pfloydman

Hi -

For business purposes, I am trying to convince a very wealthy person I know to switch from the Merrill Lynch "Black Bull" Card to something else. He said he likes it because:

1) High limit on the card "I could go buy a Ferrari and put it on this card, no big deal"

2) Apparently it automatically sweeps from his account at the end of 30 days...not sure if that's really how it works or not?

He also mentioned the free flights as a "nice" feature but that he usually gives them away to his employees. He has his own jet.

So...um...how do I convince this guy to switch? And to what? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

sm82

To what and why? You've spent more time explaining the "awesome perks" than why this person or any of us should care. Just saying...

pfloydman

To anything that would be comparable or better. I'd be particularly curious to hear from someone that had the ML Black Bull and switched...and why?

jpark1982

If he likes the benefits of the card, best advice would be to let it be. Business owners in particular are very stubborn and are creatures of habit.

Plus he says that the benefits he would receive he wouldn't use anyway, so why the big fuss to get him to change?

Segments

What is the business purpose? You don't know what you want him to switch to, just that you want him to stop using the Merrill Lynch card?

Red flags....

ddallas

What is your business purpose? How would you benefit? It actually sounds like your "business purpose" here is to pimp the Merrill lynch card. You should have included an affiliate link.

lewisc

I read it differently. Sounds like the OP wants to handle his friends investments. Move from ML to wherever the OP works. He won't move unless the OP can find him a better credit card.

millere2

It clearly sounds like he doesn't care about the points much. Credit card miles don't make people rich, and he probably has more important things to worry about.

mia

It sounds as if the client is using the Merrill Lynch Access Card...

https://cards.ml.com/RWDapp/ml/merrilllynchaccess

This is a deferred debit card.

...but this card does not have a rewards program. He may have another Merrill card, and the account executive could have arranged an automatic debit to pay it.

pfloydman

Ha - some funny replies - running the gamut from cynical to insightful to helpful!

lewisc - you're the winner, you're exactly right. I am trying to convince someone to switch from Merrill Lynch to work with me at another firm. He has cited this card as one of the main reasons he is reluctant to switch. I didn't feel it was necessary to offer this information, but since some people think I work for ML (never!), I guess I should explain myself.

It does kind of sound like it has the sweep feature of the ML Access debit card - but does that card also offer first class tickets or free flights? Also, he said he could buy a Ferrari and wouldn't have to pay until it was swept, but according to the rules you cited, if the balance exceeds $100k, it gets swept.

Just curious if there is another non-bank-affiliated card out there that might have some of the same benefits.

Thanks all!

pfloydman

Another possibility - it did look an awful lot like the Merrill+ card (he pulled it out of his wallet and showed it to me across a conference room table). It did have the chip in it and it was definitely black. But I don't see anywhere that that card has a high limit (or no limit), gives free flights to valued cardmembers at the end of each year (I believe he said "5 first-class tickets"), or has the sweep feature.

Moderator - can you change the subject, perhaps to Merrill+?

supergrandslam

I think OP was talking about this one.

http://www.refinedguy.com/2012/10/29...n-the-world/#4

http://www.gobankingrates.com/credit...nt-know-about/

Can't understand why Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is ranked higher than this one in both rankings

JBHighRoller

Seems that the purpose of this post was more about letting us all know that you know someone with this card rather than to have a discussion.

Exclusive cards offer about the same benefits to the wealthy, and that's the fact that the perks are of little use. There is no reason for him to change.

mia

All of the Merrill branded cards feature a prominent bull logo, and several are black. That appears to be the (discontinued) Merrill Lynch Accolades card, discussed here. Discontinued cards are frequently maintained and updated for existing cardholders. Merrill has recently added an EMV chip to the Merrill+ VISA, and could have done to same for Accolades.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...er-thread.html

A card that is available to the top 5% is not exclusive.

kngspook

Maybe he has enough money with ML/BoA that they were willing to put together a custom card for him, which I know has been done on occasion by other wealth management firms. But it seems unlikely that someone with enough money to pull that off would at the same time put so much value on it. The thing is, at that point, those cards aren't really giving you any advantage: any highly favorable perk the card grants you is almost certainly being paid for on the back end by the WM fees you're paying.

I know much more commonly, Amex (and other credit card issuers) will work with wealth management firms to issue Plats and such to WM customers, and will work with the banks to issue "appropriate" (read: impractically high) credit limits on the cards commensurate with the assets under management. If you have that sort of relationship with them, getting him a Centurion with a really high limit would probably be comparable.

At the end of the day, don't take it personally, but I highly doubt they're reluctant to switch because of any Merrill Lynch card offering. If you're trying to win this account, I think you're better off putting together something unique and compelling from your firm rather than trying to match ML inch-for-inch on their package.