Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card Review | Bankrate (2024)

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The Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card is a decent flat-rate rewards card if you’re an occasional traveler who wants to avoid an annual fee. Since this travel rewards credit card offers a flat rewards rate and isn’t tied to specific hotel or airline partners, you won’t need to adjust your spending to fit into any particular category and can book your travel with any provider. Plus, Bank of America credit cards have a broader definitionof travel than cards from other issuers. This lets you earn rewards for purchases at campgrounds, travel agencies, zoos, art galleries and more. You can also redeem your points for a statement credit toward dining purchases.

However, this card lacks travel-specific features you might find on competing travel cards, and you can’t use rewards to book travel directly through an issuer portal or a transfer partner. This could be a dealbreaker if you’re a frequent traveler since these redemption methods typically offer the best value.

• Rewards

  • Unlimited 1.5X points on all purchases

  Expert Appraisal: Typical
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• Welcome offer

  • 25,000 online bonus points ($250 statement credit value toward travel purchases) if you make $1,000 in purchases within 90 days of opening the account

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• 0% APR offer

  • 0 percent Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends, a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers will apply. A 3 percent Intro balance transfer fee will apply for the first 60 days your account is open. After the intro balance transfer fee offer ends, the fee for future balance transfers is 4 percent.
  • 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers

  Expert Appraisal: Good
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• Rates and fees

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fee
  • 3 percent balance transfer fee (for the first 60 days your account is open; after the Intro balance transfer fee offer ends, the fee for future balance transfers is 4 percent)

  Expert Appraisal: Typical
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• Other cardholder perks

  • Bank of America Preferred Rewards®
  • BankAmeriDeals
  • Museums On Us
  • Visa Signature benefits

  Expert Appraisal: Typical
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The Bank of America Travel Rewards Card offers a decent flat reward rate on every purchase. Not only that, you can pay down your purchases with an intro APR offer comparable to many dedicated low-interest cards.

Intro APR: Great length for purchases and balance transfers

On top of not having an annual fee, the Bank of America Travel Rewards card offers a 0 percent intro APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers made within the first 60 days. A 3 percent balance transfer fee applies for transfers made within 60 days of account opening. After your intro balance transfer fee offer ends, the fee for future balance transfers is 4 percent. Once the promotional period ends, a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers applies.

Compared to competing reward cards that offer a 12-month intro APR period or shorter, this is a fairly lengthy offer that can provide you with more than enough time to pay down a transferred balance or big purchase during the first year.

Welcome offer: Decent value compared to similar cards

Bank of America offers 25,000 bonus points when you spend at least $1,000 on qualifying purchases within 90 days of opening your account. If you redeem these points for a statement credit, they’ll be worth about $250 in statement credit toward travel. This is a generous offer for a card with no annual fee.

A $250 value is slightly higher than what you’ll find with other no-annual-fee cards, but remember that some competing cards only require a $500 spend to earn a $200 bonus: You have to spend double with the Bank of America Travel Rewards card to earn an extra $50 in rewards. But on the bright side, the Bank of America Travel Rewards card doesn’t come with an annual fee that eats into your reward earnings.

Rewards: Earn more with the Preferred Rewards program

The Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card allows you to earn unlimited 1.5X points on all purchases. However, the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program gives the Travel Rewards card an edge over similar competing cards if you already have an eligible account with Bank of America or Merrill.

Depending on your status tier, you can earn 25 percent to 75 percent bonus points on every purchase. That means Platinum Honors Preferred Rewards members can earn up to 2.62X points on all purchases and up to 5.25X points on Travel Center purchases. Plus, you could receive other benefits like boosted interest rates on savings accounts and reduced interest rates on your home equity and auto loans.

Here are Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards status tiers:

• Gold (at least a $20,000 combined balance): 25 percent bonus rewards
• Platinum (at least a $50,000 combined balance): 50 percent bonus rewards
• Platinum Honors (at least a $100,000 combined balance): 75 percent bonus rewards

The Preferred Rewards program also offers a Diamond Tier status above the Platinum Honors Tier. This status carries the same 75 percent bonus rewards boost but is only available to account holders with a combined balance of $1 million to $10 million.

This boost results in a card with one of the best flat rewards rates available, especially for no annual fee. It could make the Travel Rewards card an exceptional deal since rival cards typically max out at 2X rewards on general spending and 5X rewards on comparable travel portal purchases through the issuer.

Redemption: Good options for a variety of travel and dining categories

You can redeem your points for gift cards, cash or a statement credit to cover travel-related purchases. Even better, you can request credit for your travel-related purchases up to 12 months after you make them. This feature opens the door to exceptional deals you might not find with other travel reward programs, such as discounted bookings through external travel websites.

You can also redeem points for cash back as a check or direct deposit to an eligible Bank of America checking or savings account or Merrill Cash Management account, though there’s a 2,500-point redemption minimum for travel credits and cash and a 3,125-point minimum for gift cards.

One of the best features of the Bank of America Travel Rewards card’s travel credit redemption is that it covers categories that may not typically qualify as travel or dining. However, some travel or dining-related expenses, such as in-flight goods and services and duty-free airport purchases, aren’t eligible for statement credits.

Knowing which purchases qualify for credits can get confusing, so here’s a list of Bank of America Travel Rewards card categories eligible for travel credits:

Though the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card has plenty of perks, it has some drawbacks compared to competitors, including a lower value for cash back redemption and the inability to transfer points to hotel or airline partners.

Flexibility: Low redemption value with no transfer power

This card offers a solid rewards rate on your purchases, whether you’re traveling or at home — but these travel rewards work differently than typical bonus miles. Instead of using rewards to book travel, you can redeem Bank of America travel rewards as statement credits on travel or dining purchases, making this card function more like a cash back credit card.Bank of America Travel Rewards points offer a maximum value of 1.0 cents per point. According to Bankrate’s point valuations, several issuers’ points or miles can be worth around 2 cents each on average with the right transfer partner.When you redeem on travel, they're worth 1 cent each — so 25,000 points equals $250 in statement credit. But redeeming your rewards for anything else is a value loss.

If you redeem for gift cards, the value of your points will vary by retailer, leading to inconsistent value. And when you redeem for cash, your points are only worth 0.6 cents each (or $150 for every 25,000 points).

Perks: Doesn’t quite stand out compared to other travel cards

The Bank of America Travel Rewards card isn’t as robust in perks as other travel-oriented rewards credit cards. Along with basic features like free access to your credit score, overdraft protection and account alerts, it has just a few extra benefits outside the Preferred Rewards program that might be helpful during your travels, such as:

• BankAmeriDeals: Bank of America cardholders have exclusive access to BankAmeriDeals, the issuer’s version of card-linked limited-time offer programslike Amex Offers or Chase Offers.You can log into your account and usually earn anywhere from 5 percent to 50 percent extra cash back (up to a certain limit) or a sum of cash back (usually $4 to $35) for spending a certain amount at participating restaurants and other merchants after activating the respective offer. BankAmeriDeals won’t rake in big bucks, but the “coins” you earn for regularly using the program can help you access upgraded deals.
• Visa Signature benefits: As a Visa credit card, your Bank of America Travel Rewards card grants access to a portfolio of Visa Signature perks that can be useful while traveling. Contact your issuer to determine the specific features your card offers. You can expect standard benefits like extended warranty protection, Visa Signature® Concierge services, Roadside Dispatch®, lost luggage reimbursem*nt and travel and emergency assistance. However, you’ll want to contact Bank of America to determine the specific features your card offers.
• Museums On Us: If you love planning day trips to popular museums,this benefit is an underrated gem. During the first weekend of each month, simply present your Bank of America debit or credit card and a valid photo ID to grant you free admission to over 225 cultural institutions during the first weekend of each month.

However, in the travel card landscape, these features aren't particularly competitive.Many of the more popular travel cards offer airport perks such as TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits, in-flight or airline credit, airport lounge access, free checked bag(s), rental car assistance and more. You’ll normally have to pay an annual fee for these types of travel cards, but these card perks typically offer enough value to offset the cost of that annual fee.

Bankrate writer Brendan Dyer likes to redeem his credit card points toward travel, but since he doesn't typically spend much on travel, he's found some of the best travel and airline rewards cards to be a poor fit. After all, many of these cards offer their highest rewards rates on purchases with airlines and hotels and only get you 1X points on general purchases.

A flat-rate rewards card like the Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card strikes him as a solid option, however, since it earns 1.5X points on all purchases — not just travel. That's 50 percent higher than you'll earn on general purchases with most travel cards.

Since I only take two or three trips each year, my travel spending doesn't come close to my everyday spending. That means I can't rely on travel purchases as my primary method of earning points, miles or cash back — I earn a lot more from groceries, restaurants, gas and the like.

If you're like me and only travel occasionally, a flat-rate rewards card like this can be a great option. These cards earn points at the same flat rate on all purchases, making it easy to earn rewards toward travel without actually spending a ton on travel.

— Brendan Dyer, Writer, Credit Cards

The no-annual-fee Bank of America Travel Rewards card is a good choice if you’re a frequent traveler who values flexibility, particularly if you’re a Preferred Rewards member already banking with Bank of America or Merrill.

Since you can redeem points for a travel rewards statement credit, you won’t have to deal with blackout dates or travel restrictions when redeeming, and you have the freedom to book through third-party sites for better travel deals.You can also use your points to cover a wide range of travel purchases, from aquarium tickets to hotel stays, which aren’t covered by comparable rewards cards.

However, there aren’t any travel-specific perks or opportunities to transfer rewards, so a 2 percent flat-rate cash back card may be a better option if you aren’t a Preferred Rewards member.

Dig deeper:Is the Bank of America Travel Rewards card worth it?

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:

Community Reviews

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