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I was wondering if it's worth keeping my Fleet VISA for their power rewards program. On paper it sounds great: no annual fee, 1 dollar charged=1 point, 25000 points for a round-trip ticket worth up to $500 on any domestic airline.
For reasons that are hopefully unique, I've had nothing but frustration from Fleet customer service (difficulty switching from their fusion rewards to their power rewards program since 8/01). So far a thumbs down.
Has anyone had positive experiences with them? I would be interested in knowing if anyone has successfully redeemed points for a ticket. Thanks in advance.
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Fleet... do you mean Fleet bank? I have a Titanium Visa from Fleet and didnt know they hade a Rewards Program..... do you have a link or some more information?
Thanks.
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Yup, Fleet Bank. They were advertising their Power Rewards program in their local branch offices last summer.
Here's a direct link:
http://cards.fleet.com/apply/learnmore_plat.asp
There isn't much information on the website. If Fleet ever gets around to mailing me a brochure, I'll post more details. I've actually been told by power rewards CSRs that they are not allowed to give out information about the program unless they can confirm that you are a member. Great way to drum up interest.
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Did you see the $22/reward redemption fee they charge? If you don't redeem your points often, that isn't a bad deal, but if you fly more than once/year, a fee-based card may be a better option.
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I called CS about the $22 charge - they said that the $22 was a processing fee only applied if the ticket purchased was outside certain parameters (ie. the usual 3 weeks advance purchase, having a Saturday night stay). For what it's worth (verbal confirmation of a CSR), I don't think that there are any fees.
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Thanks for the links. The website has NO information.... its all very frustrating. I bank with Fleet and they also sent me a brochure. The card has no annual fee, so perhaps I will go ahead and take it. I assume the Power Rewards thing is just too new and they are still negotiating the different rewards they will have.
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Frustrating is fairly accurate. I'm sure Fleet has a record of how many calls I've made for clarification of their program. The first couple of times they sent me a 2 page 5/00 Rewards xerox specifying round-trip tickets for 35,0000 points. Last week they sent me a 1 page xerox from 12/01 that didn't show any air rewards. Verbally, they still confirm 25,000 points per ticket. Growing pains.
[This message has been edited by mulan (edited 02-19-2002).]
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Hmmmm, maybe I should just get the card and forget about the reward program.
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Too bad no one has posted any positive experiences with Fleet. I'm probably going to go back to Chase VISA Flight Rewards even though it has a $25 annual fee. Their CS is great; I've redeemed 3 tickets over the couple years w/out any difficulties. (They even waived a 3wk advance purchase requirement once.) I guess you get what you pay for. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif
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Mulan, could you elaborate a bit on the Chase program. How many points do you get per $ spent? Do they purchase full fare tickets? I think Merrill Lynch has a similar type program with one of their Money Market account products.
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Chase Platinum VISA has a $25/yr Travel Rewards program (charged after the first year). 1 dollar charged=1 point. Max 10000 points per cycle, 80000 points per year. Points expire after 5 years. They require a 3 week advance purchase w/Sat stayover. Everything is arranged through their travel agency open 7 days/wk. (I usually book my own flights and give them the confirmation number - no hassle).
They're not full-fare tickets (is Merrill Lynch a VISA signature card?). You have to pay the difference if the ticket goes over the max amounts.
- 25000 points for travel w/in contiguous 48 states (max $500, any airline)
- 50000 points to Mexico, Caribbean, Canada (max $800, any airline)
- 65000 points to Europe (max $1000, any airline)
...more points for farther away, more points for 1st class. But if you're interested in Continental, the redemption schedule is a lot better (20000 for 48 states/Canada, 35000 to Caribbean, 40000 to Hawaii, etc)
In retrospect, I think $25 is worth avoiding the aggravation and incompetence from poor customer service.
General link: http://creditcardsatchase.com/portal/index.jsp?pageID=standard&key=platrmtravelrew
FAQ:
http://creditcardsatchase.com/portal/index.jsp?pageID=standard&key=platrmtravelrewfaqs#1
Rewards:
http://creditcardsatchase.com/portal/index.jsp?pageID=standard&key=platrmtravelrewchart
Enrollment: http://creditcardsatchase.com/portal/index.jsp?pageID=standard&key=platrmtravelenrol
Hope this helps! (fixed links)
[This message has been edited by mulan (edited 02-22-2002).]
[This message has been edited by mulan (edited 02-22-2002).]
[This message has been edited by mulan (edited 02-22-2002).]
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Thanks a lot. I think the ML card was a Platinum card, Im not sure if it was Signature. Is Singature supposed to be a higher tier than Platinum?
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Did a google search, and bunch of places are offering visa signature cards: Merrill Lynch, Hilton HHonors/Citibank, BMW, a few others.
I looked this up awhile ago, but I think VISA signature and World MC are supposed to be equivalent, and both a step above Platinum/Titanium. Most have a $50 annual fee; the usual 1 dollar=1point. No preset spending limits. I think the advantage is that points can be redeemed for full-fare tickets, no blackout periods and on any airline. Most of the major VISA issuers have an "invitation only" policy. I haven't heard of a general world MC (only airline-specific AA or Continental CC's).
Not too detailed, but here are a few general VISA/MC links: http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/visa_signature.html
http://www.mastercard.com/findacard/credit/mc_world.html
[This message has been edited by mulan (edited 02-22-2002).]
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Is Titanium supposed to be 'equivalent' to Platinum in the credit card world??
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Gaucho100K - I think most banks have similar terms for Titanium/Platinum cards. If I'm wrong, please someone correct me. Titanium is not exactly on the VISA website as an official designation.
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Originally posted by Gaucho100K:
Is Titanium supposed to be 'equivalent' to Platinum in the credit card world??
I believe only Fleet uses the term Titanium. I guess its image suppose to be more expensive then Platinum. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif
As far as Visa, MC and (somewhat) AmEx are concerning, Platinum cards are not what they crack up to be or what CC companies try to sell...
P.S Only Platinum card that has benefits is AmEx with hefty annual fee.
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Interesting, I could swear that other banks also have (in the meantime) introduced Titanium cards. Im not sure Titanium is more expensive than Platinum, though.... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif
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So, Ive racked up quite a few points... has anybody actually redeemed anything under this program?
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Gaucho100K
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BTW, the Hilton Signature Visa does not have any annual fee. There are a few little perks on the Signature cards vs. the platinum cards, but nothing that useful. I dropped my MBNA Travel Rewards Mastercard a couple of months ago because they also had a cap on reward travel. The flexibility of using any airline was great; however, I was running into situations where I exceeded their $500 limit. My top pick is the Starwood card from AmEx. It has a $30 fee, but $20K in charges will transfer to 25K miles in the frequent flyer program of your choice. Also check out the Amtrak Mastercard thorugh MBNA. No fee and you can transfer miles into a couple of different frequent flyer programs on a 1:1 basis.