Bank of America premium rewards Elite actually gives you 1.25 x per on airfare. If you do the math you wind up using 25% more value when you get a 20% discount . What's great is when you use this card and you redeem for airline your sense for point is 3.3 for catch-all and 4.4 for for a broad category of travel and dining. Also the year one value can be even higher because because the airline incidental and livestock credits are based on a calendar year and so you can get it twice.
Since Sapphire Reserve and Venture X have eliminated Priority Pass restaurants the Altitude Reserve visits are even more valuable if you find yourself in an airport without a lounge or want a real meal since it still includes Priority Pass restaurants
I have the Altitude Reserve. Cool little tip for people that don’t travel but want to take advantage of the 1.5x on the points. I redeemed 18,000 points for a $273 flight through real time rewards to get that 1.5x. I then cancelled that flight the same day and got a statement credit back for $273.
I can confirm that this works! I recently redeemed 63,879 pts for a plane ticket of $958.18, and then I cancelled the flight and kept the $958.18 statement credits. Finally, I gave US Bank a call and they issued me a physical check so that I can deposit and invest the money.
I have the Wells Fargo Autograph when I converted the Cash Wise (now decommissioned) to Autograph. Was eligible for the 20k welcome bonus and spent $1k in two months to earn it. The 3X multipliers for this fee-free card make it a long-term keeper card beyond a shadow of doubt.
Agreed that the BOA PRE is lacking w/o transfer partners. But I definitely disagree that the multipliers aren’t impressive at that highest level; I don’t think any other widely available card has a 2.6x catch all & 3.5x on dining and travel are both above average. Also to get the PH tier, I’m not sure you made it clear that you can get it w/investments from a Meryl Lynch account, not just parking money in a checking or savings account. The investment account amount isn’t easy to attain of course, but if you have it already it’s easy to get the bonus multipliers. I’d agree w/you that it would be unwise to just park $100k in a legacy savings account to get this. Informative video 👍🏽.
You kind of glossed over the earnings on the Elite , the 20% discount takes the 3.5 categories to 4.38% and the 2.63% to 3.28% so if your Platinum honors this cards is miles better than the Altitude Reserve because Bank of America travel categories are so broad. Definitely can be a great card if your a honors member
I glossed over those because I just don’t think it’s an achievable goal for lots of people to hit those tiers. You are correct, Platinum honors is the best spot to be. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It’s super insightful to hear your opinions. I’ll keep that all in mind for future videos!!
@Spend.Earn.Travel. Fair, we all are at different points in our credit card journey, My goal was to just provide more information on the card and benefits of the preferred rewards program . Big fan, keep up the good work.
@@davidhamilton6187 I might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the 20% extra from BoA is only good for flights through the BoA portal, whereas the Real Time Rewards for the USBAR encompasses a much broader category of travel directly w/merchants. Under those circumstances I’d still want the USBAR over the PRE, especially if a lot of your flights are points redemptions anyway.
I recently got approved for USB AR. It is my go to card for most of shopping and places where I am not certain what category the merchant will code. For example, in Marriot property one restaurant coded as Travel and other coded as Restaurant, in that case instead of trying to guess I use AR and got guaranteed 3x .
USB AR is my daily driver, I have the WF also. Both hugely undervalued cards. But I know the USB doesn't have a referral or sponsor program. Read=Influencers won't cover them.
I have US Bank Altitude Reserve and get unlimited 4.5x on mobile wallet is so powerful. Gas, Groceries, Dinning (unless they hand me the check at sit down restaurant), car maintenance (oil change, car wash), target, Walmart, TJ Maxx, online shopping, home improvement stores, nails and hair salons, tanning places, and many more…..
@@Spend.Earn.Travel. i am under Chase 5/24 until June 2025. I am planning on getting the Chase Ink Preferred, Unlimited and Cash, Chase Marriot Boundless to Ritz Carlton, World or Hyatt and then Altitude Reserve followed by the Citi Trifecta. No interest in Capital One.
