The Points Guy
- The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Visa® credit card features rewards and benefits that easily justify the annual fee.
- Loyal Bank of America customers with high account balances can earn a bonus of 25% to 75% when they qualify for and enroll in the Preferred Rewards program. That makes the top rate 3.5 points per dollar on restaurants and travel.
- If you're not already a Bank of America customer, the card may not be your best choice.
- See Business Insider's list of the best rewards credit cards »
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Visa® credit card offers an interesting combination of rewards and benefits. The card gives you 2 points per dollar on travel and dining and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases. It has a $95 annual fee, but includes travel credits worth an average of $125 per year.
If you qualify for Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program, your points are amplified by 25% to 75% once you enroll. That means you can get up to 3.5 points per dollar on some purchases with this card. You can redeem your rewards for cash back, gift cards, and travel. Here's a deeper look at how the Bank of America Premium Rewards card works and who should seriously consider signing up.
Keep in mind that we're focusing on the rewards and perks that make these credit cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which will far outweigh the value of any points or miles. It's important to practice financial discipline when using credit cards by paying your balances in full each month, making payments on time, and only spending what you can afford to pay back.
Earning and redeeming rewards
The word "rewards" is built right into the card's name, so you know you're going to get something back for every dollar you spend. The base rewards rate for the Bank of America Premium Rewards card is 2 points per dollar on travel and dining and 1.5 points per dollar everywhere else.
The 1.5 points per dollar rate for non-bonus purchases is pretty good, and the restaurant and travel bonus rate is roughly on par with similar cards. But if you are a loyal Bank of America or Merrill customer with high combined balances across both, you can get better rewards that make the card a serious contender.
If you're a Preferred Rewards program member and have up to $50,000 in combined deposits, you get a 25% added bonus on your credit card rewards. With at least $50,000, you qualify for a 50% boost. With $100,000 or more, you join the Platinum Honors tier and get a 75% bonus.
If you're not a Bank of America/Merrill customer with at least $20,000 in combined deposits, the card's rewards are about average. But with the added bonus for Preferred Rewards, it jumps toward the top of the pack for rewards cards with annual fees around $100.
Redeeming for cash back gives you 1 cent per point, which is the best value and probably the best redemption for most users. That means that you can get up to 3.5 cents back for every dollar you spend, factoring in the Preferred Rewards bonus.
Read more: Bank of America Premium Rewards card review
Can you use the travel statement credits?
Even without factoring in the rewards points, you could justify the annual fee for the Bank of America Premium Rewards card with travel statement credits. It gives you two different credits that could be worth as much as $200 in a year.
- Every year, you get up to a $100 credit for airline incidental purchases. This includes things like baggage fees, upgrade charges, in-flight purchases, and airline lounge admission fees.
- Every fourth year, you get a credit for up to $100 to cover the application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. If you travel regularly, you should definitely take advantage.
That makes the credits worth an average of $125 per year. That's already $30 more in benefits than the annual fee if you take full advantage.
Click here to learn more about the Bank of America Premium Rewards card »
Do you value the card benefits?
The Bank of America Premium Rewards card includes travel insurance and purchase protections on par with other rewards cards. For purchases, the card gives you a purchase security benefit (damage/theft protection for 90 days on new purchases), an extended manufacturer's warranty, and return protection for 90 days.
For travel, the Bank of America Premium Rewards card includes trip delay coverage, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, lost and delayed baggage insurance, a rental car collision damage waiver, and other perks.
Trip cancellation and interruption coverage is my favorite credit card protection. It can cover changes to flights or extra hotel nights if a flight is delayed or canceled for weather, among other scenarios.
The card also includes roadside dispatch. While you may have to pay for some services rendered, the benefit could be good enough to save you money by skipping the auto club membership.
Have you explored other options?
The Bank of America Premium Rewards card is similar to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card in many ways. If you are not a loyal Bank of America customer who can take advantage of the rewards bonuses for Preferred Rewards program members , either of these cards could be a good alternative.
Like the Premium Rewards card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has similar benefits. It earns 2 points per dollar on travel and dining purchases, 5 points per dollar on Lyft rides, and 1 point per dollar everywhere else. Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be more valuable for travel than Bank of America points, so the winner between the two depends on how you prefer to redeem your rewards.
The Capital One Venture card doesn't have quite as many benefits as the Bank of America Premium Rewards card, but it gives you 2 miles per dollar everywhere, and points are more flexible for travel. A big advantage is the Purchase Eraserthat allows you to easily redeem Capital One miles for travel purchases you made with the card.
Who should sign up for the Bank of America Premium Rewards card?
The Bank of America Premium Rewards card does a good job of rewarding loyalty. Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program benefits include bonuses on savings accounts, credit card rewards, fee and interest rate discounts on loans and investment products, and free ATM transactions.
If you take full advantage of the card's statement credits and rewards, you'll come out ahead with this card. But the people who will get the most value out of this card are dedicated Bank of America and Merrill customers, since they can get an added rewards bonus of 25% to 75%. If that sounds like you, carrying this card could be a great choice.
Click here to learn more about the Bank of America Premium Rewards card »
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Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.