Thread: Can I convert/change a Bank of America credit card?

I have a BankAmericard Platinum Plus Visa, $13k limit 0% intro for 15 months.

I opened it to make a $5k purchase & pay it off with no interest.

However the card has no rewards...is it possible to convert the card in the future to something like the BankAmericard Cash Rewards? I spend $1000-1200/month on gas & would love the 3% cash back.

After searching I found nothing, so this is my first post!

Bank of America is very good about product changes. I have two BofA cards and each has been either automatically PC'ed by BofA or they sent me offers for a PC:

BofA Visa Gold automatically upgraded to Visa Signature with World Points and then offered Cash Rewards (accepted).

BofA Visa Signature with World Points offered upgrade to Accelerated Cash Rewards Amex (accepted).

If they don't already automatically change your rewards or offer a PC, you can easily call or email them via online account management to request one. Just know that any PC done with BofA usually involves an account number change and it takes up to a month for the full PC to take place. BofA PC's do NOT result in a new tradeline-but they usually do involve a new account number.

As cashback stated above, the PenFed Platinum Cash Reward card offers 5% cash back on gasoline and there are no caps on the rewards but only 0.25% on all other purchases. I am not 100% sure, but I believe that the cash back is automatically credited to the account balance on a monthly basis-or at least that is how it used to work. For me, I want a check/gift card or an automatic deposit to checking to use as I want. PenFed is also notoriously difficult to be approved.

*Caveat: keep in mind that the BankAmericard Cash Reward card caps gas and groceries at $1,500 per quarter-and that is COMBINED (2% groceries and 3% gas up to $1,500 per quarter, not $1,500 gas and $1,500 groceries). So with that much gas you would max out at 3% after 1.5 months each quarter and then only earn 1% for the remaining quarter. There is a 10% bonus if you redeem your cash reward into a BofA checking account.

Thanks guys, that is exactly what I was looking for.

Update: Called to request a PC, CSR wouldn't convert it to Cash Rewards.

However, what she ended up doing is taking the non-rewards cards limit from $13k to $11.5k & opening a new Bank Americard Cash Rewards card with 1.5k limit. So I'll use the Cash Rewards 1.5k purely for gas.

I'm not thrilled about the limit going down on the original card, but I will like the rewards on the new card...at least until I can get my hands on a PenFed.

What are your thoughts on my solution?

Frankly, I'm surprised at their "solution" for two reasons. First, I converted my old BofA World MasterCard (which originally had been the same Platinum Plus MasterCard when I open it in 2008) just last week after calling and asking if they had a better product. I should be receiving the BankAmericard Cash Rewards card any day now. Not only was the process easy but I also asked for a CLI and got that thrown in too!

But honestly, why bother granting you a new card with a small limit while reducing your old card by the same amount? What difference does that make? As had been stated above, the rewards system is capped anyway so you couldn't use all $13K to max your rewards to an unreasonable amount. I appreciate the agent for creative thinking but there is no reason for splitting their relationship with you into two products unless you explicitly wanted that. Weird!

Originally Posted by F1098

Update: Called to request a PC, CSR wouldn't convert it to Cash Rewards.

However, what she ended up doing is taking the non-rewards cards limit from $13k to $11.5k & opening a new Bank Americard Cash Rewards card with 1.5k limit. So I'll use the Cash Rewards 1.5k purely for gas.

I'm not thrilled about the limit going down on the original card, but I will like the rewards on the new card...at least until I can get my hands on a PenFed.

What are your thoughts on my solution?

Okay....this is their solution? Open a new tradeline with a toy credit line and a lower AAoA? Did they give you a reason for not offering a PC? Is it because your account was not yet one year old?

Good grief...

Yes, it was because I just opened the card in Sept. I still have 0% intro APR til Dec2012.