Episode 57: Heightened Offers from Bank of America

Milenomics ² Podcast - No Annual Fee Edition

Four great credit card welcome bonuses to consider from Bank of America. Let’s discuss them, how we’d prioritize them, and also navigating the complicated and ever-changing approval standards over at Bank of America.

0:54 BofA Amtrak 50,000 + $100 Statement Credit (DoC)

• Do a dummy booking to see offer
• $79 AF not waived
• $2,500 min spend in 90 days
• Amtrak points are worth 2.9 cpp towards non-Acela, 2.56 cpp towards Acela
• So this welcome bonus is worth $1,450 + $100 - $79 = $1,471 for non-Acela
• Or $1,250 + $100 - $79 = $1,271 towards Acela
• That’s crazy value for people who want to ride Amtrak
• See also: How to redeem bank points for up to 1.64 cpp towards Amtrak

03:55 BofA Alaska Business 60,000 (HT Commenter Matt on DoC)

• Direct Link
• $3,000 min spend
• $75 AF not waived
• 65,000 for the Personal Alaska card still available
• Not subject to BofA personal churning restrictions
• Don’t forget BofA Business Cash Rewards $750 (Direct Link)

06:19 Getting Approved

• BofA 2/3/4: 2 BofA cards per rolling 2 months, 3 per rolling 12, 4 per rolling 24
• BofA is said to not approve new BofA card if you have more than 2 new credit cards on your credit report (across all banks) in the past 12 months -or- 6 in the past 12 if you’ve got a checking account with BofA
• HT DoC
• Overall exposure with BofA to consider too (lower CL before closing BofA cards)
• Limits to the number of active credit cards BofA will let you hold?

08:47 Discuss: Is it a mistake to ignore BofA at this point?

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