I have a “Financial Rewards” VISA card through Bank of America (BofA). I have it through them since, at the time, they were the only ones who seemed to be offering such.
In past dealings with BofA, I’ve been put off by what I interpret to be “Nickel and diming” behavior. They seem to have service fees for everything, monthly service fees for your checking account, check writing fees, you name it.
I found it amusing when I received this “Cardholder Thank You” item mixed in with the bits and pieces that accompany my monthly VISA bill.
What was humorous to me was that this advert, in the form of a fake check, and with BofA’s logo displayed prominently at the top, had this to say in its fine print (you’ll need to click to read it):
So, Bank of America is telling me that, even though they are sending me this advertisement in an envelope that is coming from them, with their letterhead on it, as a “Thank You” for being a possesor of their VISA card, that I can take advantage of by including the order form (on the reverse of the fake check) with my VISA payment, they have nothing to do with this offer?
I’m not sure I’m really impressed with a company using its brand to shill for “Gift Services, Inc.” and yet will neither stand by the quality nor service associated with the products.
I… think I’m going to get a new credit card from a company that I would prefer to be associated with. These “cash back” credit cards are becoming much more popular now, and no blackout dates 🙂
**Update June 30, 2006** I tried to find Gift Services, Inc. using Google. I found one company by that name based in Denver, Colorado, but the “Cardholder Thank You” document indicates that this company is using a P.O. Box in Utah. Same outfit? Perhaps.
Hi Marc,
Regarding this Thank You reward certificate, I too get it with my BOA CC statement. And then when I called BOA helpline, they say that they cannot retrieve any information about the certificate. I asked the person what is the concept generally. And she explained that you can order the items, and all the charges are put on yout CC, and along with that you also get enrolled for that thank you program and they have a monthly fees to be a part of this whole concept, and this fees will also be charged on your CC.
The certificate looks so alluring, and one can order for these items ina minute. But after hearing the theory, I was so cautious about all these things. I better do more research and act on it.
Just wanted to let you know more info about this thing.
Thanks for your post.
Thanks for the update Venus.
Whenever I think that Bank of America can’t do anything more to amaze me, well… they do. They are a huge bank with astounding profits just from normal day-to-day business. That’s all well and good. But it’s the constant nickel and diming of their customers that irks me. I’ve closed all my accounts with them except for two credit cards, one rewards card that became progressively harder to extract the rewards from and my AOPA rewards card, the portfolio for which BofA bought and now administer (and have changed to a useless “prizes” card) that I need to cancel too.