Bank Of America - - TARGETED Offer Questions!

[Aim_High]

I'm back again soliciting feedback on strategy with Bank of America.  I posted in October 2019 so this is a follow-up to that thread but some factors have changed since then. 

I'm currently at the GOLD level of the "Preferred Rewards" program.  My target has been Platinum Honors in their "Preferred Rewards" program and the difficult-to-get Premium Rewards card.    Since this has been shown to be a highly relationship-oriented card, I felt waiting to get Platinum Honors would help my chances so that's the reason for the calculated response.    Since I first posted last fall, I reopened checking and savings with a $300 SUB and enough deposits to qualify for the Gold Level.  I also just opened a Merrill investment account (with an additional SUB target.)   Now I am suddenly seeing a targeted offer for Premium Rewards on my Bank of America home screens!!   Made my heart skip a beat!  (*See screen shot below.) These appear to be selective offers based on my Gold status and even include a firm APR as opposed to an APR range, which to me seems to indicate it's a very serious and personal offer.  

I had been planning to wait a little longer to apply for the PR card since I'm in the process of qualifying for Platinum Honors with some Merrill transfers and that takes three months average balance to upgrade.   Now, the targeted offer has rocked my boat.  I'm tempted to go ahead and apply now since I see these offers. 

On the other hand, I just got turned down for a new card with AMEX for "too many new accounts."  I was very active in 2019.  And rumor on the street is BofA's limit on new accounts for banking customers is less than seven in last 12 months, although they sometimes will make exceptions.  (I am exactly at 7, counting on one AU account.)  If I wait until mid-Aug or maybe Labor Day, I'll be down to 5/12 which should be a safer bet.

Opinions?  What should I do?  App now while there is a targeted offer on the table and be a guinea pig?  Or hold out until September when some of my "new accounts" age off and my status is higher with Preferred Rewards?

My thread from October 2019:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/Bank-of-America-Premium-Rewards-App-Advice...

My recent AMEX denial with data points:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/AMEX-wants-my-business/m-p/6025410#M265332

[AllZero]

Congratulations on your offer! I'm very excited for you. That is a smoking offer with the low APR. It's a good sign. IIRC, the Special Offers may come and go. If you are gardening, you can always wait it out for the offer to come back if it does disappear. I had a Cash Rewards offer that did that for about 6-8 months before I applied. Hope to read of the other replies.

[Aim_High]

---

@AllZero wrote:

Congratulations on your offer! I'm very excited for you. That is a smoking offer with the low APR. It's a good sign. IIRC, the Special Offers may come and go. If you are gardening, you can always wait it out for the offer to come back if it does disappear. I had a Cash Rewards offer that did that for about 6-8 months before I applied. Hope to read of the other replies.

---

Thanks @AllZero !  I'm excited too since I've been plotting an application for this card for probably nine months now.  The offer itself (and the 50K SUB) is not anything I couldn't have just applied for off-the-street.  But to have them promoting it to me with a firm APR when I sign into my account is something very different.  I don't want to waste a HP only to be denied and I especially don't want a "denial" in my file that might impact a future application.  I'm definitely interested in other perspectives and appreciate having the community as a sounding board!

[Anonymous]

@Aim_High I would suggest going ahead and making an application but doing it by phone so in the event they count the AU account you can immediately ask for it to be excluded (Given your profile why do you have an AU account anyway?).

I wouldn't worry too much about waiting the 3 months for the Preferred Rewards qualification.  Looking back at my records it appears that BofA can accelerate the qualification if they so choose:

1.  Opened Advantage Plus Banking and Merrill Edge accounts on 8/23/19

2.  Approved for Premium Rewards card on 9/23/19 (cold apped on 9/20/19)

3.  I was able to register for Preferred Rewards on 11/8/19 which is less than 3 months and that date was when I noticed I had that option available in my online account.  It might have been available earlier but I hadn't noticed since I was waiting to be notified that I had met the qualification for Preferred Rewards.

They don't make it easy to figure out but while they claim that Preferred Rewards needs a  3-month average, you also have to sign up for the program; it isn't automatic as far as I can tell.  So its likely you already have the option to sign up if you check the Preferred Rewards page 

Looking back I also noticed my October spend just got the base rewards so you might want to hold off on your initial spending until you're signed up for Preferred Rewards

Sorry for the disjointed comments; just woke up.

P.S. Your tags didn't work as I didn't get a notification.

[kdm31091]

I'd go for it. BOA has clamped down on underwriting but from what I have seen their x/12 rules are not set in stone as much as say Chase 5/24. In general yes it's not as easy to get a BOA card as it used to be, for sure... but with a firm APR, you should be fine. Just go for it, you've spent months of mental energy wanting the card. 

[JR_TX]

I'd GO GO GO for it if it was me as I really hate that lingering and nagging feeling of "what if"!! 😂 

But that's just me!

But just in case you're wondering, that targeted offer does not go away! At least in DW's case which has been sitting there for over a year now ever since we opted in their PR program. From Gold to now Platinum and hopefully PH someday. You got a really good APR offer for that card which isn't really surprising with your profile. 
So I guess a Congrats in advance is in order?! 😉

[Aim_High]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

@Aim_High 

P.S. Your tags didn't work as I didn't get a notification.

---

Thanks for letting me know.  I wondered about that.  I copied and pasted them into my message.  Let me try this again typing them in manually.  Let me know if you get this tag please @Anonymous 

Ah, I may have seen part of the problem.   I got the message, "Too many users mentioned. You can @mention only 10 user(s) in a post."

*I'm tagging several My Fico'ers who previously expressed interest or knowledge in the Bank of America Premium Rewards card. 

Thanks in advance for your feedback, guys!

@TSlop,  @K-in-Boston,  @FinStar,  @UncleB,  @wasCB14,  @imaximous

[Aim_High]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

P.S. Your tags didn't work as I didn't get a notification.

---

*I'm tagging several My Fico'ers who previously expressed interest or knowledge in the Bank of America Premium Rewards card. 

Thanks in advance for your feedback, guys! 

@credit_is_crack,   @Turbobuick ,  @FieryDance ,   @CreditCuriosity ,  

@coldfusion,  @VPExecutive ,  @Anonymous ,  @simplynoir 

[imaximous]

If I were in your shoes, and I really wanted the card, I'd just go for it. What's a drop of 2 or so points when you have nearly perfect scores? From that perspective alone, I wouldn't think twice about applying. 

On the other hand, you do have quite a number of new accounts. From past history, BofA has denied this card to people with great profiles too. Whether you'll be approved or not, it's anyone's guess. But like I said, 2-3 points off your score won't hurt in the least bit, and a denial won't carry any negative effect with BofA for a future application. 

From an even more conservative view, I look at your profile and I don't see where it fits or any rush to get it. I know you've been thinking about it for months, but for everyday spend, you have an AOD card that beats it without any relationship, and you're also covered for dining and travel. That SUB has been around for as long as I can remember. I've had my PR card for more than 2 years now. Pretty sure it's always been the same. 

I'm only bringing this up because you strike me as the type who likes to be certain 100%. Otherwise, you would've applied a long time ago. I tend to go for what I want regardless of my chances. Heck, I got denied 5 times for a Barclays card before finally getting approved due to number of new accounts. 

I'm not trying to discourage you from applying. I'm just offering my take on both ends.

Bottom line for me is in the first paragraph. The rest is just thinking of you and how much you hate denials 

[kdm31091]

I do also agree that outside of the signup bonus, I don't see how the card would have a ton of use for the OP. But, if they want it, I'd just go for it instead of spending more time debating it. I think we overthink these things sometimes. It's good to go in prepared, but worst case scenario - a denial - isn't the end of the world. With a solid APR I think the OP is likely to be approved. BOA does not give out those offers often. But, no guarantees. The risk is small though IMO and worth it instead of anguishing about it further.