Any info on Bank of the West cards?

[J0hnD0nuts]

I've been looking at the Bank of the West Cash Back card for it's 3% on gas , dining and grocery but I've never gone through them before and can't seem to find much here about them. Does anyone have any experience with BOTW cards? How easy is it to get a CLI? APR reduction? Anything else I should know?

[UpperNwGuy]

I know that they have a geo-fence.  Do you live in their service area?

[J0hnD0nuts]

I do. But I'm not currently a member of their bank.

[coldfusion]

Give the members here a bit of time to see the thread and respond.  BOTW is geofenced and while there is a critical mass of members here who bank with them it isn't a large community so a bit of patience here will be a virtue. 

[PullingMeSoftly]

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@J0hnD0nuts wrote:

I've been looking at the Bank of the West Cash Back card for it's 3% on gas , dining and grocery but I've never gone through them before and can't seem to find much here about them. Does anyone have any experience with BOTW cards? How easy is it to get a CLI? APR reduction? Anything else I should know?

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@J0hnD0nuts welcome to MF! Great questions, I have the Cash Back MC and find it to be a solid offering. Integrates well with my BOTW checking/savings, and has become a dedicated card for my DS to use for food & grocery items while he's at university (I consider it SD'd otherwise since I now have the AOD visa though). I've been with BOTW for several years but have only had this card since Dec 2019. The cash back redemption portal is antiquated but gets the job done for transferring rewards to a BOTW checking/savings, or a statement credit. I believe it's a $25 min redemption (haven't done it for a while, so I don't remember).

Now on the topic of CLI's...Interesting you should ask...my SL is and has remained at $15k, and when I initially used the request link through the web interface at 90 days, it said that my account would need to be at least 6 months old before an increase could be requested. So I waited and tried again well after the 6-month mark and after my 6th statement closed, only to then receive a message indicating the account must be 12 months old haha. Looks like their UW is in Covid mode now. So under normal circumstances, you should be able to request a CLI every 6 months. I'm gonna try again at the end of December.

A great thing about BOTW, is that the app and approval was completely SP. Not sure if that is because of my banking history with them or not.

[SunriseEarth]

BOTW is definitely a relationship bank.  However, I didn't have a banking relationship with them and I got a mailer for a SUB of $100 for $1K spend.   I was not instantly approved, but I eventually got a $3K SL and their lowest APR.  Eh.   Rewards have to be redeeemed incrementally, which I'm not a fan of.  Also, the card isn't contactless (and kinda ugly, IMHO).  Card isn't eligible for CLI until it's been open for 12 months.  

So far, I'm not really a fan, even thought it's the best card I have for groceries.  

[BearsCubsOtters]

I do not have anything to add in terms of your question. But I wanted to say that I find it funny how in recent years the foreign-owned banks have "come out of the closet" if you will in terms of no longer hiding their ownership.

Harris Bank in Illinois was quietly owned by BMO since 1984 but you wouldn't have noticed until they re-branded as BMO Harris a few years ago. BBVA did not really hide that much, but they dropped "Compass" from their name. And now we have Bank of The West; it has been owned by BNP Paribas since around 1979 but only recently has started using their hideous corporate branding, replacing the rather cool bear motif. Off topic, I know.

3% on gas, dining and groceries year round does sound nice, but I would calculate what you can earn half the year by using Chase Freedom and/or Discover for the 5% quarters; they may be more or just as lucrative and not as shamefully ugly as the BNP Paribas card. Its like those stars morph into a flying bird or something, maybe to signify how great it would feel to bank with them? Gag me. 

[celluloid17]

I've had this card since late 2016 and it has gotten a fair amount of a use from me over the years.  It's one of the few cards that offers decent year-round cashback on groceries (since the sadly defunct Sallie Mae rewards card).  I've never really used it for gas, as I try and use my Costco Visa for that, but it's nice to have a single card that covers restaurants, gas, and groceries (the one category Costco Visa isn't competitive) in the event you don't want to carry more than one card. 

I echo many of the sentiments already mentioned.  I too miss the the bank's original branding (the California brown bear) and the look of the cashback card at launch with the sihlouette of the bear against the green background (a really cool looking card).  The new logo is not appealing at all.  I still have my card with the bear and I'm going to hold onto it until it expires. 

Another thing mentioned that I don't care for either is their new rewards redemption structure.  This is one card that seems to have devolved in terms of access to rewards.  They now require a redemption in $25 increments (ugh!) through a clunky and dated rewards website that actually requires you to have a different login than your main account(?!).  Previously, the awards were automatically applied as a statement credit quarterly regardless of amount, which may not be completely ideal for some, but it was really convenient.

Their phone app is decent, but again, rewards redemption is not seamless or built into the app as an option.  I've only received 1 modest self-initiated CLI through their app, but further attempts have all been unsuccessful.

Currently, this card is sock drawered for me because I'm primarily doing my grocery shopping online via Amazon Fresh, so I'm using the Chase Amazon Visa for this, and I'm using Discover for the few times a month I get takeout restaurant or fast food.  That being said, when the quarter ends, I will probably go back to using BOTW for restuarants and for grocery stores whenever I actually resume shopping in store (not anytime soon).

[Kforce]

I got that card 5 years ago.

No previous banking or relationship.

Started me with a larger than average CL --  ($20,000)

Covers Gas, Grocery, Restaurant, and Fast Food

Online Card Services:  Lock/unlock your card,  Manage travel notices,  Manage card alerts,  Transfer balance,  Request credit limit increase,  Dispute transactions,  Manage Debit Card Overdraft Service,  Change PIN or request your PIN,  Order replacement card,  Activate a new card  

To make on online credit limit increase request:

1. Your account must be open 12 months or more.
2. You must not have received a limit increase or decrease within the past 12 months

[portlandmusician]

@PullingMeSoftly @SunriseEarth @celluloid17 @Kforce @M_Smart007 @Anonymous 

I read on a few posts (including locked posts) about Bank of the West, a soft pull, etc.  I'm currently going for the Navy Fed More Rewards AmEx, but as a back-up plan, I figured I'd try this card, too - if it is indeed a soft pull.  I have all my credit bureaus frozen, so no harm, right?

I went to app for this card today.  Got the 7-10 day message, which seems common from the posts I've read: manual review, that's what Bank of the West likes to do. 

But, unlike other cards I've applied for, I noticed on Bank of the West the final box you check to submit is the "Taxpayer Consent" box, saying they can retrieve, share, use for marketing, yadda yadda yadda your tax returns.  Is this normal on cards and just in the long credit card information, or is this something only Bank of the West does?  And, is this why they just do a soft pull, because they're also getting your tax returns to verify income themselves and so they can justify looking at a SP and your tax returns?

Hopefully I have a Navy Fed AmEx to report in approvals soon.  Then again, maybe I'll have two cards (and data points) to report to approvals soon.  In the mean time, Bank of the West intrigued me, I was super curious, jumped the gun and went for it, and am now looking for answers on my questions and more info on Bank of the West.  I have no relationship with them.  I've seen them driving by them, but other than that, no experience with them until I submitted my app today.  So, we shall see.  Learning about the bank, regardless, makes me curious, though.