Eyeballing BOA Premium Rewards Card...

[Hoben02]

Yeah it can pay for itself if you can use up the travel incidental each year in my case I purchase an AA giftcard. Frankly my travel spend goes on the bofa customized cash with the travel category. 
I do use the card in cases where I'm not sure if an item qualifies as travel and just want the base

[Credit-hoarder]

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@imaximous wrote:

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@Credit-hoarder wrote:

Just opened up both savings and checking accounts with B of A last week and today made enough of a deposit to qualify as a gold preferred rewards member 3 mos. down the road. The banker suggested I apply for the 1.5% Unlimited Rewards card--but I told her I wanted to hold out and app for the Premium Rewards instead later on. I'm sure this question may have been asked before but I'll ask again: Once you make the SUB is there any point to having the above mentioned card for longer than a year if you don't travel much or if you have other cards that earn a slightly better travel point percentage? (I also kind of wanted to app this card b/c I hear it's so tough to get--the thrill of the chase.)

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I've had that card for many years and it basically pays for itself by using the $100 annual credit and Global Entry. In fact, you end up making $5 every year just by getting the credit, so it's definitely worth keeping, IMO.

It's also my best earning card for non-category purchases at 2.62% and I do have a lot of those.

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That's the thing--I probably wouldn't get any use of the $100 annual credit--unless there's a way to use it without flying....? Also as a gold member I'd only be getting 1.87% on non-cat spend. IOW I'm trying to find a reason(s) to justify keeping it after I make the SUB and not downgrade (if possible) to the regualar 1.5% Unlimited Cash Rewards after 1 or 2 years.

[Credit-hoarder]

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@Hoben02 wrote:

Yeah it can pay for itself if you can use up the travel incidental each year in my case I purchase an AA giftcard. Frankly my travel spend goes on the bofa customized cash with the travel category. 
I do use the card in cases where I'm not sure if an item qualifies as travel and just want the base

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Now that's a good suggestion---purchasing an airline gift card.  I didn't know if that was possible. I might not have much use for it but I have a couple of relatives who fly occasionally.

[coldfusion]

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@Credit-hoarder wrote:

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@Hoben02 wrote:

Yeah it can pay for itself if you can use up the travel incidental each year in my case I purchase an AA giftcard. Frankly my travel spend goes on the bofa customized cash with the travel category. 
I do use the card in cases where I'm not sure if an item qualifies as travel and just want the base

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Now that's a good suggestion---purchasing an airline gift card.  I didn't know if that was possible. I might not have much use for it but I have a couple of relatives who fly occasionally.

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Do your research, as this was a loophole that many of the issuers have worked to close with varying degrees of success over the last 3-4 years or so.  Best odds do appear to be with American Airlines but overall it's a YMMV situation with getting reimbursed.  

I'd suggest scanning the Credit Card Programs section over at Flyertalk.

[imaximous]

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@Credit-hoarder wrote:

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@imaximous wrote:

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@Credit-hoarder wrote:

Just opened up both savings and checking accounts with B of A last week and today made enough of a deposit to qualify as a gold preferred rewards member 3 mos. down the road. The banker suggested I apply for the 1.5% Unlimited Rewards card--but I told her I wanted to hold out and app for the Premium Rewards instead later on. I'm sure this question may have been asked before but I'll ask again: Once you make the SUB is there any point to having the above mentioned card for longer than a year if you don't travel much or if you have other cards that earn a slightly better travel point percentage? (I also kind of wanted to app this card b/c I hear it's so tough to get--the thrill of the chase.)

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I've had that card for many years and it basically pays for itself by using the $100 annual credit and Global Entry. In fact, you end up making $5 every year just by getting the credit, so it's definitely worth keeping, IMO.

It's also my best earning card for non-category purchases at 2.62% and I do have a lot of those.

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That's the thing--I probably wouldn't get any use of the $100 annual credit--unless there's a way to use it without flying....? Also as a gold member I'd only be getting 1.87% on non-cat spend. IOW I'm trying to find a reason(s) to justify keeping it after I make the SUB and not downgrade (if possible) to the regualar 1.5% Unlimited Cash Rewards after 1 or 2 years.

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Like any travel card, if you don't travel, then it probably won't make much sense to get other than a SUB. 

Long shot, but you could also offer to pay for incidentals for family members or anyone you know well, and get your money back from them? I mean, on occasion, I buy tickets for family members who don't understand how a lot of things work, and they just transfer me the money for those expenses.

BofA can also be a bit iffy when it comes to PCs. While many have no issue changing to a different card, I've also experienced issues with that. I've been told that PCs are not always granted, but your account has to have an option for it. BofA reps seem to call them "upgrades". If your card isn't elegible for that "upgrade," they won't be able to process the request. On one of my cards, my offer was to switch from MC to Visa, but no option for PC.