@coldfusion wrote:
@folks19 wrote:By the way, the 5.25 cash back for the preferred members sounds good at first, but when I did the math, it turns out to be a big loss. That's because of the interest one can earn that money elsewhere.
Don't forget that investments held through a Merrill Edge brokerage account also count toward Preferred status, and that includes investments made in mutual funds and ETFs from another financial institutions.
Nobody in their right mind would deposit $100K in a Bank of America checking and savings account just to earn the higher credit card rewards rates in Preferred Rewards. The interest payout is pathetic, even comparative to many other banks and credit unions' regular accounts not to mention higher-yielding money market savings. But if you already have money in the stock market or longer term investments like IRA's that can be moved to Merrill Lynch (part of Bank of America), that can be a feasible way to qualify for the higher rewards without jeopardizing your returns. I imagine that is where most Preferred Rewards members have the majority of their holdings.
Like others have mentioned, I have both the AOD 3% Visa card along with the BoA Cash Rewards MC.
One thing to consider, if you decide to go with BoA and get multiple cards, I would try to make sure they are all MC versions......for purchase protection. Although I have the AOD 3% card, since it is Visa I don't get purchase protection, so I still primarily use my BoA CR for online shopping. The AOD card simply gives me a backup if I were to ever exceed the $2500/mth threshold.
Just my $0.02
On Deck: No Plans Currently
@folks19 wrote:Thank you all for your feedback!
I did not realize that I can meet my 100k requirement with investments. Although, I don't exactly have that amout yet to invest, but it's something to keep it mind fot the coming years.
Also, it would only be a big benifite if I have a few of the 3% cash back cards that boost up to 5.25% because each card has a 2,500 cap on the cash back (then 1%), which is 10,000 per year, which adds up to 525$ per year in cash back, which means that I'm only receiving an extra 225$ per year with my "preferred" status.
The AOD credit union card seems like my best option for now because it has no cap for the 3% cash back, and it's on everything and not just online shopping (although most of my spendings are from online shopping, for a bussiness). However, when looking at AOD's website, it seemed that I must work for select employers or be related to a member in order to join, which is not my case. Anyone have any suggestions?
You're welcome! The lowest tier of Preferred Rewards starts at $20K in deposits or investments (Gold). The next level is Platinum with $50K and finally Platinum Honors is what requires $100K. Of course, the rewards payout on Gold and Platinum is much less at 25% and 50% bonus versus the 75% bonus you get with Platinum Honors.
The original AOD Visa discussion thread has many postings about how our members qualified regardless of the geofence or SEG's (Select Employer Groups). There were multiple ways it was done. All the postings are here if you want to read up on it:
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Juicy-new-3-CB-offering-from-local-CU/td-p/5971983
