BankAmericard® credit card review: Is it the missing piece to your debt repayment strategy?

For anyone focused on securing the maximum amount of time to pay down debt, the BankAmericard is one of the best cards available. Its long intro offer applies to both purchases and balance transfers, and its ongoing interest rate is more forgiving than interest rates on many other cards on the market.

Intro APR offer: One of the longest intro APR offers available

The main draw for the BankAmericard is its stellar intro APR offers on both purchases and balance transfers. The longer an intro APR offer is, the more time you’ll have to pay off your balance without added interest — potentially saving you hundreds of dollars. If you need to finance a large purchase or manage a debt-payoff strategy, the BankAmericard gives you breathing room to handle what you need. 

However, Bank of America recently reduced the BankAmericard’s intro APR offer for balance transfers. It’s still one of the longest, but a handful of other cards now have longer offers.

To maximize this benefit, you’ll want to pay off your balance before the intro APR period ends. To better understand how much you can save, Bankrate’s balance transfer calculator can help you nail down how much you must pay each month to meet your debt management goals.

Interest rate: Lower-than-average ongoing interest rate

As Fed rate hikes continue, credit card interest rates are reaching record highs. With the current average interest rate for credit cards hovering just over 20 percent, this card’s ongoing variable APR can be a welcome reprieve for some cardholders. Although the BankAmericard lacks overall rewards value, it could be an excellent low-interest credit card beyond its intro APR period. 

Several low-interest credit cards have ongoing APRs slightly higher than the BankAmericard’s lowest possible APR. However, many of those cards also offer rewards or cash back. Although, the chance at a fraction of your spending back may not be worth the risk of accumulating credit card debt. If rewards tempt you to overspend, managing your debt with a card like the BankAmericard might be easier, especially if the APR on a more rewarding card is higher than the APR on the BankAmericard.

If you’re looking for a simple, no-frills way to save with low interest rates, the BankAmericard might be the right choice.

While the BankAmericard allows people to focus on paying down debt during the intro APR period, the value beyond that is limited to what you can save on interest relative to other cards. The BankAmericard doesn’t offer rewards and will cost you extra if you use it abroad, making it a poor choice for rewards enthusiasts and frequent travelers.

Rewards: No rewards or welcome offer

You won’t get cash back or points and miles for purchases with the BankAmericard. However, the BankAmericard isn’t trying to be your go-to option for rewards.

Once your intro APR offer ends, it could be hard to justify keeping the BankAmericard. Any balance transfers you make after the first 60 days are subject to the card’s ongoing APR, and you won’t have much incentive to use this card to make new purchases since you won’t get rewards.

Once your intro APR period ends, you have little to gain from this card. With this in mind, paying off your balance might prompt you to close a card like this, but you should leave it open even after you’ve paid off your debt. Closing a credit card impacts your credit profile, so it’d be better to hold onto the BankAmericard even if you’ve exhausted its best features — its intro APR offers. While it won’t earn rewards on any new purchases you make, it can still be a handy low-interest card for carrying a balance you can’t pay right away. However, even if you don’t use it, it will expand your overall credit limit and increase your credit history.

Fees: Foreign transaction fee

If you travel internationally and need a credit card to use when you’re abroad, the BankAmericard probably isn’t the best choice. The card’s 3 percent foreign transaction fee will add to the cost of any purchase you make.

If you frequently travel abroad, consider a travel card or a rewards card without foreign transaction fees. Cards in these categories might subject you to higher APRs than the generously low APR on the BankAmericard. However, skipping foreign transaction fees and earning rewards might help offset the difference between the interest accrued with the BankAmericard’s potentially low APR and the interest you accrue on a card with a higher APR, if you carry a balance.

Of course, if you consistently pay on time and keep your balance at $0, you’ll never worry about interest payments. In this case, a card without foreign transaction fees will be all about saving money on international purchases, something the BankAmericard cannot offer.

Perks: Limited useful benefits 

There are only a few noteworthy cardholder perks on the BankAmericard. The most interesting is the Museums on Us® program, which grants you free general admission to museums during the first weekend of every month. All you have to do is show your Bank of America card and a valid photo ID at any of these 225 cultural institutions and save some money on a fun weekend trip.

Otherwise, Bank of America’s BankAmerideals (a standard credit card shopping portal) and free monthly FICO® score are both common credit card features that hardly stand out.

Our editor, Ashley Parks, recently got the BankAmericard to help pay off some of her travel card debt.

“I really wanted a card that would force me to focus solely on paying down debt. I didn’t want rewards or welcome offers to distract me, so the BankAmericard gave me exactly what I needed. I also already bank with Bank of America, so it’s easy to manage all of my accounts in one place with their mobile app. While I know the card won’t have much value once the intro period is over, I do intend to keep the card open to add a nice boost to my available credit and lengthen my credit history.”

The BankAmericard is a great option for paying off debt or financing a big purchase, but it’s not your only option. Depending on what you need, you may prefer a card without a foreign transaction fee or one that earns rewards. Here are a couple of different options to consider.

There are a couple types of consumers who will benefit the most from the features offered by the BankAmericard. 

The BankAmericard credit card is a strong choice if you need a long — but not the longest — intro APR periods available to pay down your balance. While it doesn’t earn rewards or carry many features that distinguish it from other balance transfer cards with similar intro APR offers, the BankAmericard could be worth keeping even after your balance is paid thanks to its potentially low ongoing APR.

Dig deeper: Why I love the BankAmericard

*The information about the BankAmericard® credit card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.