Further update: According to Miles to Memories that beginning November 17th there will be a new rewards value prop (proposition) that will not include anything related to the NBA.
Update: One reader received the following letter. New card will arrive in September.
As we pointed out earlier, BBVA no longer has the rights to the NBA. The reason we care is that they issue the BBVA NBA card and that earns 5% on all purchases twice per year (all stars weekend and NBA finals. You’re limited to $5,000 in spend per period). According to this myFICO post BBVA NBA cardholders will be converted to a plain American Express card (BBVA issued) on July 1st.
This card was exceptional, even if highly annoying due to fraud holds. At one point it was possible to get a $200 sign up bonus with no annual fee and then uncapped spending at 5% twice per year. It isn’t clear who NBA’s new financial partner will be but let’s hope they also offer outsized value.
the new reward system can be found in bbvacompass.com/rewards, then click learn more for details.
this card goes to the sock drawer for me.
NBA will be 1.5% everywhere, that’s a different card: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bbva-nba-card-become-straight-1-5-everywhere-card/
So no more 5% on this card?
It’s not clear. There might be similar promos, not tied to the NBA.
I got the letter as well and think its purposefully ambiguous while they try and find a new partner or figure out how much generosity they will offer.
It says we’ll continue to earn same rewards and only mentions that we can no longer redeem for NBA merchandise (as if that was the attractive part of tbe NBA relationship :)). While doesn’t directly say the 5 percent is staying, they clearly went out of their way to leave it open ended. They are not using your basic devaluation positive spin; its outight avoidance.
At any rate, I will keep it in the sock draw for the extra good amex rewards that I want to use across all my AmEx cards. And hope for future good news.
Hopefully it has something. Even a flat 1%. Sometimes their Simple Cash Back rewards are the same as AMEX Offers so you can stack and come out looking really good. A recent Starbucks promo for instance got me 5% back with this and 10% back from AMEX offers. Total $9 back on a $60 in-store reload.
Still, clarity would be nice.
I received my letter just like this, yesterday. But it doesn’t say the new rewards structure. No idea what it is?
No and they won’t respond for comment.
I loved my chicago bulls card with out one horn…
I called in today and had a surprising conversation with a BBVA rep. According to him, credit card holders WILL continue to receive 5x points for certain weeks. When I pressed him, he said that I will receive emails telling me when those weeks will be. (We will also still get” 2x points for gas stations and other…” He trailed off there.)
Obviously, this is a single conversation, and he could have misunderstood his reading material (though the comment about receiving emails about the weeks seemed unambiguous).
Could other Doctor of Credit readers who hold this credit card call BBVA Compass and ask? Because, if true, this is great!
After receiving the new card, will I need to reconnect it on twitter ?
I don’t think so. It’s tied to an account number and that’s staying the same.
Do you guys use your card regularly? Do you message them over the holidays/weekends? Did you set up/activate alerts? Did you reply back to their “fraud alert” “transaction alert” text messages?
Their fraud department called me only one time because I was in Brazil during 2016 carnival and there was a “first time” recurring charge in the States and it wasn’t in my name. They didn’t block my card but left me a voicemail and asked me to call back. They saw my previous log-in the month before and made a payment for someone. And I even alerted them prior to that first transaction. Anyway, I called them back while still in GIG and all was good.
I got no issues with BBVA Compass NBA Amex during 5% events. BBVA has been replying to my messages/emails promptly.
I once made a large return during the period and had 5x points taken away. It took escalating to two managers for them to actually fix the mistake.