| Sorry, this deal is no longer available. Do you want to be alerted about new deals as they’re published? Click here to subscribe to Frequent Miler's Instant Posts by email. |
Yesterday I learned from a source that the Merrill+ Visa Signature Card will be discontinued in “mid September”. This means that we expect the following to be true at some point in September:
- The card will no longer be available to new applicants
- Existing customers will keep the card until further notice
Is it worth signing up for this card before it’s gone?
As I reported before, this card is great for it’s signup bonus. The card also offers some perks with big spend, but I argued that you can do better with big spend on other cards. See: $1000 worth of airfare? Sure. $50K spend? Maybe not.
As a reminder, the signup bonus is for 50,000 points after $3K spend. 50,000 points can be used to get $500 in statement credits or up to two $500 flights. Either way it’s a good deal.
So, yes, if you can get approved and meet the spend requirement, this card is worth getting.
General Card Info
- Annual fee: $0
- Foreign Transaction Fee: $0
- Point earning rate: 1 point per dollar
- Point value: 1 point = 1 cent when redeemed for statement credits. 1 point = up to 2 cents when redeemed for flights.
- Cardholders can earn a $200 travel credit or Delta SkyClub membership after $50K in spend per year.
Up to 2 cents per point value towards flights
When redeeming points for flights, Merrill+ charges 25,000 points for any flight worth up to $500. If you purchase two tickets, they’ll charge 50,000 points. According to Doctor of Credit, If your ticket price is more than $500, Merrill+ will charge you 1 additional point for each penny above $500. That means that you can theoretically get 2 cents per point value by buying tickets worth exactly $500, but if you veer far from $500 in either direction, your point value will plummet.
How to maximize value
Miles Per Day details a trick that can be used to get the full 2 cents per point value from the 50,000 points signup bonus. Details here: Maximizing the Merrill + card 50,000 point signon bonus.
How to apply
The Merrill+ card is available only by phone. You can apply as follows:
- Call 866-751-1257
- Use application code: BAABZX
A disclosure agreement for this offer (which includes signup bonus info) can be found here.
Summary
The Merrill+ Visa Signature Card’s 50K signup offer is excellent. It’s well worth getting if you can handle the $3K spend requirement. After that, though, I recommend sticking the card in a drawer. There are many better options for ongoing spend.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Greg, I hope you get this message on an old subject.
I still have the card in my sock drawer, but I still have 53,000 points from spending $3000 originally.
I had forgotten about this until now and things have changed.
1) They now include Southwest
2) Southwest has changed dramatically regarding cancellations – where one can hold a credit basically forever.
I I were to do the old FlexPerks trick where I wait 24 hours before cancelling a reservation, Southwest will just allow me to save the funds in my account for future use. This would make it much more flexible and I’d get $1060 in credits if I pick the right flights.
How would I get my Southwest account number on the reservation?. .
4:10 EST-9/19/17-Just tried to apply but was told it is no longer available.
Just applied right now. 6pm pst. Froze experian. Went pending. Will report back tomorrow.
[…] If you’re interested in this card, make your move before it’s too late. See our post Last call for Merrill+ $1,000 in airfare for more information on this valuable […]
Applied this morning, froze Experian report beforehand, went pending, will report back, but should be easy approval. (I hope)
9-18-2017 8:30am EST applications still being accepted.
[…] Last call for Merrill+ $1,000 in airfare […]
Is it still time to apply? Please advise? Thank you.
DP: I applied on 9/4, went to pending (I had frozen Experian). Talked with them on 9/7 and the card was approved. They said I’d receive it in 7-10 business days and I asked if it could be expedited – the guy immediately said that was possible and that it would arrive the next day. Received it, as planned, via UPS on 9/8. I have no BoA cards and they pulled both TU and Equifax, even though when he asked about my Experian being frozen I asked him to pull Equifax (has the fewest pulls at 5 while the others have 10 or 11).
I tried calling today but the code is not valid anymore. Was anyone able to apply now.
I applied today – went to pending.
I did not provide a code, just told the rep to find the promotion.
She was able to locate the promotion.
I applied today with the code and it went through fine. Pending though but at least it went through.
Called Recon today and got approved. But was charged the $15 expedite fee.
Guess who was approved in error AGAIN!! This time they told me 2 cards was sufficient with them and $10K credit was the most i could have. They also told me they like to see no more than 5 inquiries for this card. I fought through but could not win this one, they had an excuse for every solution i brought up to open the card. I think i’m done with BoA, it sucks that my oldest card is with them.
[…] Last call for Merrill+ $1,000 in airfare: Word on the street is that this card will disappear in mid-September. No word as to exactly when — but not much longer to go on this offer. […]
[…] will be discontinued for new applications on September 18th or 19th. This is consistent with what Frequentmiler was told that it’ll end […]
[…] appears it is last call for the Merrill+ Visa Signature card. Good bonus for a card to kill afterwards you redeem the 50,000 […]
Any idea on if the rewards will expire? I don’t have any travel plans but don’t want to lose my 60000 points
I don’t think there’s any real chance of that. My guess is that worst case they’ll make you cash out at 1 cent per point if/when they stop allowing flight redemptions.
I got a Merrrill Card for both my wife and myself in January. I now have 3 B of A cards and plan to get a New Travel Rewards (Prime or whatever they call it) because I qualify for the 2.625 every day spend rebate and the 3.5 travel and dining rebate. I don’t really like trying to get the best deal for converting points etc so I like the cash back rates on this card.
I just wondered if there was any downside to closing my Merrill Cards. I have already had the 1000 dollars between the 2 cards transferred to my bank account and have no balance.
I read above that B of A may not like a person to have 3 or 4 credits, so that sparked this question.
Once you’ve redeemed the points I can’t think of any downside to cancelling
Will it be asking too much for one of you guys to call BoA to confirm the card was approved not in error? I only ask because it takes a week or so for it to come.