Cancelling the fee card?

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George K

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I have both the World (fee) and Platinum (no-fee) cards from BoA. In my situation, using almost exclusively points for travel, the World Card offers very little benefit for me. Also, I have the annual fee to pay.

I got that card in 2016, and about 1 year ago I got the Platinum card.

If I cancel the fee card and keep the Platinum, will I still keep all my AGR points? I have a bucket-load of them and would hate to see them go *poof*!

I called BoA, and they said that AGR curates the points. I called AGR, and they were remarkably unclear.
 
I have both the World (fee) and Platinum (no-fee) cards from BoA. In my situation, using almost exclusively points for travel, the World Card offers very little benefit for me. Also, I have the annual fee to pay.

I got that card in 2016, and about 1 year ago I got the Platinum card.

If I cancel the fee card and keep the Platinum, will I still keep all my AGR points? I have a bucket-load of them and would hate to see them go *poof*!

I called BoA, and they said that AGR curates the points. I called AGR, and they were remarkably unclear.
You're good George!Jeb is correct! Why pay the Fee when Free will do it!

Wheres the next Rail Adventure with the boss to??
 
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I only have a few puny points but still would hate to see them go poof! But of course with my luck my next Amtrak travel will happen 5 days after 24 months since my last travel. I thought I was good when I booked but literally the next day AGR changed its policy. Ha! Joke's on me.

So I opened the no fee card today. Got approved within 5 seconds. I will also do the $1000 in 3 months thing to get that 12000 points.

My question, am I safe for good now?
 
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Just wondering...

I'm going to cancel the fee card next month, after I pay off the balance.

I've had that card since the transition from Chase to BoA (2016).

When can I re-apply and get the 20K point bonus??? The 20K points would be worth the $79, of course!
 
Yes, you would keep any earned points. Assuming that the Platinum card is still tied to your account as well, there shouldn't be any worry about expiration of points either. (If it isn't, I think you have to earn points every three years to keep your points active.)
I believe it is now 24 months of activity if you don't have the CC.
 
So...i have to have the card inactive for 24 months before re-applying, right?
NO! 24 months of AGR INactivity will cause points to start going away if you do not have the AGR card. The credit card just exempts you from that rule. Has nothing to do with re-applying for a new credit card...that is up to BofA.
 
It is unlikely that you would be able to get the exact same bonus again if you apply with the same SSN/credit report. This doesn't prevent your spouse or adult children from obtaining a card and accumulating points in their name that they could use to buy you trips.

I wonder if the fact that you got the bonus from Chase survived the move to BofA.

Fortunately my spouse does a lot of corporate travelling and is allowed to use any card she wants and later expense it. I am more than happy to let her use my Amtrak card. So far she's always paid me back...
 
BofA generally has a 24 month anti churning rule for points. The rules are not global to all of their cards so your going to have to read the fine print to see what the timeframe for churning AGR cards are.
 
NO! 24 months of AGR INactivity will cause points to start going away if you do not have the AGR card. The credit card just exempts you from that rule. Has nothing to do with re-applying for a new credit card...that is up to BofA.
Ah, I think I get it. There's no way that I *won't* have 24 months of AGR inactivity. I have both the World and Platinum cards. I'll keep the Platinum and cancel the World - for 24 months. And I'll keep using the Platinum (no-fee) card.

Does that make sense?
 
I just read that companion coupons will be applicable to roomette accommodations. If that's the case, it might be worth keeping the fee card, assuming that policy will extend to bedrooms in a short while.
 
There are things the fee card offers the free card doesn't as well as higher rewards for spending. Depending on your spending habits the fee card could be advantageous. It is also possible to have two fee cards tied to the same AGR# if you wish.Screenshot_20190526-110154_Dolphin.jpeg
 
I just read that companion coupons will be applicable to roomette accommodations. If that's the case, it might be worth keeping the fee card, assuming that policy will extend to bedrooms in a short while.
The companion coupon only takes off the rail portion when I used mine for that but is worth doing. As far as using with bedrooms I guess anything could be possible but personally I wouldn't look for that to happen.
 
FWIW, I ran the math. If you value AGR points at 2.9 cents (as I do), then the difference in points received between the fee card and the no-fee card covers the $79 annual fee when you spend $2725 on "travel" (whether Amtrak or not) over the course of the year.

Hope that helps with any future calculations.

(P.S. I have had the annoyance that not all of my hotels are properly credited as "travel" on my card, so that's worth watching out for.)
 
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