I was very, very excited about getting approved for the Atmos Summit card despite a painful approval process. Like, I was so excited to get this card that I texted at least 5 friends who aren’t that into the credit card/points space, telling them all about the card and how I can’t wait to spend my way to status.
But having had the card for about 2 weeks now, I can confidently say that I am no longer a fan of the card due to issues I’ve run into with the card and Bank of America.
Basically, I’m using the card to pay my estimated quarterly taxes and 2024 taxes (as a Los Angeles-resident, my tax deadline is October 15th). My plan was to make a tax payment, pay it off immediately, and once both the tax payment and my payment to the card posted, do that again until my taxes were paid in full. I moved the money I had saved up for my tax bill from my Bask Bank AA mileage account to my checking account about 2 weeks ago, thinking this process would only take 1-1.5 weeks at most.
My credit card limit is $25,000 and I charged around $23,000 on the card between September 19th and 22nd. Shortly after making each charge, I went on the BofA app and made a payments the credit card for about the same amounts (unlike some other credit card companies, BofA doesn’t make you wait for the charges to post before you can make a payment on the card). Despite making the payments between September 19th and 22nd (my September 19th payment was for $6,386), as of September 29th — 10 days later — I had an available balance of only about $1,100 somehow. And while today my available balance is $12k (even though it should be almost the full $25,000), I’m still getting an error when I try to make a payment on the card to pay my taxes.
I’ve now called Bank of America at least 4 times, with each call lasting between 30-60+ minutes and being bounced around between departments, and every time I call, I get a different answer for why I’m not able to make payments and why my available balance is slow low, ranking from:
- I never responded “Yes” when they texted me asking if I received my new card.
- I repaid my credit card balance too quickly.
- 5 business day security holds are industry-standard for payments received.
- The U.S. treasury is having an issue with accepting credit card payments (meanwhile, a credit card payment on Venture X cleared just fine).
This all reminds me of why I got rid of the Alaska credit cards that I previously held in the first place — I had the business card, and the app made it so confusing as to how much I owed that I was calling once a month to ensure that I was paying the correct amount (Bank of America, at least then, set up it’s business cards so you could see a balance on the business account and then a balance on the particular card, and while it would make sense for these to be different if you had multiple cards for different employees, I only had the card for myself and yet the balances would be different).
In my experience, there’s just something wrong with BofA’s tech stack and user experience that makes its cards so subpar to Amex, Chase, or even Capital One.
On top of that, even though the Atmos Summit is marked as a premium card, my customer service experience has been anything but that. Whereas with my Amex Biz Platinum, Chase Reserve for Business, Hilton Aspire, and Capital One Venture X card, I can tell that they answer quicker and that I’m getting dedicated premium customer service reps, there’s been no such experience on my end for Bank of America. When I call, I often get caught in the cycle of asking their AI customer service for the wrong option and it disconnects me rather than connecting me with a customer service rep. And even when a customer service rep does answer, they are rarely equipped to answer my question or to even guide me in the right direction.
So basically, if you’re looking for a premium experience, don’t expect that with Atmos Summit card. And if you’re looking to use your Atmos Summit card to pay taxes, I’d recommend having at least 3 weeks free to go through the “charge, have it post, pay, have it post, charge again” process.
I’m so disappointed given how excited I was for this. I went from thinking this was going to be the card that I spent the most on every year to wishing I never got it.
Has anyone else experienced issues with their Atmos Summit card? What do you think of Bank of America’s app and the cardholder experience? Let me know in the comments!
27 comments
Yeah, BofA tech sucks. Regarding the crazy way they split the card and personal charges, just pay only towards the corporate account number and it will all work out fine.
I no longer have the corporate card, but they kept telling me to do the same whenever I’d call — but somehow, I got hit with my only credit card interest fee payment in like a decade despite doing exactly that. Luckily, got them to waive the fee and then canceled the card. I really wish Alaska/Atmos would find a new bank to partner with, but know it’s BofA’s cash chow.
Totally agree. I had set up my 2 BofA cards for auto pay on due date. One card they claim I didn’t set up. This resulted in not only late charges but also a 30 day late on my pristine credit. After about 9 attempts with trying to have it reversed they dig their heels in and say it wasn’t set up for auto pay. Why would I set up one and not the second one? Their tech failed to include this card for auto pay yet I got penalized. Unreal. Not worth doing business with this uppity bank.
You know that trying to use more than your credit limit during a single statement period is generally frowned upon by banks, right? From your description it sounds like you’re trying to cycle your limit, which many banks will close your accounts for doing. It sounds to me like the slow release of your credit limit actually did you a favor in this case.
I don’t understand why they allow you to make payments before payments have posted if it’s frowned on. Capital One and Amex definitely don’t. Since BofA allowed it, I thought it was fine (I was just trying to have my payment post at the same time the charge posted so I could immediately make another tax payment on the card). I do understand now why that could raise red flags, but why allow customers to do this in the first place?!
The Summits complexity far exceeds either BofA or Alaska’s tech abilities.
The BofA app and website are as if Citi, Amex and Chase were given the opportunity to kneecap BofA cc operations. I have been on calls where even 2nd level reps cannot find common features.
Either they will need to address the underlying tech stack issues OR paper over the problem with marketing and promos (the more likely outcome).
If not, this premium card launch could be a strategic failure for both companies.
Agree completely! I hope you don’t mind, but I read part of this comment to the rep I was talking to at BofA today to highlight that it’s not just me having these issues. In the short amount of time this post has been live, I’ve received more comments than I have for almost any other post (and surprisingly, everyone is agreeing with me).
It sounds like you made the payment on the Bofa website rather than using the bill pay feature of your checking account.
When you do it from the checking account, the money is being pushed to BofA so they know the transaction is good. It’s like direct deposit.
When you do it the other way, they’re attempting to pull funds that could fail or be fraudulent and they will delays to ensure it’s valid as those type of transactions can have up to 30 days to claim fraud.
I pay all my bills via push and never have issues.
It might be, but I’ve never used the “bill pay” feature for paying any of my other credit cards (and I have like 13 of them) and it’s never been an issue with any other bank.
I never do business with BOA. I don’t need Alaska miles. I need a credit card that works and a bank that answers the phone and provides help when needed. Amex is absolutely the kings of this and there is no comparison. When I make an Amex payment , it’s is immediately credited.
You’re so right. I spent another 1+ hour on the phone with them this morning and kept saying that this is not a premium card or premium experience. They wouldn’t even give me any miles to make up for the 5 calls I’ve had (most lasting at least an hour with every person giving me a different reason why the charge wouldn’t go through). The woman I spoke with today was very nice but didn’t seem to believe me when I said I kept getting different answers for what was going on — so I had her stay on the line with me when she transferred me to a different department and she at least saw that first hand. It’s a mess!
Ditto, BofA stinks. . Alaska shot themselves in the foot with this choice of partner as they attempt to grow
I am experiencing literally the same thing (specifically to pay taxes). Rather than credit a $20K payment against my available line, they are holding the $20K payment for a five day period (including four days after the funds are debited from the account from which it came) in addition to holding the tax payment.
With Chase and AmEx, the credit line is adjusted to reflect the payment concurrent to the payment itself.
It sucks.
It’s awful! Take it from me — don’t pay your card early. Wait for the charge to post and only then make a payment. If you pay early, expect to not be able to make any tax payments on it (possibly ever? we’ll see).
That’s not all, wait until you go online and try to book an AA flight and find most of the space your looking at is phantom.
Oh yea, I know lots of people love Alaska/Atmos miles. I used to, but now prefer AA and even British Airways Avios to them. FWIW, I almost only use points for long-haul, international business class tickets and Alaska is okay with those types of redemptions.
I work in finance (wall street side of things). My guess is your account is flagged for pre-paying the account too fast. While nothing you are doing is nefarious, banks take money laundering extremely serious. Opening up an account, maxing it out, then immediately pre-paying it is going to raise flags with pretty much most banks. And even if it’s not flagged due to money laundering, blowing through 100% of your limit immediately is something could trigger a bank to take a second look at a brand new account.
I think it will all shake out in the end….but I could also see however your account is flagged, a normal phone CS rep might not have the ability or insight to really help. Hopefully it get’s fixed soon.
Appreciate that and this could be the issue (I just spent another 1.5 hours on the phone with them this morning, and it’s sounding like it’s either that or that they simply don’t allow payments to the US Treasury as they have been flagged for “fraud,” which I really doubt is the case as I made another payment to them before). Typically how long does it take for a flag like this to be lifted? I’m just seeing if I’ll possibly be able to make the payment before my taxes are due on October 15th or if I should give up.
By the way, it sounds like I won’t have status for my end of November flight regardless of whether I’m able to make the payment today. Basically, they said that status points post 4-6 weeks after the end of the month where the payment was posted. So if I was able to make these payments earlier in the month, I’d be gold — but now even if I’m able to make the payments next month, they won’t be considered posted (for status points) until October 31st and I’ll have to wait 4-6 weeks after that to get my Silver status. Sigh. Wish I never got this card!
“Fraud” in this sense isn’t what a normal person thinks. The customer service rep making $15/h might say “fraud”. My guess that is what their system shows. My guess is this is flagged as something more than “some jerk stole my credit card”. I think a person in a different division …..that you will never be able to contact……needs to review. They are well aware of points enthusiasts and churning. But there are also lots of shady characters whom exhibit similar traits. And BoA is a shite bank. Ever person I know there….in any capacity….from swap trader to bank teller is usually a sub standard version of their counterpart at any other bank. This will take a few days/weeks. They’ll get it situated. Just not sure if it will be on your timeline.
This is standard – most banks hold your payment for 10 days – unless it is a payment of statement balance
US bank holds 8 days; Bofa 10 days etc etc for payments not for statement balance
Wait till Statement and pay it off- the credit line will be released in 1 day.
This is to discourage payment that later bounces and immediate further charges over the limit that allow fraud.
Also to prevent cycling of credit line
Amex is an exception in this that they allow line to be released at once, but even they hold it for massive cycling
(my plans for Delta Diamond had to be replanned due to this)
Unfortunately I can’t wait for the statement to close — the tax payments are due by Oct 15th and my statement closes Oct 21st, so I’ve just put the charges on my Amex Biz Platinum. I’m disappointed about a lot here, but what I’m most disappointed is them saying that status points don’t post until 4-6 weeks after the end of the month where the charged posted. I did just put a $4,500 charge on the card (the amount I needed to get me to Silver for a flight I have at the end of November), but based on what the customer service rep told me, this won’t post until Oct 1st at the earliest and then the status points won’t credit until 4-6 weeks after Oct. 31st which means I won’t have status for the flight (and I’ve been desperately trying to put spend on the card so I’d have status for that flight). Sigh.
BofA is very data driven. I once forgot to pay a 60$ charge ona 90k credit limit card I had for 15 yrs- they closed it at once
Welcome to Bsnk of America. It does not get better!
I tried adding my card to Apply Pay. The system sent a text message that you click through a link to approve. When I approved it it said can’t be used for adding to Apple Pay. I called in several times talking to different people. Each of them repeated the step to send me a text message. Each time the same result of it failing. Then they told me I have to go to a branch to do it. That makes no sense. Why would I have to drive to a branch and try to explain this to someone there who likely won’t be able to help?
Anyone else have the same issue?
I second that aggravation you describe when calling BOA. That AI that you have to speak to first is horrible. It rarely understands you and I too have had it hang up on me rather than transfer me to an agent. Also, the agents are very uninformed. I preregistered during the promotion to get an additional 5000 points when approved. I never got it and none of the agents ever heard of the promotion. One agent just sent me a generic email that gave instruction on how to view and use your rewards. Useless. I guess I was supposed to apply through the email I got which I also find incredibly stupid that they expected me to just trust a link in an email and click on it and give all of my personal info. I constantly get fake emails telling me my Apple account is suspended, or my ICloud account will be closed blah blah blah. And they expected me to apply through their email? Instead , I went straight to the Alaska website and applied to be safe. So, apparently, now, no additional 5000 points. The BOA experience is painful.
I applied online for the Atmos Summit card, the day it came out. Let’s just say that i’m very confident there should be no reason i would be rejected for a credit card. The online application process failed with an error, and a phone number to call. The person i spoke to could not continue the online application, so she started asking me all the questions again. Pretty sure she made the application for another credit card product, most probably one i already had. She told me that my application was rejected, i will receive a letter over the next 7-10 days. (Never did.) I asked her to escalate my case, so i spoke to a “supervisor”, strictly about the application procedure snafu. She escalated in her turn, but she refused to give me a case number. I asked her to read what she wrote in my ticket, but she was clearly not reading, just making things up. Her promises that someone will call me within 72 hours didnt come true. I abandoned the idea of having the card. Two weeks later i received a letter (by regular mail), asking me to send a recent paystub. (By regular mail.) Ok, i did. Two more weeks later i called and asked for an update. Got another empty promise for a call within 72 hours. I abandoned the idea again. Another few more days later i received another letter (by regular mail) asking me for copies of ID, passport, birth certificate, utility bills, bank statement, and once again recent paystub. Sounds like i was getting verified by ICE already. Didn’t send those. Two days ago, out of the blue, someone from BofA(?) called me and asked permission to run my credit check again, because it’s been more than a month and their credit inquiry expired. I told her to go ahead, but i won’t give her any of my personal data. Seconds later she congratulated me on being approved for the credit card. I extended the congratulations to them, for such a difficult job finally completed.
I’ve had a different experience from yours but agree that this card is a total mistake. An airline card with unique benefits for foreign spend, right? After the second time they denied a foreign travel charge I called the fraud department to find out what’s going on. The rep explained to me that anything related to flights triggers fraud alerts. Huh? And foreign, especially. So, Alaska is continuing their partnership with a totally incompetent bank to fall on their faces with this major rebrand and their big push to start widebody foreign travel. It’s a classic sock drawer card – get the signup bonus and let it sit until time NOT to renew it.
Is it still a credit card if you can’t actually charge anything to it? I think somebody at Atmos is secretly working for Chase, or maybe AmEx.