Bank of America has some nice bonuses out today including a 50K offer on their Merrill+ Visa and increased bonus offers on their two Amtrak Guest Rewards co-branded cards. Let’s take a look.
Merrill+ Visa Signature 50K Offer
The Offer
Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending at least $3,000 on purchases within first 90 days.
Card Benefits
- Earn 1X Everywhere.
- No annual fee.
- Points are worth 1 cent each for statement credits or up to 2 cents each for airfare.
- Get either a Delta SkyClub Membership or a $200 travel credit after $50K in spend annually.
Analysis
This appears to be a great bonus and according to Doctor of Credit, people have had success signing up even if they weren’t targeted despite the language. While I wouldn’t use this card for everyday spend, the 50K points are worth $500 in cash or you can use 25,000 points for airfare up to $500 giving you a theoretical maximum $1,000 value. Considering this card has no annual fee, that bonus is phenomenal.
Amtrak Guest Rewards World Mastercard
The Offer
Get 30,000 bonus points after you make $1,000 or more in purchases on your new card within 90 days of account opening.
Card Benefits
- Earn 3X on Amtrak, 2X on qualifying travel and 1X everywhere else.
- $79 annual fee.
- 5% point rebate on Amtrak Guest Rewards redemptions.
- Complimentary companion coupon, One-Class Upgrade and a single-day ClubAcela pass each year.
- Earn 1,000 Tier Qualifying Points towards for each $5K spent in a calendar year with a limit of 4,000 TQPs.
- Ability to transfer up to 25K points to hotel partners after $20K calendar year spend.
Analysis
The normal bonus on this card has been 20,000 points so this represents an increase of 50%. Amtrak points are worth between 2.6 and 2.9 cents each, meaning this bonus is very valuable. Add in the ability to transfer points to Choice at a good ratio after $20K spend and a 5% rebate on points redemptions and this card is looking very good as well.
For more info on this card, Frequent Miler has an excellent review.
Amtrak Guest Rewards Platinum Mastercard
The Offer
Get 15,000 bonus points after you make $1,000 or more in purchases on your new card within 90 days of account opening.
Card Benefits
- Earn 2X on Amtrak and 1X everywhere else.
- No annual fee.
- 5% point rebate on Amtrak Guest Rewards redemptions.
Analysis
The normal bonus on this card has been 12,000 points so this represents an increase of 25%. Again, these points are worth a lot, so this bonus can be worth upwards of $400+. Considering this is a no annual fee card and you still get the points rebate, this increased bonus is definitely worth a look.
Conclusion
Bank of America has stepped up their game with these three offers since they represent incredible values. While some people like to go for the Alaska co-branded cards, these bonuses should definitely make you take a look at these three cards. Each has a valuable bonus along with some interesting benefits.
If you apply (these are direct non-affiliate links) feel free to share your data points in the comments.
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the old king of travel rewards cards. Right now
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[…] of America’s Merrill+ credit card 50,000 point bonus has been one of the best credit card offers we’ve seen recently and definitely the best for a […]
Does the airline ticket have to be round trip to get the 2X value on the Merrill Lynch card?
Thanks
I don’t see how you can transfer points to hotel partners after spending 20k on the World Mastercard. That will give you 4,000 TQP and you need 5,000 TQP to obtain Select status, which allows you to transfer points to hotel partners.