The
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is a good option if you have a 750+ credit score and you want to earn bonus travel rewards without paying an annual fee. It is worth getting this card because it offers a good initial bonus and gives
1.5 points / $1 spent on purchases. It also has a
0% foreign transaction fee and a 0% introductory APR to go with its
$0 annual fee.
So, if you have an excellent credit score, the Bank of America Travel Rewards card can save you some money on airfare, hotels, rental cars and more. But it’s only an elite option for fairly low-spenders who have cash on deposit with Bank of America. You can learn why below.
What I Like About the Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card
Good initial bonus
The Bank of America Travel Rewards card is true to its name from the get-go, giving you
25,000 points for applying online and spending at least
$1,000 within
90 days of opening an account. Those points are worth $250 in travel.
This is a pretty good deal, especially for a card with no annual fee, but better offers are out there. Even the average initial bonus gets you about
37,069 points.
Solid ongoing rewards
The Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card scores you
1.5 points / $1 spent on all purchases. Bank of America Travel Rewards points are worth a penny apiece when redeemed for travel, which means your earning rate will be at least 1.5%. That’s a pretty good deal. Just make sure not to redeem your points for a cash reward, as they’re worth nearly half as much that way.
Especially rewarding for banking customers
Points earned with the Bank of America Travel card are worth more if you have a consumer (non-business)
checking,
savings or individual retirement account with Bank of America or Merrill. If you have at least $20,000 in your account. That enables you to join Bank of America Preferred Rewards®, which will boost your bonus to 25%+.
Flexible rewards redemption
In the past, Bank of America Travel credit card users had to book travel through BofA’s online travel portal to get top dollar for their rewards points. But no more. The Bank of America Travel Rewards card has adopted a redemption policy that lets you use points to pay for any travel-related purchase after you charge it to your card.
$0 annual & foreign fees
The Bank of America Travel credit card charges neither an annual fee nor a foreign-transaction fee. That saves you
$26.75 per year and
1.58% per transaction, respectively, compared to the average credit card offer, according to
WalletHub research.
This also makes the Travel Rewards card an attractive alternative to the
market’s best travel credit cards (most of which charge sizable annual fees) for fairly low spenders who may not earn enough rewards to cover the annual fee and still save.
Good 0% introductory financing offer
The Bank of America Travel Rewards card offers 0% interest on new purchases for the first
15 billing cycles. It also offers an intro APR of
0% for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. For context, the average for a 0% APR credit card offer right now is
11 months for new purchases and
13 months for balance transfers.
After the intro APR period ends, a
17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR will apply and there is a balance transfer fee of
3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4%.
What I Don’t Like About the Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card
High regular APR
After the intro APR period ends, a
17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR will apply. Unfortunately, even the low end of the range of possible rates is higher than the average for an excellent-credit credit card – which is
17.68%, according to
our research. You should avoid carrying a balance from month to month after the intro period ends if you want this card to remain worthwhile.
Balance transfer fee
The
Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card balance transfer fee is
3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4%. That’s not particularly high, especially early on, but using this card for balance transfers would be more appealing without it.
Requires top-notch credit
The Bank of America Travel Rewards card requires excellent credit for approval. That not only makes it important to
check your credit score prior to applying, but it also means you’ll have a number of very attractive alternatives if you can qualify. You need a score of 750+ to have good odds of getting approved.
For more information, read WalletHub’s complete
Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card review.
Note: This review is not provided, commissioned or endorsed by any issuer. Opinions and ratings are our own.
