bigblue2007

You know how Chase started the Sapphire Reserve, Citi has the Presitge card, Amex has the platinum, etc. Would BOA ever try to compete in the $450 annual fee market? I don't see a card on their website that fits this description. Do they have one that's not online? It would be cool to get another competitor.

tmiw

BofA would need a transferrable points program first. The closest thing they have is the TR card but that's more a competitor for the Arrival+ than anything.

Besides that, they'd have to offer something that the others don't already offer. Maybe status on Alaska since BofA has their co-branded card already?

mia

They have made two attempts.

When the Merrill+ VISA was introduced it included benefits which were competitive with premium cards, but the card was (and still is) free, and the benefits were earned by reaching spending thresholds. At first the benefits were exceptional, but eroded to become ordinary. (The card was created by Merrill Lynch before they were acquired by Bank of America, but I believe Bank of America was the original issuer.)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...solidated.html


This was their second attempt:

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

trikotret

The only thing I found was on DOC site about a BofA premium card survey.

http://www.doctorofcredit.com/bank-a...ds-store-card/

bigblue2007

Interesting stuff.

tmiw

Actually, when I think about it more that kind of card does make sense for them. BofA seems to be targeting the AF-averse people (likely most people outside of FT) more than anything else judging from their current card lineup, so I'm not sure they'd succeed all that well with a $450 AF card.

TTT103

As was previously mentioned, The Merrill card has some interesting perks. While it has the potential of being up to a 2% card on airfare, it is very similar to Flexperks in that it requires 25,000 points for an airfare up to $500.

A full Delta club membership is earned after $50K in annual charges.

I keep the card around for the museum benefits.

trikotret

But the Merrill card only earns 1 PT per dollar compared to other cards. Even BofA travel card with high tier you'll earn 2.625 PT per dollar.

TTT103

Very true! It's a shame because it's a card I want to like.

The card only works as a 2% air travel card if you limit your point earnings to 25,000, redeem for a $500 or more ticket, and pay cash for the balance. Accumulating more than 25K points reduces and airfare overage to only 1% above the $500 fare.

eajusa

I wish BOA would try harder They have many co-branded cards that offer only standard benefits, and mediocre point or mile earnings, etc. They gutted the WorldPoints program that they still offer on one of their BIZ cards and with the NCL card. WorldPoints used to be a lot of fun, but they got rid of their shopping portal, which used to be a great way to quickly accumulate points. They also limited the number of ways to redeem the points. If you earn at least 25K points, you could earn cashback or a statement credit at 1%. Blah. My last redemption of 20K points was used to reduce the costs of my most recent Norwegian cruise. Since then I stopped using the card, because there are so many better cards out there.

Anyway, if they experimented with mid-level co-branded cards maybe BOA could generated more interest. For example, they have five airlines, four cruise lines, and an entry-level travel rewards card. Most have no or a small AF. They might attempt a card with enhanced benefits and earning power with a slightly higher AF. If successful, this would be a stepping stone toward a high level card at a later date. But maybe BOA isn't interested, as they are already involved in practically every type of banking in existence.

kdm31091

Per DOC (and I got the same survey from being on BOA's Advisory Panel) they are toying with coming out with a more "Premium" card ($95 annual fee), but it isn't going to do much above the current Travel Rewards, unless it is changed heavily from the survey results.

IIRC, the survey basically said the card would offer 2 points per dollar on travel/dining, 1.5 points everywhere (just like the free Travel Rewards) and a $100 yearly airline/travel credit. So yes, assuming you will use the credit, it's a bit better than the current Travel Rewards, but you're just getting an extra 0.5 points on travel and dining. To me, the card needs to be stepped up before they release it because it sounds very "meh".

Beyond the sign up bonus, don't see much point in the Merrill card. At absolute best you are getting a 2% value (by jumping through hoops), why not just use a 2% everywhere card?

trikotret

When was the survey done? Do they give a time frame of when they plan on launching card?

Dieuwer

They need a AS transferable points card.

kdm31091

I got the survey about a month ago. It did not have a timeframe as far as I can remember, but the card doesn't sound very exciting anyway (unless they make major changes to it but I kind of doubt it, it's probably going to be more or less with the survey indicated).

tmiw

If it was 3x travel/dining along with the rest, I'd actually go for it. Effective $0 AF for this card would still be less than the effective $150 AF of the CSR. Preferred Client bonuses would sweeten the deal further (up to 5.25x for travel/dining and 2.625x for everything else).