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[Evan]

Upromise has been anything but truthful about the switch of the Upromise Master Card from Citibank to Bank of America. Today I learned from BOA that in order to download my transactions directly into Quicken I must pay $9.95 a month AND have a checking account with BOA. This is completely insane! One, BOA is asking me to pay for a service that I used to get for free while they are making money off each credit card transaction I make. Two, evidently Upromise didn't even think or care about the fact that spending nearly $120 a year for this service negates any savings I I get from using this card. The most angering thing about this is the BOA was the recipient of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts and this is how they are treating the customers who are also taxpayers. Shame on Upromise and BOA and #&$# them as well!

[look4thepromise]

Eewwwww. Glad you posted.

[Kathy_Upromise]

We want to let our members know that we have brought this to Bank of America's attention regarding the Quicken feature.

The following information may be helfpul for our members:

WebConnect downloads a statement file from within customers online banking session to import into their Quicken software.  There is no fee and a BAC checking account is not required.  WebConnect download for credit cards is at statement cycle (monthly). 

We understand that this is different from the Direct Connect Service you referenced in your message below, but I wanted to inform our members of the alternative that is available currently available for free.

[Wada279]

Service at BOA is not the same as Citbank. Foe whatever reasons the change was made we are not privy to that. BOA has been running rough shot over people for a while. I am so glad I did not take the bite with them again. I will continue to use upromis on line shopping but so far I am satisfied with my Citi all rewards credit card.

[InHouseCounsel]

This is misleading- the service is not at all the same. Downloading once a month means I have to manually enter every transaction in Quicken or wait till after the statement for them to show up automatically. This is no way to manage money- it adds a huge amount of work if you want to see your balance in real time within Quicken.  I am very upset we were not told that a vital feature was being taken away- all the marketing pieces said we would keep all the benefits and terms.  There are other cards that pay more of a rebate, with zero fee. I was using the UPromise card because it was easier and automatically went into the 529, but this new layer means it is not worth it. I am canceling, and would urge others to do the same and get a better card.

Message Edited by InHouseCounsel on 05-02-2009 01:46 PM

Message Edited by InHouseCounsel on 05-02-2009 01:47 PM

[commo2 · Accepted solution]

I am starting to wonder if this new credit card is a rip off too. I loved citibank and the upromise credit card was worth dealing with when they offered it. Their online payment and information center was awesome, but I can't say that for Bank of America. I could not even figure out how to set up an online account. I had to call their customer service.  And now I noticed the online transaction from them showing up in Upromise listed as Grocery & Gas or Grocery and Dining which is not what is advertised when we all were transferred.  My moms account has is listed as Grocery & Gas and she just dined at one of the Upromise approved restaurants with it, Does this mean she will not get the savings of 10% for this purchase as we did, because she is under Grocery & Gas.  My account is under Grocery & Dining, what does that mean for me. I used to earn 2% for gas at Mobil and the dining, grocery, and 1% everywhere. Am I not going to get credit for my gas now. This is not what I signed up for.  I found this listed on the Upromise site today and it concerns me: 

Which card should you choose? To maximize the college savings you earn with your card, tell us a little about where you spend money. Then use the savings calculator to see which card could give you the most savings. I am under the impression that we are getting the same benefits that we received when we had the Citicard.  Help! anyone else experiencing this.  

I also posted the below information in another post under New services.

  I WAS RECENTLY LOOKING AT MY PENDING TRANSACTIONS AND NOTICED CREDIT CARD DINING AND GROCERY LISTED. I THOUGHT GAS WAS PART OF THIS TOO. I HAD THE CITI WORLD CARD AND THOUGHT ME MADE 2% ON GAS, 10% DINING, 10% QUALIFIED GROCERY ITEMS AND 1% EVERYWHERE WITHOUT ANY CAP ON AMOUNTS.  I DECIDED TO RESEARCH THE NEW CREDIT CARD WE WERE CHANGED TO AND FOUND THIS:  Upromise Credit Card with Gas & Grocery Rewards AND THEN THISUpromise Credit Card with Dining & Grocery Rewards  AS IF THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS FOR THE NEW CREDIT CARD.   I ALSO FOUND THIS FOR ALL OF US WITH THE CARDS: Earn a $25 college savings bonus after you use your new Upromise credit card to make your first purchase, balance transfer, or cash advance transaction within 90 days of opening your account. If you make an eligible purchase transaction, you will also receive your regular 1% college savings earnings. Your one-time $25 college savings earnings will be reported as pending on your Upromise account by the 30th (thirtieth) day of the calendar month following the credit card statement containing the initial transaction and should be posted to your account within 90 days of the pending contribution provided you are a member within 90 days of opening your new account. You must apply for the card on or after March 29, 2009, to be eligible for this bonus. This is a limited time offer and may be cancelled at any time without notice. DOES THIS APPLY TO ALL OF US SWITCHED OVER, UPROMISE APPLIED FOR US?  HELP, DOES ANYONE UNDERSTAND ALL THIS.  LINK WHERE I FOUND THIS https://lty.s.upromise.com/member/partners/bac/cardCenterProgramDetails.do 

Message Edited by commo2 on 05-03-2009 11:15 AM

Message Edited by commo2 on 05-03-2009 11:16 AM

[4mykids]

I think that the Citibank to Bank of America credit card was grossly mismanaged, perhaps by design.  I have always been wary of the big banks treatment of individuals.  Upromise does not seem to be taking any responsibility either.

Bank of America claims that they sent correspondence to notify us of the two card options; Grocery & Gas and Grocery & Dining.  I never received any correspondence from BOA other than an initial letter, signed by Upromise and BOA, notifying me of the expiration of my Citicard and when to expect my BOA card.  I have yet to receive an explanation from Upromise which was requested 4 days ago.  BOA issued me a Grocery & Gas card, which would not have been my preference if I had been given the choice. 

It is best not to cancel a credit card because it damages your credit history/score unless it has been dormant for a long time and you do not need to maintain it to keep a high cumulative available credit amount.  Other cards offer better rewards, so go ahead and stop using the Upromise card.  We should not reward them for bad service. If you decide to keep it but want to change to a different card option, BOA will send you a new card/number and cancel your old one after you activate the new card.  I was pleased to find out that it would not effect your credit by making this election because it is not viewed as a cancellation of credit.  Small consolation for bad service.  It does not appear that Upromise lives up to its claim of "Customer Care".

[Kathy_Upromise]

Hi,

Thank you for sharing your feedback.  I'm sorry to hear you feel you have had a bad experience.  Bank of America was required to abide by regulatory standards to contact all Cardmembers via mail regarding the change in bank for the Upromise credit card program. We did work with Bank of America to try our best to contact everyone who had a valid mailing address or email address. We understand that changes in financial products can be frustrating which is why we implemented multiple direct mail campaigns, including additional reminder mailings and emails leading up to the change. 

With this credit card provider transition, one item was improved for the new Upromise credit card program.  With our old credit card program, there was an annual earnings cap of $300 for the credit card that offered gas and grocery rewards. Now, with the new credit card program with Gas & Grocery Rewards, our Cardmembers earn UNLIMITED college savings on every purchase made with the card. 

We do want to let our members know that the Upromise Credit card program offers members two different credit card products.  If you received the Upromise credit card with Gas & Grocery Rewards and you would prefer to have the Upromise credit card with Dining & Grocery Rewards, you can absolutely switch! You just need to call Bank of America and they can make this switch happen for you without impacting your credit score. I just did this myself since I decided I wanted the Dining benefit instead so I asked the Rep for the other card.  

The credit card program is one of the easiest ways for our members to start saving more for college since the savings get automatically transferred into a member's account. Even if you decide not to use the credit card moving forward, we do hope you continue to use the Upromise service and continue to save towards your college savings goals.

Thank you for being a Upromise member..

[InHouseCounsel]

It is helpful to hear some reply, but the questions asked here were not answered.  1) What abouthte download to Quicken- the earlier comment said you are working on fixing this. What is the status?  2) why were we not told there would be TWO card options with different reward terms- none of this was disclosed in advance.3) Do those of us who have been loyal Upromise members and cardmembers and  were involuntarily switched to this inferior card going to get the $25 bonus that brand new members get?

I know we can not go back and fix what has already happened, but we could still fix things going forward.  I am frustrated enough that I am going to do some legal research about whether proper disclosures were provided given the two card scenario. I am an attorney, but not a class action attorney, but I suspect there are some out there following this issue.

[navy85]

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InHouseCounsel wrote:

2) why were we not told there would be TWO card options with different reward terms- none of this was disclosed in advance.

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There were two options (with the same features) when the card was under the Citibank brand....

Message Edited by navy85 on 05-31-2009 10:04 AM