violist

Okay, Randy has anointed the Mileage Plan credit card as "one of the best" (see The Buzz), and I would have tended to agree, but something weird happened this last trip. I pay my bills on time, down to a zero balance, figuring that the 50 bucks or whatever they charge is ample for the services the card provides. So last month I had a zero or negative balance and took my card on a trip ... charged about $700 on it, including one international charge. It appears that the international charge did something to my account, and I was charged a fairly hefty interest charge on the whole amount: I'm trying to say that for whatever reason they ignored the grace period altogether. I'm wondering if this is routine (I can't find the terms of the card offhand, and I know that calling Bank of America will end up costing me far more in time spent than the $30 charge).

redweather

Not sure I follow you on what happened, but...I can tell you that this *WAS* one of the best cards...it is still good, but I'm not sure I like it as much since Bank of America took over from Seafirst here in the Seattle area.

I have had the card for 3-4 years and last month, after racking up my highest monthly charge total ever ($6000+), B of A tried to nail me with a $55 finance charge for supposedly being one day late. I've NEVER been even one day late on any card I carry.
In this case, it was due on a Saturday and I mailed it on a Thursday to a local address 15 miles away. They didn't post it on Friday or even Saturday, but showed it posting on Monday. I get the charge reversed, but it still made me very angry...and I am shifting my business away from them...about $35-$40K/year in charges.

I notice that Amex now has a disclaimer also that says "payments received after 12pm, and on weekends, or holidays, etc" might not be posted until the following business day. Boy, they could pretty much do whatever they wanted...AFTER 12pm??? I guess no one really knows what time their mail jeep rolls around. They can just bust about a million customers a month for 30 bucks each and make, well, 30 million bucks! That ought to pay for the miles they give us.

I am now paying my BofA payments at the bank branch (immediate posting) and my Amex via the pay-by-phone (free service which posts in 24-48 hours including weekends). These are two good options to keep in mind.

The Alaska card still carries some excellent perks, like the $50 companion fare and (what is really) a one-way first class upgrade, as well as a couple of board room passes and 2000 anniversary points and, I believe, a 5K signup bonus. Just be careful with Bank of America - don't let 'em nick you.

Best Regards -DS

Kermy FF

I am thinking about getting the card to replace my CO visa. Can someone elobarate on the flexibility to redeeming a reward for US travel? Which carriers can you book with? Alaska, United, ect..?

Thanks.

Westcoaster

Per the Mileage Plan Award Chart, you can use Alaska miles for U.S. tickets on Alaska, American, Continental, Northwest, and TWA.

One drawback is that you cannot use Alaska miles to upgrade a flight on one of their partners. Thus, for example, you would need to redeem 40,000 (or 60,000) Alaska miles to get an F class ticket on American. You can't use Alaska miles to upgrade a coach class ticket on American to F class.

Also, the footnote says that NW and CO awards require a Saturday night stay.

[This message has been edited by Westcoaster (edited 11-12-2000).]

TravelWeary

You might want to check out this post from Only Randy Petersen where this is discussed.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum97/HTML/000101.html


[This message has been edited by TravelWeary (edited 11-13-2000).]

violist

Well, the issue is this:

Bill was $750 (round figures) of which $180 was foreign.
The finance charge was $30 - which seems steep - I don't think that it comes up as 3 percent at all ...

wideman

My guess is that the charge is one of the following:

- Interest charge because the transaction was considered to be a cash advance rather than a merchandise purchase. If so, you'd get charged interest from the day you made the transaction, and, depending on your card rules, you might also get charged a fee.

- Charge for foreign currency transactions. Some, but by no means all, US Visa & Mastercards have taken to adding a fee for [b]any[\b] non $US transactions -- I've heard of anywhere from 2%-4%. Again, check with the issuing bank. And also be aware that some banks will charge this fee for some cards that they issue, but not for others.

toadman

Visit http://www.alaskaair.com for details on partner airlines. British Air and QANTAS are also airline partners. Depending on how much you fly it is fairly easy to get first tier elite status after 15,000 flight miles.