BOA / Merrill Edge Tip

[Shabby]

I use both Bank of America and the Merrill Edge Investments for my finances and really like both. No fees and the interfaces are great. Love the ability to transfer on my phone between accounts instantly. Anyway, if you also have this, you may want to know that you can switch your primary Merrill Edge Cash (Sweep) Account from the no interest account which is the default, to their "BIF Money Fund CMA", a Money Market account which gets .54% interest and is still SIPC insured.

I wish someone told me this years ago as I could have squeezed a few more bucks outta my cash account.

Anyway, I just found out and wanted to pass it on.

 

[fh2000]

If you maintain $100K in BOA checking and get their travel rewards credit card, you get 2.625% cash back for all purchases.

 

[Sunset]

If you maintain $100K in BOA checking and get their travel rewards credit card, you get 2.625% cash back for all purchases.

If you maintain 100K in a merrill edge brokerage account, and link to the checking account, you get 2.625% cash back on the CC for all purchases.

It can be 100K of existing stock, and you get a bunch of other benefits too.. (the checking account can have just $100 and no fee, as a preferred rewards client.)

 

[Lakewood90712]

SIPC Insurance only covers fraud , it doesn't provide any protection from the money market fund breaking the buck from poor quality investments crumbling in a severe market downturn.

 

[catotx]

Anyway, if you also have this, you may want to know that you can switch your primary Merrill Edge Cash (Sweep) Account from the no interest account which is the default, to their "BIF Money Fund CMA", a Money Market account which gets .54% interest and is still SIPC insured.

I wish someone told me this years ago as I could have squeezed a few more bucks outta my cash account.

Anyway, I just found out and wanted to pass it on.

Thanks for sharing. Could you please tell me how do I switch to the money fund? Do I have to call in to request the change? I looked around on the website and couldn't figure out to do it.

Thanks!

 

[HillCountry]

I wish someone told me this years ago as I could have squeezed a few more bucks outta my cash account.

It was zoro anyway before fed started raise interest in the past year. So you didn't miss anything.

You can buy brokered cd in the account too. 3 month at 1+ percent.

We also use the prefered card, no foreign exchange fee.

 

[calmloki]

If you maintain 100K in a merrill edge brokerage account, and link to the checking account, you get 2.625% cash back on the CC for all purchases.

It can be 100K of existing stock, and you get a bunch of other benefits too.. (the checking account can have just $100 and no fee, as a preferred rewards client.)

2.625% back on the checking or the CC (credit card)? Just got the Merrill + Visa card, no annual fee and $500 in cash bonus or up to $1000 in travel bonus. Think I was just under the wire on that card offer, so may not be available anymore. Fidelity is my faithful 2% card, but if another .625% is available I could be lured away...

 

[Sunset]

I got the BOA travel card, no annual fee, and no foreign transaction fee, and if you link a Merrill Edge account to a BOA checking account , the credit card gives you up to a 75% bonus on what it pays.

I'm still in the process of getting it all set up, but that is what I understand. Details are here, about the preferred rewards and how they increase the more $$ you have with them.
My Travel credit card came with a $200 bonus, which I consider measly, but it was the zero fee plus zero foreign transaction part that attracted me, and getting over 2% cash back.

I did also get a bonus for opening a Merrill Edge account and transferring in some stock, nothing like a free $600 for an hour effort

https://info.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/

 

[mathjak107]

i weighed both boa and chase . i ended up doing the chase private client and the chase sapphire reserve card .
my chase freedom card offers 5% back on select groups every quarter .

i roll those over to the reserve card . i then use them for trips through the chase portal where i get them multiplied by 1.50x . that is over 7% back .

 

[Shabby]

Catotx,
You can't do it online. You need to call and let them know that you want that money market account as your default sweep account and they will transfer it all and then it will always be the default. Takes a couple days once you call. I only wish I did this long ago.

 

[kgtest]

i weighed both boa and chase . i ended up doing the chase private client and the chase sapphire reserve card .
my chase freedom card offers 5% back on select groups every quarter .

i roll those over to the reserve card . i then use them for trips through the chase portal where i get them multiplied by 1.50x . that is over 7% back .

Which is walmart, costco. So if anyone need's some new tires next quarter, 5% off baby!

 

[nwsteve]

i weighed both boa and chase . i ended up doing the chase private client and the chase sapphire reserve card .
my chase freedom card offers 5% back on select groups every quarter .

i roll those over to the reserve card . i then use them for trips through the chase portal where i get them multiplied by 1.50x . that is over 7% back .

If you become a Chase Private Client, do you get a break on Sapphire Reserve annual fee?
thx

 

[mathjak107]

no but you get another 10k in points . i did it yesterday . got 60k in points . so actually now i paid 450 , got a 300 travel credit and an extra 10k in points . those extra 10k points are worth 15k in points when traveling through the chase travel service

 

[kevdude]

We just signed up for BOA's new Premium Rewards Card, which is their new product to better compete with the Chase Saphire among others. It pays 2% for all travel and restaurant purchases and 1.5% for all other purchases. We also get a 75% boost on those since we are preferred rewards platinum honors customers(need to kept least $100k average with BOA, Merrill Edge or Merrill Lynch), so our bonus will be 3.5% and 2.625% respectively. It has a $95 annual fee, but we also get $100/year in airline incidentals (checked baggage, upgrades, inflight purchases, etc) and $100 credit for TSA Precheck or Global Entry, free travel insurance and some others that I forget off hand. You also get 50k bonus points if you spend $3k on the card in the first 90 days.

I also opened a Merrill Edge brokerage account which will pay up to $600 for transferring up to $200k in balances from outside BOA within 90 days and keeping it there for 90 days.