[Expired] MERRILL + Visa Signature Credit Card: 50,000 Point Sign Up Bonus (Worth $500-$1,000)

Unfortunately this offer has now expired. You can view the best current credit card bonuses here.

The Offer

Direct links: 1 & 2 (only link one is currently working)

• Receive a sign up bonus of 50,000 points after $3,000 in spend within the first 90 days.

Keep in mind that this is “an exclusive offer – just for you” so it’s possible that it’s a targeted sign up bonus and you need to have a relationship with Merrill Lynch to be eligible. Update: Here are some datapoints of people being succesful:

• 1 2 3 4 5

Further update: Lots more successful datapoints in the comments. It seems that sometimes it says that you’re pending but when you log into your account you’re approved.

It seems that calling in is usually necessary. Thanks to GWBlueBlueBlue.

Card Details

• No annual fee
• Spend $50,000 or more a year and choose one of the following:
  • $200 travel credit that can be used for travel incidentals or
  • Complimentary Delta Sky Club lounge membership
• Card earns 1x point per $1 spent on all purchases
• Might be possible to get 10 Lounge Club passes by asking

How Much Are Points Worth?

Points never expire and you can redeem your points for gift cards, cash back, statement credit, to offset any purchase or for flight bookings.

Points are worth as follows:

• Gift cards: 1¢ per point
• Cash back/statement credit: 1¢ per point
• Flight bookings: Up to 2¢ per point

For flight bookings you have to redeem a minimum of 25,000 points ($500 in flights) at a time. The value you get out of this option will depend on what airlines you redeem for:

• American Airlines, British Airways, Alaska Airlines,  Delta Airlines & United Airlines allow you to redeem 25,000 points for up to $500 in flights (2¢ in value)
• All other airlines allow you to redeem 30,000 points for up to $500 in flights (1.67¢ in value)

This is no longer true, points are worth 2¢ for the majority of airlines. You can read more about this here.

You’ll also earn frequent flyer miles and elite qualifying miles on these flights as well. If flights are under $500, you’ll still need to pay the minimum of 25,000 points. For flights over $500, you’ll only get a value of 1¢ a point (and this is done in increments of 2,500 points).

Our Verdict

Great offer and from everything I’ve seen it doesn’t look like you need any relationship with Merrill Lynch. Another thing to keep in mind is that at least one reader has had their inquiries combined when they applied for this card and another Bank of America card. I assume that this means that other Bank of America rules will apply to this card as well. Other Bank of America cards you might want to consider getting at the same time as this card (getting the hard inquiries combined) are as follows:

• Spirit Airlines 15,000 Mile + $100 Statement Credit Sign Up Bonus
• Alaska Airlines 30,000 miles + $100 statement credit
• Bank of America Amtrak Credit Card 30,000 Point Bonus

You can also read our review of the Merrill Lynch Octave credit card here.

Thanks to sirtheta on /r/churning.