January 18, 2025: The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card offers two points per dollar on travel and 1.5x points everywhere else for its $95 annual fee. The card’s rewards become pretty compelling when you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards status at the Platinum Honors tier or higher, but for most people there are better options out there.
Review of the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card
Cards and Points Rating: 3.0/5.0
Read more about our star ratings.
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card is a slight upgrade to the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card, adding more benefits, a couple of statement credits, and more points on travel for an annual fee (annual_fees). But we think that the card isn’t terribly compelling unless you have Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards status at a high tier.
First, let’s start with the card’s rewards. You earn two points for every dollar you spend on travel and dining and 1.5 points per dollar spent on other purchases. The points can’t be transferred to partners or redeemed for more value through a travel portal, making them effectively cash back—with a few redemption options that can get you less value on your points.
On its own, the card’s rewards aren’t terribly compelling, but they get much more interesting when you earn a rewards multiplier through Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program. If you have Platinum Honors or higher status in the program, you’ll get a 1.75x rewards multiplier which turn the card’s 1.5 points everywhere into 2.62% everywhere an two points per dollar on travel into 3.5 points on travel. Now those rates are compelling. But to get those cash back rates, you need to have $100,000 or more on deposit with Bank of America or Merrill.
The card offers a comprehensive suite of travel insurance benefits—as we would expect from a card marketed as a premium travel card—but it cheaps out on a few things: The auto rental collision damage waiver insurance only provides secondary coverage and excludes a handful of countries. And the trip cancellation/interruption insurance has a relatively low limit and only covers your common carrier tickets.
Ultimately, we think that most people are better off with something like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® if they want a premium travel card and a no-annual-fee 2% cash back credit card if they want rewards on every purchase. But if you like cash back rewards and have Platinum Honors or higher status with Bank of America Preferred Rewards, the Premium Rewards card is worth a look.
Likes
- Purchase security, return protection, and extended warranty.
- Easy-to-use airline incidental credit.
- Opportunity for up to 2.62 points per dollar everywhere and 3.5 points per dollar on travel.
Dislikes
- Rewards aren’t terribly compelling unless you have Preferred Rewards with at least a high status.
- Points can’t be transferred to partners or redeemed for increased value for travel redemptions.
- Annual fee.
Sign-up bonus: Points that can be redeemed for cash back
Annual fee: annual_fees
Best sign-up bonus: bonus_miles_full
Learn how to apply.
This bonus is earned as points that can be redeemed for cash back at 1 cent per point.
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card at a glance
Here’s what you need to know about the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card.
Rewards
| 2x (Up to 3.5x*) | Travel purchases | |
| 2x (Up to 3.5x*) | Dining | |
| 1.5x (Up to 2.26x*) | All other purchases |
* Get up to a 75% bonus on the rewards you earn if you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards. Gold status gets you a 25% rewards bonus; Platinum gets you a 50% bonus; Platinum Honors gets you a 75% bonus.
Benefits
| Consumer insurance benefits Purchase security Extended warranty Return protection | |
| Travel insurance benefits Auto rental collision damage waiver Baggage delay insurance Lost luggage reimbursement Roadside dispatch service Trip cancellation and interruption insurance Trip delay reimbursement Emergency evacuation and repatriation of remains coverage | |
| Travel benefits TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry® statement credit. | |
| Statement credits $100 annual airline incidental credit |
Other important terms
| Annual fee: $95 | |
| Foreign transaction fee: None |
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card rewards
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card earns points that can be redeemed for a variety of cash back, travel, and gift card redemption options. Here’s what the card earns:
| 2x (Up to 3.5x*) | Travel purchases | |
| 2x (Up to 3.5x*) | Dining | |
| 1.5x (Up to 2.26x*) | All other purchases |
* Get up to a 75% bonus on the rewards you earn if you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards. Gold status gets you a 25% rewards bonus; Platinum gets you a 50% bonus; Platinum Honors gets you a 75% bonus.
Redeeming Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card points
The points you earn with your Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card can be redeemed for a variety of travel, cash, and gift card options. We haven’t found any compelling redemption options for the points that offer more value than cash back redemptions, so you should probably just redeem your points for cash back.
Cash back redemptions start at 2,500 points/$25 and can be done online through the Bank of America website.
Benefits of the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card
| Consumer insurance benefits Purchase security Extended warranty Return protection | |
| Travel insurance benefits Auto rental collision damage waiver Baggage delay insurance Lost luggage reimbursement Roadside dispatch service Trip cancellation and interruption insurance Trip delay reimbursement Emergency evacuation and repatriation of remains coverage | |
| Travel benefits TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry® statement credit. | |
| Statement credits $100 annual airline incidental credit |
Consumer insurance benefits
Many cards offer consumer insurance benefits that can protect the things you buy. Here are the consumer insurance benefits offered by the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card. Terms and restrictions apply to all benefits.
Purchase security protects the things you buy with your card from damage or theft for a certain amount of time after you buy them. Bank of America purchase security covers your new purchases for 90 days against damage or theft up to $10,000 per claim and $50,000 per cardholder.
Extended warranty provides additional warranty coverage on items you purchase with your card. The extended warranty protection included with the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card doubles the duration of a U.S. manufacturer’s warranty, up to an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
Return protection can give you a refund on an item if the store you bought it from won’t take it back. Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card return protection provides coverage for 90 days from the date of purchase, up to $250 per item and $1,000 per account.
Travel insurance benefits
Cards targeted toward travelers often offer travel insurance benefits that can protect you when you are traveling away from home. Terms and restrictions apply to all benefits.
Auto rental collision damage waiver protects you against damage to or theft of your rental vehicle. For coverage to apply, you need to reserve and pay for your vehicle using your card and decline your car rental company’s collision damage waiver. The coverage provided by your Bank of America is secondary to your personal auto insurance.
Baggage delay insurance – Reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over six hours by passenger carrier up to $100 per day for 5 days.
Lost luggage reimbursement offers reimbursement if your bags are lost, damaged or stolen while traveling on a common carrier. Coverage is generally included up to $3,000 per covered trip, but see your card’s guide to benefits for state-specific limitations.
Roadside dispatch service provides a single number that you can use to get connected to local providers for roadside services like towing, lockout service, tire changes, fuel delivery, and more. Services are provided for a pre-negotiated, per-service fee.
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance can reimburse you for prepaid travel expenses when your trip is canceled or interrupted for a covered reason. Bank of America trip cancellation and interruption insurance covers up to $2,500 for prepaid common carrier airfares.
Trip delay reimbursement can cover your incidental expenses or a hotel room when your travel is delayed for a covered reason. Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card trip delay insurance covers delays of more than 12 hours and up to $500 per traveler.
Emergency evacuation and repatriation of remains coverage may cover you if you need to be evacuated or have your remains repatriated in certain covered situations when you purchase your common carrier travel with your card. See the card’s guide to benefits for specific coverages.
Travel benefits
TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry® statement credit. Get your TSA PreCheck or Global Entry enrollment fee reimbursed up to $100 when you charge your enrollment fee to your card. You can receive one statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry once every four years.
Statement credits
$100 annual airline incidental credit. Charge baggage fees, in-flight services, and seat upgrades to your card and get reimbursed automatically. Airline incidental credit applies only to U.S. domestic carriers and domestic itineraries. Airline incidental credit excludes purchases with Allegiant Air, Spirit Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines.
Bottom line: Get it if you have Preferred Rewards status, pass otherwise
The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card offers a solid upgrade to the Bank of America’s $0 annual fee card that adds compelling rewards on travel—if you are a Preferred Rewards member at a high tier. If you don’t have a significant banking relationship with Bank of America, there are other cards that will offer better rewards.
