On the ML+ rewards site, we now see the guide. It seems MANY of the benefits of this card are gone. Gone are the Delta/AA lounge benefits, replaced by a Priority Pass with 10 free visits. Gone seems to be the AA status match...See more at this page

Talk about cutting the benefits ...... I guess this card is getting dropped once I've used up the points.

Wow. Gutted. Just another 1% card now....

I think its time to figgure out the best way to burn these points too. Ugh, I have 200k of these, and 500k of TYP to burn.

Is there ANYTHING for the ML+ rewards program that gets you much better than 1% return on the points?

I don't know if you were looking at the right page but I turned my +3 benefit of a free CRC membership in last week and called today about it, agents still knew about it and didn't mention it....

Am I missing something?

Please clarify your post so that we may understand it and reply appropriately. THanks.

I'm pissed. I've put $15k on this card this month alone. Looks like Ill just top it off to get to 100k points (another 6k of spend) and find another card to use.

Ok, Im not so mad now. I just got confirmation from a rep at Merrill that said the Delta/AA lounge benefit is NOT gone for 2009. If you read on page 44 of the online booklet it explains. They have however added the Priority Pass to which you can choose from either of these 3. Not sure why anyone would choose that unless they are not loyal to any one airline/alliance but whatever floats your boat. It does appear that the DL/AA lounge option will be gone after 12/31/09 though.

Its official, AA status match was gone as of 12/31/08.

removed

Good that the lounge benefit is still there, but why drop it to the fine print on page 44?

ok i see the BA transfers, and the ritz carlton awards, but im not seeing the private jet awards? (x points per hour)

looks like the AA status match is gone which sucks.

From the "left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing" department, I just received a letter (February 6, 2009) from Merrill congratulating me for reaching the +2 Status Level indicating among other things that my status will last "for the remainder or 2008 plus all of 2009".

But the best part is... "+2 Status Level gives you even greater privileges, such as a 50% discount on Delta... and a Frequent Flyer Membership status match on American Airlines..."

Just booked NYC-Aruba tickets at 25k each (on CO).

lampy08, congratulations on your redemption. I don't have this card nor am a merrill lynch customer but FIA has sent me invitations continuously to apply for this card. I was aware that airline tickets could be redeemed for as little as 25k on preferred airlines but I wasn't aware that this was available for international tickets as well. How does the flight program work in particular and how much was the cost of your ticket in dollars for the 25k points you spent. I may definitely consider this card as a replacement for my citibank thankyou network card depending on how the airline redemptions work. Also, do the points expire and if so after how many months/years? I appreciate your help. One of the reasons I was considering getting this card previously was for the AA status match upgrade but now that they don't do this anymore the rewards aspect would be the primary driver since the rest of the perks do not seem to be that great. Obviously for no annual fee you can't complain though.