I agree their credit cards are good.
I feel you are missing out on some of the good due to lack of interest in Merrill Lynch.
I find BOA fantastic for their credit cards BECAUSE I put some $$ into Merrill Lynch by transferring an IRA there.
So I'm Platinum Reward Member, meaning on credit cards I get up to 5% rewards all year long on what category I want per month.
My other CC used for travel pays me 3.6% on travel, and 2.6% on everything else.
I have for banking with BOA a checking accnt with $2,000 in it, that's all.