(Update: Card is now called Customized Cash Rewards. No other changes.)
The BankAmericard Cash Rewards is a favorite of churners for its occasional $200 signup bonus. While it’s benefits have been summarized on here before, I think it can it can take a place in your wallet, so here’s a full review.
Do be aware that the regular Cash Rewards card is a Visa, but some co-branded Cash Rewards cards may be Visa or MasterCard (or even both, depending on the application link). For example, the most recent $200 signup bonus was on an NEA co-branded Cash Rewards MasterCard. This is an important difference if you plan to use the card at Costco!
As always, remember that we do not use credit card affiliate links, so our review is not biased by monetary incentives.
Contents
Card Basics
Benefits
- No annual fee
- Access to BankAmeriDeals
- Relationship bonus when redeeming cash rewards into a Bank of America checking or savings account
- Standard Visa Signature benefits (a full list is available here), OR
- Standard MasterCard benefits (a full list is available here)
Earning Structure
- Earns 3% back in the category of your choice: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings
- Earns 2% back on groceries & wholesale clubs
- Earns 1% back on all other purchases
- Only earns 3% & 2% on the first $2,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories per quarter
Signup Bonus
- Standard bonus is $100 cash rewards for spending $500 within the first 90 days of account opening
- 0% APR for your first 12 billing cycles on purchases, and balance transfers completed within 60 days of account opening
- $200 cash rewards signup bonuses appear occasionally
Pricing Details
APRs
- Purchase & Balance Transfer APR: 13.49% to 23.49%*, based on your credit worthiness
- Cash Advance APR: 16.49% to 25.49%* for check & direct deposit cash advances, based on your credit worthiness; 25.49%* for bank cash advances (such as using an ATM or Casino)
- Penalty APRs: Up to 29.99% depending on your credit worthiness/score
- Applies if you make a late payment
- Applies indefinitely
- Grace period: 25 days (minimum, up to 28 days)
- Minimum interest charge: $1.50
* Note: these rates vary based on the Prime Rate.
Fees
- Annual fee: None
- Balance transfer fee: $10 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
- Cash advance fee: $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater, for check & direct deposit; $10 or 5% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater, for bank.
- Overdraft cash advance fee: $12 (unless overdrawn by less than $12)
- Foreign transaction fee: 3%
- Late payment fee: Up to $37
- Returned payment: Up to $27
- Over credit limit fee: None
Application Information
Please feel free to add your own application information in the comments at the end of this review.
What Credit Score Is Required
Using data from the last year from Credit Boards:
| Lowest approved score | 621 |
| Average approved score | 727 |
What Credit Bureau Does Bank of America Pull?
This depends on what state you live in, you can view that information here.
What Credit Limit Will I Receive?
Using data from the last year from Credit Boards:
| Minimum CL | Highest CL | Average CL |
| $500 | $14,000 | $5,972 |
The minimum possible credit limit should be $500. Be aware that if you are approved with a credit limit under $5,000, you may receive a Visa Platinum card instead of a Visa Signature card.
Rewards Program
This card earns cash rewards, which can be redeemed at face value in any amount once you have at least $25 in cash rewards.
Bank of America has one of the most lucrative relationship bonuses, even if you aren’t a Preferred Rewards client with them. If you redeem your cash rewards into a Bank of America checking or savings account, you get a 10% relationship bonus added to the amount you redeemed. If you’re a Preferred Rewards client, this bonus is increased based on your combined balances with Bank of America and/or Merrill Edge and Merrill Lynch. The Preferred Rewards relationship bonuses are 25% if you have $20,000 in combined balances, 50% if you have $50,000 in combined balances, and 75% if you have $100,000 in combined balances. note: they calculate your Preferred Rewards tier based on a 3-month average, so you do have to wait to get to the right tier.
That changes the earning structure of the card to the following:
- 10% bonus: 3.3% on gas, 2.2% on groceries & wholesale clubs, 1.1% on all other purchases
- 25% bonus: 3.75% on gas, 2.5% on groceries & wholesale clubs, 1.25% on all other purchases
- 50% bonus: 4.5% on gas, 3% on groceries & wholesale clubs, 1.5% on all other purchases
- 75% bonus: 5.25% on gas, 3.5% on groceries & wholesale clubs, 1.75% on all other purchases
Even better? The signup bonus is awarded as cash rewards, so you can earn $110, $125, $150, or $175 as a signup bonus depending on your relationship bonus, and double that if you hop on a $200 signup bonus. No longer applies to the sign up bonus
Our Verdict
This was my first rewards card, and I have a soft spot for it. It’s one of my go-to options when someone asks about their first rewards card. While there are many better credit cards, I think this card can sneak into your wallet if you have any banking relationship with Bank of America.
For those with under $50,000 with Bank of America and no Costco membership, this is one of the best gas cards, giving you a minimum of 3.3%. If you do have a Costco membership (and a Citi Costco Anywhere), its utility as a gas card is diminished, but this card actually beats the Citi Costco Anywhere at Costco as long as you’re redeeming into a Bank of America checking or savings account. For those with at least $50,000 with Bank of America, this card can be a daily driver in all of its bonus categories.
For those without a Bank of America relationship, this card can still be worth it for access to BankAmeriDeals, which commonly has (capped) offers of 5-15% on merchants such as Petco, RiteAid, Five Guys, Airbnb, Starbucks, and Hilton (and a number of other hotels)—to name a few. They usually aren’t as good as Amex Offers, but they’re still very useful. note: you do not get a relationship bonus for BankAmeriDeals as the program is considered separate from cash rewards.
And of course, a signup bonus that gives you greater than a 20% return on spending is quite nice.
You can view our list of best gas credit cards here, and our list of best grocery credit cards here. And always check out Things to Know about Bank of America Credit Cards before applying.
Questions? Drop them below.
