Oh, and so far at least, the most courteous, professional and knowledgable customer service.

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I have to be honest I love them as well. I've only gotten one bad CSR. 

[newhis]

Another vote for Amerideals. I even get 15% sometimes.

You opened the card 10/14 I bet you can get the APR reduced and you can try again every six months. You can ask for a CLI, it will be HP, but you can call and ask for more with same pull up to 30 days. If your other cards have a higher limit I bet you can get it higher.