I am not a fan of Bank of America by any stretch of the imagination. Any establishment gouging its clients with fees, more fees and then some fees again; where the whole profit notion is based on those fees – that’s motivation enough for me to seek refuge.
The end to my relationship with BofA’s predecessor in Massachusetts, Fleet, came when I had to pay $35 for them to process an incoming funds transfer. They make money off of holding the money, but for just keeping the computer on, I got to pay them for the service. I feel bad for the masses who hate the bank and stay with it for laziness. I am digressing…
I originally had a TWA frequent flyer card issued by MBNA, which after the airline folded became an ‘Elite Rewards’ card. Elite Rewards is a mediocre, but free, program where you earn a point per dollar and then eventually redeem them for gifts and coupons, all at rather silly ratios. Still, it is free and that’s nice. The card also has what I feel is the best feature ever for a credit card: Shopsafe. Shopsafe is a service through which your credit card gets a one-use, limited duration, limited funds credit card number, linked to your real number. This is so brilliant because even if the virtual number is stolen, the damage is limited. In a world experiencing lax security at TJ Maxx where companies still insist on storing your card number for later use (don’t trust them!) – I would rather use a one-time number that will turn invalid immediately. Store that.
MBNA was taken over by Bank of America. Bummer but I would even stick with the devil to keep Shopsafe available.
Even Bank of America saw the utter genius of Shopsafe so they kept it alive, but never cared to drum up the marketing around this unique feature. Moronic. Then, I go to Elite Rewards’ website tonight and find out that despite the fact that I ordered gift cards from them while it was still MBNA at my current address, the only address they have for me is the one from 2000. Elite Rewards is owned by Bank of America. I am a Bank of America customer. They send me bills at the correct address. Better yet, I even get my Elite Rewards statements at my home address. Yet when it comes to giving back to me my rewards, the effort is nil.
I would not mind that if the hideous website would allow you to update your address. Wrong again. You can update your profile. What is profile? Your travel profile. The word profile that you and I use on websites, well, that word does not apply. You just have to call them. Moronic again because call centers are expensive. Oh yeah, they pay for that with the FEES that their customers pay. Right… Even the ‘contact us’ submission is moronic: if you do not have a complaint to report, you cannot submit your request. Oh, and guess what – if you DO have an issue with the delivery of the reward, THAT is where you get to enter your current address.
As the founding member and head moron, I welcome Bank of America’s Elite Rewards to Club Moron.
