AGR Credit Card change (October 2022)

[TinCan782]

I'm wondering if the 12 PM is a mistake - that's an odd time to start. Could it be 12 AM? That's the start of a new date.

Good point. You know, 12 PM, as in noon, could create problems, in addition to confustion.

 

[Bonser]

Good point. You know, 12 PM, as in noon, could create problems, in addition to confustion.

Leave it to Amtrak to be 12 hours late!!!

 

[jebr]

Ok, who wants to Twitter them with our questions about points earnings between now and Oct 23rd?

twitter.com/FNBO

Wouldn't it be the responsibility of BoA (or Amtrak) to post any points on the BoA card? The question would likely be better answered by one of them.

 

[NorthShore]

I'm wondering if the 12 PM is a mistake - that's an odd time to start. Could it be 12 AM? That's the start of a new date.

What they're saying is, "No free lunch!"

 

[jacorbett70]

A brief AGR CC history from my perspective:

MBNA America (I joined in 2001) had the AGR card to the beginning of 2006.
January 2006- Bank of America bought out MBNA, AGR program continues.
May 2007-BOA program terminated, existing card becomes a BOA WorldPoints Mastercard
Late 2007-Chase issues new AGR Mastercard, application is required for this card.
Sept 2015-Chase terminates AGR program, existing Mastercard becomes a Chase Freedom VISA card.
Sept 2015-BOA becomes new bank and issues AGR Mastercards (Platinum with no annual fee, or World with $79 annual fee and up to 4000 TQPs for spending). Application is required for this card.
Sept 2022-BOA relationship with AGR ends.
Oct 2022- First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) will take up the credit card program, existing accounts will be transferred.

 

[TheVig]

Leave it to Amtrak to be 12 hours late!!!

Center of Excellence

 

[John Bredin]

I didn't see anything in FNBO's FAQ (linked earlier) that addressed what BofA is doing with the old credit cards. No reapplying, as you say: FNBO's new cards will be sent in October and won't kick in (once activated) until noon Central on October 23, and the BofA card will work (and presumably earn Amtrak points) until then.

Clearly one's BofA AGR card won't be an AGR card at 12:01 p.m. CT 10/23/22. But will it continue as a non-AGR card or just close? I presume FNBO didn't answer that because that's not FNBO's problem.

To follow up on my own post, I called BofA to ask if my BofA AGR card would become a non-AGR card after 10/23 or would close.

The first person I spoke with said the former, and that I would still have the $79 annual fee on the new BofA card. Well, I don't mind the now-$99 annual fee for an AGR card that I'll use daily, but I want my backup card(s) to be fee-free. So that operator said she'd transfer me to sales to pick a new card with no fee.

The second person said that there would NOT automatically be a replacement non-AGR BofA card after 10/23. The account was being transferred from BofA to FNBO and I would still have only one card (FNBO AGR) after 10/23, not two.

I'm going to presume the second person was further up the customer-service ladder and go with his answer. It has the virtue of being consistent with the FNBO FAQ: use the BofA card until 10/23 and the FNBO card after.

 

[Joe]

My BofA AGR world card monthly statement ended today, 9-5-22. I will log back in to see what my payment should be in about 4 or 5 days which would be due 10-5-22. I should then see if they close my card or keep it open. I'll keep everyone informed.

Well I got the same letter today that others did, so no new information than what others have said. It did say to keep using the current AGR card until 10-23-22 so I assume it will still earn points until then.

 

[jcastallack]

I wonder what happens for cardholders who close their account between now and 10/23? I was planning to close my World account to get the fee refund. but I haven't made up my mind whether to do it before my closing date of 9/19 or after. Maybe if I do it after the closing date, BofA will say, "Sorry, we said we'd refund your fee, but we can't because we've given it to new bank." Or maybe they will refund it, and I'll get first year free with the new bank.

This is my question as well. BoA's annual fee notice to me this week says it will "bill on your October statement." According to Amtrak I am supposed to hang on until my account is transferred to the new bank but there's no guarantee I'd get my fee back if I do that.

 

[TinCan782]

The second person said that there would NOT automatically be a replacement non-AGR BofA card after 10/23. The account was being transferred from BofA to FNBO and I would still have only one card (FNBO AGR) after 10/23, not two.

I'm going to presume the second person was further up the customer-service ladder and go with his answer. It has the virtue of being consistent with the FNBO FAQ: use the BofA card until 10/23 and the FNBO card after.

I get the impression that current balance and all will be transferred over to the new account.

 

[PaTrainFan]

Leave it to Amtrak to be 12 hours late!!!

Most likely all that documentation was handled by the new bank.

 

[John Bredin]

This is my question as well. BoA's annual fee notice to me this week says it will "bill on your October statement." According to Amtrak I am supposed to hang on until my account is transferred to the new bank but there's no guarantee I'd get my fee back if I do that.

The BofA fee notice also says (on p. 2):
"We will credit your account for the Annual Fee if you close your account by calling us at 1.888.704.9515 (open 24 hours a day) within 30 days of the mailing of the statement on which your Annual Fee is billed."

Although that doesn't resolve the confusion, because most people wouldn't want to close their account before Oct. 23: they'd definitely have no AGR credit card until FNBO kicks in, and possibly would end up with no AGR credit card if a closed BofA account doesn't carry over to FNBO.

I would hope that by October BofA would either NOT bill the $79 on its last bill or would have a procedure for waiving the fee without closing the account prematurely.

 

[Chatuchak678]

Some big questions regarding the new card:

- Is the annual fee card still a World Mastercard? Will we lose like Lyft and other World MC benefits?
- are the cards even contactless?
- 5% points rebate is missing?
- What’s wrong with the graphic design team?

 

[Railfan1983]

That's what I'm wondering too. Like BoA will send over the last points we earn through our Sept statements, and MAYBE FNBO will give us points that we earn in Sept/Oct??

Everything up to October 23 will simply be handed over to the new bank. AGR handles the points, not the bank, the bank will report your spending and AGR will apply the appropriate points. The new bank will handle the points reporting after October 23. You will not in essence get double points. So Bank of America will report your spending until the October 23 and AGR will credit the appropriate points, then after 12pm the new bank will begin reporting your spending to AGR.

 

[Bonser]

Everything up to October 23 will simply be handed over to the new bank. AGR handles the points, not the bank, the bank will report your spending and AGR will apply the appropriate points. The new bank will handle the points reporting after October 23. You will not in essence get double points. So Bank of America will report your spending until the October 23 and AGR will credit the appropriate points, then after 12pm the new bank will begin reporting your spending to AGR.

That was clear and concise. Thank you

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Side by side comparison
No-Fee card on left, fee card on right

 

[TEREB]

My $79 was charged in May. Will I then be charged $99 in October?

 

[AmtrakBlue]

My $79 was charged in May. Will I then be charged $99 in October?

Just a guess - they’ll either wait till next May to bill the $99 or they’ll bill you $20 (or prorated amount)

 

[TEREB]

Just a guess - they’ll either wait till next May to bill the $99 or they’ll bill you $20 (or prorated amount)

I hope so. Both are fair. Either way I’ll still pay the $99 whether they charge it now or later.
I’ll be paying off 3 cruises between November and January. Can’t beat double points for travel.

 

[plane2train]

The accrual rate on these cards is still subpar vs other card programs that give you 3x points on dining and travel, for example. The top-tier cards offer even more. I do wonder if AGR/FNBO should offer a top-tier card in the $300 range that offers a better accrual rate, a few free upgrades a year and unlimited access to lounges, as many airlines offer such a tier.

 

[jebr]

The accrual rate on these cards is still subpar vs other card programs that give you 3x points on dining and travel, for example. The top-tier cards offer even more. I do wonder if AGR/FNBO should offer a top-tier card in the $300 range that offers a better accrual rate, a few free upgrades a year and unlimited access to lounges, as many airlines offer such a tier.

None of the cobrand cards for the 4 largest US airlines (Delta, United, AA, and Southwest) offer a non-airline bonus category that earns higher than 2x, at least when I took a quick look today (including checking both banks that offer AA cards.) There are some credit cards that earn 3x or higher on select spend categories that can be transferred into specific airlines, but those don't offer any real airline-specific benefits. Amtrak's offering seems to be firmly in line with what airlines offer on their cobranded cards.

It would be nice to see one that had an unlimited lounge pass as part of it, though maybe Amtrak's worried about that being abused (either by someone who commutes on Amtrak daily or by people buying refundable tickets, getting into the lounge, and then cancelling the ticket.) I don't think it'd wind up being that big of a deal (a daily commuter probably gets up to Select+ already, and a competent IT system should be able to pick up someone cancelling tickets frequently after entering a lounge.)

 

[plane2train]

None of the cobrand cards for the 4 largest US airlines (Delta, United, AA, and Southwest) offer a non-airline bonus category that earns higher than 2x, at least when I took a quick look today (including checking both banks that offer AA cards.) There are some credit cards that earn 3x or higher on select spend categories that can be transferred into specific airlines, but those don't offer any real airline-specific benefits. Amtrak's offering seems to be firmly in line with what airlines offer on their cobranded cards.

It would be nice to see one that had an unlimited lounge pass as part of it, though maybe Amtrak's worried about that being abused (either by someone who commutes on Amtrak daily or by people buying refundable tickets, getting into the lounge, and then cancelling the ticket.) I don't think it'd wind up being that big of a deal (a daily commuter probably gets up to Select+ already, and a competent IT system should be able to pick up someone cancelling tickets frequently after entering a lounge.)

I was referring to bank cards earning 3x points that you can then transfer to the carrier of your choice or use for other travel or cash back. Amtrak competes against all cards in that regard and not just those that are carrier-specific. I think that giving people unlimited lounge access would definitely require that a ticket for same-day travel/arrival be purchased, since you can simply walk into an Amtrak lounge within having been through security.

 

[Trollopian]

Very wonky concern...but I wonder what effect this'll have on AGR cardholders' FICO (credit) scores? One major factor in the score is age or duration of account. Having owned a card for a long time and paid it faithfully is a plus; opening a new account is a minus, as is closing a longstanding account. If the new Bank of Omaha card is treated as a continuation of the old, good. Ditto whatever non-branded Mastercard BoA may switch us to. Otherwise, this seems like an unfair hit that might affect holders' mortgage quotes, insurance premiums, rental applications, all kinds of things that probably shouldn't use FICO scores but do.

 

[plane2train]

Most transfer partners have devalued their points so much that it's no longer worth converting using the standard Chase ratio. I assume they do this in response to manufactured spending and aggressive churn but it's become a vicious cycle that no longer rewards actual travel. These days I mainly transfer to Hyatt since US hotels are excessively priced and everything else makes my points seem worthless.

The exception to this is business class travel. When transferring Chase points, you can often get 5-6x the 1:1 ratio on those tickets. However, that wouldn’t have much value if you only travel domestically.

 

[TinCan782]

Good point. You know, 12 PM, as in noon, could create problems, in addition to confustion.

To add to the confusion, that is 12:00 Central Time. That means 10 AM for me!
How many will miss that?