Bank Of America - - TARGETED Offer Questions!

[Aim_High]

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@JR_TX wrote:

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?! 😉

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Thanks for your comments (and advance congrats) @JR_TX !   Yes, I kinda thought the targeted offer might be extended again later.  For now, it's showing good until 07/04/2020.   I'll keep everyone updated on the application.  Whether now or later, I still plan to apply at some point for this card.

[CreditCuriosity]

You should be good since you got cash with them.  As you echoed the 3% AOD kinda changes things up and personally I think AOD will be around for awhile since they have tightened up their GEO-FENCE.  With that said you still come out ahead each year if not mistaken on the BOFA card as it is a loss leader for them not only the 500$ sign-up bonus, but the credit each year I believe they lose money if I recall.  I have put the card personally on the back burner for myself as I am over the 7/12 rule or whatever it is and HAVE been targeted with firm apr's on their cards as recent as a few months ago and was turned down for "too many new accounts".  Haven't bothered reconning or trying even though have money with them with Merrill as I cant keep a straight face on my amount of new accounts.  Although you being at 7/24 you "should" be good and certainly have a recon shot if they to give you grief where I am like 24/24 at any given time.  It is a GOOD card if you have 100k parked with BofA and it isn't costing you money meaning they work as good as any other trading firm for you and you aren't just parking it in savings, etc..  Also HP's are WAYYYY overrated imho it would only be one, so if you want I would role the dice and I bet you will get snake eyes and come out with an approval

[K-in-Boston]

I got paged.  Uhh, if the card makes sense for you, go for it.  Definitely looks like a real prequal like I've had in the past with them.  The card has a net negative annual fee if you use the airline credit (it's very easy to use with all of the domestic carriers, and unlike Amex works on paid upgrades) and that SUB is wonderful.

[wasCB14]

Re: Page

I can't really speak to the underwriting criteria. I got instant approval on my two apps but had less in the way of new credit. And I was comfortably Platinum Honors, not Gold. Apps were in December and March.

I saw a similar "targeted" ad/offer on the website for Cash Rewards around October after I set up my checking account. I didn't note whether the APR was exact or in a range. But I still got an instant approval for Premium Rewards when I applied 2-point-something months later (they upgraded me to PH a little early, despite the technical 3 month requirement). And I got a similar ad/offer for Premium Rewards on the website shortly after that (though by the time I got the ad/offer, I'd already had the card for a week or so).

[Aim_High]

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@coldfusion wrote:

Confirm either through the BoA or Merrill app that you have a TU FICO 8 score (Menu -> scroll to view my FICO Score) and confirm there's a TU FICO 8 score from May being shown but this sounds like one of their true prequals.   You can also log onto the BoA website and see if the offer also shows under Special Offers and Deals.   As has been pointed out the 7/12 rule is not immutable. 

There will be a HP, but if it were me I would pull the trigger if I could meet the SUB.   The payout is in points but you can redeem them into checking/savings at $0.01/point. 

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Thanks @coldfusion !  Yes, I have updated TU FICO 8 but I have had that regularly with BofA.  And yes, the same offer shows up on the website under "Special Offers."  (The screen shot is from my phone app and it's on the home page there towards the bottom.)    So I also thought it was a "true" prequal but thanks for confirming my assumptions.

I don't mind the HP but I just wanted feedback on whether anyone thought I was just wasting it on a likely denial.  Sounds like that isn't the case with feedback so far.

Meeting the SUB shouldn't be difficult.  It's only $3K total so only $1K per month for 90 days.  That's lower than my Chase SUBs. 

[Turbobuick]

I got an invite to this party! lol 

If it were me, and looks like I'm alone, in saying wait until you quality for the perferred rewards program. I believe it would greatly boost your chances and necessary only because of your numerous applications of late. Then again, if the offer disappears, who's to say it would come back later?

The only way around that "3 month average" wait time is if you already have a non-business financial relationship with BofA. My 20 year business realtionship with BofA didn't mean a thing on the personal banking side. We had to wait 90 days, but during those 90 days, we had free checking, free safe deposit box, free atm fees and unlimited free trading inside Merrill Edge. Make sure to talk to your banker at BofA and well as your investment consultant at Merrill Edge to get these perks from day one.  

I've had the "special offer" sitting on the splash screen when signing on. As with most cards with AF, I can't justify the cost because I don't travel much except to weddings and funerals. Unfortunately, at my age there's too many of the latter. 

Here's a screen shot...    

[wasCB14]

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@Turbobuick wrote:

I got an invite to this party! lol 

If it were me, and looks like I'm alone, in saying wait until you quality for the perferred rewards program. I believe it would greatly boost your chances and necessary only because of your numerous applications of late. Then again, if the offer disappears, who's to say it would come back later?

The only way around that "3 month average" wait time is if you already have a non-business financial relationship with BofA. My 20 year business realtionship with BofA didn't mean a thing on the personal banking side. We had to wait 90 days, but during those 90 days, we had free checking, free safe deposit box, free atm fees and unlimited free trading inside Merrill Edge. Make sure to talk to your banker at BofA and well as your investment consultant at Merrill Edge to get these perks from day one.  

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More specifically, you need a personal checking account. Having a personal brokerage account but no personal checking account will NOT make you eligible for the personal side of Preferred Rewards.

[Turbobuick]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@Turbobuick wrote:

I got an invite to this party! lol 

If it were me, and looks like I'm alone, in saying wait until you quality for the perferred rewards program. I believe it would greatly boost your chances and necessary only because of your numerous applications of late. Then again, if the offer disappears, who's to say it would come back later?

The only way around that "3 month average" wait time is if you already have a non-business financial relationship with BofA. My 20 year business realtionship with BofA didn't mean a thing on the personal banking side. We had to wait 90 days, but during those 90 days, we had free checking, free safe deposit box, free atm fees and unlimited free trading inside Merrill Edge. Make sure to talk to your banker at BofA and well as your investment consultant at Merrill Edge to get these perks from day one.  

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More specifically, you need a personal checking account. Having a personal brokerage account but no personal checking account will NOT make you eligible for the personal side of Preferred Rewards.

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It was my understanding, and with no certainty, that once you opened the Advantage Relationship Checking acct, the 3 month average clock would start. If you already had a savings acct or IRA, that could be grandfathered into your qualifying and possibly lower that 3 month clock. Again, none of this applied to me, so not sure.

[Aim_High]

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@Turbobuick wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@Turbobuick wrote:

I got an invite to this party! lol 

If it were me, and looks like I'm alone, in saying wait until you quality for the perferred rewards program. I believe it would greatly boost your chances and necessary only because of your numerous applications of late. Then again, if the offer disappears, who's to say it would come back later?

The only way around that "3 month average" wait time is if you already have a non-business financial relationship with BofA. My 20 year business realtionship with BofA didn't mean a thing on the personal banking side. We had to wait 90 days, but during those 90 days, we had free checking, free safe deposit box, free atm fees and unlimited free trading inside Merrill Edge. Make sure to talk to your banker at BofA and well as your investment consultant at Merrill Edge to get these perks from day one.  

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More specifically, you need a personal checking account. Having a personal brokerage account but no personal checking account will NOT make you eligible for the personal side of Preferred Rewards.

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It was my understanding, and with no certainty, that once you opened the Advantage Relationship Checking acct, the 3 month average clock would start. If you already had a savings acct or IRA, that could be grandfathered into your qualifying and possibly lower that 3 month clock. Again, none of this applied to me, so not sure.

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I'm already a Preferred Rewards member.  Apparently I wasn't clear because several answers have talked about whether I should wait until I was in the program.  I opened a checking account with direct deposit last October and maintained at least $20K in balances for three months to qualify for the program at the entry-level "Gold."  Plus I got a $300 SUB for depositing at least $4K by direct deposit within 90 days. 

What I was talking about waiting for was I thought upgrading (or downgrading) to each additional LEVEL within the program was based on a three-month lookback at average deposits, so I was thinking about depositing investment funds into Merrill and waiting three months until I would be Platinum Honors.   (I thought Platinum Honors would carry more influence but also would give me a higher payout while meeting the SUB.) 

I believe the main reasons I got the targeted offer in the first place was that I'm currently in the Preferred Rewards program.  But I've also recently opened a Merrill account,  I spoke with a Merrill advisor, I'm a 20-year credit and former banking customer, and I've saved the Premium Rewards product a couple of times while looking at it online to show my interest which I had hoped might lead to an offer.  

According to discussions of the Preferred Rewards program on the Bank of America Website, the only requirements for it are:

• An eligible Bank of America® personal checking account
• 3-month average combined balances of $20,000 or more in qualifying Bank of America® banking accounts and/or Merrill investment accounts.

But maybe once you're in, you don't have to wait to upgrade to a higher level if you make additional deposits??? I may be confused about how that works.

[wasCB14]

To be clear, I was just saying Turbobuick's term "non-business financial relationship" was overly broad as far as how a person might be eligible. I wasn't saying anything specific to Aim_High's situation.

Let's say you have $21k at Merrill and move in another $80k. You will need to wait about three months for PH, because your average will rise from:

$21k now

to (21+21+101)/3=$47k in one month

to (21+101+101)/3=$74k in two months (and becoming Platinum)

to $101k in three months.

But if you have $21k and move in $1M:

then (21+21+1021)/3=$354k

...and that would qualify you for PH in one month (or maybe a few weeks if they bumped you up early like they did me, after I'd had a checking account for 2-point-something months).