AGR Credit Card change (October 2022)

[user 13416]

I guess I am a contrarian. I don't use my bank's bill pay except for my local water district which charges for electronic payment through them. I pay on the creditors' sites as "pulls", not bill pay "pushes". That does two things, it takes a day or two extra for them to do the ACH transfer even though my account is credited immediately, so the money stays in my account that much longer, and I have a receipt from the creditor that they received an on time payment.

Even though the money staying in my account a bit longer really does nothing for me, I just prefer to deny institutions "free" use of my money.

My credit union's bill pay does not debit my account immediately. The money stays in my account until the transfer actually occurs 2 banking days later.

 

[PRR 60]

They also don’t allow transaction downloads (eg: Quicken) of posted/cleared transactions until the end of the statement cycle. So now it appears I will have to manually clear my transactions after they post.

I was able to add the FNBO account to Quicken One-Step update via Express Web Connect with no issues.

 

[TheVig]

The small test payments I pushed from BofA and Wells Fargo have cleared.

Anytime I set up new accounts, I like to push a small payment, just to make sure I entered everything correctly on my end. If a couple of bucks disappears into oblivion, I’m not in a panic. OCD piece of mind thing I guess.

 

[Barb Stout]

My first attempt at using the new credit card failed (it was rejected), but I tried twice again without investigating why the first one failed. The next 2 succeeded, although while the 3rd attempt (which was at Walgreens) was accepted as payment, the system did not allow it to be registered for Walgreen's "Express payment" which is fine by me. The first failed attempt was at a gas station and I have had some trouble at gas stations pay-at-the-pump in general with occasional credit card rejection. It remains a mystery to me why sometimes credit cards are rejected by gas stations pay-at-the-pump.

 

[Railroad Bill]

My wife used hers a couple times at Arbys, drug store, etc. But when she tried our local gas station, it rejected it. Has worked everywhere else. I used my card at that same gas station and it was fine. Go figure!

 

[AmtrakBlue]

My wife used hers a couple times at Arbys, drug store, etc. But when she tried our local gas station, it rejected it. Has worked everywhere else. I used my card at that same gas station and it was fine. Go figure!

My preferred gas station has an app for paying at the pump, which I had never used until someone told me about their promo of 15 cents off per gallon. So, of course, I've been using it (I think the promo ends this weekend...need to check). Anyway, I updated the cc card info on the app and had no trouble using it.

 

[City of Miami]

I'm taking a leaf peeping joy ride tomorrow to Roanoke and back to CVS. The Amtrak app just accepted new cc payment.

 

[Exvalley]

I activated my card on the 25th.

I got an email today saying that I should activate my card.

Hmm... I better use it to make sure that it is actually activated.

 

[UhClem]

My cards are activated, yet I got an email as well.

 

[Bob Dylan]

My cards are activated, yet I got an email as well.

Have you used them yet??

I was charged a 3.2% Credit Card Fee today @ Lunch when I used my New Card( the No Fee One). Needless to say I won't be going to that joint again!

 

[TinCan782]

Have you used them yet??

I was charged a 3.2% Credit Card Fee today @ Lunch when I used my New Card( the No Fee One). Needless to say I won't be going to that joint again!

There are still some places that do that! Some places will turn that around and give you a 3% "discount" for using cash!

 

[SunnydayRE]

Sorry if this is a duplicate question. Will I retain my Amtrak points if I cancel this card? I tried asking the FNBO rep but he didn’t know. Thanks in advance.

 

[TinCan782]

Sorry if this is a duplicate question. Will I retain my Amtrak points if I cancel this card? I tried asking the FNBO rep but he didn’t know. Thanks in advance.

Any points you have are in your AGR account, NOT any credit card. Yes, your AGR points will be fine.
The credit card is only a means to earn points.

 

[SunnydayRE]

Any points you have are in your AGR account, NOT any credit card. Yes, your AGR points will be fine.
The credit card is only a means to earn points.

Thanks so much.

 

[Brian Battuello]

FWIW, our family had two BofA Amtrak cards, obtained some time ago for the points. We decided to cancel her card when we first got the FBNO notice, to simplify things. We still both received cards. I was able to activate mine easily, and hers turned up as invalid, so just cut it up and tossed it.

I was able to set up my FBNO account, and was very pleased to see that they carried over a lot of transaction history. Nice touch. Webpage seemed easy to use. Onward!

 

[JayPea]

With one minor detail, so far so good with FNBO. I have changed over all my online accounts to the new card and all is working smoothly. I also opted for notifications if the card was used on an online transaction and that part is working smoothly too. I received a notice--from BOA-that my internet/landline/DirecTv bill had been been paid....on Monday, after the deadline. Only thing I could figure is that they made the transaction just prior to the 12PM deadline on Sunday. It didn't show up in the FNBO summary right away, but finally did a few days later. The one minor problem is that there seems to be a bit of a problem with the chip as I keep getting chip malfunction messages when I try to use a chip reader. No real problem as I can tap it instead, but hope it doesn't become a real issue. I did notice a bit of gunk on the chip and cleaned that off, so will find out if that makes a difference.

 

[NorthShore]

Thanks so much.

That said, it should probably be noted that one can (eventually) lose all your AGR points for lack of "activity." Use of the credit card ensures constant activity to the connected AGR account. If one fails to earn or spend points within (two years, is it?) by other activities such as purchasing tickets to ride Amtrak, or buying things through the shopping portal, than any earned points can, ultimately, be forfeited.

 

[Joe from PA]

While on our local (SEPTA) train, going to the Amtrak station 2 days ago, there was a poster saying "get 20,000 points for getting the Amtrak card". The picture was the new blue card, but no mention of the new bank.

 

[Brian Battuello]

And on the Amtrak app:

 

[joelkfla]

I applied for the Preferred card online today. Instead of getting an answer, it said I would be notified in 2-3 weeks. A few hours later, I got an email saying I was declined, and the explanation would be mailed in 2-3 weeks.

First time I've ever been turned down for a card that I can remember. My credit score is well above 800. I'm guessing it's either because they don't like my income level from Social Security, or it's because my credit report on one of the credit bureaus is frozen. I was able to lift the freeze on 2 of the bureaus, but Experian changed their system for handling freezes, and they won't let me lift it until I phone to verify my identity, which they won't be open for until Monday.

 

[JayPea]

With one minor detail, so far so good with FNBO. I have changed over all my online accounts to the new card and all is working smoothly. I also opted for notifications if the card was used on an online transaction and that part is working smoothly too. I received a notice--from BOA-that my internet/landline/DirecTv bill had been been paid....on Monday, after the deadline. Only thing I could figure is that they made the transaction just prior to the 12PM deadline on Sunday. It didn't show up in the FNBO summary right away, but finally did a few days later. The one minor problem is that there seems to be a bit of a problem with the chip as I keep getting chip malfunction messages when I try to use a chip reader. No real problem as I can tap it instead, but hope it doesn't become a real issue. I did notice a bit of gunk on the chip and cleaned that off, so will find out if that makes a difference.

All's well. I used the card in a few places Friday and a couple today and the the various chip readers were able to read the chip so it must have been the bit of gunk on the chip that was the problem.

 

[TheVig]

I applied for the Preferred card online today. Instead of getting an answer, it said I would be notified in 2-3 weeks. A few hours later, I got an email saying I was declined, and the explanation would be mailed in 2-3 weeks.

First time I've ever been turned down for a card that I can remember. My credit score is well above 800. I'm guessing it's either because they don't like my income level from Social Security, or it's because my credit report on one of the credit bureaus is frozen. I was able to lift the freeze on 2 of the bureaus, but Experian changed their system for handling freezes, and they won't let me lift it until I phone to verify my identity, which they won't be open for until Monday.

I've been a FNBO customer since 2015. They like to pull all three, not just one or two. Most likely the frozen bureau is what did it.

 

[joelkfla]

I've been a FNBO customer since 2015. They like to pull all three, not just one or two. Most likely the frozen bureau is what did it.

Thanks. I'll try to get it lifted on Monday, and then call FNBO's general credit card number to see if they'll review it without waiting for the snail mail to get here.

 

[Trollopian]

From my standpoint the transition has been seamless and well-handled by FNBO. Not so much by BofA, but whaddya expect. I activated my card last Sunday afternoon soon after the switchover (I wish I could've done it online, but it didn't kill me to call a 1-800 number). A few uses since then, both in-person and online, have been glitch-free. I signed up for autopay from my bank account and it was far, far easier than with BofA. FNBO was very clear that autopay will take effect on the next billing cycle which is fine; I'll pay my upcoming bill directly. I also signed up for text alerts when the card is used, an anti-fraud precaution. No complaints.

I'm mildly curious to review my next credit report (you're entitled to one free report each year from each of the "Big 3," Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, see Free Credit Reports, and it makes sense to stagger them) to see if the age of the account is 10+ years, when I opened my AGR card at BofA, or just a few weeks/months, when FNBO took it over. That matters because length of account is an element in credit rating. My FICO score took a 15-point dive a few months ago when Citibank closed a longtime card of mine for lack of use. The nerve.

 

[StanJazz]

From my standpoint the transition has been seamless and well-handled by FNBO. Not so much by BofA, but whaddya expect. I activated my card last Sunday afternoon soon after the switchover (I wish I could've done it online, but it didn't kill me to call a 1-800 number). A few uses since then, both in-person and online, have been glitch-free. I signed up for autopay from my bank account and it was far, far easier than with BofA. FNBO was very clear that autopay will take effect on the next billing cycle which is fine; I'll pay my upcoming bill directly. I also signed up for text alerts when the card is used, an anti-fraud precaution. No complaints.

I'm mildly curious to review my next credit report (you're entitled to one free report each year from each of the "Big 3," Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, see Free Credit Reports, and it makes sense to stagger them) to see if the age of the account is 10+ years, when I opened my AGR card at BofA, or just a few weeks/months, when FNBO took it over. That matters because length of account is an element in credit rating. My FICO score took a 15-point dive a few months ago when Citibank closed a longtime card of mine for lack of use. The nerve.

My Transunion report shows that my FNBO Amtrak card was opened 10/1/2015 which matches my 1st BOA statement. My last Chase Amtrak statement was 9/2015. So, the BOA card was only 7 years old.