Pros
- $200 initial bonus (online exclusive)
- Up to 3% cash back
- No annual fee
Cons
- Potential for a very high regular APR
- 3% foreign-transaction fee
Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card Review Summary
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card is a good everyday rewards card for people with excellent credit scores. For starters, it has a $0 annual fee and offers a $200 initial bonus to new cardholders who spend just $1,000 within 90 days of opening an account.
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card also supplements its base 1% cash-back earning rate with 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and 3% back in a category of your choosing. That’s where “Customized Cash Rewards” comes from.
But there’s a catch. Those bonus earning rates only apply to the first $2,500 in combined bonus-category purchases each quarter. If you wind up hitting the limit, you will earn just 1% back — slightly less than the market average — on all purchases for the rest of the quarter.
Similarly, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card has a great introductory APR period, but that’s followed by a high regular interest rate. I recommend paying the balance in full after the intro promotion ends.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Transfer Fee: 3%
$200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
Rewards Details
- $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, automatic 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases) and unlimited 1% on all other purchases.
- If you're a Preferred Rewards member, you can earn 25%-75% more cash back on every purchase. That means you could earn 3.75%-5.25% cash back on purchases in your choice category.
- No annual fee and no expiration on rewards.
Additional Info
- 0% Introductory APR for 18 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends, 17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR will apply. A 3% fee applies to all balance transfers.
- Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
- This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
- More Details & Reviews About Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card Highlights
$200 Initial Bonus For Online Applicants
The average consumer has more than $333 in credit-card eligible expenses each month. That means most qualified applicants will easily be able to meet the $1,000 threshold within the first 90 days of account opening and thereby claim their $200 prize. That’s effectively a discount of up to 20%, provided in the form of a statement credit.
Up To 3% Cash Back
You will earn 3% cash back in a category of your choosing (gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings), and 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs - for the first $2,500 spent in those categories, collectively, every quarter. That means this flashy feature is worth a maximum of $300 per year.
Beyond that, you will earn slightly less than the rewards-card market average of 1.14% cash back, driving the average person’s first-year rewards earnings to $477, according to my calculations (not including the initial bonus). The best part is, your rewards will never expire, unless your account is closed, in which case any unused portion will be forfeited.
$0 Annual Fee
Many rewards cards charge annual fees to offset the cost of providing users with cash back, points and miles. Such cards can still pay off for high-volume, high-value spenders, but some people would rather avoid the pressure of having to make their card worthwhile. No-annual-fee rewards cards such as Bank of America Cash Rewards help you avoid playing from behind, so to speak, while giving you the option of not using your card if you so choose.
Longer-Than-Average 0% Intro Rates
This Bank of America cash card also has financing appeal, thanks to its 0% intro rates on new purchases and balance transfers for the first 18 billing cycles your account is open.
Just bear in mind that you need to transfer your balance within the first 60 days, and there is a 3% balance transfer fee. Plus, after the intro APR ends, a 17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR will apply.
Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card Lowlights
17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR
You need excellent credit to get this card, but you may come to find that your interest rate is not worthy of the label “excellent.” For a point of reference, the average credit card offer for people with excellent credit has a 17.23%, while the average “fair credit” credit card charges 25.54%, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report.
That means you’re guaranteed to get an above-average rate for your credit rating, and it could even be higher than what a financially unproven applicant could expect to pay on the open market. I definitely recommend paying the full statement balance by the due date each month to avoid seeing your rewards savings fly out the door in the form of interest payments.
3% Foreign Transaction Fee
The Bank of America Cash Rewards card is not a good international travel companion for the simple reason that it will tack a 3% fee onto each purchase. That’s $150 on a $5,000 family vacation to Europe, for example.
The same phenomenon also affects purchases made through internationally based merchants when you are physically in the U.S. A lot of people don’t realize that.
So, if you’re either a world traveler or a world consumer, you should probably find another card for related purchases. In either case, I suggest checking out WalletHub’s picks for the best credit cards without foreign fees.
Excellent Credit Required for Good Approval Odds
You need a credit score of 750+ to have a high likelihood of approval for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card. Fortunately, you can check your latest credit score for free right here on WalletHub.
Bank of America Cash Rewards Credit Card vs. The Competition
In the interest of helping you make an informed selection, I’ve compared Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card to other popular cash back credit card offers across five key categories. You can find the results below.
| Info | Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card | Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer | Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express | Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $0 | $0 | $0 intro 1st yr, $95 after | $0 |
| Bonus Offer | $200 | N/A | $250 | $200 |
| Rewards Rate | 1 - 3% Cash Back | 2% Cash Back | 1 - 6% Cash Back | 1.5 - 5% Cash Back |
| Purchase Intro APR | 0% for 18 billing cycles | N/A | 0% for 12 months | 0% for 15 months |
| Transfer Intro APR | 0% for 18 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days Transfer Fee: 3% | 0% for 18 months Transfer Fee: 3% intro fee ($5 min) for each transfer in first 4 months, after that 5% ($5 min) for each transfer | 0% for 12 months Transfer Fee: 3% (min $5) | 0% for 15 months Transfer Fee: 3% |
| Regular APR | 17.99% - 27.99% Variable | 18.99% - 28.99% (V) | 18.99% - 29.99% (V) | 19.74% - 29.74% (V) |
| Editors' Rating | 4 | 5 | 4.7 | 4.4 |
| Details, Rates & Fees | Learn More | Learn More Rates & Fees | Learn More Rates & Fees Terms Apply | Learn More |
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card Review Methodology
This Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.
The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.
Ratings for each category reflect how close Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.
To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.
