I WAS WRONG: Bank of America Credit Card MAJOR Secret (3.281% on EVERYTHING?!)

[@MarkReese]

💥👇 View 2 BOA Card Offers Here! (Scroll down on the page a bit) markscreditcards.com/travelcards 💳👇 VIEW MORE CREDIT CARD OFFERS! markscreditcards.com/offers 🛍 RAKUTEN - Earn Cash Back! markscreditcards.com/rakuten ⬆ (More links in Description below video!)

[@mlodyme3675]

Can you do a video that compares BofA travel portal to guys like Chase, C1 or AMEX? I would like to see how it compares from the availability of flights, accommodation and pricing? Is BofA overpricing everything to offset the 20% bonus? Or are the competitive and in alignment with guys like Expedia etc?

[@MarkReese]

@@mlodyme3675 - Perhaps at some point.

[@TH-TravelingTales]

Right on time Mark- I was just on the phone with BOA customer service, (then got bell notification about your video) to downgrade my Premier Rewards card to Customized Cash Rewards - but I think I will stick with Premium rewards for another year and eventually planning to get Both the Elite version and Travel Reward Card. Always appreciate your work.. keep it up :)

[@MasonsTurtle]

Mark tends to have amazing timing for me too. I’m thinking about a certain card and bam, new video about that card.

[@MarkReese]

Glad the timing was right! Good luck on the application for your next BOA card whenever you decide to go for it!

[@9thebigcool]

Points are well and good. But cashback is better for those of us that don't travel.

[@derricktyler3577]

Points can generally be redeemed for cash back too depending on the card.

[@9thebigcool]

@@scarling9367 do you double down and pay the citi card with a cashback debit card?

[@MarkReese]

Absolutely. For non-travelers, cash back is the way to go.

[@anthonyb2282]

@@derricktyler3577 I would second this. I have both BoFA Travel Rewards and the Unlimited Cash. For my Travel Rewards, I can redeem for statement credit or they will even deposit in into a BoFA savings/checking account( can't remember if they'll deposit into other external banking accts though.

[@zenster1097]

I don't get why this bank's website still look likes it's from 1999.

[@MarkReese]

😬

[@austinmyers1262]

It has to for ADA compliance & cetera

[@mlodyme3675]

That look appeals to me. Many banks think that blowing things up out of proportion is a good design. You end up with a bank page when you end up needing 27" screen to effectively use it cause things dont fit right on smaller screens. All the fancy shenanigans, perhaps have an appeal in a compute game, but I like the simplicity of BofA interface.

[@denniedollreborn8711]

The 550 dollar a year annual fee is insane though. Like to just break even you have to spend a crazy amount of money

[@MarkReese]

Gotta use the credits. That'll bring down the required spend.

[@AskSamPugh]

Love your breakdowns. I’ve been looking into BOA lately.

[@MarkReese]

Thanks Sam, glad you find them beneficial!

[@Leoprieto74]

Noooo,.you are never ever wrong Mark 😊

[@MarkReese]

I never said that 😁

[@travelvlog222]

you have shown transfer from Elite to Premier. However to me that does not make sense as that id from a higher tier card to lower. Can you confirm if you could transfer from Premier to Elite?

[@MarkReese]

Yes it works in both directions.

[@DavidDerewitz]

You can transfer from P2 to P1 as well@@MarkReese

[@jacobsarvis]

Better to take the cash back from non-elite and shop online for better price on the fare, than to be captive to the travel center prices and cancelled flight/refund trap. Net not worth 20% points discount and high annual fee.

[@MarkReese]

Always a smart move to compare pricing 👍

[@ovx23]

the cap1 duo is over cap1 doesnt let us combine cash rewards anymore

[@ButteryCowEgg]

I really really hope that’s just temporary

[@MarkReese]

We'll see. From what I understand, it's a temporary thing that is being worked on. So far I've seen nothing to confirm the feature was permanently disabled. Transfer to British Airways are also down. See this post: www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/capital-one-updates-transfers-accounts-avios-transfers/

[@ovx23]

@MarkReese I called and they said they discontinued it

[@critter777]

If so I'm switching to amex

[@caribdude8151]

@@ovx23 Is the capital one duo still over as of now Oct 26 2023?

[@royce1510]

I’ll take the Altitude Reserve over this card any day, especially for cash back. 3-4.5% on everything via a digital wallet without having to jump through Honors program hoops. Lower effective annual fee and easier to use credit. Only case I could see for this card is if you need unlimited Priority Pass

[@MarkReese]

U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve = fantastic point-earning card (for cash back & travel alike)!🏆

[@MichaelDLC]

But why do you need both the Premium card and the Premium Elite card?

[@MarkReese]

I don't. I just got them for the welcome offers & to be able to create videos like this one for education.

[@MichaelDLC]

I meant, why does one need both the Premium and the Premium Elite card to get the 3.281%? Is transferring the rewards points from one card to other needed to get the 3.281%?

[@MarkReese]

@@MichaelDLC - Oh, no. The elevated rewards rates are a result of being in the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. You can learn more about it here: promotions.bankofamerica.com/preferredrewards/en

[@PHDRPH]

Can you upgrade from the regular premium rewards card?

[@MarkReese]

Likely so. Call BOA to see what your options are.

[@kennethbatts5182]

I often transfer the points from the travel card to the premium card because the premium card has better cash back rate.

[@MarkReese]

Great, thanks for the data point! If I understand correctly, points on the BOA Travel Rewards Card are worth... - 1.0¢ each when redeemed for travel or restaurant purchases. - Slightly over 0.5¢ each for cash back. - Varied values for gift cards. ^ Is this correct? If so, is the 1.0¢ value (travel, restaurant) done via statement credit after the purchase has been made?

[@MasonsTurtle]

Seems nice but they have terrible interest rates. So there is some opportunity cost by keeping your money in their accounts to be in their tiers vs just putting money into a 4.8% APR saving account.

[@Kiwikify]

It doesn't have to be cash. Most of my money to qualify for Platinum Honors is in Merrill Lynch in the form of retirement accounts. As for savings, I also keep it with Merrill Lynch in a Preferred Deposit account which is FDIC insured and currently at 5.02% APR

[@MasonsTurtle]

@@Kiwikify ah ok that makes this a much better option.

[@MarkReese]

I see you already saw the reply from Kiwikfy above 👍 That's correct, investments also qualify. A lot of people use those equities (esp. retirement accounts) to qualify for the Preferred Rewards program. Probably not the smartest idea to leave $100K+ in a checking or savings account 😄

[@khanscombe619]

Lot of good ideas. I don't have BOA yet. But WFB had my 1st mortgage and I had a card.

[@MarkReese]

💯👍

[@LifeHappens2]

Nicely explained. After getting rejected by chase and capital one ( despite having 775+ score) I got BOA card. Hopefully it’ll be worth it

[@MarkReese]

Congrats on the approval!

[@jaykid007]

Tnx mark Now I didn't have to calculate all myself lol

[@MarkReese]

💯👍

[@i0r-r-tjtkttl]

But mark, this looks so so complicated. I dont understand why this is so valuable, if CSP gives the same and more categories, as you say below. This is much more work?

[@MarkReese]

Chase is definitely easier & better for travel. BOA shines primarily for cash back.

[@MrDarkhawk1972]

If you have a BofA checking account, your BofA credit cards will get a 10% "boost".

[@MarkReese]

Are you able to see that extra 10% in your rewards dashboard somewhere?

[@anarchel]

So I have the blue travel rewards card and it does have the "Transfer points button", sadly I downgraded my premium rewards card over a year ago into the cashback rewards card, so I can't really test the transfer. Not sure when I may get another premium card to churn the bonus, so I may just reedem my points as travel statement as I get them.

[@MarkReese]

Thanks for the data point about the Transfer Points button being visible 👍

[@TheTubeswim]

If you only have enough point to cover half your flight, does anyone know if you still get the 20% of the portion paid with cash?

[@MarkReese]

No. You only get the 20% discount on the points portion. To quote from the example in the terms... "Receive 20% off the cost of airfare when redeeming points through the Bank of America Travel Center. To be eligible for savings the itinerary must be booked online at Bank of America or through the Premium Rewards Elite concierge service using the Bank of America Travel booking system. Only the cost of the airfare paid for with points is eligible for the discount. For example, a flight which costs $1000 would require 80,000 Points to pay fully in points, if you chose to redeem 40,000 points you will receive $500 in value and need to pay the remaining $500 using your Premium Rewards Elite credit card."

[@collinfoster4637]

Thanks for the quick response! That was my take too- thanks again, your videos are solid.

[@jordan23ww]

Great breakdown! Thank you for all the info!

[@MarkReese]

You're welcome!

[@KingGreen78]

How do you get any value of those 2 cards at $650 per year annual fee

[@MarkReese]

By using the credits & benefits to justify the cost. I view credit cards w/ annual fees as buying into a 'benefits package' at a discount. If you don't value the benefits at all, or at a price lower than the cost of the fee, then don't get the card. That said, a lot of cards can make sense in Year 1 due to the welcome offer.

[@kennethbatts5182]

I know I can transfer point for the boa travel rewards card to the boa premium rewards card

[@MarkReese]

Awesome! Just saw your other comment & replied w/ a question 👍

[@飛向宇宙-o1s]

If I want to buy fight ticket directly from airline website, what is your recommendation? Doesn't matter with annual fee or not.

[@MarkReese]

Not sure what you mean?

[@Yifty08]

is it possible to book a flight via the portal, get the 20% discount and cancel the flight later to indirectly cashout the points for 1.25 cents each?

[@MarkReese]

Not sure.

[@飛向宇宙-o1s]

If I cancel this card today, in the future I apply this card again, will I get the new user bonus again?

[@MarkReese]

As long as 24 months have passed since you canceled it, then it's possible to get the bonus again. You'll also want to be aware of the other BOA rules, which you can read on this blog post: upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/applying-for-credit-cards-bank-rules/

[@Ojallo]

Hi I’m looking for a card with no annual and no forgin transaction fee to use in Europe where Amex isn’t accepted. I’m looking at either BOA travel rewards card or the Apple Card. I’m not planning on using this card on a daily basis so cash back or points doesn’t really matter. I use my Amex as daily just want one as backup what you recommend?

[@MarkReese]

Up to you! Between those 2, I'd personally go with the BOA Travel Rewards Card due to the larger welcome offer opportunity + earning 1.5X on all purchases without needing to use Apple Pay (those are my reasons, though I realize the rewards aren't important to you). That said, research the area you're traveling to & make sure the card you choose has 'Chip & Pin' compatibility if you need it.

[@Ojallo]

@@MarkReese I have decided to get the BOA card my question to you now is is it hard to get approved with no relationship with the bank & I currently have a 740 score my credit cards are Amex platinum sapphire preferred and Amex everyday I’m not using at all was my first credit card ever around 2-3 years ago

[@MarkReese]

@@Ojallo - For me, yes, it was difficult to get approved without a banking relationship. However, other people did not have an issue. You'll have to try to find out.

[@Ojallo]

@@MarkReese wow if it was hard for you I bet I’ll never get approved maybe I shouldn’t do it everyone I hear had difficulty’s

[@MarkReese]

@@Ojallo - Everyone's experience may vary.

[@飛向宇宙-o1s]

Is the dining 2% apply to restaurants in out of the USA?

[@MarkReese]

Yes.

[@BonVoyageMiles]

Confirming that i have received the dining bonus at international restaurants

[@linkzinvest]

I've been hoping BoA would do this...was just about to sign up for the savor on card. This is a game changer for me.

[@MarkReese]

Glad to hear it benefits you! 💯

[@critter777]

Savor one can't transfer to venture Miles. The feature was taken away recently.

[@daniellee6398]

Is this just the same thing as the CSP 1.25 bonus?

[@MarkReese]

Yes/no. Chase gives you a 1.25¢ value for 'travel' (flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, activities) via the portal. BOA gives that same value but only for flights.

[@TuanDinh-tx5pb]

The no fee travel does not transfer

[@MarkReese]

Hmm someone else just said they could combine with the no-fee Travel. Which combination did you try?

[@floridaproductions]

Your the [GOAT] !🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐

[@MarkReese]

Thank you! 🏆

[@rambosidi7634]

Yep

[@MarkReese]

👊💯

[@berryzedzero]

I'm out of the game.

[@MarkReese]

☹

[@SOXGATORS]

👍🏻

[@MarkReese]

👍