Bank of America - No longer down loading recent credit card transactions....

It doesn't matter which version of Quicken you use. It's happening for all of us.

I have the same problem with my BofA CC. BofA merged with MBNA, so under the hood your credit card is now a MBNA credit card, and it changes quite a few things in the BofA information systems. Have you noticed the changes in the website, between your checking and your credit card?

I have two accounts: a checking and a credit card. The checking account is still handled by bank of america, so no doubt, this is still working like clockwork. The credit card is another story. They integrated with MBNA's credit card system, and there are many things you just can't do anymore. Just to name a few: you can't search your credit card online statement for transactions the way you can search your checking account; and used to search your CC account. Worse, to all of us Quicken users, the download to Quicken has been broken for credit cards, and it's not going to come back up anytime soon. I've had to integrate some information systems with banks in the past, and it is a slow process. The bureaucracy layer weighs a ton and stretches the agenda like crazy.

Anyway, the reality is: we're back to pencil and paper reconciliations, and it's a nightmare :(

The question is: do you keep the credit card, or do you open one somewhere else? Well, my own choice is to keep the card, because I have a stellar credit history on it. So, to those in my situation, I say: suck it up. To the others who just opened a BofA card, I say: there are plenty of other financial institutions out there and in 2007 you shouldn't bother opening a card with a FI that doesn't allow download to Quicken.

J.

When my (Old) Wachovia/MBNA credit card was moved to BA, I learned that they did not support direct download at all, and that the only download available was web connect of the monthly statement. This may be different for customers with bank accounts who pay for quicken access. I go the impression they turned off direct connect exactly so they could force you to get a checking account and pay for access.

I still have that card, although I'm going to cancel it, and it still only supports web connect for statement download.

In hindsite, BA did me a great favor - the Chase Freedom card is a great deal. Unlimited 1% credits to the cash back account, more for drugs and supermarket. And the "credits" actually buy $250 for ever

200 in credits! And quicken direct connect download. I can't imagine why any BA customer wouldn't switch.

I jettisoned my BoA Visa over this issue ... because I was annoyed at having features taken away, and because I couldn't get a coherent reply from customer service as to whether it would ever change back.

To replace it I got a "no hassle rewards" card from Capital One. It's support of Quicken is no better (statements are downloaded, not new transactions) but they never pretended otherwise. And they give 2% cash reward for groceries and gasoline. Between that and my Discover card I'm not missing BoA one bit.

-- BeeL

Thanks for the update Joe. I have two credit cards at BofA, and only one of them does not update. It may well be an old MBNA card that rolled over in the merger.

It takes me but a minute or two, on the days that I *use* my credit card, to enter the transactions into Quicken. THAT way, I *know* the work is accurate, NOT having to rely on a third party. Reconciliationis a snap--when the monthly statement comes, I just use the reconciliation feature in QUicken and in 3 minutes...all done. WHy do you people try to reinvent the wheel, spending hours trying to make the financial institution's system work?

>

Actually, it was the other way around. I still have an MBNA card or two under the old system.

The download is NOT broken. It's just that you can only download at the end of a statement period.

You can see cleared and pending transactions, as always. If, however, you want your Quicken accounts to match your online data, you may enter each transaction as you see it online, or a summary line that you delete when you get around to downloading.

It isn't just the merge. FIA card services is the institution handling the credit cards for BofA, MBNA, Sears, and many other accounts. All these now have download available on a monthly only basis.

I don't do pencil and paper. I simply wait for the end of the month.

Keep it, but either don't use it or be sure to pay it in full every month. BofA just changed their card agreements (well, at least the business ones) in such a way as to really limit your rights if there is a dispute.

I'm afraid they are getting fewer. Fact is, Intuit has been charging banks for integration with Quicken. It has become a bigger issue, for some reason - more and more banks are not integrating, or charging for integration.

Intuit is forcing the issue by disabling QIF imports for checking accounts and credit cards - and by 'sunsetting' older versions of Quicken that allowed it.

The banks are fighting back by limiting how often you can access data from/to your Quicken program.

I'm no psychic, but I suspect Intuit fee structures are to blame.

Well, it's really becoming a problem. My wife and I use the same credit card, and she's not good at turning in her receipts. Heck, she's got more purses than I have shoes (she also has more shoes). For a good cash forecast, I can't rely on monthly reconciliations. I got to check my online statement all the time. What's the purpose of having quicken able to connect to my FI... it used to be convenient. Now, it's a hasstle.

.. I am wondering if MS Money is suffering from the same problem