Bank
If Luckily, using cash-back rewards in combination with your points and miles can save you even more money on your next vacation.
With that in mind, let’s examine the often-overlooked Bank of America Preferred Rewards(r) program. Con Bank Depending on your holdings and the type of rewards you’re looking to accumulate, it might be time to stop ignoring Bank of America Preferred Rewards.
Related: 5 reasons to get the Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card
Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program overview
To start, here’s a general overview of the program:
How to qualify for Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards Program
To qualify for the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program, you must have both of the following:
An active, eligible Bank of America checking account
A three-month combined average daily balance of $20,000 or more in qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts and/or Merrill investment accounts
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- There are five Preferred Rewards tiers. You’ll qualify for each based on your combined average daily balance:
Gold: $20,000 or more in total assets
Platinum: $50,000 or more in total assets
- Platinum Honors: $100,000 or more in total assets
- Diamond: $1,000,000 or more in total assets
- Diamond Honors: $10,000,000 or more in total assets
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While not exorbitant, even the lowest level requires some pretty high figures. Don You You You Of course, you’ll have to consider other things like account management fees and available investment options to decide whether doing so is a good option.
Related: How to maximize your earning with the Bank of America Premium Rewards card
How to move among Preferred Rewards tiers
You can rise from one rung to the next any month after your average daily balance for the three previous months reaches the threshold for the following tier. Once you reach a specific status level, you won’t need to keep all your cash in the Bank of America basket.
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Instead, you’ll maintain your Preferred Rewards tier status for a full year. You If you still don’t meet the criteria after the three-month grace period, you’ll either be moved to a lower tier or completely lose your Preferred Rewards benefits.
Related: Is the Bank of America Premium Rewards Card worth the $95 annual fee?
Benefits of Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards Program
Here’s a chart of the five Preferred Rewards tiers, along with the associated benefits of each:
Benefit
Gold
Platinum
Platinum Honors
| Diamond | Diamond Honors | Credit card rewards bonus | 25% | 50% | 75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75% | 75% | Savings interest rate booster | 5% | 10% | 20% |
| 20% | 20% | Mortgage perks | $200 origination fee reduction | $400 origination fee reduction | $600 origination fee reduction |
| 0.250% interest rate reduction (when PayPlan is established) | 0.375% interest rate reduction (when PayPlan is established) | Auto loan interest rate discount | 0.25% | 0.35% | 0.50% |
| 0.50% | 0.50% | Home equity interest rate discount | 0.125% | 0.250% | 0.375% |
| 0.625% | 0.750% | No-fee banking services | Included | Included | Included |
| Included | Included | Free non-Bank of America ATM transactions | N/A | 12 per year | Unlimited in the U.S. |
| Unlimited in the U.S. and internationally | Unlimited in the U.S. and internationally | Merrill Guided Investing fee discount | 0.05% | 0.10% | 0.15% |
| 0.15% | 0.15% | Foreign currency exchange rate discount (for mobile and online orders only, includes free standard shipping) | 1% | 1.5% | 2% |
| 2% | 2% | Access to exclusive lifestyle benefits | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Yes | Yes | Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these benefits. | Savings Interest Rate Booster | You need to have a Bank of America Advantage Savings account and be an enrolled Preferred Rewards member to enjoy this benefit. Benefit Be sure to request the conversion when joining Preferred Rewards. | CARLINA TETERIS/GETTY IMAGES |
At Gold, the interest rate boost is 5%. This If your interest rate is 1.00%, a 5% rate booster would increase it to 1.05%.
Here’s the annual percentage yield on a Bank of America Advantage Savings account as of January 2025 to give you some perspective:
BANKOFAMERICA.COM
You can check how this boost would affect the current annual percentage yield on a Bank of America Advantage Savings account in your region here.
Related: The best ways to save money & earn travel rewards for kids
Credit card rewards bonus
Preferred Rewards members earn a 25%, 50% or 75% rewards bonus on select Bank of America cards. For credit cards that earn points or cash rewards, you will receive a rewards bonus on every purchase.
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Your earning rate is based on your Preferred Rewards tier when the purchase is posted to your account. We’ll get into how this plays out with specific cards below.
You can earn the Preferred Rewards bonus on most Bank of America consumer-branded credit cards, including the
Bank of America(r) Premium Rewards(r) credit card
, the
Bank of America(r) Travel Rewards credit card
, the Bank of America(r) Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card and the Bank of America(r) Customized Cash Rewards credit card, among others.Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Bank of America Travel Rewards — which should beginner travelers get?Mortgage origination fee reductionAny time you can cut down on fees for buying or refinancing a home, you should. The And you may not be able to combine this fee reduction with other discounts.Related: Credit card strategies for mortgage and home loan applicants
Auto loan interest rate discount
You must complete an auto purchase finance or refinancing loan through Bank of America to qualify for a rate discount. This Even Even a quarter of a percent could save or cost you thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.
Related: What is a good credit score?
- Home equity interest rate discount
- You can get a home equity line of credit interest rate discount of up to 0.75%, depending on your Preferred Rewards status level.
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This benefit is non-transferable, but you may be able to combine this perk with other home equity interest rate discounts. And even co-borrowers are eligible as long as at least one applicant is enrolled or eligible to enroll.
Related: Credit card vs. line of credit: What’s the difference?
No-fee banking services
Preferred Rewards members also enjoy multiple banking services for no fee.
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These services include:
ATM/Debit card rush fees
ATM international transaction fee
Monthly maintenance fees on up to four eligible checking and four savings accounts from Bank of America
Non-Bank of America ATM fees for withdrawals, transfers or balance inquiries
One overdraft protection transfer fee waived per billing cycle
Additionally, Platinum and above incur no fees for incoming international wire transfers and can open a small safe deposit box for free at a Bank of America branch.
Related: How to avoid ATM fees
Free non-Bank of America ATM transactions
In the U.S. and U.S. territories, Platinum and Platinum Honors members:
Won’t be charged non-Bank of America ATM fees
- Will receive a refund of the ATM operator or network fee for withdrawals, balance inquiries and balance transfers
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- Platinum members receive one free transaction per statement cycle (up to 12 annually), and Platinum Honors members have no cap. Meanwhile, Diamond and Diamond Honors members have unlimited no-fee transactions both in the U.S. and internationally.
- Related: 7 ways to save on overseas ATM withdrawals
- Merrill Guided Investing fee discount
Preferred Rewards members enjoy a fee discount when utilizing Merrill Guided Investing services. You can get started with as little as $1,000 for Merrill Guided Investing or $20,000 for Merrill Guided Investing with an adviser.
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Merrill Guided Investing typically charges a fee of 0.45% of assets under management, and Merrill Guided Investing with an advisor typically charges a fee of 0.85% of assets under management.
While those fees might seem small, they add up over time. These So, it may be best to look for a financial advisor that charges a fixed fee instead of a percentage of your assets.
- Related: The best apps for money management
- Foreign currency exchange rate discount
All Preferred Rewards members will get some form of discount for foreign currency orders through online banking or the mobile banking app.
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Depending on your status tier, you’ll receive a discount between 1% and 2%.
Related: Everything you need to know about foreign transaction fees
Access to exclusive lifestyle benefits
Top-tier Diamond and Diamond Honors members will enjoy customized and unique lifestyle experiences, such as travel, wellness, events, food and drink or other personal services. You can preview some of these curated offers here.
Related: The best credit cards available now
How to maximize cash reward earnings with Bank of America credit cards and Preferred Rewards
To maximize the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program, you’ll want to qualify for at least Platinum Honors and be eligible for the 75% bonus on your credit card rewards.
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Of course, it’s not a great idea to make big investment and banking decisions based entirely on credit card bonuses. If If you do, here are some of the bank’s rewards cards to consider and how you can maximize your cash-back earnings.
Related: How to choose the best credit card for you
Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card
The
Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card
is an excellent rewards credit card in its own right. It For example, cardholders get an up-to-$100 annual airline incidental fee statement credit, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit every four years (up to $100) and some decent travel protections.
THE POINTS GUY
However, this card shines with its earning rates on everyday spending as well as travel and dining purchases. Here’s how the earning rates stack up once you consider the Preferred Rewards credit card rewards bonus:
Spending categories
Regular cardholder
Preferred Rewards Gold (25% bonus)
Preferred Rewards Platinum (50% bonus)
Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors, Diamond and Diamond Honors (75% bonus)
Travel and dining2 points per dollar spent2.5 points per dollar spent
3 points per dollar spent
3.5 points per dollar spent
Everything else
| 1.5 points per dollar spent | 1.875 points per dollar spent | 2.25 points per dollar spent | 2.625 points per dollar spent | The ability to get at least 2.625% on all purchases with this card (for high-tier Preferred Rewards members) is incredible. This return makes the |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card | one of the best credit cards for everyday spending. | Related: Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card full review | Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card | If you want to avoid paying credit card annual fees, you could opt for the |
| Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card | . Card The This This no-annual-fee credit card earns unlimited 1.5% cash rewards on all purchases with no limit. | THE POINTS GUY | Platinum Honors and higher members would get back 2.625% on all your purchases — one of the best rewards rates any card offers for nonbonus everyday purchases. | Related: The best Bank of America cards |
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit cardAnother no-annual-fee card is the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card
. It earns 3% in one of the following categories of your choice each calendar month:
Dining
Drugstores and pharmaciesGas and electric vehicle charging stationsHome improvement and furnishings
Online shopping (including cable, streaming, internet and phone services)
Travel
THE POINTS GUY
It also earns 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs and 1% back on everything else. You You That’s pretty phenomenal for a no-annual-fee cash rewards card.
Related: Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards full reviewHow to convert your Bank of America points to cashSeveral Bank of America credit cards earn straight-up cash. Some You Note that you can also redeem into a 529 College Savings Plan.
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Additionally, the
Travel Rewards card
earns a slightly different rewards currency. The You’ll only achieve a value of 1 cent per point when offsetting a travel-related transaction on your card.
Related: How to redeem points using the Bank of America Premium Rewards cardBottom lineThe Bank of America Preferred Rewards program is probably not worth pursuing unless you qualify for at least Platinum Honors to maximize the 75% bonus on credit card earnings.
- That said, the program’s perks mean that if you already do business with Bank of America or Merrill, you should consider consolidating your banking and investing to boost your rewards and benefits.
- It might even be worth switching to Bank of America if doing so won’t cost you anything extra. After all, the Preferred Rewards program can tip the scale on some of Bank of America’s top card offerings and reward you with significant discounts on other banking services like mortgage and auto loans.
- Related: The ultimate guide to credit card application restrictions
