Bank of America Merrill Lynch Octave American Express (discontinued for new applications)
Updated November 11, 2016.
The Facts
The Math
If you qualify for this card, the annual fee will be consider $600 after you make use of $350 annual travel credit. Of course, if you choose Sky Club Executive membership, the effective annual fee is based on how much you value the lounge membership. With that, you enjoy a few other travel perks including airfare discount, which may or may not offset the hefty effective annual fees. However, the biggest perk is 2.5x points earning rate for everything, and your cashback equivalent rate is up to 5%. Note that you may only achieve 5% by redeeming for tickets that are exactly $500 each. In reality, it should be reasonable to achieve a redemption value of 1.6 cents per point, then your earning rate will be 4% which is still amazing; you will need to spend more than $30K a year to beat the $600 effective annual fees and 2% cashback provided by Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Visa. The more you spend, the more this card makes sense.
The Conclusion
Merrill Lynch Octave Amex is perhaps the highest earning cashback equivalent card out there for general spending. However, its exclusivity is only rivaled by Amex Centurion Card and J.P. Morgan Reserve Visa Infinite. Due to the fact that very few people qualify for this card, we won't rank it against other credit cards; otherwise, it will have easy made to the Top 10 Best Cards for Rewards and probably the Top 10 Best Cards.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $950
- Rewards: 2.5x everywhere
- Best Use of Merrill Lynch points: Normally the points can be redeemed for gift cards or cash/statement credit at 1 cent each; however, it is also possible to redeem points for round-trip airfare from U.S. on American, United, Delta, and British at up to 2 cents each (25,000 points for up to $500 in airfare & the fare portion above $500 must be redeemed at up to 1 cent each, i.e., in increment of 2,500 points for up to $25) or on other airlines at up to 1.67 cents each (30,000 points for up to $500 in airfare).
- Travel Perks: (1) Annual $350 travel credit or Delta Sky Club Executive membership. Sky Club Executive membership, retailed at $695 per year, allows you plus two guests to access more than 130 Delta and partner lounges worldwide. (2) 20% discount on base fare for up to two domestic round-trip economy-class tickets per trip. (3) Discount on select international first or business class airfare. (4) $100 Global Entry application credit. (4) Private Jet Program. (5) Premium Airport Concierge Services.
- Other Benefits: (1) Waived foreign transaction fees, with an embedded EMV chip. (2) 24/7 concierge service.
- Other Facts: This card is by-invitation only and is exclusive to Merrill Lynch's richest clients (requiring at least $10M in asset with them). Like several other high-end cards, this card is made of metal and is thus heavier than regular plastics.
The Math
If you qualify for this card, the annual fee will be consider $600 after you make use of $350 annual travel credit. Of course, if you choose Sky Club Executive membership, the effective annual fee is based on how much you value the lounge membership. With that, you enjoy a few other travel perks including airfare discount, which may or may not offset the hefty effective annual fees. However, the biggest perk is 2.5x points earning rate for everything, and your cashback equivalent rate is up to 5%. Note that you may only achieve 5% by redeeming for tickets that are exactly $500 each. In reality, it should be reasonable to achieve a redemption value of 1.6 cents per point, then your earning rate will be 4% which is still amazing; you will need to spend more than $30K a year to beat the $600 effective annual fees and 2% cashback provided by Citi Double Cash or Fidelity Visa. The more you spend, the more this card makes sense.
The Conclusion
Merrill Lynch Octave Amex is perhaps the highest earning cashback equivalent card out there for general spending. However, its exclusivity is only rivaled by Amex Centurion Card and J.P. Morgan Reserve Visa Infinite. Due to the fact that very few people qualify for this card, we won't rank it against other credit cards; otherwise, it will have easy made to the Top 10 Best Cards for Rewards and probably the Top 10 Best Cards.