What is best BofA rewards card

[brother7]

My brother just CLI from 2900 to 10k! He has a Platinum Plus MasterCard. It seems to be old (not listed on the BofA site) and doesn't offer any rewards. I suggested that he change to a rewards card but I'm not sure which one. It seems like the BankAmericard Cash Rewards is his best option. Does anyone have another suggestion?

[HiLine]

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@brother7 wrote:

My brother just CLI from 2900 to 10k! He has a Platinum Plus MasterCard. It seems to be old (not listed on the BofA site) and doesn't offer any rewards. I suggested that he change to a rewards card but I'm not sure which one. It seems like the BankAmericard Cash Rewards is his best option. Does anyone have another suggestion?

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I personally have both the Cash Rewards and the Travel Rewards. If you spend a lot on gas and groceries, the Cash Rewards will give you more rewards. On the other hand, if your spending is not particularly grocery and gas heavy, and if you're looking for a card without foreign transaction fees that can be widely used in Europe, the Travel Rewards card would be a better option.

[bs6054]

Doesn't look like a particularly great reward card.  So if you spend 1500 on gas each quarter, you get $45 (+ an additional $4.50 if you deposit it into BoA), but if it's all groceries it could be as low as $30 + 3.  And if you don't spend $1500 on those categories, it's even worse.

There are many much better choices around, although they would be a new application of course.   How much does he spend?  If it's small, changing the card might really not be worth the effort, I would encourage him to apply for something else.

Edit: The travel rewards card seems a lot better, so if he needs to chose, and can use those benefits, go with that.

[brother7]

He travels perhaps 3-4 times/year, mostly to Cali (flying from Hawaii) but once/year he flies to either Europe or the Orient. Based on his travel habits, is the BankAmericard Travel Rewards preferred over the Cash Rewards?

I reviewed the reward structure for the Cash Rewards again:

3% on gas - he has the AMEX TrueEarnings card which gives 3% on gas

2% on groceries, 1% everything else - he has the Priceline Rewards VISA which gives 2% on everything

Since he already has cards which cover the cashback categories offered by BofA Cash Rewards, I'm more inclined to have him switch to the Travel Rewards instead. Make sense?

[bs6054]

I think your analysis answers your question!  Clearly Cash Back does nothing his existing cards don't (unless they have low credit limits for example) so it makes sense to do the Travel Rewards instead.

The question then is though, should he put his spending on that, or is there another card that would be better for his needs.

[kevinjjc]

Or if he wants a backup cashback rewards card with different statement/due dates so that he can always PIF before statement cuts.

[brother7]

Guess what? According to BofA, he can't PC to the Travel Rewards card, only the Cash Rewards. The reason: his current card is Mastercard and the Travel Rewards is a VISA. I guess the decision was made for him.... Cash Rewards it is 

[bs6054]

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@brother7 wrote:

Guess what? According to BofA, he can't PC to the Travel Rewards card, only the Cash Rewards. The reason: his current card is Mastercard and the Travel Rewards is a VISA. I guess the decision was made for him.... Cash Rewards it is 

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OK, probably not worth fighting.   If that's the way it has to be, I guess he should put all gas spending on that card (because of the 10% bonus) and enough grocery spending to make the total 1,500 a quarter.  And other stuff on the Priceline!