BofA Better Balance Question

[DieGo2SHAE]

I've been looking into this card for a long long while and, now that I finally have all the other cards I wanted to cover all my typical spening categories as well as possible, I figured it may be time to plan for this one in the future. But before I set my sights on it, I wanted to make sure I knew how it worked.

As far as I can tell, you get $25 (+$5 if you bank with BofA) every 3 billing cycles. In order to qualify, you must post a balance for each billing cycle and, obviously, pay properly. Seems simple enough and if it really is then this would serve me better than the Quicksilver would for now, given that I'd have to do $8666 in non-category spending per year to make $130 in cash back (the Better Balance yearly reward total), something I'm not going to do for a long while since my categories are very well covered. I'll probably go for the QS sometime next year before I go to Italy on vacation so I can have a no FTF card more widely accepted than Discover.

Anyways, this brings about my two questions:

1 - Can I literally just buy a pack of gum each cycle, let that $1 balance post, pay it, repeat that every cycle, and still cash in my $30 at the close of each quarter? Or is there a certain minimum amount I have to put through the card?

2 - If so, am I essentially stuck having that be the only card I ever post a balance with in order to keep my credit score up?

If anyone can answer I would greatly appreciate it, thanks 

[eddie84]

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@DieGo2SHAE wrote:

1 - Can I literally just buy a pack of gum each cycle, let that $1 balance post, pay it, repeat that every cycle, and still cash in my $30 at the close of each quarter? Or is there a certain minimum amount I have to put through the card?

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I went through their FAQ and also the program rules (in PDF) but couldn't find any specific details on how much you have to run through that card.  Myself, I carry a small balance each month and either pay in full or pay more than the minimum to ensure the rewards.

[StriveToProsper]

From what I have understood from speaking to them is you have to two options. Make a small purchase (under the minimum payment requirement), allow it to report, then PIF. The second option is to make a purchase over the minimum payment requirement and then either PIF or pay over the minimum.

[eddie84]

Yup, that's also in their FAQ:

What is a qualifying payment?

• A monthly payment received on or before the due date, which is more than the monthly payment due is considered a qualifying payment.
• A payment in full received on or before the due date is a qualifying payment.

[celluloid17]

I recently obtained this card and have only had one statement cut so far and I'm still a bit confused how it will and does work in order to qualify for the $25 quarterly bonus.  One of the reps I spoke with said that the minimum payment should be $25 or more, which I took it to mean that simply buying a pack of gum or something in that price range won't work because it wouldn't generate a minumum payment of $25.  So far, I've put two insurance payments through it, but if I could get away with just putting a smaller amount I would.  Has anyone gotten the $25 bonus by just charging something small like a cup of coffee or a Netflix bill?

[gh17]

I'm probably switching to this soon.  The chat rep verified that making a small purchase and paying in full (after the statement) is fine, and I recall others on here verifying that.  I'd go over >$1 since some credit cards write off small balances and won't send a statement.

[jesseh]

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@gh17 wrote:

I'm probably switching to this soon.  The chat rep verified that making a small purchase and paying in full (after the statement) is fine, and I recall others on here verifying that.  I'd go over >$1 since some credit cards write off small balances and won't send a statement.

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I concur, generally it's not possible to make bill payments below 1 dollar.

[BigBS]

Did  PC to this card in April, so while coming up on the end of the quarter won't be eligible for the bonus until the end of next quarter.  That said, I have 2 monthly payments totaling about $34 going to ths card.  I have read that only a pack of gum is necessary, but that was early on.  Think the rules have changed to activity/credit balance higher is now required.  Based upon a chat with a CSR, $25 seems to be the right number, but still have read evidence of folks with less activity receiving the bonus.  Typically, the bonus is paid by the first Tuesday of the month following the quarter.

I also wondered if I had to have any CC balances be on this card and found that it was signficant enough.  In other words, my credit score went up when I had a 2nd card report a balance (was still under 2% UTIL).  Still tweaking this so more anecdotal info to come. 

[gh17]

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@jesseh wrote:

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@gh17 wrote:

I'm probably switching to this soon.  The chat rep verified that making a small purchase and paying in full (after the statement) is fine, and I recall others on here verifying that.  I'd go over >$1 since some credit cards write off small balances and won't send a statement.

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I concur, generally it's not possible to make bill payments below 1 dollar.

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I have no problem making bill payments under $1.  I just send payments from my bank's online bill pay in whatever amount I want, I've made payment for like 20 cents before.  It's just a matter of whether they send a bill or not.  Some banks always do, but some banks (e.g. Comenity) waive small amounts.  I forget what BofA does.

[gh17]

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@BigBS wrote:

Did  PC to this card in April, so while coming up on the end of the quarter won't be eligible for the bonus until the end of next quarter.  That said, I have 2 monthly payments totaling about $34 going to ths card.  I have read that only a pack of gum is necessary, but that was early on.  Think the rules have changed to activity/credit balance higher is now required.  Based upon a chat with a CSR, $25 seems to be the right number, but still have read evidence of folks with less activity receiving the bonus.  Typically, the bonus is paid by the first Tuesday of the month following the quarter.

I also wondered if I had to have any CC balances be on this card and found that it was signficant enough.  In other words, my credit score went up when I had a 2nd card report a balance (was still under 2% UTIL).  Still tweaking this so more anecdotal info to come. 

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I chatted probably 2-3 weeks ago.  Granted, sometimes the chat reps don't know what they're talking about, but are you sure you have the right info?