BofA Student Cash Rewards -- Yay or nay?

[Anonymous]

Though I plan to garden for some time yet, I'm seeking card #3 for this fall. I'm considering the BofA cash rewards for students. The 3% gas and 2% groceries are good for me.

How does everybody here like BofA? I do not have any accounts with them at the moment.

Will they likely PC to the regular one so I could get VS? That's not a dealbreaker for me, but it'd be nice.

Is there any reason to apply for the student version over the regular version? Is it more likely to be approved? I do have a decent part-time income.

Thanks all!

[Anonymous]

I personally really like BofA. They have always been solid and honest about their intentions. Like with any bank, you will have the people that love them, hate them or are indifferent to them.

BofA, as far as I know, still sticks to the $5K limit requirement for Visa Signature/World MasterCard (YMMV) so I would expect a Platinum Plus version of the card if you do not think you will be approved for a $5K+ limit. Once you reach $5K they will either automatically upgrade to Visa Signature or you can request it. I would imaging the underwriting for the student version is different than the regular version, but you managed to get that Chase Freedom Unlimited so you could be approved for a regular version of the BofA card. Others might be able to help you more with that question. 

In my opinion, the BofA Cash Reward card is kind of a marketing ploy...meaning, the extra 1% on groceries and 2% on gas..it sounds great until you actually calculate how much you really spend in those catagories. With my spending, I would actually come out ahead with a 1.5% cash back card. What makes my BofA Cash Rewards card come out ahead is the 10% redemption bonus for redeeming my rewards to my BofA checking.  If you do go with this card. 

What I would do in your situation is either look into a 2% card like Citibank Double Cash or the new PenFed Power Cash Reward card (PenFed's requires a checking account with either $500 balance or direct deposit to avoid a monthly fee in order to get the full 2% cash back) or I would skip the BofA Cash Rewards card alltogether and instead get the Better Balance Rewards card. Very easy to earn $100 a year for doing very little with it (use it for an automatic charge, let it report with a balance and pay it in full each month). This way you are using the Discover and Freedom Unlimited to get the most out of them and essentially getting an easy $100 on top of it with Better Balance Rewards. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I personally really like BofA. They have always been solid and honest about their intentions. Like with any bank, you will have the people that love them, hate them or are indifferent to them.

BofA, as far as I know, still sticks to the $5K limit requirement for Visa Signature/World MasterCard (YMMV) so I would expect a Platinum Plus version of the card if you do not think you will be approved for a $5K+ limit. Once you reach $5K they will either automatically upgrade to Visa Signature or you can request it. I would imaging the underwriting for the student version is different than the regular version, but you managed to get that Chase Freedom Unlimited so you could be approved for a regular version of the BofA card. Others might be able to help you more with that question. 

In my opinion, the BofA Cash Reward card is kind of a marketing ploy...meaning, the extra 1% on groceries and 2% on gas..it sounds great until you actually calculate how much you really spend in those catagories. With my spending, I would actually come out ahead with a 1.5% cash back card. What makes my BofA Cash Rewards card come out ahead is the 10% redemption bonus for redeeming my rewards to my BofA checking.  If you do go with this card. 

What I would do in your situation is either look into a 2% card like Citibank Double Cash or the new PenFed Power Cash Reward card (PenFed's requires a checking account with either $500 balance or direct deposit to avoid a monthly fee in order to get the full 2% cash back) or I would skip the BofA Cash Rewards card alltogether and instead get the Better Balance Rewards card. Very easy to earn $100 a year for doing very little with it (use it for an automatic charge, let it report with a balance and pay it in full each month). This way you are using the Discover and Freedom Unlimited to get the most out of them and essentially getting an easy $100 on top of it with Better Balance Rewards. 

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Got it on the VS. Does that mean that the regular one would probably still be issued as a platinum? Unless I lie about my income I'm not going to get a $5k SL. My Chase FU is only $500.

I was considering the Double Cash, but on my spending the 0.5% over my Chase FU is negligable.

I like the idea of the BBR... I will be looking into that more. No sign up bonus or percentage back, but $100/yr would be pretty sweet.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My personal opinion is too stay far away from BOA, they are shady in my experience. There are other cards in the sea, if you want another visa have you tried the ebates visa from Synch bank? 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Got it on the VS. Does that mean that the regular one would probably still be issued as a platinum? Unless I lie about my income I'm not going to get a $5k SL. My Chase FU is only $500.

I was considering the Double Cash, but on my spending the 0.5% over my Chase FU is negligable.

I like the idea of the BBR... I will be looking into that more. No sign up bonus or percentage back, but $100/yr would be pretty sweet.

Thanks!

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Yeah, you would probably be issued a Platinum Plus Cash Rewards. Just as a side note, as far as I know, all Better Balance Rewards cards are Platinum Plus (mine is). There will be plenty of time for your to get Visa Signatures and World MasterCards in the future though.

The negligible factor between Freedom Unlimited and Double Cash is exactly my point with the BofA Cash Rewards card kind of being a marketing ploy. I am not sure how much you spend on groceries and gas, but the groceries would only net you the extra .5% over Freedom Unlimited. Gas could be a factor if you spend quite a bit on that category. I would think the quarter of Discover's 5% cash on gas could somewhat even things out throughout the year. 

I really only recommend the Cash Rewards card to folks with a BofA bank account because that extra 10% redemption bonus can really add to the cash back. Otherwise, a 1.5% or 2% card is a better overall option since most purchases tend to fall into that non category spend. 

TyDog's comment cements what I stated in my first posting; that people will have different opinions of different banks. I really like BofA, hate Citibank and am indifferent to Chase but these are based on personal experiences. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My personal opinion is too stay far away from BOA, they are shady in my experience. There are other cards in the sea, if you want another visa have you tried the ebates visa from Synch bank? 

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I've had family who had a problem with them and they had to close out because customer service was clueless. Since I'm not an ebates user I don't think the card would suit me well anyhow. Thanks though!

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Got it on the VS. Does that mean that the regular one would probably still be issued as a platinum? Unless I lie about my income I'm not going to get a $5k SL. My Chase FU is only $500.

I was considering the Double Cash, but on my spending the 0.5% over my Chase FU is negligable.

I like the idea of the BBR... I will be looking into that more. No sign up bonus or percentage back, but $100/yr would be pretty sweet.

Thanks!

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Yeah, you would probably be issued a Platinum Plus Cash Rewards. Just as a side note, as far as I know, all Better Balance Rewards cards are Platinum Plus (mine is). There will be plenty of time for your to get Visa Signatures and World MasterCards in the future though.

The negligible factor between Freedom Unlimited and Double Cash is exactly my point with the BofA Cash Rewards card kind of being a marketing ploy. I am not sure how much you spend on groceries and gas, but the groceries would only net you the extra .5% over Freedom Unlimited. Gas could be a factor if you spend quite a bit on that category. I would think the quarter of Discover's 5% cash on gas could somewhat even things out throughout the year. 

I really only recommend the Cash Rewards card to folks with a BofA bank account because that extra 10% redemption bonus can really add to the cash back. Otherwise, a 1.5% or 2% card is a better overall option since most purchases tend to fall into that non category spend. 

TyDog's comment cements what I stated in my first posting; that people will have different opinions of different banks. I really like BofA, hate Citibank and am indifferent to Chase but these are based on personal experiences. 

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That's why I plan to PC from Chrome to regular It after graduation: I don't spend enough at gas or restaurants (or groceries, in the case of the BofA card) that the 0.5% over the FU is valuable.

I wouldn't mind opening a savings account with BofA, would that increase the $25/qtr to $30/qtr for the BBR? For the amount I'll probably be spending on it, the 0.50% interest I'm getting on my local bank's savings would be MORE than the extra 10% is worth...

Chase has been good to me banking-wise, thus my preference to go with them for card #2. I would probably get the Amazon Visa if I thought there was a reasonable shot. But I know I'm not going to get the $5k SL for the VS so I'd probably be declined. If somebody can shed light on that though I might consider it in the fall as I like everything about Chase except HP CLI's.