I don't think so? One user reported receiving a letter stating their Merrill+ was being converted to a BoA Cash Rewards card, which would be very disappointing if true. I haven't heard of anyone else receiving this notice. And it was only just weeks ago that the mailing went out advertising the card's new travel benefit. Hopefully that's some other card being discontinued, because this is a great one!
Actually, it may be the Merrill Accolades AMEX card that is being discontinued. That card hasn't been available to new customers in several years, though existing customers kept theirs. Merrill Lynch's new "exlusive" card is the Octave AMEX. Not reporting any facts here, but perhaps Merrill Lynch is officially discontinuing the Accolades card for all in favor of the new Octave?
And on the topic of the Merrill+, another "hidden" benefit is primary auto rental insurance. I can't think of ANY non-AF card that has both primary and secondary auto rental insurance, and those that do have primary (Chase Sapphire Preferred, etc.) have annual fees. I only discovered this while reading the Visa Signature terms and conditions that accompany the card (posted by DeltaAce a few posts back.)
I've looked through other threads on this topic but can't quite seem to find an updated answer, so please forgive me if this is in the wrong place:
While the MERRILL+ has a chip, and one can request a PIN for it (which I have), does anyone know if this card is true Chip + PIN or if it's just Chip & Signature? I was in Europe in May 2015 and the card would not work in train stations at the machines, and I even put in a call to customer service as to why the card was declining. Because of that I'm thinking it is Chip & Signature; however, there may be more recent information available, and this was also on the older design of the card and maybe they've changed? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
@Anonymous wrote:I have the card, so I can speak a little to it.
Anyone can apply for the card and you don't need to be a Merrill Lynch customer (you view and pay the card through the normal the BofA website), but you can only apply through the phone. Back when I applied, there was a 25,000 point signup bonus for $3,000 spend in the first 3 months (which wasn't published on the website but the CSR told me over the phone), but I'm not sure if it's still going on anymore.
Anyways, you can view the most up to date benefits info here:
https://card.ml.com/cms/published/root/rps/pdf/MPlus045158Apr2015.pdf
https://card.ml.com/cms/published/root/rps/pdf/MERRILLPlusPartnerBenefits2015.pdf
https://card.ml.com/cms/published/root/rps/pdf/045010_INS-06-14-0237_AG.pdf
The insurance on the card is a alot more comprehensive than your typical no annual fee Visa Signature card. The travel accident insurance goes up to 1 million dollars versus the typical 250,000 on other Visa Siggy cards. You also get emergency medical evacuation/transportation insurance up to $100,000, trip cancellation insurance (if you have to cancel a non-refundable ticket due to a non-pre-existing medical condition) up to $2,500, trip delay insurance (if your trip is delayed for more than 12 hours) up to $500, as well as your other typical insurance (rental, lost luggage, etc.). Never actually filed a claim for any of these policies, but it's nice to know they're there.
The card comes with some additional miscellaneous perks like Hertz Gold and some private jet stuff. If you spend over $50,000 a year on the card, you also get some extra stuff, most notably a free Delta Sky Club membership. I think there used to be more perks (which you can see if you Google for the older card benefits pdf files), but I'm guessing they've cut down on them over the years.
The actual points are kinda bland. You can redeem it for cash, gift cards, etc. at 1:1. I think you can get up to a 2:1 redemption value if you book flights on the Merrill Lynch site, but only for certain flights, for certain airlines, and for flights that cost between a certain amount. There are a bunch of weird restrictions on that so I never really looked into it.
Overall for a no-annual fee card, it has some pretty nice insurance benefits, a decent signup bonus, and an ok rewards program.
And no, the card is plastic, not metal.
Thank you!