Merrill Lynch Octave
Jan 26, 2015, 1:35 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 96
Merrill Lynch Octave
Does anyone have details on this card? I'm expecting some more from my financial advisor soon, but he said 2.5 "Merrill Points" per dollar spent. That should be about 2.5% in rewards currency. My issue with my existing Merrill points is that I'm tied to gift cards which are 100 points:$1, or using their travel booking, which can do at max 100 points:$2. The latter would be pretty good with the 2.5x earning he mentioned. That would make travel bookings via their engine be worth anywhere in the range of 2.5%-5%.
Jan 26, 2015, 4:32 pm
#3
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,958
If you have Merrill+ VISA they can also be transferred to British Airways, or at least they could be in 2014. Haven't asked if this arrangement was renewed again in 2015.
Jan 26, 2015, 7:28 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 557
There are photos of the card in this forum thread: http://creditcardforum.com/american-...n-express.html
It's a very nice card, but if the requirements are true about needing $10M in assets, it'd better have some amazing benefits
I have some assets with ML (but I am in "Edge", because I'm cheap,) so haven't been contacted about this... but let us know what you hear!
It's a very nice card, but if the requirements are true about needing $10M in assets, it'd better have some amazing benefits
I have some assets with ML (but I am in "Edge", because I'm cheap,) so haven't been contacted about this... but let us know what you hear!
Jan 27, 2015, 12:30 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 96
Details:
2.5 points per dollar
No expiration on points
$350 travel credit or Delta Lounge membership
$100 credit for Global Entry Application
"Save on business/first international fares" - no clue what this means exactly
"20% off base fare for two round trip domestic coach tickets" - what base, not sure
Luxury Hotel Program
.. and other things one would expect from a card of this stature that aren't worth detailing.
$950 annual fee.
My initial calculations show that you get $450/year back if you count the Global Entry fee, so at best $500, more likely $600/year. At 2.5%, which would be the cash back equivalent on this card, you'd need a spend of $20k-$24k to cover those annual fees, respectively.
Paying US Federal income tax at 1.87% on this card would make you 63bps.
No word on if the annual fee can be waived, but if they have one, and this card is only being offered to WM clients, I'm guessing not.
2.5 points per dollar
No expiration on points
$350 travel credit or Delta Lounge membership
$100 credit for Global Entry Application
"Save on business/first international fares" - no clue what this means exactly
"20% off base fare for two round trip domestic coach tickets" - what base, not sure
Luxury Hotel Program
.. and other things one would expect from a card of this stature that aren't worth detailing.
$950 annual fee.
My initial calculations show that you get $450/year back if you count the Global Entry fee, so at best $500, more likely $600/year. At 2.5%, which would be the cash back equivalent on this card, you'd need a spend of $20k-$24k to cover those annual fees, respectively.
Paying US Federal income tax at 1.87% on this card would make you 63bps.
No word on if the annual fee can be waived, but if they have one, and this card is only being offered to WM clients, I'm guessing not.
Jan 27, 2015, 12:58 pm
#8
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: CLT
Programs: AA, UA, BA, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 2,074
Feb 8, 2015, 2:23 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 96
Just an update: the 20% off of coach class tickets is provided at the lowest published fare. You must use their booking mechanism, but it does take the same fare you find from the airline, then they subtract 20%. So, definitely some value if you purchase a lot of tickets in coach.
Mar 14, 2015, 5:50 pm
#13
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: California USA
Posts: 652
I do think you need to be a ML or US Trust client, but I dont think you need to have 10 million to get the card. Its probably like the Palladium.
Jan 22, 2016, 9:06 pm
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 96
Just want to confirm getting effectively ~5% back when booking domestic flights. You need a Merrill+ and an Octave card to make this work, but you earn 2.5 per $1, then transfer to Merrill+ and use their Anytime, Anywhere rewards for 25k points up to $500 value. Airline mileage earning is limited on these fares because they're bulk/discount rates, but you do get a little, so that's a bonus on top of all of it.
Jan 22, 2016, 9:09 pm
#15
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 333
Just want to confirm getting effectively ~5% back when booking domestic flights. You need a Merrill+ and an Octave card to make this work, but you earn 2.5 per $1, then transfer to Merrill+ and use their Anytime, Anywhere rewards for 25k points up to $500 value. Airline mileage earning is limited on these fares because they're bulk/discount rates, but you do get a little, so that's a bonus on top of all of it.
Now I've got to figure out how to get an Octave card to supplement my Merrill+ without having to have $XX million with Merrill Lynch (as I prefer putting my money/investments elsewhere).
