Difference between revisions of "Bank of america cash rewards card"

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'''For anyone who can move $100,000 in investment or retirement assets to Merrill Lynch, this card earns a 5,25% reward rate on your choice of bonus categories (Gas, Online Shopping, Dining, Travel, Drug Stores, and Home Improvement + Furnishings). You can even change your category every month.'''
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'''For anyone who can move $100,000 in investment or retirement assets to Merrill Lynch, this card earns a 5.25% reward rate on your choice of bonus categories (Gas, Online Shopping, Dining, Travel, Drug Stores, and Home Improvement + Furnishings). Online shopping can be particular valuable. You can even change your category every month.'''
  
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'''If you can't qualify for the higher reward rates, the reward rate is 3%, and the card is much less interesting.'''
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'''If you can't qualify for the higher reward rates, the reward rate is 3% and the card is much less interesting.'''
  
 
{{TOC|All}}
 
{{TOC|All}}
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*[[#Bank of America Travel Reward Card Options|Bank of America Travel Card Options]]
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*[[#Bank of America Cash Reward Card Options|Cash Reward Card Options]]
 
*[[#Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program|Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program]]
 
*[[#Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program|Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program]]
 
*[[#Collecting the Signup Bonus|Signup Bonus]]
 
*[[#Collecting the Signup Bonus|Signup Bonus]]
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*[[#Taking Advantage of the Airline Incidental Credit (Premium Rewards card)|Premium Rewards Card Airline Incidental Credit]]
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*[[#Bonus Categories|Bonus Categories]]
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*[[#Using the Card for your Everyday Spending|Using the Card for your Everyday Spending]]
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*[[#Getting Rid of the Card|Getting Rid of the Card]]
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*[[#Other Notable Benefits|Other Notable Benefits]]
 
 
{{/TOC}}
 
{{/TOC}}
  
  
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=== Bank of America Cash Reward Card options ===  
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=== Bank of America Cash Reward Card Options ===  
  
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There is a student version of this card. In addition, Bank of America issues a number of other credit cards that have historically had the same earning structure of the Cash Rewards card—the Susan Komen, World Wildlife, and U.S. Pride cards, and a set of cards for each baseball team. It is still unclear if these variants will offer the new "pick your category" reward rates, or if they will continue to only offer the 3% rate on the gas category. It is also unclear whether the new restriction on one Cash Rewards card every 24 months applies to these other card variants.  
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Bank of America offers a number of other credit cards that are essentially identical to the Cash Rewards card: the Susan Komen, World Wildlife, and U.S. Pride cards, and a card for every baseball team. Each variation has the same reward rates, signup bonus, and benefits. There is a also a student version of the Cash Rewards card. [//www.bankofamerica.com/credit-cards/#filter Bank of America Card Listing].
  
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There is a business version of a Cash Rewards card, but it offers bonus rewards on completely different categories, and it requires separate assets in business accounts to qualify for the bonus rewards.
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Bank of America also has a Business Bank Rewards card, but it offers bonus rewards on completely different categories, and requires separate assets held in business accounts to qualify for the bonus rewards.  [//www.bankofamerica.com/smallbusiness/credit-cards/products/cash-rewards-business-credit-card/ Bank of America Business Cash Card Webpage].
  
 
=== Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program ===
 
=== Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program ===
  
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'''Bank of America operates a "Preferred Reward" program that provides extra benefits to their customers, based on the total amount of assets they have at Bank of America and Merrill Edge'''. Among the most valuable benefits is a boost to the rewards earned from many of Bank of America's credit cards. [//info.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/ Preferred Reward Program].
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{{BOA Preferred Rewards}}
  
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If you have over $100,000 in assets, you'll be a Platinum Honors member, and get a 75% reward bonus. If you have between $50-100,000 in assets, you'll be a Platinum member, and get a 50% reward bonus. And, if you have at least $25,000 in assets, you'll be a Gold member, and get a 25% reward bonus.
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=== Collecting the Signup Bonus ===
  
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This can make a big difference in how competitive a Bank of America rewards card is, compared to the competition. For example, the Bank of America Cash Rewards card earns 3% on the category of your choice, which is pretty good. But, if you have $100,000 in combined assets at BOA and Merrill, you'll get a 75% reward bonus, and the card will earn 5.25% instead, which is much better. Similarly, the Travel Rewards cards earns 1.5% on everyday purchases, which is less attractive than a good no-annual-fee cash-back cards (which earn 2%). However, with the 7%% bonus, they earn 2.625% instead, which is the best permanent cashback rate of any no-annual-fee card.
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>{{Signup Intro|interesting|bonus reward rate on the category of your choice}} {{Signup Amount|$200}} {{Signup Value|185|1000|0}}</li>
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Even if you have that much money, you don't want to keep tens of thousands of dollars around in a low-interest rate checking account. But, you don't have to. If you have an existing retirement account, or investment assets, that you can transfer over to Merrill Lynch, you can qualify for the extra rewards, without any substantial additional expense. Your existing mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, stocks, and other investments should transfer over, without you having to sell them, and you won't incur any fees, except potentially a small account transfer or closing fee at your existing broker. Rates for any future sales or purchases are comparable to what is available elsewhere. And you don't need to move over all your assets, just enough to qualify.
 
  
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=== Collecting the Signup Bonus ===
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In the past, we would have recommended signing up for the Premium Rewards card (for its 50,000 point bonus) and converting it to a Cash Rewards Card. But with the new restrictions on getting the Premium Rewards Card, you are more likely to have to apply for the Cash Rewards Card directly.
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''There are restrictions to earning the signup bonuses multiple times'''. You aren't eligible for the Cash Rewards Card if you already have the card, unless you've had it for at least 24 months. But you don't need to cancel it in order to apply for another card.</li>
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<li>'''The signup bonus on the Cash Rewards card is a not that interesting'''. You'll receive $200 (with $500 initial spend). The primary reason to get the card is for the bonus category reward rates. In the past, we would have recommended signing up for the Premium Rewards card (for its 50,000 point bonus) and converting it to a Cash Rewards card. But with the new restrictions on getting the Premium Rewards card, you are more likely to have to get the Cash Rewards card directly.</li>
 
  
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<li>'''There are restrictions to earning the signup bonuses multiple times'''. You aren't eligible for the Cash Rewards card, if you've received one in the last 24 months. But, you don't have to cancel it, in order to apply for another card.. In addition, you are still subject to BOA's overall rules of two new cards every three months, three new cards every year, and four new cards every two years.</li>
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Regardless, you are still subject to BOA's overall rules of two new cards every three months, three new cards every year, and four new cards every two years.
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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=== Taking Advantage of the Airline Incidental Credit (Premium Rewards card) ===
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=== Notable Benefits ===
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''The Premium Rewards card includes an annual $100 airline incidental credit'''. Unlike the one from the American Express cards, it is not limited to a single airline that you select at the beginning of the year. If you can take full advantage of the credit, the effective annual fee drops below zero.</li>
 
  
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<li>'''Because the credit is issued on a calendar-year basis, you can qualify for two credits the first year you have the card'''. For example, if you sign up for the card in August, you can get up to $100 credit, for purchases made between August and December, and you can get take advantage of another $100 credit, between the following January and August.</li>
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{{Benefit World}}
  
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<li>'''Credits only apply to incidental expenses''' like baggage fees, food and beverage purchases, and airport lounge access fees, not on actual ticket purchases. The credit for this card explicitly includes ticket change and cancellation fees, and preferred seating upgrades, which are often excluded from similar credits on other cards. However, it only includes flights that start in the United States, and that are operated by the major US airlines (Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, US Airways, and United, but not Spirit).</li>
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{{Benefit BOA}}
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<li>'''You are not supposed to receive the credit when you purchase a gift card from an airline. However, in practice, you are often reimbursed'''. If you don't have an opportunity to use the credit naturally, you can typically purchase $100 in gift cards, get reimbursed for your purchase, and then use the gift cards to eventually purchase actual airplane tickets. This works on some airlines and not others, and you need to keep each purchase under an airline-specific maximum, so you'll need to search online or experiment. {{Link|incidental credits}}.</li>
 
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
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=== Using the Card for your Everyday Spending ===
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=== Bonus Categories ===
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
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The Cash Rewards Card earns 3% in a your choice of one of the following categories:
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<li>'''If you don't have $100,000 in assets with BOA and Merrill, you probably don't want to use any of these cards for your everyday spending'''. Without the 75% point bonus, the reward rates aren't as good as what you can get elsewhere. One of the two cards might still be interesting at the $50,000 / 50% bonus level. But the cards are definitely not interesting at any level below that.</li>
 
  
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<li>'''If you can qualify for the higher-level of rewards, you MIGHT want to use one of these cards as your general-purpose reward card'''. If you have $100,000 in assets with Bank of America and Merrill Edge, you'll earn 2.625% on every purchase made on these cards. For many people, that makes them the best general-purpose reward cards available. However, there are a few advanced options that can potentially be more valuable, although each has its own potential issues and limitations. {{Link|general purpose}}.</li>
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<ul class="checklist">
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*'''Gas'''
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*'''Dining'''
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*'''Drug Stores'''
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*'''Home Improvements & Furnishings'''
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*'''Online Shopping'''
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*'''Travel''' (and '''Rent''')
 +
</ul>
  
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If you highly valuable premium-cabin award travel, and have the patience to find good award opportunities, you'll be better off earning Membership Reward or Ultimate Reward points, which you can use for frequent flyer tickets. If not, 2.625% cash back is very good.  
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At the maximum Preferred Rewards level, the 3% reward rate turns into 5.25%. You can even change your category every month, so you could earn 5.25% on online shopping in one month and 5.25% on Home Improvement in another.
  
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<li>'''The cards come with return protection, extended warranty coverage, and protection for lost and stolen items, but don't include price protection''' (which rebates the difference if something you buy is available cheaper elsewhere during the first 60-90 days). {{Link|purchase protections}}.</li>
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However, bonus rewards are capped on the first $2,500 of spending each quarter. Given that a Platinum Honors member can earn 2.625% on any purchase with the Travel or Premium Rewards Card, the Cash Rewards Card earns up to an extra 2.625% on its bonus categories. The maximum amount of extra rewards you can earn with the Cash Rewards is $262.50 per year.  
  
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<li>'''If you do want to use one of these cards, as your general-purpose reward card, you need to decide whether you also want to use it for your travel and restaurant purchases'''. This Premium Rewards version gives you a 2% base rate on travel and restaurant purchases, which turns into 3.5% with the Preferred Rewards bonus. If you have another credit card, like the Sapphire Reserve, you can earn even higher reward rates on these categories. If not, this is a pretty good card, but you should also consider using the Uber card, which has no annual-fee, and earns 4% on restaurants and 3% on travel. {{Link|Travel Spending}}. {{Link|Restaurant Spending}}.</li>
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Since the bonus rewards are capped, it can be useful to get multiple cards. It is also generally better to use the card for categories like online shopping and home improvement, rather on categories like gas and dining where you can already earn high reward rates from other cards.  
  
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<li>'''Even if you aren't interested in the travel and restaurant bonus reward rates, you might still consider getting the Premium version of the card, just for its signup bonus'''. You'll get an extra $300 when you sign up for the card. If you take the steps to make sure you always use the travel credit, you can offset the annual fee each year. So, even if you don't use the travel and restaurant bonus categories, you'd be better off. Of course, you could always get the Premium Rewards version, and downgrade it to the Travel Rewards version, after the initial year. </li>
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Keep in mind that most rent or homeowners association charges are classified as part of BOA's travel category and for many people will be an easy way to qualify for the 3-5.25% reward rate.  
  
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</ul>
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The card also earns '''2% at grocery store and warehouse clubs''', which turns into 3.25% at the Platinum Honors level. But since spending in these categories counts against the cap, you'll want to focus on the the choose your 3% categories and only use the card at the 2% categories to fill in any remaining cap space.
  
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=== Other Notable Benefits ===
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=== Getting Rid of the Card ===
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>{{Cancel Cashout}}</li>
  
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{{Benefit Signature}}
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<li>'''If you cancel your card, you may not be able to easily get it back'''. Bank of America limits your ability to get more than 4 cards every 24 months and 3 cards every 12 months. And you can't get one of their cards if you've gotten more than 3 personal credit cards from any bank in the last 12 months (7 cards for BOA banking customers). If you are signing up for bunch of new credit cards, you won't be able to get new Bank of America cards. Furthermore, you explicitly can't sign up for the Cash Rewards Card if you already have one.</li>
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{{Benefit BOA}}
 
  
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<li>'''$100 TSA Credit''' (Premium version). You get up to a $100 rebate of your your application fees for Global Entry or TSA Precheck. You can take advantage of the credit once every four years.</li>
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<li>'''If you aren't currently using your Cash Rewards card, consider keeping it anyway'''. You aren't paying an annual fee and, sometime in the future, you may decide that you are willing to make the extra effort to maximize your rewards with its flexible bonus categories.</li>  
  
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<li>'''Extensive travel protections''' (Premium version). Like the true premium credit cards, you'll get a full set of travel protections, whenever you use the card to purchase travel—including trip cancellation, trip delay, baggage delay, and lost baggage coverage.</li>
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<li>{{Cancel Retention}}</li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  

Latest revision as of 02:36, 19 February 2021

  Bank of America Credit Cards

BOACash.png

Bank of America Webpage
Annual Fee

No annual fee

Current Offer
$200 ($1,000 initial spend)
Typical Signup Offer

15,000 points

$500 initial spend

($140 net value, .29/$)

Signup Bonus Chart
Bonus Categories

3-5.25% on 1 category of your choice

2-3.5% Groceries and Wholesale Clubs

1-1.75% Everything Else


3%% Foreign Transaction Fee


BOACash.png

For anyone who can move $100,000 in investment or retirement assets to Merrill Lynch, this card earns a 5.25% reward rate on your choice of bonus categories (Gas, Online Shopping, Dining, Travel, Drug Stores, and Home Improvement + Furnishings). Online shopping can be particular valuable. You can even change your category every month.

If you can't qualify for the higher reward rates, the reward rate is 3% and the card is much less interesting.


Jump to


Bank of America Cash Reward Card Options

Bank of America offers a number of other credit cards that are essentially identical to the Cash Rewards card: the Susan Komen, World Wildlife, and U.S. Pride cards, and a card for every baseball team. Each variation has the same reward rates, signup bonus, and benefits. There is a also a student version of the Cash Rewards card. Bank of America Card Listing.

Bank of America also has a Business Bank Rewards card, but it offers bonus rewards on completely different categories, and requires separate assets held in business accounts to qualify for the bonus rewards. Bank of America Business Cash Card Webpage.

Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program

Bank of America's "Preferred Reward" program provides extra benefits based on the total amount of assets you have at Bank of America and Merrill Edge. Among the most valuable benefits is a boost to the rewards earned from many of Bank of America's credit cards. Preferred Reward Program.

If you have over $100,000 in assets, you'll achieve Platinum Honors status and get a 75% reward bonus. If you have between $50-100,000 in assets, you'll get Platinum status and a 50% reward bonus. And if you have at least $25,000 in assets, you'll get Gold status and a 25% reward bonus.

This can make a big difference in your Bank of America rewards rates, compared to the competition. For example, the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card earns 1.5% on your purchases, which is less attractive than the best no-annual-fee cashback cards. However, if you have $100,000 in combined assets at BOA and Merrill, you'll receive a 75% reward bonus, and the card will earn 2.625%, which is the best rate of any no-annual-fee card. With a 50% reward bonus, the rate would still be 2.25%.

Even if you have that much money available, you probably don't want to keep it in a low-interest checking account. But you don't have to. If you have an existing retirement account or other investment assets that you can transfer over to Merrill Lynch, you can qualify for the extra rewards without any substantial additional expense. Your existing mutual funds, ETFs, bonds, stocks, and other investments should transfer over, without having to sell them, you won't incur any fees, except potentially a small account transfer or closing fee at your existing broker, and there is no tax implication. Rates for any future sales or purchases are comparable to what is available elsewhere. And you don't need to move over all your assets, just enough to qualify.

Collecting the Signup Bonus

  • This card is primarily interesting for its bonus reward rate on the category of your choice, not for its signup bonus. The typical signup bonus is $200. After subtracting the opportunity cost of using the card for $1,000 of spending, the calculated net value for the initial year is $185 (19 cents per dollar spent).

    • In the past, we would have recommended signing up for the Premium Rewards card (for its 50,000 point bonus) and converting it to a Cash Rewards Card. But with the new restrictions on getting the Premium Rewards Card, you are more likely to have to apply for the Cash Rewards Card directly.

  • There are restrictions to earning the signup bonuses multiple times. You aren't eligible for the Cash Rewards Card if you already have the card, unless you've had it for at least 24 months. But you don't need to cancel it in order to apply for another card.

    • Regardless, you are still subject to BOA's overall rules of two new cards every three months, three new cards every year, and four new cards every two years.

Notable Benefits

  • Access to Mastercard luxury hotel program. When you book at one of the participating hotels, you'll get an number of valuable benefits, like free breakfast, a $100 hotel credit, a room upgrade, and late checkout.Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks
  • Free ShopRunner membership. Like all World Elite Mastercards, your card entitles you to a complimentary ShopRunner membership, which provides free two-day and return shipping from around 150 of the largest online retailers. ShopRunner
  • DoorDash and Hello Fresh discounts. Cardmembers who have a DoorDash membership get $5 off their first two orders each month when paid for by their Mastercard. If you don't have a free membership from Chase, you can get your first three months membership for free through Mastercard. You also get a 5% credit back on each HelloFresh purchase.
  • Free museum entry. As with all Bank of America credit cards, you'll get free admission to hundreds of museums on the first weekend of every month. Admission is for the cardholder only. Guests are not included, nor are any special exhibitions and other ticketed shows. Museums on Us.
  • BankAmeriDeals. Bank of America has a shopping discount program that works like Amex Offers. To get each discount, you'll need to "activate" it through their website. Once activated, discounts are automatically applied when you use your card for the corresponding purchase. Most deals are cash-back based (typically 10%). BankAmeriDeals.

Bonus Categories

The Cash Rewards Card earns 3% in a your choice of one of the following categories:

    • Gas
    • Dining
    • Drug Stores
    • Home Improvements & Furnishings
    • Online Shopping
    • Travel (and Rent)

At the maximum Preferred Rewards level, the 3% reward rate turns into 5.25%. You can even change your category every month, so you could earn 5.25% on online shopping in one month and 5.25% on Home Improvement in another.

However, bonus rewards are capped on the first $2,500 of spending each quarter. Given that a Platinum Honors member can earn 2.625% on any purchase with the Travel or Premium Rewards Card, the Cash Rewards Card earns up to an extra 2.625% on its bonus categories. The maximum amount of extra rewards you can earn with the Cash Rewards is $262.50 per year.

Since the bonus rewards are capped, it can be useful to get multiple cards. It is also generally better to use the card for categories like online shopping and home improvement, rather on categories like gas and dining where you can already earn high reward rates from other cards.

Keep in mind that most rent or homeowners association charges are classified as part of BOA's travel category and for many people will be an easy way to qualify for the 3-5.25% reward rate.

The card also earns 2% at grocery store and warehouse clubs, which turns into 3.25% at the Platinum Honors level. But since spending in these categories counts against the cap, you'll want to focus on the the choose your 3% categories and only use the card at the 2% categories to fill in any remaining cap space.

Getting Rid of the Card

  • Make sure to cash out your rewards balance before you cancel your card.
  • If you cancel your card, you may not be able to easily get it back. Bank of America limits your ability to get more than 4 cards every 24 months and 3 cards every 12 months. And you can't get one of their cards if you've gotten more than 3 personal credit cards from any bank in the last 12 months (7 cards for BOA banking customers). If you are signing up for bunch of new credit cards, you won't be able to get new Bank of America cards. Furthermore, you explicitly can't sign up for the Cash Rewards Card if you already have one.
  • If you aren't currently using your Cash Rewards card, consider keeping it anyway. You aren't paying an annual fee and, sometime in the future, you may decide that you are willing to make the extra effort to maximize your rewards with its flexible bonus categories.
  • You might be able to receive a retention offer to keep your card. It could be enough to make it worthwhile to keep the card.



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