I have a Bank of America credit card from many years ago (it was my 2nd card). However the last time it garnered day-to-day usage was at least 5 years ago. Why? Because the World Points program just doesn’t make sense given the unfavorable conversion rates for cash back.

These days I just dust it off once every few months by making a purchase or two, for credit reporting purposes. At the start of April while logging out of the account, this 5x points promotion (worth up to 5% cash back) popped up on the screen…

You can’t request this promotion. Enrollment is targeted. Based on forum feedback, it seems to be offered to those who aren’t using their BofA credit card much (such as myself). But should you bite the bait or not?

My previous experience

For the previous year, I was also solicited with a 5x points offer. However the categories were different; travel, grocery stores, and gas stations. The cap was the same – up to 2,500 points (which equals only $500 in combined spending for these categories).

I enrolled and followed thru by using my card to pay for a hotel room in Yosemite, a couple gas fill-ups driving there, and a grocery run at Whole Paycheck, err I mean Whole Foods. All of these places should have clearly qualified for the 5x categories, right?

Unfortunately not.

As it turns out, Bank of America only counted roughly half of the $600 spent as being eligible. This was quite ridiculous, because I didn’t see anything fishy with the merchant codes/categorizations (they should have qualified).

To make matters worse, the shortchanged points I received were an uphill battle to get. If I recall correctly, they didn’t show up for a couple billing cycles. There were at least two calls to customer service during this ordeal.

Dig it or ditch it?

My vote is a “no” for this year, due to the fact that (a) the cap is still low at $500, and (b) it ended up averaging 2.2x to 2.5x points/dollar for me since many of my purchases were not considered as being eligible.

However, if already have a bunch of World Points saved up then doing this might make sense. Why? Because in order to get 1 cent value per point, you need to redeem 25,000 at a time. If you can meet that threshold, then it’s like having a Bank of America 5% cash back credit card (albeit temporarily).

As you can see from the point conversion chart, it’s probably not going to make sense for most people. Because rather than getting 5% cash back from BofA, after the points dilution on the lower tiers, you may only get half that value (and that’s assuming your purchases are categorized as expected).

When all is said and done, this is an offer that sounds enticing when you first see it, but then you realize it’s far from impressive after dissecting the numbers. Consider these other cards that give high cash back on similar categories:

• Blue Cash Preferred – unlimited 6% cash back at supermarkets
• Freedom – 5% cash back on quarterly categories
• Sapphire Preferred – 2x points on travel and dining (can convert to 2% cash back)

Southwest bought AirTran Airways and is phasing out the brand in 2012. What does that mean for cardholders?

Issued by Barclays, the AirTran credit card came in a couple different versions:

• AirTran Visa w/ fee – $59 annual fee. 2x miles per dollar spent on their airline and 1x elsewhere. The mileage program wasn’t anything special, but a major selling point was that you got two $50 vouchers each year (after the annual fee, you were basically coming out ahead $41 every year).
• AirTran Visa w/o fee – 1x mile per dollar on their airline, 1 mile per $2 dollars everywhere else. Unlike the other credit card, this one didn’t come with the $50 vouchers.

The very weird post-merger predicament

2 airlines + 2 different credit card co’s = 1 airline w/ 1 card?

See the dilemma? Because Chase manages Southwest, the AirTran cards from Barclays will be phased out. So what’s happening to the AirTran Visa accounts? Well that’s where things get interesting…

• If you attempt to cancel your Barclays card, there’s a good chance they will “bribe” you with a lower annual fee and/or other freebies. During 2012 I have heard from many who were given worthwhile incentives for not cancelling… very strange considering the fact that AirTran won’t be around much longer. However, I have also heard from customers who weren’t offered anything when they cancelled.
• If you keep your Barclays AirTran credit card there’s no official word on what will eventually happen to your account. Unless Chase decides to buy the accounts from Barclays last minute (highly unlikely) they will not be transitioned to Southwest. As a result, AirTran cardholders will soon be orphans. My guess is that after the AirTran A+ Rewards program is discontinued, Barclays will convert the accounts over to another rewards card they issue.
• American Express is out of the game. Previously, AirTran was a transfer partner for the AmEx Membership Rewards program, but anymore.

AirTran has a list of FAQs on their site talking about the merger. I’ve picked out the ones most relevant (as of April) and pasted them below for you:

What should you do?

Even though Barclays hasn’t discontinued current accounts, you can no longer apply for an AirTran credit card. The application is gone. So if you were thinking that right before the sunset you could score some free miles by applying, sorry but that’s not going to happen.

If you are a currently an AirTran cardholder and still plan on flying with them (via Southwest) then you should consider applying for the Southwest credit card which is arguably a better deal anyway since (a) you get more opportunities to earn rewards, and (b) unlike AirTran, SW doesn’t charge for your first checked bags.

Q: I’ve had a Juniper credit card for over 10 years (since 2002) but haven’t used it in ages. As far as I know they never cancelled it on me, so I went to the account login page and everything seems prehistoric. Why is it so ugly? Is Juniper Bank still in business?

A: I’ve been asked this question – in some form or fashion – more than once over the years. There’s no denying their login page & account management is about as ugly as a hairless cat…

But there’s actually a [somewhat] rational explanation as to why it’s like that.

You see Juniper Bank was one of the fastest growing credit card companies, ever. Some industry bigwigs started it in 2000 and by 2004, they were issuing millions of co-branded Visa and MasterCards for Apple, Barnes & Noble, and a number of airlines like Midwest and US Airways. That same year, 2004, they sold out to Barclays.

So that means there’s no longer such thing as Juniper Bank cards. Rather, if you have one it has been converted over to Barclays.

Then why is the Juniper sign-on page still up?

Good question. It’s been almost a decade since Barclays acquired Juniper, so obviously plenty of time has passed to transition everything over.

My guess is they just leave the Juniper credit card login up for legacy purposes, in case someone like you has an old card lying around and are not aware it’s been switched over.

Can you still apply for a Juniper card?

Nope. You won’t find a Juniper credit card application anywhere. However you can apply for their successors through Barclaycard’s website – i.e. If you want the Apple store financing card, no you get it through Barclays.

Have all their cards been switched over to Barclays?

To the best of my knowledge, yes. Barclays did take their time in transitioning the account branding over. Up until a couple years ago, some accounts appeared to still be operating with the Juniper name.

But today if you call the customer service number (1-877-523-0478) the greeting now says “Thank you for calling Barclays.”

So if you still have an active account, it would be best to catch up with the times and start logging in through the Barclaycard website instead. Because I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they shutdown the ol’ Juniper site altogether.

What’s a good replacement?

If your card has been inactive for years, there’s a good chance Barclaycard might have cancelled it (contact them to find out). If that happened and you are looking for another good Visa or MasterCard, here are some recommendations to consider:

• Chase Freedom Visa
• Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card
• Marriott Rewards Visa Signature

Would you pay an old debt to get a new credit card?

There’s a good reason why many old credit card accounts are sold off to debt collectors for pennies on the dollar… the chances of successfully collecting on them are quite slim.

However in recent years, a handful of debt collectors have gotten creative with how they get people to pay: offer them a new credit card in exchange for paying the debt. That’s exactly what Genesis Financial Solutions does with their Milestone credit card offer. Sometimes, the debt is reportedly past the statute of limitations.

Who’s behind it?

The Milestone MasterCard is issued by Missouri-based Mid America Bank & Trust Co., which has been around for almost a century (so they’re certainly not a fly-by-night operation).

If you’re looking for the Milestone credit card application you’re not going to find it – this is a targeted offer that is mailed out to people with charged-off debts. Often times, the amounts owed are relatively small (in the hundreds).

Is it a legit offer?

The offer is legitimate but how it’s marketed draws some criticism. Why? Because some people don’t understand they’re signing up for debt repayment.

For example, one member of CreditCardForum received an offer in the mail that if she paid $300, she would be given this credit card. At the time she accepted it, she had no idea that payment was going towards a debt which was past the statute of limitations.

Regardless, she was very happy with the outcome: it allowed her to pay back the debt and get a new MasterCard with a $300 limit.

Once you accept the offer, you have to pay a specified amount:

After paying the required amount, you are left with the credit card to use however you want.

In short, think of it as a balance transfer for bad debt. The prize you get for cooperating is the new card.

Worth it or not?

I would base my decision on these three factors:

1. How much is the debt? Obviously the smaller the amount, the more enticing it is.
2. How bad is your credit? Even if you have horrendous credit, you can still probably qualify for secured credit cards with annual fees of less than $50. So there are other options out there.
3. Does Milestone still report accounts? There have been some rumors buzzing that credit card accounts from the Milestone program are no longer reporting to the credit bureaus. I have not confirmed whether or not that allegation is true.

More than one member of CreditCardForum has accepted this offer. Ultimately if you take them up on this, you are getting something in return for what you should be doing anyway: making good on your bad debt.

You see them all the time in Walmart parking lots, but contrary to popular belief Murphy gas stations are NOT owned by Walmart. They just have a partnership with them for the Murphy USA brand. Elsewhere they have stand-alone stations called Murphy Express but you just don’t see them much.

So how can you save money on their gas? Well here are 3 strategies…

1. Murphy USA credit card

The nice thing about this card is that it’s a Visa, so you can use it at their stations as well as everywhere else. The bad thing about it is that the rewards program has become less valuable as oil prices have risen:

• 4 cents off per gallon at Murphy locations
• 1% cash back on purchases elsewhere

See the problem with this setup? If gas was $2/gallon then 4 cents would equal a 2% rebate. But when gas is $4.00, then 4 cents is the same as getting a 1% rebate. That’s hardly exciting, right?

For this reason the Murphy USA Visa just doesn’t make sense with today’s high gas prices.

They don’t take American Express, but their website says that you can use any Visa, MasterCard, or Discover to pay for fuel. So you would save more with the best gas cards that pay 2-5% (that’s percent, NOT cents!) because they give that regardless of where you fill-up.

2. Murphy gas card is a no-go, but try Walmart

Back in the day they used to give you a 3 cents per gallon discount if you paid using the Murphy gas card, which was a refillable prepaid gift card.

Unfortunately they have ended this. If you have one of these cards you can still use it, but you won’t be able to refill it once the balance runs out. Say goodbye to the 3 cent discount.

However the Walmart gas gift cards qualify – they still do give the 3 cents off per gallon at Murphy USA. Better than nothing, but going back to the math, saving 3 cents on $4 gas is less than 1%.

3. Murphy USA fleet card program (for businesses)

Do you own/operate a business that involves a lot of driving? If so, then their fleet card program might be right up your alley. But you will have to buy a LOT of gas in order to get the maximum rebate possible:

So basically you’re looking at saving 1 to 4 cents per gallon at Murphy locations and 1 to 3 cents per gallon elsewhere. Obviously not a lot, but it still might be a good choice for big fleets. Why? Because small business cards like the Chase Ink typically have a cap on how much fuel spending qualifies for a higher rebate. So if you are buying an astronomical amount, in order to get some sort of a discount the Murphy gas card for fleets might be your only option.

Written or last updated March 2012