Unless if you have 20+ cards as most of us here do… 
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The attractiveness of the BOA Cash cards is highest if you have the right preferred status ($100,000 with Merril). The Komen cards give similar rewards, and a little for breast cancer, and you may be able to get both. With a wife you might have 4 cards and by picking categories right, earn more.
Unless you align your 20+ cards to close around the same date as many of us do…
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Very pleased
I was just approved instantly for this card with a $13K credit line (which I don’t need). Waited to apply until today so I could pay off another card, thereby boosting my score by almost 100 points. For anyone else interested in this deal, which includes the $200 bonus, there is a wrinkle. The link I provided above has gone dead. I found this new link
Bank of America $200 bonus deal with 3% reward on $2500/quarter
which got me the deal.
Together with my existing Mastercard version of this same B of A card, I’m now set up to earn $600/year in rewards at the 3% rate. 3% reward opportunities are not growing on trees. I’m happy to have this card, a “cash cow” for sure.
And if you transferred a $100k IRA of index funds to Merrill Edge, you’d get 5.25% cash back instead of 3%, but you don’t seem to want to do that.
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Considering what you used to do with your cards, it seems weird to call $600/year a cash cow. But it’s all relative I guess.
First, I do not even have a $100K IRA. If you have: congrats. I did not work long enough to build up so large an IRA.
Second, I do not believe in “index funds”. If you do, I sincerely hope that is working out for you.
Third, I would never entrust $100,000 of my money in any form to Bank of America. It’s a “big bank”. I do not do business with them, other than credit cards, and frankly few of those. I prefer the smaller financial institutions. And I prefer products with the fewest number of strings and entanglements.
For example, the B of A CC deal I posted above has no annual fee.
Correct. I know what I’m doing. When you have done this stuff with success for as long as I have, kindly get in touch. At that point I might have interest in your views.
Shin - you could’ve just stopped with the part about you not having a $100k account available to transfer. Especially the part touting your success - you dont know anyone else’s experience, and in the grand scheme of harvesting cashback you are still a relative novice.
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yeah, depends on individual appetite. 15 years back i would have jumped on $600. Nowadays, I don’t bother with anything laborious unless it is 10x that! Time vs. money tradeoff.
For instance, some quarters I forget to max out discover or chase 5% cashback, esp if it is at gas stations - can’t be bothered with the nuisance.
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I don’t even bother to use the Chase or Discover 5% anymore.
What 10x deals do you have?
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I know enough about your experience to know you steadfastly denied existence of NCUA rules permitting changes to certain CD terms with 30 days’ notice. For all I know you remain in denial on this given you’ve never admitted to your error.
Well, given your own dodgy track record I’m not especially concerned about your observation. I would also note that nobody asked you.
Ten participants here, so far, have seen fit to click on my Bank of America CC deal. I’m happy to stand on that. I am amused by those who cannot be bothered to trifle with a mere $600/year. Such persons, in the fullness of time, generally end up poor.
This thread is entitled “Best Reward/Cash Back Credit Cards”. After 27 days of dormancy I posted such a deal, precisely on topic, a deal I hoped would help others.
Along comes another poster with an entirely different B of A deal with a higher reward but requiring participants to have, and deposit, $100,000. But instead of simply posting his deal, nothing wrong with that, he gets off on using it as a cudgel to impugn my deal . . . as if the two deals were somehow comparable! $100,000!!
Whatever. I guess it takes all kinds.
And then when someone replied with how to get an even better deal from that bank, you dismiss it as vindictive ignorance. The only ignorance is fixating on 3% when the same bank will give you over 5%.
As I said, you should’ve just stopped with not having a $100k account, or not being able/wanting to move it. That’s entirely understandable, even if just for the principle of not pooping where you eat. But then you claimed it was lack of experience that makes us erroneusly think that 3% is somehow more valuable than 5%, when basic math pretty definitively says otherwise.
Be amused all you want. But those saying they dont bother with $600/year have that opinion because they’re already netting far more than $600/month. You simply do not “end up poorer” by focusing on more lucrative opportunities.
My public track record goes back 15 years, to the AOR glory days at FatWallet. And I’m pretty certain you’ve never opened savings accounts with $60,000 opening deposits paid by credit card earning 5%. That’s my track record. I hope you continue to enjoy pissing around for pocket change, but you are in no position to throw such stones.
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A deal requiring a $100,000 deposit, that’s one hundred thousand dollars, in order to obtain the higher reward is simply not comparable with my deal requiring the deposit of zero dollars. Period. And your ignorance of that truism is self-evident.
I agree, but this simply makes no sense whatsoever. MS income generally results from a mosaic of sources. I was simply contributing a single element of that mosaic in hope of helping others build their income. I never wrote that $600/year at 3% was the be all and end all or a stopping point. I do believe that it is a meaningful contribution in a world of 2% cards.
Says the poster who cast the first stone. Look, buddy, I’m the counter puncher here where you are concerned. You came after me. Until you posted I never even mentioned you, nor would I have. People who live in glass houses are wise to keep their own counsel.
All that was said was that if you had a $100k retirement/brokerage account, that doesnt require the specific features the current custodian offers, it’s pretty simple to transfer custodians and land that 5% rate. $100k is a pretty small amount for a nest egg, and it can sit at BofA just as easily as it can sit at Citi, TDA, Schwab, Fidelity, or whereever else it’s currently housed. That fact is the only relevant “truism”, even if your own circumstances do not fit that scenario.
It isnt your cup of tea, that’s fine; whoever it was even acknowledged that when making the comment. But that’s where your objection stops. Instead you keep doubling down on your preference being better, dismissing the higher rate just because it doesnt suit your own personal circumstances.
This isnt how collaberation works. Everyone here is supposed to be on the same side, working together so that everyone can make informed decisions on what’s best.
Um… I clearly responded to this:
That’s a stone, thrown at anyone reading the comment - this is a public forum, after all. And I didnt even “come after you”, I politely pointed out that you have absolutely no clue how long any of us have “done this stuff with success”. You are not doing anything novel or groundbreaking.
Be happy with whatever you chose to do. But dont get defensive or offended when someone else points out a way to do it even better.
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Why not use the Discover Miles…3% after 1 year unlimited?? and no category. No strings… No $ in any account … I am on 4th Miles card (family) and my actual 2nd card for me. Since Discover only allows 2 cards per person, (I have the regular 5% categoy card) I cancel after 1 year after redeeming my cash. Apply again after 2 months… They do not care what you buy. I am loading up on VGC and vanilla Gift .com. Last year I received 3100 cash AFTER VGC fees. BTW I have 2 BOA cash rewards cards and did not get the 3% bonus on online shopping at Vanillagift.com. I did however get the 3% online shopping bonus from shopping at Visa gift.com 2 years ago when you used to get 2% via Topcashback and the VGC were 500.00 for 5.95 fee. Now maximum amount is 250.00 for same fee. So BOA online shopping cat for Msers like me is not a sure thing. I did call about it and after 40 minutes on hold, could not even understand agent. cards are now sock drawed.
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Talonesi asked about 10x deals. This is the best I know of–a 15x deal. The BoA Biz Cash Rewards MC–$750 after $5k spend.
I was approved as a sole prop with very little declared revenue; encourage you all to do the same!
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This may belong in the investing post/chain. I’m eyeing the BoA cash back credit card, but hesitant to park $100k at BoA savings account(no risk) due to the low interest rate. From a quick skim on BoA’s website, it seems like a regular Merrill investing account qualifies. Any recommendations on a good way to park that money in Merrill/BoA that can allow me the flexibility to reshuffle it back into equities on a short(1 week?) notice? Hoping to get interest rates comparable to other high-yield savings account with comparable risk. TIA
That $100k can be invested in equities. It doesnt have to be a dormant cash balance. If your qualifying $100k is invested, I’d make sure to leave enough of a cushion so that the balance doesnt drop below $100k during normal market fluctuations. But I’m not sure how/when BofA calculates the eligibility so it may only be a periodic concern anyways.
If you keep substantial holdings in cash, then you’re probably out of luck vs yields at other banks. However, you can invest in any security at Merrill Edge that you’d hold at another brokerage. I simply moved an IRA over (also received a bonus for doing that)