Had to activate the card by phone because there seems to be no way to do it online. No way to set up an online account? Just bad!

This has been a strange experience. I finally responded to one of their pre-approved offers in the mail. I am approved for $6,000 and told to wait for 7-10 days. Then nothing. No status emails. No advertisements for their other services. This is fine, just unusual. Capital One and U.S. Bank send emails constantly. I did receive a letter with my Experian credit report info. No explanation. It looked like a rejection letter from the outside.

I get my card after 7 days. I can activate it online or by downloading the app. I choose online. I am told I need to create an online account first. I do so, no problem. I am then told I need to have my identity verified. I will receive an email with further instructions. They will do this in a first-come first-served basis. I decide to download the app. I am then told my account has been locked, the one I just created online. Usually it's just the last 4 numbers of the card and your SS and you're good to go. I guess I could call and try to speed up the process. It's just aggravating.

Update: 4 days later and I am still waiting for the email; for them to process and verify my information so I can log into my online account. Ridiculous. I can use the card but can't pay the bill.

Pretty weak offering. I'm a steady 698-704 score depending on the CB. 35 years in same line of work, professional, very high income, low DTI, zero negs ever on my CB. I have 12 existing cards, mostly cash back cards, CLs from 2500-22k. Most $8-12k range. I was 'approved' for 2300. TOO FUNNY... except the totally wasted inquiry.

Considering this card is called a "Cash Back" credit card this is a misnomer because it's not easy to get your cash back. In order to get your rewards you need to get it in increments of $25. I got $217.51 in rewards after I spent $1000+ in a month. I expected to get ALL of my reward money back. Nope! I could get $200 back in a statement credit or direct deposit but NOT $217.51. It needed to be either $200 or $225. My $17.51 that was left just sits there as all I could get was $200 cash back. I am unable to get it as a credit or a deposit and there's no gift cards or other rewards available. Now in order to not lose this money, I have to spend over $300 MORE to gain enough "points" to get to $25 in rewards and then ge the $25 in rewards that's owed me!

This is idiotic! On EVERY OTHER credit card I have when you get your rewards statement you can get ALL OF IT either as a statement credit or direct deposit. Every cent, not in increments of $25. So if you have $45 of rewards with this card you can only get $25 and the $20 that's left just sits on your account and you have to spend more to get to $50. They literally keep you on the hook for your reward money.

My plan is to get my $25 reward money and stop using this card. Initially it's great that they give you $200 when you spend the first thousand and it is 0% interest for the first 15 months but as a rewards card it doesn't give you anything special that another card gives you. 3% for gas, groceries and dining and 1% is nothing special. Having to leave your reward money sitting because you don't spend hit EXACTLY $25 increments just stinks.

There are better deals so I would pass. I don't like when banks offer a "rewards card" and make it so difficult to actually GET your rewards.

Bank of the West sounds like something out of early American history when caravans of covered wagons pushed west and small banks were set up in western settlement towns. Well, I guess it makes sense since the Bank of the West Platinum Rewards MasterCard Credit Card seems to be stuck in the past. The current excellent credit credit card market is characterized by extremely attractive offers, such as hundreds of dollars in initial bonuses, long 0% intro terms and lucrative base rewards structures. So what do you get with the Bank of the West Platinum Rewards MasterCard Credit Card? Oh just one point per $1 spent and 0% on purchases for the first 6 months, which is the base earning rate most points credit cards have (usually accompanied by 2-5 points for certain spending categfories; points are already less straightforward than cash back) and a 0% term that’s 15 months shorter than the longest on the market. Needless to say you should leave the Bank of the West Platinum Rewards MasterCard to the guys on Hell on Wheels or Deadwood or whatever.

Since youre not going to get the Bank of the West Platinum Rewards Card you need some alternatives. If you want an initial bonus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a good choice since it gives you either $500 cash or $625 in travel. The Capital One Venture Rewards Card and the Blue Cash Everyday from Amex are my favorite rewards cards because the Venture is basically 2% cash back as long as you redeem miles for travel related purchases and the Everday Card offers 3% cash back at supermarkets, 2% at gas stations and department stores and 1% cash back on everything else. For 0% go with the Citi Simplicity or Platinum Select Cards because both offer 0% on purchases ad balance transfers for 21 months.