Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card review: Flat-rate travel rewards with no annual fee

The Bank of America Travel Rewards Card has a decent flat rate for potential cardholders who want to earn rewards on every purchase. And not only that, you can pay down these purchases with an intro APR offer that’s on par with many low-interest cards. Along with its welcome offer, you could be on the fast track toward earning boosted points.

Intro APR: Great length for purchases and balance transfers

The Bank of America Travel Rewards card has a 0 percent intro APR for 15 billing cycles on purchases and on balance transfers made within your first 60 days (a 3 percent balance transfer fee applies; 18.24 percent to 28.24 percent variable ongoing APR thereafter). Compared to reward cards that only offer a 12-month intro APR period or shorter, this a fairly lengthy offer and can give you more than enough time to pay down a balance you’ve transferred or can be helpful when financing a big purchase during the first year. And once your intro APR offer ends, you can still get long-term value out of the card through earning flat-rate rewards on purchases.

Welcome offer: Decent value compared to similar cards

Bank of America currently offers 25,000 online bonus points when you spend at least $1,000 in qualifying purchases within 90 days of opening the account. If you redeem these points for a statement credit, they’ll be worth about $250 statement credit toward travel. Considering that this card has no annual fee, this welcome offer is generous.

A $250 value is slightly higher than what you’ll find with some other no-annual-fee cards, but keep in mind that some competing cards only require a $500 spend to earn a $200 bonus. You have to spend double with the Bank of America Travel Rewards card to qualify for an extra $50 in rewards, but the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card may be more valuable in ways other than the welcome bonus.

And though other cards’ sign-up bonuses can climb higher, they typically charge an annual fee, which will eat into your rewards. 

Rewards: Earn more with the preferred rewards program 

The Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card allows you to earn unlimited 1.5X points on all purchases. However, the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program gives the Travel Rewards card an edge over similar competing cards if you already have an eligible account with Bank of America or Merrill. 

Depending on which status tier you hold, you can earn 25 percent to 75 percent bonus points on every purchase. That means Platinum Honors Preferred Rewards members can earn up to 2.62X points on all purchases and up to 5.25X points on Travel Center purchases. Plus, you could receive other benefits like boosted interest rates on savings accounts and reduced interest rates on your home equity and auto loans.

Here are Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards status tiers:

• Gold (at least a $20,000 combined balance): 25 percent bonus rewards
• Platinum (at least a $50,000 combined balance): 50 percent bonus rewards
• Platinum Honors (at least a $100,000 combined balance): 75 percent bonus rewards

The Preferred Rewards program also offers a Diamond Tier status above the Platinum Honors Tier, but it carries the same 75 percent bonus rewards boost and is only available to account holders with a $1 million to $10 million combined balance.

This boost could add up to one of the best flat rewards rates available, especially for no annual fee, and could make the Travel Rewards card an especially great deal since rival cards typically max out at 2X rewards on general spending and 5X rewards on comparable travel portal purchases through the issuer.

Redemption: Fair options for a variety of travel and dining categories

You can redeem your points for gift cards, cash or a statement credit to cover travel-related purchases. Even better, you can request credit for your travel-related purchases up to 12 months after you make them. This feature opens the door to exceptional deals that you might not get with other travel reward programs, such as discount bookings through external travel websites. 

You can also redeem points for cash back as a check or direct deposit to an eligible Bank of America checking or savings account or Merrill Cash Management account. Just keep in mind that there’s a 2,500-point redemption minimum for travel credits and cash and a 3,125-point minimum for gift cards. 

Perhaps one of the best aspects of the Bank of America Travel Rewards card’s travel credit redemption is that it covers a great variety of purchase categories that may not usually qualify as travel or dining. For example, you can get statement credits for admission tickets to tourist attractions, bar and nightclub purchases, transit and RV and boat rentals However, some travel or dining-related expenses like in-flight goods and services and duty-free airport purchases aren’t eligible for statement credits.

Knowing which purchases qualify for credits can get confusing, so here’s a handy list of Bank of America Travel Rewards card categories eligible for travel credits:

Though the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card has plenty of perks and advantages it does have some drawbacks, including a lower value for cash back redemption, no ability to transfer points to hotel or airline partners and a balance transfer fee.

Flexibility: Low redemption value and you can’t transfer points

This card offers a solid rewards rate on all your purchases, whether you’re traveling or at home, but these travel rewards work a bit differently than typical bonus miles. Instead of using rewards to book travel, your Bank of America travel rewards go toward statement credits on travel or dining purchases — meaning this card works more like a specialized cash back credit card.

However, if you redeem your points for a travel statement credit, they’re worth 1 cent each, so 25,000 points equals $250 statement credit. Cash and gift cards usually give you less bang for your buck. When redeeming for gift cards, the value of your points will vary by retailer, but when you redeem for cash, your points are only worth 0.6 cents each (or $150 for every 25,000 points). 

Compared to Chase and other issuers with traditional travel reward programs, you may get more flexibility with this card, but you can’t book travel with your points or transfer them to travel partners at a higher value. Bank of America Travel Rewards points are stuck at a maximum of 1.0 cents per point. If you’re a frequent traveler, you may squeeze more value out of a card that allows you to transfer points to airline and hotel partners. According to Bankrate’s point valuations, several issuers’ points or miles can be worth 2 cents each on average with the right transfer partner.

Perks: Doesn’t quite stand out compared to other travel cards

The Bank of America Travel Rewards card isn’t a powerhouse for perks like other travel-oriented rewards credit cards. Along with offering basic features like free access to your credit score, overdraft protection and account alerts, it has few extra benefits outside the Preferred Rewards program that might be helpful during your travels, such as:

• BankAmeriDeals: Bank of America cardholders have exclusive access to BankAmeriDeals, the issuer’s version of card-linked limited-time offer programs like Amex Offers or Chase Offers. You can log into your account and usually earn anywhere from 5 to 50 percent extra cash back (up to a certain limit) or a sum of cash back (usually $4 to $35) for spending a certain amount at participating restaurants and other merchants after activating the respective offer. BankAmeriDeals won’t rake in big bucks, but the “coins” you get for regularly using the program can help you obtain upgraded deals.
• Visa Signature benefits: As a Visa credit card, your Bank of America Travel Rewards card has access to a portfolio of Visa Signature perks that can come in handy on the road. Contact your issuer to see which features your card specifically carries, but you can expect to receive standard benefits like extended warranty protection, Visa Signature® Concierge services, roadside Dispatch®, lost luggage reimbursement as well as travel and emergency assistance.
• Museums On Us: If you love planning day trips to popular museums, then this benefit is an underrated gem. Simply presenting your Bank of America debit or credit card and a valid photo ID will get you free admission to 225-plus cultural institutions during the first weekend of each month.

However, in the travel card landscape, these features aren't particularly competitive, as cards offer airport perks such as TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits, in-flight or airline credit, airport lounge access, free checked bag(s), rental car assistance and more. However, you will normally have to pay an annual fee with these sorts of travel cards, so it is up to you whether you want a simple travel reward card with no exceptional features but no annual fee or a more luxurious travel reward card with top-tier amenities and an annual fee.

Fees: Charges a balance transfer fee

Though there is no annual fee and a long intro APR offer for purchases and balance transfers, the Bank of America Travel Rewards card charges a 3 percent fee for each transfer you make. If you have a large balance or multiple balances to transfer, this could be a dealbreaker. And when compared to other reward cards that don't have a balance transfer fee, as well as potentially higher rewards rates or a wider range of bonus categories, you may find that choosing a different card entirely is a smarter decision.

But on the upside, the Bank of America Travel Rewards card does not charge foreign transaction fees, so you can safely use it abroad without the typical 3 percent fee eating into your hard-earned rewards.

The Bank of America Travel Rewards card is one of the best travel credit cards with no annual fee, if you value flexibility. It doesn’t operate like a traditional travel card with bonus points or miles but instead works like a flat-rate cash back card — except your statement credits are restricted to travel and dining-related categories. If you don’t travel frequently and “flexibility” means occasionally redeeming for cash rewards, you’re probably better off with a true flat-rate cash back card. 

Since the Bank of America Travel Rewards card is a flat-rate card, the best cards to pair with should reward the categories you spend the most in with higher rates. Your Travel Rewards card points are best used to cover travel and dining purchases, so you’ll want a card that covers spending outside those two categories.

The Bank of America Travel Rewards Card could be a great card to choose for some, but it may not be the best option for everyone.

The no-annual-fee Bank of America Travel Rewards card is a good choice for frequent travelers who value flexibility and are Preferred Rewards members that already bank with Bank of America or Merrill.

Since you can redeem points for a travel rewards statement credit, you won’t have to deal with blackout dates or travel restrictions when redeeming, and you have the freedom to book through third-party sites for better travel deals. You’ll also be able to use your points to cover a wide range of travel purchases, from aquarium tickets to hotel stays, which aren’t covered by similar redemption options from other issuers.

However, there aren’t any travel-specific perks or opportunities to transfer rewards, so many cardholders looking for richer travel opportunities may find this card lacking. Since you can only redeem rewards for travel or dining statement credits, a 2 percent flat-rate cash back card may even be a better option if you aren’t a Preferred Rewards member.

Dig deeper: Is the Bank of America Travel Rewards card worth it?

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). 

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review: