The Merrill+ card used to be extremely popular due to the $500-$1,000 sign up bonus it offered but was sadly discontinued and replaced with the Bank of America Premium Travel Rewards card. If you spend $50,000 on the card in a calendar year you become Plus level and get to choose one of the following benefits:
- $200 Travel Credit. This card be used for airline incidental purchases (e.g.: Seat upgrades, In-flight Wi-Fi, In-flight meals and beverages, airport lounge day passes, baggage fees, flight-change and cancellation fees, expedited check-in fees, Global Entry application fee & more)
- Delta Sky Club membership. This is a one year executive membership that gives you and accompanying immediate family or any two guests unlimited lounge access. Membership is valid for one year beginning in the month requested or if you have a current membership one year will be added to the expiration date.
On January 1st 2020 the option for a Delta Sky Club membership will be removed. The card itself earns a flat 1 point per $1 spent but points are worth up to 2¢ when redeeming for airfare. I never thought it made sense to spend $50,000 on this card, but I know some readers did so to get this lounge membership.
Hat tip to fau_stoolie
This card has a bunch of benefits, upscale travelers might want to review before dismissing out of hand. Convert your points to Net Jets for example and a whole bunch for the non cost conscience consumerist.
Honestly when looking at Merrill’s travel portal for this card, the flights available did not seem special and just taking cash appears to be my best option. Wasn’t looking high end travel, so maybe that was part of the problem.
Was however thinking of using the point balance to pay off a looong AirBNB I booked. Considered getting of the card, but we’ll see. As somebody else here loving the card design and the “exotic” nature of having to call by phone to apply made it more interesting.
Anyone know what options there are to product change this card to, if any?
I’ve just tried to change it to a Travel Rewards card in order to get the 2.625x points on all purchases (Platinum Honors). After over 15 minutes on the phone (most of it on hold), the CSR told me they can’t make that change.
I asked if there was any other card I could change it to, and he said no.
Oh well.
Thanks for the DP. Ya I recall trying it a year ago and getting a similar unsatisfactory result.
Update 4 years later: I tried again and it finally worked!
I called BoA last week to ask if I could convert an Air France card to a Customized Cash Rewards card. The rep read a ton of disclosures, some of which were pretty scary, along the lines of “in certain cases your card number may change, and if the conversion is not possible then your old card may be closed and you may not be able to reopen your account”. But after a few minutes he told me the request had been submitted.
At that point I figured eh, I already have this guy on the phone, might as well try to convert my Merrill+ card too (I had given up on that years ago). He went through the same process and told me the request had been submitted as well.
Fast forward a week and my cards were still showing as an Air France card and a Merrill+ card, so I figured oh well, it didn’t work, at least they didn’t close them I guess. But then today I see that both cards are now listed as Customized Cash Rewards cards!
Interestingly, the issuer didn’t change (so I have one showing as a Visa and one as a Mastercard), but the number did change for both cards (it’s too early to tell if they’re reporting as new accounts, but I highly doubt so considering the whole transaction history is still there and my statement dates didn’t change).
Also interestingly, I had obviously spent all my Merrill+ rewards years ago but I did have 6 points left as a result of small transactions I put on the card every year to prevent it from being closed due to inactivity. Those points were converted into cash rewards, so my Customized Cash Rewards card is now showing as having $0.06 in available rewards!
I PC’d this to a Cash Rewards card in Jan.
It took a few attempts though. I had been told it would take a few weeks to process, but had to call back to start the process again. It took several more weeks after that to actually convert.
I was able to PC to TR about a year ago. First call.
I still have this card and never use it…occasionally gets a BofA offer to justify its existence, but I think the real reason I hold on to it is I think it is one of the most badass card designs I can remember
The Merrill Octave probably tops that, not sure if it’s still around, but top design
Airline lounges are overrated (as are Amex Centurion and Priority Pass lounges). I never cease to be amazed by the number of folk in this hobby who will go to great lengths to get into these lounges.
To be fair, if you fly long-haul and have frequent transfers, it is quite refreshing to sit in a lounge with some food and drinks. Sure beats sitting for 4 hours in the terminal lobby, with nothing but the general din of an airport for company……
I guess you probably do not drink alcohol. A lot people like to get two of those before they get on the plane. It is not too hard if you know your way around.
In 2018, I don’t think I had more than 4 flights that left within 2 hours of their scheduled departure times. Lounges weren’t necessary to weather that, but having food, drinks, wifi, and outlets available in an area more relaxed than the main terminal made those delays a lot less frustrating. I agree that I wouldn’t make a special trip for them, but they definitely have value for frequent travelers.
Maybe going to “great lengths” like sub optimal routing just to visit a lounge can be a little absurd but say a beer in the terminal costs $10 and you would have two whether or not they were free. Take four trips per year with a companion and that’s $320 saved by having a lounge membership. Even if you don’t drink alcohol, just having free drinks and some snacks can save a ton