MyCardBlog

Bank of America has a $75 sign-up bonus for signing up a MyAccess checking account. This is not a new banking promotion. Actually, Bank of America is giving out sign-up bonuses for their customers all year round. I got $200 sign-up bonus from Bank of America for signing up their MyAccess checking account last July. At that time, the official sign-up bonus is $100. But I got another more $100 bonus from their Charlotte headquarter. Lucky, huh?

This year, they offer $75 bonus. The promotion link is here. To get the $75 bonus, you have to:

1. An existing credit card customer.

2. Open a MyAccess Checking account with promotion code: CH75TAD.

3. Fund the new account with at least $25 within 30 days of account opening.

4. You are expected to receive $75 bonus within 90 days.

MyAccess Checking account is the premium free checking account from Bank of America which features:

• No monthly maintenance fee, no minimum balance, no direct deposit required
• Manage your accounts easily with free Online Banking service with free Bill Pay
• Access to Customer Service 24/7 online or by phone
• Free Bank of America Visa® Check Card with Total Security Protection Package

This offer expires on 11/30/2008.

There’s another link to get $75 bonus with another promotion code: CH75OLL. This code also expires on 11/30/2008.

Warning: Bank of America will do a hard pull for opening a checking account online.

Although the promotion requires you to be a new customer, as a matter of fact, if you opened a MyAccess checking account before or and closed it or change it to another account type, you can still get the $75 bonus. But it’s highly YMMV.

But there is a standard trick to get this $75 bonus. Print out the promotion page and take it to your local branch. Tell your banker that you don’t have SSN yet, you want to use your passport to open this account. Tell the banker to put in the promotion code for you! Don’t forget this! Bank of America system doesn’t check your name. It’s just check yout SSN. If you don’t give them your SSN, Bank of America will treat you as a new customer all the time!

Many of you might not know that you can protect your identity with a virtual credit card number when you’re shopping or paying bills online. These one-time use credit card numbers are linked to your actual credit card number, but are unusable by others or will be expired in a certain time period. If someone was able to obtain your virtual credit card number and try to use it elsewhere, it simply would not work. In this way, you can simply protect you and your identity. You don’t have to bother your credit card costumer service and fill in some forms. Virtual credit card number actually is named as Controlled Payment Number when it came out. A Virtual Credit Card Number can also be called as a “substitute credit card number” or “one-time use credit card”. It’s usually generated through the use of a web application or a specialized program offered by your credit card issuers.

Typically, a virtual credit card number has a limit and an expiration date between 2 to 12 months chosen by the account owner and can be used for many times with the same merchant. (can’t use it with many merchants) You real credit card number will never be revealed to the merchant. There are many credit card companies (Citi, Discover, Bank of America) offer this kind of service for free to their customers. I will briefly introduce each of them below:

Citi Bank—Virtual Account Numbers

This is a security feature of Citi credit cards. Whoever has a Citi credit card is eligible to use virtual account number as long as he/she has registered his/her credit card online. Generating a virtual account number is very easy in your Citi online account. Log in to your online account and select “Get a Virtual Account Number” on your screen. You can choose to download a software or opt for the online program which requires you to log in your account each time you need to generate a virtual account number. After you enter you real credit card number, the tool will automatically generate a new number for you. You can decide when the virtual credit card will expire between 2 to 12 months but on longer than the actual expiration date of your real credit card. If you want to change the expiration date, you have to generate a new credit card number. The virtual account numbers can be used when the purchases don’t require the presence of a physical credit card. You have to allow pop-up windows when use this program.

Discover Card—Secure Online Account Numbers

The Secure Online Account Number is a free service that providing additional online security for Discover card members. Like Citi’s virtual account numbers, you can choose to download the software (PC version) or use a online web application (browser version) to generate a virtual account number every time when you need one. For the PC version, download the tool and it will automatically launch each time you go to make a purchase. Click the “Fill Form” button, and a secure account number, Valid Through (Expiration) date and CID (security code) will be generated and automatically entered into the “Credit Card Number” field(s) of the online merchant’s checkout form. For the browser version, you have to follow these steps:

1. Click “Launch Now” button on the Secure Online Account Numbers main page to get a secure number. Sign in with your Account Center user ID and password.
2. Open a new browser window so you can view both Discovercard.com and the shopping site at the same time.
3. Shop at your favorite Web sites, copy and paste the secure number into the retailer’s checkout page. When ordering via phone, give the customer service representative the secure number.

According to Discover card:

Secure account numbers always expire on the same date as your actual Discover Card account number. When your Discover Card is reissued with a new expiration date, it will be necessary to update the expiration information on any retailer’s Web site where you have stored your actual card number or any secure account numbers.

Bank of America—ShopSafe

ShopSafe is a free service that can generate a temporary credit card number every time you want to make an online purchase.This number links directly to your real credit card account number but keeps your card number completely private and completely protected. The ShopSafe number is used as another credit card number but the merchant will never know your actual account number. To get ShopSafe, sign in to Online Banking and choose “Use ShopSafe” from your Account Activity screen. You can enter desired spending limit and expiration date there. And then ShopSafe creates a temporary account number that allows you to purchase with confidence. The ShopSafe service allows you to set your “Valid Thru” date for up to 1 year in the future.

Note: American Express card is not eligible to generate a virtual credit card number from above card issuers.

When you are not confident with some online merchants, you can use virtual credit card to help you prevent any credit card fraud.

Have you ever tought of applying for a credit card when you were 6 years old? Didn’t you hate that you didn’t have access to credit when you were 6? Today’s kids can easily get a credit card with $0 income. CBS 2 Chicago reported a story of a six-year-old applied for a credit card and got it approved. This 6-year-old boy named Bennett Christiansen from Aurora, IL. His new credit card was approved by Bank of America with $600 credit limit.

The following is a part story from CBS 2 Chicago:

An Aurora mom was somewhat amused last April when she received a credit card application addressed to her then-5-year-old son. As a test she had young Bennett Christiansen fill out the application and she sent it in. She was stunned when Bank of America sent her kid a shiny new card with a $600 limit.

……………………………………

Christiansen said she decided to allow Bennett to fill out a credit card application from Bank of America. He accurately wrote in his birthday in 2002, his annual income of $0, and the fact that he is an “other,” that is, neither a homeowner nor a renter. He signed his name in writing that was obviously that of a child, she said.

A short time later, Christiansen said she received a credit card with Bennett’s name on it.

As we can see from the report, Bennett even put his real birthday (2002) and actual income ($0) but he still got approved by Bank of America—even he signed his name in writting like a child. Interesting! I guess the credit card appoval department or the credit analysts were not aware that their approval system was not working at that time.

Obviously, Bennett didn’t have any credit history at the time of application.The question is why Bank of America would like to issue a credit card to a guy without any credit history and income at the age of 6. I think there is something to do with the approval system. Current online application process system can determine whether or not to approve your credit card application in about 60 seconds. If the system can’t reject your application and can’t approve your application at the same time, a human (credit analyst) will look over your application and then decide whether to approve your application or not. That’s why sometimes you will receive a call from new account department to verify yout identity and confirm your annual income. If you don’t have any significant flaws (too many inquiries, bankruptcy, too many balances etc) on your credit report, you applicationis likely to get approved. At least, I’m sure that “not enough credit history” is not an excuse to deny your application.

Another possible reason why Bank of America approved Bennett’s application is banks never put cosumers’ best interest at heart. Their purpose is to get as many consumers as possible. Most consumers at U.S. are carrying balances each month and is being charged huge amounts of finance charges. The more people they can get to carry their credit cards, the more potential debtors they’ll have as income sources. Banks never care whether the person is real or not. They are more than happy to hand out credit cards like candy. As a matter of fact, you can add your cats or dogs as your authorized users although they can’t swipe credit card at the checkout.

Real the full story of “Mom Shocked When 6-Year-Old Gets Credit Card” at CBS 2 Chicago.

As I mentioned early in this April, Bank of America will offer “Museums On Us” promotion early this May. The “Museums On Us” promotion is free to all Bank of America customers with a valid Bank of America credit card, check card or ATM card. This year, Bank of America added many new museums at more states. They added some museums at Illinois, Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Texas and Washington this year. Bank of America also expanded the promotion time. Now, instead of one month (this is a typical time), you can get free admission to over 70 museums nationwide on the first weekend of every month all year long. In this way, more Bank of America customers can benefit from this famous “Museums On Us” promotion.

Bring your photo ID and a valid Bank of America credit card, check card or ATM card, and you can receive free admission for one. Since Lasalle Bank has been acquired by Bank of America, Lasalle Bank cards are good for Lasalle bank customers at Illinois and Michigan. You can also get free email or messages from Bank of America to remind you about “Museums On Us” monthly.

For details about “Museums On Us” you can go to the promotion page from where you can find a list of participating museums in your state.

Bank of America has been running the “Museums On Us” for about 10 years. This yeas is the 11th year and the promotion will be beginning this May. What’s the “Museums On Us” program? In celebration of National Museum Month, Bank of America’s “Museums On Us” program is providing free access to 86 of the finest cultural institutions on the East and West coasts to Bank of America or MBNA cardholders. The exclusive opportunity offers members the chance to visit an array of museums, historical sites and science centers with a guest for free.

How can you get the free admission?

Members must present their Bank of America or MBNA ATM, debit or credit card to gain a free general admission to any participating institution. Photo ID may be required. The offer is not valid for special exhibitions, fund-raising events or ticketed shows, and it is not to be combined with any other discounts or offers. Select museums and institutions in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island apply. You can check out the whole list of participating institutions here.

One difference they make this year is they add “visit your favorite museum for free on the first weekend of every month“. Last year, they only ran this promotion from May 1 to May 31. It seems this year they will run this promotion for a longer times. The final news press will be released at the end of this April. You can check out the latest information here. This is really a great opportunity for your family.

If you don’t have a credit card issued from Bank of America, you can find out one here.

Note: List of museums participated in 2007

2007 Bank of America Museums on Us™ Program Participating Institutions

California
Asian Art Museum San Francisco
California Academy of Sciences
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
de Young Museum
Legion of Honor
Riverside Art Museum
Riverside Metropolitan Museum
Autry National Center
California African American Museum
Skirball Cultural Center
Kidspace Museum
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Japanese American National Museum
Ocean Institute
Discovery Science Center
Orange County Museum of Art
Laguna Art Museum
Newport Sports Museum
Surfing Heritage Foundation
Newport Nautical Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum
California Center for the Arts, Escondido
San Diego Museum of Man
San Diego Museum of Art

Connecticut
Stamford Museum & Nature Center
The Children’s Museum
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Bruce Museum
Mashantucket Pequot Museum

Delaware
Delaware Museum of Natural History
Winterthur Museum & Country Estate
Delaware Art Museum

Maine
Maine Discovery Museum
Farnsworth Art Museum and Wyeth Center
Portland Museum of Art

Massachusetts
The Old State House Museum (The Boston Historical Society)
Cape Cod Museum of Art
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Science, Boston
Museum of African American History
New Bedford Whaling Museum
Norman Rockwell Museum
Provincetown Art Association & Museum
Springfield Museums at the Quadrangle
Worcester Art Museum
American Textile History Museum

New Hampshire
Hood Museum of Art
Children’s Museum of Portsmouth
Seacoast Science Center

New Jersey
Jersey City Museum
Montclair Art Museum
Morris Museum
The Newark Museum
The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum

New York
Albany Institute of History and Art
The Hyde Collection
New York State Museum
Bronx Zoo
New York Aquarium
Historic Hudson Valley
Museum of the Moving Image
Whitney Museum of American Art
Museum of Modern Art
Studio Museum in Harlem
New York Hall of Science
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Museum of Television & Radio
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
South Street Seaport Museum
Old Westbury Gardens
Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum
Rosamond Gifford Zoo
George Eastman House
Buffalo Zoo

Pennsylvania
African American Museum in Philadelphia
Independence Seaport Museum
National Constitution Center
Philadelphia Museum of Art

Rhode Island
Providence Children’s Museum
Museum of Work and Culture
Rhode Island School of Design Museum
International Tennis Hall of Fame

Vermont
Montshire Museum of Science

I seldom introduce the credit cards from Bank of America, although they are the largest credit card issuer in U.S. The reasons are very simple—bad rewards program & few sign-up bonuses. The most generous one was last July when the Iowa Rewards Credit Card from Bank of American was offering 2,5000 sign-up bonus points which could be redeemed for $250. And the most recent one was the Rewards American Express Card which offered $100 bonus.

This time you can get $50 statement credit from Bank of America when you sign up for the World MasterCard with WorldPoints. (Thanks to bugetcent.net for informing this deal!) According to the terms and conditions, in order to get the $50 bonus, you have to spend $25 on that card. The $50 bonus will be credited to your account within 8-12 weeks after you make the qualified purchases.

You may also want to consider the $75 bonus from MyAccess Checking account. (Previously they were offering $100.) Bonus from MyAccess Checking account is the easiest money to get. This checking account features no direct deposit needed, no minimum balance required and no monthly fees! Promotion code: AOU020608 is needed. Another requirement is you have to be a Bank of America credit card holder first, so take the chance to get a World MasterCard with WorldPoints first!

After you open the MyAccess Checking account, you may also want to play “BOA Keep the Change” which will offer you $250! A saving account associated with the checking account is needed. Overall, you can get $375 from Bank of America!

According to the new study conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research, Bank of America took top honors for the second year in a row in the report ranking the largest U.S. banks on how well they protect their customers from fraud and identity theft. JPMorgan Chase, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo tied for second place, and Citibank came in fifth.

The study focused on 25 major U.S. banks that together hold 50% of U.S. checking-account deposits. One of the major drawback of this study is they just measured banks’ policies for preventing, detecting and resolving fraud. However, they didn’t get the feedback from their customers. So I don’t believe the ranking reported by Javelin Strategy & Research. As we all know that banks will have their own strategy to prevent the identity fraud. Every bank will try their best to protect their customers. To a certain degree, the policies mean nothing. How to execute the policy is much more important than how to make the policy. From my point of view, JPMoragn Chase will be ranked as the top safe bank, Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo will be tied for the second place. Bank of America will be ranked as the fourth safest bank. As for Citibank, I don’t believe they are a safe bank. They have way too many Indian customer service representatives, and you can imagine how they will “protect” your account.

You can see the full report here.

Bank of America is offering $100 Statement Credit for new approved Rewards American Express Card. In order to get the $100 statement credit, your new account must be used to make any purchase, balance transfer or cash advance transaction totaling $25 excluding any transaction fees, if applicable within 45 days of the account open date. I applied this card in July 2007. At that time, they were offering $50 statement credit after spending $25 with this card. I got the $50 statement credit within 2 weeks. It’s super quick! At the homepage of Bank of America, you can still see the $50 statement credit offer. If you want to get the $100 statement credit, you should use this link.

This Rewards American Express Card will give you 1 world point for every dollar. When you get 5,000 points, you can redeem them for $25. If you have 10,000 points, you can redeem them for $100 gift card.

Another good offer is $100 bonus for opening a new MyAccess Checking Account using the offer code AOU2612. (Click here to see.) In order to qualify for the $100 bonus, you have to deposit $100 in the new account. The $100 bonus will appear in your account within 45 days. The new MyAccess checking account features no minimum balance required, no direct deposit required and no monthly fees.