Between a rock and hard place with Alaska and BA
Does this fit here?
Anyone with an Alaska Air branded Bank of America card might be interested in my experience on rention offers.
I have contacted BA (via phone 3 different times, Twitter, and by phone, BA's rention supervisor) no less than a dozen times to request a fee waiver for 2021 due to the fact that I will not be flying until Covid safe (vaccine and proof it's working). I know someone who got a waiver and told me to keep trying, to keep calling.
My reason for the waiver? Mostly Covid and a downturn in work. But I have increasingly found it difficult to use basic mileages (25K rt) award flights (jacked up to 40-75k requirements on short run flights) on Alaska, and the companion fare perk or baggage perk are mostly useless to me.
Each time I have been told, they can't waive the fee and the only way to get the waiver is to cancel my card. They say this is a contract dictate from Alaska Airlines and they (BA) have a no say or leeway in providing waivers. They tell me I will lose my Alaska miles within a year of closing this account and then they try to swing me over to a Bof A non-branded card.
I have had my Alaska card for 18 years and have only used the companion perk 2 times. I usually have a carry-on so that perk isn't a huge winner for me either. But I do use Alaska routes more than any other so that's why I kept the card. But even at $75 annual fee, this is of low benefit to me.
In any case, I finally contacted Alaska Air and let them know I was bailing on their AA Signature card and would be directing all my card purchase capture to Delta branded cards I have also had for 25+ years. They responded and told me it was simply NOT TRUE that they have any contract with BofA that precludes a waiver or mileage bonus (Rention). That is totally up to the bank.
The whole game stinks. If I cancel my card I lose the credit history and credit extension that buoys FICO scores (mine is currently 850 but!). If I pay the $75, I am basically throwing money away. It's like putting money in a savings account paying under .5% interest right now; you lose money saving money. I'd love to see someone in Congress deal with this kind of credit card thievery. I am literally a captive consumer caught in a Mobius circle of credit card pain. But hey, I have learned my lesson.