Bank of america credit card benefits guide

The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card offers middle-of-the-road rewards and standard credit card perks. But if you need a little extra time to pay for your purchases without penalty, this card gets more valuable. If you’re a Bank of America® loyalist who wants straightforward rewards and flexible redemption options, this no-annual-fee card is a solid option.

Here are some benefits of the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card.

Flexible rewards

1. 1.5% back on everything

Using the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card, you’ll earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything. Some flat-rate credit cards earn 2% back or more, but you might have to pay an annual fee or jump through extra hoops to get that heightened rewards rate.

2. Extra rewards if you're a Preferred Rewards member

The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card gets far more valuable if you keep a significant balance in Bank of America® or Merrill accounts. If you maintain a total balance of at least $20,000, you'll qualify for the Preferred Rewards program, which gives you extra perks through the bank.

Along with waived fees and other banking benefits, Preferred Rewards members will earn 25% to 75% more on credit card rewards, depending on the balance of your eligible Bank of America® accounts. For example, if you qualify for top-tier benefits, you could earn 2.625% back on all purchases with this card — a stellar rate for a card with a $0 annual fee.

3. Flexible redemption options

Bank of America® gives you multiple ways to redeem your Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card rewards. You can redeem for a statement credit or as a deposit into an eligible Bank of America® or Merrill account. So if you bank with Bank of America®, you'll be able to use your rewards to cover recent purchases, boost your savings or invest for the future.

Introductory incentives

4. Sign-up bonus

The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card has a solid sign-up bonus with a relatively easy spending threshold. The issuer phrases it this way: $200 online cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.

5. 0% intro APR on new purchases and balance transfers

With this card, you’ll get a reprieve on interest for over a year. Here’s the offer: 0% intro APR on Purchases for 18 billing cycles and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days, and then the ongoing APR of 16.99%-26.99% Variable APR. Note that you’ll need to pay a fee of 3% or $10 (whichever is greater) for any balance transfers.

If you have a large balance to transfer, you could score a credit card with a longer introductory period, like the BankAmericard® credit card, but you might need to sacrifice other perks to get it.

Visa Signature perks

6. Extended warranty

This benefit adds an extra year to eligible manufacturers’ warranties lasting 3 years or less when you use the card to purchase qualifying items. Learn more about extended warranty protections.

7. Travel and emergency assistance

If you experience an emergency, even if you're traveling abroad, this can help you find and access the assistance you need. This includes medical referral assistance, emergency transportation assistance or emergency ticket replacement, no matter where you are.

Read about the benefits of other popular credit cards

More about the card

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card vs. Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Bank of America also offers the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card, a watered down version of the Premium Rewards card that forgoes the annual fee. While its welcome bonus is smaller, it also offers no foreign transaction fees and offers 0% introductory APR for 18 billing cycles for purchases and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days, followed by a 16.99% to 26.99% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers. A balance transfer fee of either $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater, applies.

For those willing to skip the unlimited 2 points per dollar spent on travel but retain a welcome bonus, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card card may be a good pick. If strictly comparing cash redemption value rewards potential between the two cards, measuring the extra 0.5 point per dollar spent on travel and dining on the Premium card against the Travel card’s lack of an annual fee results in a required $19,000 in spending on travel and dining to make the redemption value increase offset the annual fee.

But comparison of redemption value doesn’t consider the extra annual benefits the Premium Rewards card offers that easily help justify the annual fee if used, like the annual $100 airline incidentals statement credit. One more thing to consider: The Travel Rewards’ points can only be redeemed toward travel for optimal value, where the Premium Rewards’ points have some more flexible options.

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

With many of the same premium benefits and the same annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card provides serious competition to the Bank of America Premium Rewards card. Sapphire Preferred cardholders will earn 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. Sapphire Preferred cardholders will also earn a 10% bonus on all spending each cardmember year, so someone who spends $25,000 on their card will earn 2,500 bonus Ultimate Rewards points.

The Sapphire Preferred card offers 1:1 point transfers to participating airline and hotel programs and offers redemptions for travel through Chase’s rewards portal at 1.25 cents per point, 25% more than redeeming for cash back—these features allow account holders to leverage points for even more value.

New Sapphire Preferred cardholders can also benefit from a $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Ultimate Rewards. Do keep in mind that cardholders who care about status benefits with hotel chains will not receive said benefits on bookings made through Ultimate Rewards.

With no limits from the Bank of America Premium Rewards card, it isn’t difficult to see that bigger spenders will benefit more from the unlimited 1.5 points per dollar reward on all purchases the Premium Rewards card offers, especially those who spend regularly in non-bonused categories. But it’s not as much of a home run as it seems considering the higher value and additional flexibility provided by Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Chase’s additional higher-earning categories.

When choosing between the Bank of America Premium Rewards and the Chase Sapphire Preferred, potential cardholders should analyze their own spending habits and carefully study each card’s benefits to see which options would better fit their situation—both cards offer significant wallet power when leveraged properly, but from where we’re sitting, the Chase Sapphire Preferred seems like the better choice.

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card repeatedly outdoes the Bank of America Premium Rewards card, line by line. The majority of the benefits the Venture can’t keep up with are related to trip and baggage reimbursement coverage; the Venture offers some protection, but it isn’t nearly as comprehensive as the Premium Rewards’. One other benefit the Bank of America card offers over the Venture is the annual $100 airline incidentals statement credit. For those who’ll use it, this alone could make up for the annual fee entirely, changing the comparison quite a bit.

Otherwise, the Venture, which also requires a $95 annual fee, offers a welcome bonus: 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. It earns 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and an unlimited 2 miles per dollar spent on other purchases, has no foreign transaction fees and even offers a similar TSA PreCheck or Global Entry benefit. The choice here is pretty clear in many cases: The Venture is a more powerful card.

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