Bank Of The West 60,000 Point Business Credit Card Offer (Worth $450) [AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY]
The Offer
- Bank Of The West is offering a bonus of 60,000 points after $5,000 in spend within 90 days on the Business Rewards Credit Card
Card Details
- No annual fee
- Card earns 2x points per $1 spent
- Assume it’s restricted to AZ, CA, CO, ID, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, NV, NM, ND, OK, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY
Our Verdict
Looks like points are worth 0.75¢ each. Can be redeemed for statement credit or cash, but looks like you need an account with them to see what those redemption options cost (0.75¢ each is confirmed for gift cards). Card doesn’t make sense to use long term as it’s basically 1.5% back on all purchases and other cards earn at a rate of 2%+. I’m not sure what business documents they require, but you can’t apply online directly (redirects to a page asking for contact details).
As the main issuers crack down on sign up bonuses with new complicated rules we’re going to need to start finding these smaller banks and understanding their processes. This is something we already do with great effect when it comes to bank account bonuses so I’m confident we can do it for credit cards as well. Readers might be familiar with Bank of the West already due to the bank account bonus offers they have.
Hat tip to reader Curmudgeon
The main question is, will this show up in personal credit for 5/24?
+1111
The mainer question is, will they approve anyone for this? IME smaller banks are very sensitive and conservative. 2 inquiries in the last 2 years? You mean you changed your phone plan! No way!
Touche
i hate this bank..
Why?
I called about 4 different numbers (local branch, BofW customer service, rewards program, business credit cards) and no-one was able to give me the answer regarding redemption options/rates for the 60,000 points (outside of gift cards), even after a 3-way call between departments.
The redemption rate for things like statement credit is not mentioned anywhere on the website – in fact, statement credit as a redemption option isn’t even mentioned as an option. No guarantees that it is 0.75c/point like gift cards, in fact I suspect it may be even lower, like 0.5c, so I’m gonna be wary on this one until I can get more info.
I talked to 2 CSRs and a Business Rep in a branch. I got 1 Yes, 1 No and 1 maybe. The Business Rep said he personally knew of people he opened cards for that it reported onto the 3 Consumer Bureaus – they had specifically mentioned it to him. He claimed you needed to have a “Corporate” account to not report to the 3 Consumer Bureaus, in which your tradeline would be over 50K and you would need some sort of a guarantor. Hopefully this information helps, but it looks like it will not be a good deal for most people.
Thanks for the information
Shouldn’t this go on the “top credit card” list? 9% back not restricted to travel? no fee. Or at least mentioned.
https://www.bankofthewest.com/small-business/credit-cards/business-rewards-mastercard.html
statement credits and gas cards are available: Not sure at what point value though
http://www.bankofthewestrewards.com
How is it 9% back? You mean the sign up bonus portion? Lots of cards offer high rate back when taking into account the sign up bonus…
Yes i mean signup bonus. It’s on my short list. Chase and others are too hard to get or I’ve had them already. High bonus from different bank is good.
Just started the process to get this card. They’re pretty intense and most folks here won’t want to waste their time.
First they said I couldn’t apply, even though they are in my state (WI). I pushed back and asked them to reconsider, and then a business banker emailed me to setup a time for an introduction phone call.
After talking this morning with the banker it seems like it would be impossible to get approved for this card without a real business. I have a business with $2M annual revenue and real spend, but even still they want to see both personal and corporate tax returns to even apply for the card. They also want me to open up a business checking account to get the card, which I will try hard not to do.
I plan to apply, after their underwriting reviews my app which takes about a week. Will followup with any other DPs
I stopped by my local branch today and asked about this card. Picked up a fancy brochure and the one page application. Don’t know who Austin dealt with but my rep said there were no tax returns needed for this application.
Brochure provides two examples for statement credit:
7,500 points = $50 statement credit (.6667 cents/pt)
25,000 points = $200 statement credit (.8 cents/pt)
So, assuming the redemption doesn’t improve above 25,000 points, the 60k bonus is worth $480, or actually $560 once you include the 10k points from the initial $5,000 spend.
That makes an 11.2% return on a $5000 spend, which is way better than the 2% non-bonus category spending I’m getting now. I don’t think the card is a keeper because at best, 2x points really means 1.6% cash back, but I’ll gladly take the bonus.
Thanks for posting. Even better than I thought. Return on Bonus percentage is the best way to compare values, as far as Im concerned.
I’d be interested if 1) could do with a “business” and 2) doesn’t report to personals. Sounds like neither of those are true from the scant comments here though. But I’ll follow the thread for more info, and maybe when my business gets off ground and I give up on 5/24 its worth doing.
Direct Link above doesn’t work anymore. Offer still available via:
https://www.bankofthewest.com/small-business/credit-cards/business-rewards-mastercard.html