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I just got approved for the Merrill+ card and was curious if anyone had any experiences in using the benefits associated with that credit card. I am thinking about the concierge service, the rental car upgrades (Hertz) and the hotel vouchers in particular.
Thanks!
/Erling
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See also this thread in the AmEx forum:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315239
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I've achieved +2 status and have called in to request my 1-night Ritz cert. I am now on my way to achieving +3 status before the year ends... then its time to do it all over again in 2005. I think the Ritz certificates make the card worthwhile since these are in addition to the points that you are racking up anyways. The Merrill reward points catalog has quite a bit of stuff including luxury items like tumi travel cases. although you are probably better off on spending your points for airfare since you get more bang for your points. The rewards catalog can be viewed online via the mbna/merrill site once you activate and register your card online. I haven't used the concierge service yet... not sure what to use them for since I more of a do-it-yourselfer.
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Is status only reached per calendar year, so that you start from scratch at the beginning of each year with cumulative purchases?
I just got this card and plan to start using it in December while vacationing. Since I won't reach any level in 2004, will the value I spend in December carry over towards status in 2005?
Susan
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We will have to start from scratch Jan-1. This is what that the T&C says
"Note: Levels are based on total net spending in a calendar year. Cash advances, balance transfers, fees, finance charges and purchases of money orders or other cash equivalents will not qualify for +2 or +3 status. When +2 or +3 status is achieved, the MERRILL+ cardholder will be eligible for these benefits for the remainder of that year plus the entire following calendar year."
Is status only reached per calendar year, so that you start from scratch at the beginning of each year with cumulative purchases?
I just got this card and plan to start using it in December while vacationing. Since I won't reach any level in 2004, will the value I spend in December carry over towards status in 2005?
Susan
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Well I received the card a week ago or so and just tried using the concierge for the first time. I'm trying to get her to find me a bottle of Talisker 1986 (scotch) that I've been trying to find but haven't been able to locate. They answered right away and were very pleasent throughout the call so first impression is very good. Now we'll see if they can work miracles!
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Well I got a reply from Circles, which are the Concierge service provider for the Merrill+ card. So although I'm the only one posting in this thread I'm gonna finish it up for anyone who is interested ;)
The request was for a bottle of Talisker 1986, which I bought in Canada a year or so ago and haven't been able to find since. Well the concierge was able to find it. It is not sold in the US though, only in France, Canada and the UK apparently. They did provide me with a few different websites where I could buy the bottle. Additionally I believe they could buy it for me and have it shipped.
Overall I must give them credit for a job professionally done. I would definitely use them again
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Well I got a reply from Circles, which are the Concierge service provider for the Merrill+ card. So although I'm the only one posting in this thread I'm gonna finish it up for anyone who is interested ;)
The request was for a bottle of Talisker 1986, which I bought in Canada a year or so ago and haven't been able to find since. Well the concierge was able to find it. It is not sold in the US though, only in France, Canada and the UK apparently. They did provide me with a few different websites where I could buy the bottle. Additionally I believe they could buy it for me and have it shipped.
Overall I must give them credit for a job professionally done. I would definitely use them again
so what does this bottle of spirits cost ya?
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The websites they recommended had it for about £50 or USD $80, which is about what I bought it for. In my view its much better than the JW Blue Label which cost almost double that.
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Erling,
thanks for sharing your experience with the Conc Service... I too have this card but have yet to use the service. I wonder just how much the service differs from +3 status versus the regular. Was your correspondence done mainly over email or by phone?
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I called the number on the back of the card to initiate my request. We also have the ability to enter our requests through the Merrill+ website. The response was both. The lady from Circles called me up to notify that they had sent me an email with the information I had requested. She said their policy is to both send email and call for information that can't be readily relayed over the phone. A nice feature was that she left her name so that I could contact her directly if I wanted. Since she came through for me I will ask for her the next time I want to use the service.
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Good to hear your experiences. I have this card as well, but haven't tried the concierge services. I've used the Visa signature service and was underwhelmed. I like how Merrill has a web interface as well (so you can get the important stuff done in those long meetings :cool: )
I wonder if people have any comments on how this compares to other cc concierge services like AMEX and DC.
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Circles is the same company used by Amex Platinum Concierge (out of Boston, MA).
I've used them on a few occasions for resto. reservations in NYC. Very pleased with their professionalism and prompt response. Even more impressed they got me a reservation at Wolfgang's Steakhouse during prime dining hours.
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Any merrill cardholders try redeeming their points for an airline ticket? I was wondering what their preferred airlines are. I hope continental is one of them. Also anyone actually reserve and use their Ritz certificates yet? I have one free-night cert in my possession and was wondering how easy/restrictive it is to get a room at any of the locations. I plan on getting the 3-nights free cert once I hit +3 status this year and then rack up 50k more points to get 4 more free nights in 2005 for a combined 8 free nights and then use them all at once. I'm getting married in June 2005, so hopefully they come in handy for a free honeymoon!
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I called the number on the back of the card to initiate my request. We also have the ability to enter our requests through the Merrill+ website. The response was both. The lady from Circles called me up to notify that they had sent me an email with the information I had requested. She said their policy is to both send email and call for information that can't be readily relayed over the phone. A nice feature was that she left her name so that I could contact her directly if I wanted. Since she came through for me I will ask for her the next time I want to use the service.
How did you know that the call came from Circles? I have had some mixed reusults with them so far. They could not get me a table at the IVY in London but the hotel concierge could.
Rob
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The websites they recommended had it for about £50 or USD $80, which is about what I bought it for. In my view its much better than the JW Blue Label which cost almost double that.
johnny walker SWING is much better than blue label, in my opinion...
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How did you know that the call came from Circles? I have had some mixed reusults with them so far. They could not get me a table at the IVY in London but the hotel concierge could.
Rob
Well she didn't say she was from Circles, but the T&C state that they are using Circles for the concierge service.
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They're definitely circles. The concierge I use has a circles email address.
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Has anyone found out how they price out the tickets? The $500 for 25K miles SOUNDS tempting, but if they charge $1,000 for a trip to Asia, then it's not worth it.
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Has anyone used this card to purchase 2 for 1 tickets on British Airways ??? I think this is a benefit for cardholders who are at the + level (everyone).
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Just applied for the card based on comments in this forum and also in the AMEX forum. Looks like a pretty good deal! I was looking for another alternative to my Plat. and Starwood AMEX cards. Had previously used either the UA MP Visa (will probably cancel when it is up for renewal) or the Orbitz Juniper Visa card.
Merrill Lynch card would be even better if BA was my preferred international airline. Might have to see how the free companion ticket thing works but i am sure it will have to be a full Y ticket to get the free ticket. If that is the case, it won't be that great considering you can usually purchase two lower booking class tickets cheaper than you can purchase a Y class ticket for.
Basically I am trying this thing out, since there is no annual fee. I will try to do at least 20k with them so I get a 1 night Ritz voucher. That would be worth it considering that you have to spend at least 35k to get a free Ritz night with AMEX Plat for the low end Ritz properties.
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Yes the BA companion tickets are for full fare Y or biz/first. Got my benefits package in the mail the other day. Its pretty sweet, especially considering that theres no annual fee. In my mind this card is a real contender to the Amex Plat, with one caveat - lounge access.
If Merrill offered a version of this card with access to One World lounges around the world, I would easily pay a yearly fee.
Merrill, MBNA, are you listening?? :)
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I have one free-night cert in my possession and was wondering how easy/restrictive it is to get a room at any of the locations. I plan on getting the 3-nights free cert once I hit +3 status this year and then rack up 50k more points to get 4 more free nights in 2005 for a combined 8 free nights and then use them all at once. I'm getting married in June 2005, so hopefully they come in handy for a free honeymoon!
Confused. The Terms and Conditions state "MERRILL+2 cardholders will receive one certificate for a one-night stay at The Ritz-Carlton during the calendar year in which they achieve +2 status....MERRILL+3 cardholders will receive three one-night certificate for a 3-night stay at The Ritz-Carlton during the calendar year in which they achieve +3 status." I read this to mean that certificates earned in 2004 must be redeemed in 2004, but it sounds as if this is not what your certificate actually stipulates?
dennis
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[/B]....MERRILL+3 cardholders will receive three one-night certificate for a 3-night stay at The Ritz-Carlton during the calendar year in which they achieve +3 status." I read this to mean that certificates earned in 2004 must be redeemed in 2004, but it sounds as if this is not what your certificate actually stipulates?
dennis
The certs are good to the end the next year. For example, any certs earned in 2004 are good to 12/31/2005.
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<<good to the end the next year>>
Thank you for the clarification. This makes the card much more appealing.
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Actually had a brief experience with the Concierge Service:
I was driving to San Antonio for my fiance's birthday and I wanted to stop and get a present at a James Avery jewelers (they are a tx based jeweler that sells silver jewelry), but I wanted to stop at one that was either on the way or close to where she lived (as there are several stores scattered throughout texas). So I called the ML Concierge service on my cell phone while driving. I got a guy that was very helpful and he looked up the website and told me all the locations in San Antonio. When I heard one that was on the way to where I was going, he even offered to connect me directly to the store (kinda like a 411 service). The whole process probably took about less than 3 minutes. I was pleased with their competent and friendly service!
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Just got off the phone with the travel agent for the Merrill Lynch card because I wanted to know which airlines fall under the "Preferred Carriers" for the 25k reward.
According to the information I had read prior to signing up for the card, I thought there would be several airlines that would be considered "Preferred Carriers" and that you would be able to chose among those carriers for your trip that would cost you 25k points. Boy was I wrong!
Here's what I was told. The "Preferred Carrier" for your itinerary would be the airline with the lowest published fare for your trip. All other carriers would be considered "Non-Preferred." This means that you would basically be stuck using 30k if you want a specific airline UNLESS that airline happens to have the lowest fare.
The big problem I see is that you do not really have a choice between several "preferred carriers" as I though you would. I refuse to fly on several airlines because of their service, lack of award redemption, etc... I think they mis-advertised this fact on the website because it states "Since the availability of Preferred Carriers may change, you should check at the time of booking to determine which carriers qualify for this level of Air Reward." It is not WHICH carriers qualify but which carrier is the cheapest.
Just thought I would let everyone know what I found out because I am just a little peed off about this! :mad: Sure the Ritz Vouchers will be great but basically if I chose the airline I will have to pay 30k for a ticket I would only have to pay 25k airlines points or 20k Orbitz points for.
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Just thought I would let everyone know what I found out because I am just a little peed off about this! :mad: Sure the Ritz Vouchers will be great but basically if I chose the airline I will have to pay 30k for a ticket I would only have to pay 25k airlines points or 20k Orbitz points for.
That does kind of suck. However, if a flight is 30k and i get 4 nights at the Ritz still works out to a good deal. Dont you think ?
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Do any of you M+ cardholders know about international travel:
I know the 25k => 500 $ ticket.
but do they have a 50k level as well?
it would be nice to be able to book biz class, but not if they are charging 5k/$50 on top of 500.
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Do they have any sign up bonus? I presume you have to climb a prety steep ladder for award redemption as their benefits cannot be combined with any airline miles
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Does anyone know if you can convert another MBNA card to the Merill Lynch Visa?
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Does anyone know if you can convert another MBNA card to the Merill Lynch Visa?
I thought of the same and called MBNA. Wanted to convert my Amtrak card to ML+. But they said that it couldn't be done since they have different legal contracts with each groups (ML, Ebay etc).
So applied for a new application and they approved within a minute or so and gave me an option of moving some of my limit from Amtrak to ML+. It was pretty much painless.
FYI and good luck..
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I had MBNA Elite rewards card before changing it into Amtrak card. There was no new application and I had the same credit limit. Now that amtrak United deal is over, I am thinking of changing it into Fidelity card with 1&1/2% cash back. I hope I should be able to do that. Looks like a pretty decent return with no stings attached like any minimum or so.
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Boy how things have changed in a little over a year.