BOA PC to No-AF Card? :/

[Anonymous]

Question from my GF,

She has a cobranded Merrill Lynch BankAmericard. It's a plain jane Americard... no benefits to speak of and in the BoA app it is just called "BankAmericard Visa". I think it is only cobranded because of an investment account opened in her name when she was young.

Well this card has an annual fee of $59. She asked me to look into getting her a new BoA card and I wanted to explore a product change to a Cash Rewards card for her. My question is, will BoA permit changing from an AF card to a non-AF card so she can eliminate the fee?

I'm not very versed in BoA so any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Priory_Man]

I can't see there been any issue, just have her call the number on the back of the card and talk to the rep.

[coldfusion]

Converting from a Merrill-branded card to a BoA branded card won't be a problem.    Because it's a PC don't be surprised if you get a Visa with a new card number, even though brand new accounts are now issued MasterCards and the CSR tells you it will be a M/C.    

BoA is comparatively slow with conversions, expect it to take approx. 3 weeks to get the new card. 

They continue to report PCs as the same tradeline to the CRAs, not close the old tradeline and opening a new one. 

[CramEiko]

Good points. Yes, BoA is really slow on conversions. They do allow you to use your current card until you get your new one though.

I did a PC with BoA. I didn't do a co-braded card. I did the Cash Rewards MC to Visa. I originally got the Cash Rewards MC in order to get the offered sub at the time. Once I got the sub I asked for a PC from MC to Visa. I stated that I couldn't use the card at Costco if it was to continue as a MC. So bam.. No problem.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the info. Should there be an issue getting the AF removed though? Are those fees in your card member agreement and regardless of what card you have or change to, you are stick with it?

[zerofire]

I see a few hiccups with the whole plan of yours even though I am sure you are trying your best. First her card is allegedly Merrill branded which means that special conditions might be in effect on it. It might be as simple as just a different colored card or it could be something unique. Almost everything Merrill Lynch is actually not available to the general public meaning the only way to get a proper description of the card is to ask BoA. The $59 annual fee is not standard on any regular cards from BoA so it might be special to the Merrill section. To make matters worse the only known card with annual fees, Bank of America Premium Rewards, is not downgradeable at $99. At this time I recommend having her call up BoA and seeing what product change options are available on her card as I can understand the AF hurts and you do not understand what it is for.

[Anonymous]

I did a PC from the AmeriCard to the Travel Rewards Visa (I'd suggest Cash Rewards instead if you're thinking of this). Just call card services, tell them what you would like to do. I think they'll do a soft pull to verify you qualify for the new product and it should go through.

It does take a really good amount of time - I'd say from the moment I called to when I finally received the new card, it was about 5 weeks. As long as it's within BofA, should be no issue at all if you qualify for the PC. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

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@zerofire wrote:

I see a few hiccups with the whole plan of yours even though I am sure you are trying your best. First her card is allegedly Merrill branded which means that special conditions might be in effect on it. It might be as simple as just a different colored card or it could be something unique. Almost everything Merrill Lynch is actually not available to the general public meaning the only way to get a proper description of the card is to ask BoA. The $59 annual fee is not standard on any regular cards from BoA so it might be special to the Merrill section. To make matters worse the only known card with annual fees, Bank of America Premium Rewards, is not downgradeable at $99. At this time I recommend having her call up BoA and seeing what product change options are available on her card as I can understand the AF hurts and you do not understand what it is for.

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That is not true about BOA Premium Rewards. I just downgraded to Travel Rewards.   

[Anonymous]

A little over a month ago, I called BofA's Sr. Credit Analyst at (866) 618-4585 to ask if they can remove my father's $59 AF from his Platinum account and check if he has any upgrade offers. I was told that he didn't have any offers but his account will be reviewed for AF removal, which will take about a week. My father never heard back from BofA; instead, he only found out that the AF was removed when I checked his account online last week.

I then proceeded to ask BofA via chat if my father's Platinum can be PC'd to the Cash Rewards. My request was instantly approved with the PC process to complete in 2-4 weeks. Perhaps, your GF's account will need to go thru this same process as well (remove AF then PC). Good luck!

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@Anonymous wrote:
Thanks everyone for the info. Should there be an issue getting the AF removed though? Are those fees in your card member agreement and regardless of what card you have or change to, you are stick with it?

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[Anonymous]

Perfect! Will pass along the info. Thanks for the DP. I assume that the card was probably a Platinum card as well. She's had it a long time and she really didn't know exactly what it started out as.