Bank of America card benefits

Bank of America-related content was last updated on March 10, 2022.

Bank of America credit cards offer many top-notch rewards that appeal to all kinds of consumers, including travel benefits and protections. What’s also notable is that most Bank of America cards feature no annual fee, so you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits without having to worry about offsetting an additional yearly cost.

Loyal cardholders are also potentially available to take advantage of Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program, bringing even more value to their card in ways such as enhanced rewards, client services and more.

What benefits are available to Bank of America cardholders?

Bank of America continues to be a top choice for consumers who want a combination of rewards benefits, unique offers and valuable services. If you have a Bank of America credit card in your wallet, here are some perks you can begin to enjoy today.

Travel protections

If you’re planning on traveling, you’ll likely want to utilize your Bank of America Rewards card to take advantage of protective travel benefits, saving you the cost and hassle of booking extra travel insurance.

Protections vary based on your specific Bank of America card, but perks might include trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance, trip delay insurance, baggage insurance and car rental protections. You can find the specific terms for your protections in your Bank of America benefits guide. The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card, in particular, offers the most extensive benefits.

Bank of America Premium cardholders will be reimbursed for eligible delayed, interrupted or canceled trips. When you pay for a trip with your eligible card, for example, you’ll receive up to $500 per ticket if a covered trip is delayed for more than 12 hours.

Furthermore, if you book airfare with your Bank of America Premium Rewards Card, you’ll be eligible for baggage coverage. This benefit offers $100 a day for up to five days, which will help cover additional clothes or toiletries needed until you receive your baggage. Furthermore, if emergency transport is needed, there is coverage for eligible services for both you or an immediate family member.

Rental car protection and road assistance

The Bank of America Premium Rewards card and Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card both come with car rental protections. When renting a car, you can decline certain protections offered by the car rental carrier as your qualifying Bank of America credit card offers an auto rental collision damage waiver. This perk provides you reimbursement for damage due to theft or collision of your rental car, saving you more money in the long run.

Purchase protection perks

The Bank of America retail protection benefits also vary by card. Again, the best pick among all the options in the Bank of America card portfolio is the Bank of America Premium Rewards card.

This card offers a noteworthy purchase security benefit. You’ll be reimbursed for the cost of an eligible item if you’re not satisfied with it within 90 days of your purchase and the retailer or merchant will not accept your return. This coverage caps at $250 per item and $1,000 per year.

Preferred Rewards program

Taking advantage of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program will allow you to take your rewards to the next level. To qualify for this invite-only program, consumers must have an eligible Bank of America checking account with a minimum three-month combined average daily balance of $20,000 or more across accounts. With the program, you can earn bonus credit card rewards based on your combined qualifying balances in Bank of America banking accounts and Merrill investment accounts.

There are now five tiers in the Preferred Rewards program:

• Gold – $20,000 to $49,999
• Platinum – $50,000 to $99,999
• Platinum Honors – $100,000
• Diamond – $1 million – $9,999,999
• Diamond Honors – $10 million+

These thresholds are quite lucrative: Gold members receive a 25% bonus on rewards, and the bonus rate goes up to 50% for the Platinum tier and 75% for the Platinum Honors tier. ​​Diamond and Diamond Honors members also receive a 75% bonus on rewards.

In short, cardholders have the opportunity to earn 25% to 75% more rewards on every purchase.

Currently, eligible credit cards are the Bank of America Premium Rewards, Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card and Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card. (Be aware, business credit cards, co-branded Bank of America credit cards and non-rewards credit cards are not included in the Preferred Rewards program.)

Bank of America Museums on Us program

Offering free admission to more than 225 participating museums and cultural attractions across the U.S. during the first full weekend of each month, the Bank of America Museums on Us program offers tremendous value to cardholders. Venues include museums, botanical gardens, aquariums, zoos and science centers in dozens of cities across the country.

Bank of America’s 2022 participant list includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the San Diego Museum of Art and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore, among others.

Cardholders just need to present their credit card and a valid photo ID to gain one free general admission to any participating institution. Admission is limited to the cardholder only and guests are not eligible.

Getting the most out of your Bank of America card

The first step to reaping all the benefits from your Bank of America rewards card is to download the Bank of America app, where a dashboard will outline your benefits. Travel protections and retail protection benchmarks can be easily accessed from your membership page (where you can also track your rewards). It’s important to recognize that benefits vary from card to card, and some perks – like access to the Preferred Rewards program – mandate specific requirements and vary by asset tier.

How the Preferred Rewards program can improve your earnings

As discussed above, you can improve your earnings and get the most out of your Bank of America rewards card through Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program.

For example, on average, Gold tier members making purchases with the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card can increase their cash back to 2.04%, beating out similar cards on the market. Depending on your Preferred Rewards program status tier, the cash back earned in a specific category of your choice with the Customized Cash would go from 3% to between 3.75% and 5.25%, while the 2% earned at grocery stores would jump to between 2.5%  and 3.5%. (Note, of course, the Customized Cash card’s cap of up to $2,500 in combined 3% and 2% category purchases each quarter, then 1%.)

Bottom line

No matter which card you carry, your Bank of America card is likely packed with valuable benefits – including perks like travel protection, retail protection and free entry to participating museums, zoos and more.