BofA Cash Rewards - Good Deal?

[Anonymous]

I think teaching him the benefits of having a cash back credit card are important and earning money for doing the things he would regularly do is an added bonus. I have both the Cash Rewards and BBR and I love them both. He would definitely earn more cash back with the BBR based on his current spend.

If he opened a regular savings account with BoA for $300, he would earn $30 per quarter instead of $25 giving him a total savings of $120 a year instead of $100. I'm sure you've already taught him the importance of saving money and now he could save an extra $120 a year with very little effort on his part. It's a win-win. The BBR is also eligible to earn cash back via BankAmeriDeals which KDM mentioned.

I know it's not a lot of money, but I'm a big proponent of earning money for things one does anyway. Please let us know the outcome.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:

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@MaisCher wrote:
His spend is not much. $50/mth cellphone $80/month gas and about $100 on fast food, clothes or other random purchases.

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That's a lot of money spent on fast food, so I don't think we should be encouraging that type of behavior.

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Oh please. We are talkin teenage boy here.

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[Anonymous]

I love me some BBR, and it sounds like it would be a great fit for him with his low spending. If he is preapproved for Cash Rewards, he probably would also be approved for BBR. I don't think there is a drastically different level of underwriting between the cards.

[MaisCher]

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@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:

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@MaisCher wrote:
His spend is not much. $50/mth cellphone $80/month gas and about $100 on fast food, clothes or other random purchases.

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That's a lot of money spent on fast food, so I don't think we should be encouraging that type of behavior.

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Fast food, clothes, AND other random purchases. He's not spending $100 on just fast food. He's a teenage boy and an athlete, his eating habits are fine, but thanks.

[celluloid17]

What about Capital One Quicksilver?  

It too has a $100 sign-up bonus for $500 worth of spend within the first 3 months.  He would earn 1.5% back on all purchases, which would be more fun for him because he would get to watch his rewards grow as each transaction posts and redeem at any amount.  Also, there's a very user friendly app and they offer a free FICO score, which would be useful for him to start being mindful of now.  In addition, SP CLIs are much more likely with Cap1 than with BOA and there's no FTF if he gets the opportunity to travel abroad.

Granted, the Quicksilver doesn't offer the amount of cash back for his spend that the BBR would, but to me, that shouldn't be the primary goal when starting out an autonomous credit journey.  

Capital One has a pretty accurate pre-qualifed tool to see if he would qualify for one of their products.  It might be worth a look!

[Anonymous]

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@celluloid17 wrote:

What about Capital One Quicksilver?  

It too has a $100 sign-up bonus for $500 worth of spend within the first 3 months.  He would earn 1.5% back on all purchases, which would be more fun for him because he would get to watch his rewards grow as each transaction posts and redeem at any amount.  Also, there's a very user friendly app and they offer a free FICO score, which would be useful for him to start being mindful of now.  In addition, SP CLIs are much more likely with Cap1 than with BOA and there's no FTF if he gets the opportunity to travel abroad.

Granted, the Quicksilver doesn't offer the amount of cash back for his spend that the BBR would, but to me, that shouldn't be the primary goal when starting out an autonomous credit journey.  

Capital One has a pretty accurate pre-qualifed tool to see if he would qualify for one of their products.  It might be worth a look!

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Now, why would he need qs when he could get citi double cash. His spending doesn't justify cashback cards, hence my recommendation for bbr. Now if mom is smart, she would have him signup for a credit union that offers low apr auto loan.

Cap one score is not Fico. 

[Anonymous]

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@MaisCher wrote:

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@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:

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@MaisCher wrote:
His spend is not much. $50/mth cellphone $80/month gas and about $100 on fast food, clothes or other random purchases.

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That's a lot of money spent on fast food, so I don't think we should be encouraging that type of behavior.

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Fast food, clothes, AND other random purchases. He's not spending $100 on just fast food. He's a teenage boy and an athlete, his eating habits are fine, but thanks.

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You're welcome.

[icyhot]

If his bill is going to be PIF every payday, depending on when that is, it may not even fall when the statement cuts to be eligible for the $25 on BBR. The BBR is supposed to be a balance transfer card, doesn't actually give rewards on purchases and I doubt a teenage boy will care to micromanage in that way, or even care to maximize rewards for category spending with multiple cards. Like mom said, she only wants to get him one card. The BofA cash is great IMO or the QS is a good option since he seems to be a light spender. The SP CLIs with Cap1 would put them over BofA IMHO but that's mom's call.

[MaisCher]

Lots of great suggestions for some of you, thanks a bunch!!!

I hadn't even thought about having him join a credit union but that's a great call. I think we'll look a little harder at Citi DC and QS before making a decision.

[Anonymous]

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@icyhot wrote:
If his bill is going to be PIF every payday, depending on when that is, it may not even fall when the statement cuts to be eligible for the $25 on BBR. The BBR is supposed to be a balance transfer card, doesn't actually give rewards on purchases and I doubt a teenage boy will care to micromanage in that way, or even care to maximize rewards for category spending with multiple cards. Like mom said, she only wants to get him one card. The BofA cash is great IMO or the QS is a good option since he seems to be a light spender. The SP CLIs with Cap1 would put them over BofA IMHO but that's mom's call.

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The BBR is a "balance transfer card" in the same way that Sallie Mae is a "student card" - that is to say,  that's what BOA and Barclays would like you to believe for advertising purposes but there is a heck of a lot more utility to be had when used in another way.