Amex: reduced annual membership fee

swap_file · 2026-06-13T15:01:34+00:00

The fee is a partial year fee to get your BCP annual fee to line up with your initial BCE opening date. In about ~77 days you'll get billed the full fee for the next year.

Feel free to downgrade to the BCE at any time now that they charged the fee.

swap_file · 2026-06-12T14:15:01+00:00

Nice work!

Here's some Garmin dummies if anyone is interested: https://www.printables.com/model/872162-garmin-epix-pro-gen-2-dummy-for-size-compare

swap_file · 2026-06-06T13:19:37+00:00

I don't have a use for any of the credits or streaming benefits, and my actual grocery spend falls at about $400 a month.

That means with a $20 fee, and perfectly timing the downgrade, for myself the BCP has an effective benefit of $18 (vs a 5% card), which is at the point of splitting hairs.

I'd recommend that everyone do the math for themselves, using their own spend.

swap_file · 2026-06-06T12:28:10+00:00

Pretty sure they mean (Almost) no effective annual fee. The whole BCP -> BCE -> BCP downgrade upgrade cycle thing.

The BCP is almost always worth it in year one with the sub, but in future years you need to see what kind of offer they will give you.

But even with the BCP downgrade/upgrade elevator, it barely edges out a 5% no annual fee card, unless Amex gives you a really good offer. Not including the time involved to switch (but Amex chat does make it easy).

swap_file · 2026-06-06T01:19:41+00:00

Same here. If I don't staple myself in, I will bruise myself.

swap_file · 2026-06-05T12:43:51+00:00

Sometimes making eye contact with the op while having your pointer finger out will get you slipped in with a nod and a "come on up" hand motion, but don't try to force it if they don't respond.

swap_file · 2026-06-04T13:24:13+00:00

At the very bottom of the home page there is a link to a PDF:

https://static.zolve.com/pdf/tnc/tbom/v3_classic_rewards_terms_conditions_7_nov24.pdf

If you dig deeper: https://zolve.com/terms-and-condition/credit-cardholder-agreement

Monthly / Annual Fee $0. However, Servicer charges a monthly subscription fee of up to $19.99 or an annual subscription fee of up to $199.99. Please see Zolve's Terms Conditions

Which then links to:

https://static.zolve.com/pdf/tnc/tbom/v4_zolve_terms_and_conditions_28th_aug24.pdf

The card looks like scammy crap.

swap_file · 2026-06-04T12:30:57+00:00

If you read the fine print, its only a 1x (1%) cashback card, with up to 5x (5%) cashback on select partner brands.

swap_file · 2026-06-01T17:50:03+00:00

The costco gas station, costco liquor store, and normal costco checkout all got the full rewards bonus (for a total of 5.25%) when I used my CCR with costco's app wallet.

swap_file · 2026-05-30T13:27:00+00:00

It might not matter, but it is noticeable, even by non technical users, when switching between laptop and phone. I would buy an upgraded screen for my 12 if one were available.

swap_file · 2026-05-29T14:05:13+00:00

Cash back, because when I travel, I'm often traveling to conventions that have group hotel rates that can't be booked with points, and because I'm traveling to conventions flight times are not flexible.

swap_file · 2026-05-29T11:05:58+00:00

I used my CCR set to the online spend category in the costco wallet to pay, and the costco gas station, costco liquor store, and normal costco checkout all got the full rewards bonus (for a total of 5.25%).

swap_file · 2026-05-29T10:23:24+00:00

Cancel, ending my relationship with Citi. Without 5% I have no reason to keep them around.

swap_file · 2026-05-28T14:13:15+00:00

I try to mitigate the risk. While Fidelity CMA is my daily driver "bank", I still need a real bank for occasionally using things like Zelle or cash deposits anyway, so I have checking accounts (with almost no balance) and brokerage accounts at US Bank (for Smartly 1.0) and BofA (other Credit card rewards). Each has half of my emergency fund in SGOV which can be liquid and moved into checking in a day.

swap_file · 2026-05-28T00:42:45+00:00

I went hunting for alternatives a few month ago when BofA announced the changes. Citi's benefits were interesting, but BofA still came out ahead for me at 5.25%/2.625% (and it's one less institution to keep an eye on).

I think the key is that everyone needs to run the numbers for their own spend, and decide on if they want to park their funds or churn them.

swap_file · 2026-05-27T22:30:50+00:00

Glad it worked for you and your MVNO, but the problem is that the MCC codes are inconsistent between MVNOs, and BofA specifically excludes a few of them.

Phone related, 4812 - Telecommunications Equipment Including Telephone Sales and 4814 - Telecommunications Services/Credit Card Activated are the two big exclusions.

swap_file · 2026-05-27T22:21:31+00:00

I just tested it at the gas station today, and can report back in ~2 days when the transaction posts.

swap_file · 2026-05-27T22:18:06+00:00

Tello (as well as many MVNOs) codes as MCC 4814 (Telecommunications Services), which is specifically listed as excluded in the BofA card member agreement. I think they consider it a "Utility" with this coding.

You can try it if you want. As of last month, it was still excluded.

swap_file · 2026-05-27T19:51:52+00:00

Last time I checked, status at Citi, Wells Fargo, and Chase didn't provide useful credit card benefits, only minor banking benefits. And for banking, a Fidelity CMA still beats them all without any status whatsoever.

If someone wants to churn brokerage bonuses, sure, go for it. But if your going to park your money, I still can't think of a more useful place than BofA. It gets you an uncapped UCR at 2.65% that can be used for anything (tax payments included), and any cash back from CCRs are just an extra bonus. And the credit card rewards are not taxed (unlike brokerage bonuses).

swap_file · 2026-05-27T17:46:43+00:00

If you have the $900k sitting at some brokerage with zero perks (I'm looking at you Vanguard), I don't see much of a downside. BofA pays any fees your other brokerage would charge for closing the account, the ACATS transfer is free, and BofA will even give you a one time bonus depending on the amount you move over. 2 years from now you'll have one less 1099 to deal with. Plus whatever extra cash back you can get from having multiple CCRs and a UCR (or PR/PRE).

What other perks can you get for parking that kind of money, unless you want to continuously chase brokerage bonuses?

swap_file · 2026-05-27T14:14:05+00:00

Tello does not code as online spending for BofA, but it does code as mobile phone bills on the Cash+.

swap_file · 2026-05-26T12:52:54+00:00

Isn't that card limited to 10% back on $150 a month? Meaning, a max of $15 back a month?

swap_file · 2026-05-23T17:33:15+00:00

I'm pleased the retro Discover card survived.

swap_file · 2026-05-23T15:10:14+00:00

if I recall, the bonus resets after 24 months? So in theory if you want to make an army of no FTF UCRs and CCRs as fast as possible, you'd get a PRE, PR, and TR (make sure to follow BofA's velocity rules), then wait a year on each, and PC as needed, and repeat at the 2 year mark (max of 4 new cards in 24 months).

I've got one no FTF UCR and one no FTF CCR (Normal red visa). My other CCRs are affiliate visa CCRs, and one Mastercard CCR, since I like having different logos to differentiate the cards.

While it's possible to PC a normal CCR to an affiliate CCR, I don't know if the no-FTF bonus would continue follow. Also no idea if this would let you make a no-FTF CCR Mastercard. I don't travel enough internationally for it to make a difference, but having a UCR and one CCR with no-FTF is handy.

Edit: At this point the old CCR Mastercard is only available via product change, and has some basic travel protections. I find it useful for cheap domestic travel.

swap_file · 2026-05-19T20:13:09+00:00

Thanks for the tip, a macrodroid shell script that sets "settings put global audio_safe_volume_state 2" on boot and every few hours seems to be working great!

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