The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card is ideal for Bank of America customers with a credit score of at least 700 who want top level rewards without having to pay the equivalent level annual fee.
If you’re a regular traveler and want a credit card that gives you both cash back and luxury travel benefits, this is a great choice to consider.
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card Overview
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card has a fairly standard APR and balance transfer rate. You can earn unlimited points, getting two for every $1 you spend on travel and dining and 1.5 points for every $1 spent on other purchases.
The rewards offered are in line with the industry average for a premium card. But, what makes the card special is the bonuses you get if you meet certain Bank of America criteria.
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card really comes into its own if you’re also a Bank of America Preferred Rewards customer.
If you are, you’ll get 25 percent to 75 percent more rewards on every purchase.
You’ll get even more if you maintain a certain amount of money in your BofA account—which can make this card very special among its peers. We’ll dig deeper into this in our analysis below.
The welcome bonus offer is a pretty hefty 60,000 extra points when you spend at least $4,000 on your Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card in the first 90 days of card membership, and there’s a lot of flexibility when redeeming points.
There are also attractive travel perks, no foreign transaction fees, and the possibility of earning up to an extra $100 a year in travel statement credit.
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card Key Facts
- $95 annual fee. This is impressively low for a premium rewards card. Many cards that offer similar rewards charge up to $450 per year, so to get the same rewards for a fraction of the price is a good deal.
- Extra points for Preferred Rewards customers. If you’re also a Bank of America customer and have at least $20,000 in your combined accounts, you’ll earn 25-75 percent more points on every transaction, which makes the card much more valuable.
- Up to $100 in travel statement credit for qualifying travel purchases makes it a worthwhile card for frequent travelers.
- Balance transfers. There is no free balance transfer period so this is not the card to use to hold your existing credit card debt.
- Luxury travel perks. As well as no foreign transaction fees and plenty of travel insurance protection, you can get premium benefits through the Visa Signature® Luxury Hotel Collection and use the Visa Signature® concierge service for travel planning, making it a good credit card for travel.
In-Depth Analysis
By now you should know all the important things about the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card. If you want to dig into the nitty gritty, there is a lot to unpack, so we’re going to take an in-depth look at all this card has to offer.
Fees and rates
I don’t usually use premium rewards cards because I don’t like having to pay such a high fee for my credit cards. But, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card breaks the mold by having such a low annual fee.
- Annual Fee – The $95 annual fee is very competitive when you think that some cards with equivalent premium rewards charge over $400 per year. If you get the annual $100 extra statement credit it’s basically paying for itself.
- APR – The APR rates are variable on both purchases and balance transfers, which is fairly typical for premium rewards cards. It’s important to note that there is a penalty APR for late payments.
- Late Fee – Up to $40 for late payments.
- Returned Payment Fee – Up to $29 for returned payments.
- Balance Transfer Fee – The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card also has a balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater. The transferred balance will immediately begin accruing interest at the standard Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. So, it’s not a good idea to take this card if you have to bring your credit card debt with you. That said, very few premium rewards cards also have good balance transfer offers so it shouldn’t count against the card.
- Foreign Transaction Fee – You won’t have to pay any fees for foreign transactions, which combines well with the great travel perks that the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card offers.
Rewards and benefits
Points
With the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card you can earn a rate of two points for every $1 you spend on travel and dining and 1.5 points on all other purchases.
This is good, but not outstanding for a premium rewards card. The points really stack up if you are a Bank of America Preferred Rewards customer. Then, you can earn 25-75 percent more points for every transaction.
Bank of America has three tiers for Preferred Rewards customers, depending on how much money you have in your Bank of America and Merrill accounts. Your balance is calculated across all of your checking, savings, and investment accounts.
| Combined balance | % boost to your rewards | Points per $1 on dining and travel | Points per $1 on other purchases |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000 – $49,999 | 25% | 2.5 points | 1.875 points |
| $50,000 – $99,999 | 50% | 3 points | 2.25 points |
| $100,000+ | 75% | 3.5 points | 2.625 points |
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card also comes with a pretty hefty bonus offer. If you make at least $4,000 in purchases during the first 90 days of card membership, you’ll get an extra 60,000 points, which is the equivalent of $600.
What’s great is that there’s plenty of flexibility when it comes to redeeming your points. Your points never expire and you can redeem a minimum of 2,500 points at a time.
Points can be exchanged for a cash deposit directly into your eligible Bank of America of Merrill account as well as in the form of statement credit. Savings and 529 accounts are eligible as well as checking accounts. You can also use your points to purchases gift cards.
Travel statement credit
One of the additional travel benefits offered by the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card is the extra travel statement credit. If you use your card for certain qualifying airline transactions such as seating upgrades, in-flight entertainment, and on-board food and drinks then you can earn up to $100 per year in statement credit.
Every four years, you can also get security statement credit of up to $85 with TSA Precheck or up to $100 with Global Entry when you use your Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card to pay the application fee. It’s not a perk that’s going to make or break your decision about whether or not to get the card, but if you know that you use this service anyway it’s a nice extra to get the fee repaid.
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card travel perks
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card gives cardholders access to an impressive selection of premium benefits when you use your card to book a hotel through the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection.
You can also draw on the Visa Signature Concierge Service to book restaurants, travel, and special events like concerts and shows. These are pretty standard for premium rewards cards, but nice to have nonetheless.
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card travel protection
As you’d expect, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card comes with a full raft of travel protection insurance. You can draw on trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per ticket if your travel is delayed for more than 12 hours, which has to be you, your spouse, and dependent children.
There is also coverage for delayed or lost baggage, travel accidents, and emergency evacuation or transportation. The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card also offers assistance with coordinating medical, legal, and travel services while you’re overseas.
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card includes standard roadside assistance 24/7 and auto rental collision damage waiver that covers you for collision or theft when you rent a car.
Extended warranty
It’s reassuring to know that the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card also offers extended warranty and purchase protection for items bought using your card. The terms stack up very favorably when compared with other premium rewards cards.
You can get items repaired, replaced, or reimbursed up to a cost of $10,000 per item. The manufacturer’s warranty is also automatically doubled on eligible items purchased with your card. You can claim reimbursement for any item that you bought with your Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card and want to return within 90 days of purchase.
Visa Signature Return Protection
Return Protection will reimburse for the cost of an item purchased within 90 days and the retailer won’t allow it to be returned. This has a limit of $250 per claim and $1,000 per year. So if you buy 5 items that each cost $300, you would only be eligible for $250 per claim, and once you do that 4 times in a year, you can’t file any more claims.
Security Features
Anti-fraud
Security is my number one issue for credit cards. This is probably the same for anyone who’s been burnt by credit card fraud before. The first thing I checked was that the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card has a $0 fraud liability offer so that if someone steals your credit card details and runs up a huge bill, you won’t have to pay it. Bank of America also monitors your account for abnormal spending patterns so that it can block fraudulent transactions.
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card also helps you stay safe when you shop online by offering a temporary credit card number. This number is connected to your credit card so that all transactions are charged to your Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card, but you don’t need to expose your permanent credit card number to hackers or cyber thieves.
Alerts
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card comes with the standard options to set up mobile text message or email alerts that notify you when a payment is due or has gone through.
Digital banking
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card comes with all of the digital banking tools that you’d expect in the 21st century. You can use the text banking service to access information about your account. You can also use online and mobile banking apps to carry out most banking transactions including paying your credit card bill, transferring funds, and checking remaining credit.
Your Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card is also attached to a digital wallet that lets you use Apple Pay, Android Pay, or Samsung Pay for both in-store and in-app purchases.
Support
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card offers pretty good support to its cardholders. You can speak to an advisor by phone, email, or live chat between 8AM and 9PM Monday through Friday and 11AM to 8PM on Saturday. The emergency support line is open 24/7.
You can also find support and advice in the FAQ and Help sections, and use your mobile and online banking apps to make payments and check your balance at any time.
Overdraft protection
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card members can get a different type of support from the overdraft protection. If you link your credit card to your Bank of America deposit account, you can save yourself from fees, overdrafts, and returned checks.
For a $12 fee each time, Bank of America will automatically transfer money in multiples of $100 from your credit card to your deposit account if you’re overdrawn at the end of the business day.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Great Sign-up Bonus — Earn a 60,000 point sign up bonus after making $4,000 in new purchases within 90 days of account opening.
- Strong Bonus Rewards — Earn 2 points per dollar spent on all travel and dining expenses.
- Valuable Rewards on All Purchases — Earn 1.5 points per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Save Money on Travel — Receive up to $100 each year in travel statement credits
Cons
- High Annual Fee — There’s a $95 annual fee for this card.
- High Interest Rate — This card has a higher standard interest rate than similar cards that don’t offer rewards.
Should you get the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card?
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card is an excellent card if you meet the following criteria:
- You have a good/excellent credit score.
- You’re a Bank of America customer.
- You qualify for Preferred Rewards.
- You’re a frequent traveler who’ll make the most of the high earning travel and dining rewards.
If all of these apply to you, then the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card is best for you.