The Elite Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card is premium for travelers who want flexibility when redeeming awards for any airline or hotel. Although it has a premium annual fee ($550), its annual credits and lounge benefits can help offset it. In addition, customers with higher deposit and investment balances can earn up to 75% more points on every purchase.
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Annual fee
$550
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Welcome offer
75,000 online bonus points – worth $750 – after you make at least $5,000 in purchases in the first 90 days after opening an account
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Buy an APR
20.24% – 28.24% variable
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Reward rate
- 2x points on travel and dining
- 1.5x points on all other eligible purchases
- Bank of America Preferred Rewards® members earn 25%-75% more points on every purchase
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Benefits
- Up to $100 in statement credits for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application fees every four years
- Save 20% on domestic or international airfare for any class when you pay with points
- Free full-service concierge 24/7 to book your travel, dinner reservations, event tickets, and more
You can earn the welcome bonus as a new cardholder, but you'll have to rely on the rewards rate for continued earnings. The Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite has raised spending categories for travel and dining, making this a decent card for travelers and foodies. You also have a higher than average base rate of return if your typical spend doesn't fit into the bonus categories.
You can earn even more as a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, but you have to calculate whether earning 25% to 75% more on purchases is worth storing money with the available Bank of America and Merrill deposit accounts .
To qualify for the lowest tier of the Preferred Rewards program, these accounts would require a combined average daily balance of at least $20,000. This would unlock a bonus of 25% points on your card.
Points earned from Bank of America Premium Elite do not expire, so there is no rush to redeem them. Customers can redeem points for travel, cash back, statement credits, experiences, or gift cards.
Remember, you'll get 20% savings when you use points to book a domestic or international flight ticket.
Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite is packed with premium benefits and annual credits. Although the card has a large annual fee, these benefits help justify or offset the cost.
You can get up to $300 in statement credits each year for incidental airline charges, such as seat upgrades, baggage fees, airline lounge fees, and flight services. These credits do not apply to airline tickets.
This credit covers a variety of lifestyle subscriptions and payments, such as video streaming services, fitness subscriptions, food delivery and ride sharing.
Charge the TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee to your card to get a refund of up to $100 once every four years.
This card includes free unlimited access to the Priority Pass airport lounge network, where you can enjoy free drinks, food, WiFi and more, depending on the lounge. Cardholders get up to four free Priority Ticket Select memberships, so you can share these benefits with your friends and family.
The Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite is best suited for frequent travelers who can use the card's annual credits, airport lounge access, and travel protections. If you don't use the card's credits for eligible purchases, then the credits go away without receiving any benefit.
In addition, customers with larger deposit and investment balances will receive up to 75% more points on every purchase. These extra rewards for your spending can help justify the card's hefty annual fee and rack up a lot of rewards.
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Up to $450 in annual credits for eligible airline payments and lifestyle purchases
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Up to $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry rebate every four years
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Up to four Priority Pass Select memberships for free
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Earn up to 75% more rewards as a Preferred Rewards member
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No airline or hotel transfer partners limit the ability to maximize award value
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A high annual fee is difficult to justify for some customers
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Limited bonus categories to earn extra points on purchases
Like the Visa Unlimited Card, the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card can be used anywhere merchants accept Visa cards for payment. Visa and Mastercard are the major credit card processors in the US and abroad, so you should have no trouble using this card when traveling domestically or internationally. The card also waives foreign transaction fees, making it an excellent choice for spending outside the US
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Automatic recurring payments
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In person at approximately 3,700 Bank of America branches and 15,000 ATMs ()
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Call customer service at (800) 236-6497
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Mail payments to PO Box 15019, Wilmington, DE 19850-5019
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Overnight delivery to Bank of America, Attn: Payment Processing, DE5-023-03-02, 900 Samoset Drive, Newark, DE 19713
While the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite has many appealing features, it's not the best card for every customer. One of its main shortcomings as a luxury credit card is that there are no transfer partners available to maximize the value of your rewards. If it doesn't seem like the right fit for you, consider these other travel credit cards.
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Annual fee
$95
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Welcome offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months – that's a $750 value when redeemed through Chase Travel℠
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Ongoing Purchases APR
20.74% – 27.74% Various
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Recommended credit score
Excellent/Good
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Reward rate
- 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries
- 2x points on all other travel purchases
- 1x point on all other purchases
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Benefits
- Points are worth 25% more when you redeem for flights, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel
- Earn up to $50 in annual statement credits for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel
- On each account anniversary, earn bonus points equivalent to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year
Why we like it: Although not a premium card, this is one of the most popular travel credit cards for good reason. It has a low annual fee of $95, so there's a lot less to worry about when trying to offset the cost of a card member each year. Additionally, you can earn flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to over 12 airline and hotel loyalty program partners.
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Reward rate
- 10x miles on hotels and hire cars through Capital One Travel
- 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
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Benefits
- $300 annual credit for travel bookings through Capital One Travel
- 10,000 annual bonus miles ($100 worth of travel spend; starts on your first account anniversary)
- Unlimited access for you and two guests to Capital One Lounge and 1,300+ lounges through partner networks
Why we like it: It earns flexible rewards that can be used in different ways, such as transferring them to over 15 travel partners. The Venture X is also attractive because of its simple benefits that can easily help offset the annual fee each year. These include a $300 annual travel credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel and 10,000 bonus miles each year starting on your first birthday.
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Reward rate
- 10x points on hotels and rental cars purchased through Chase Travel℠*
- 5x points on flights purchased through Chase Travel*
- 3x points on dining and other travel purchases
- 1x point on all other purchases
- *After the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually
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Benefits
- Points are worth 50% more when you redeem through Chase Travel
- Earn up to $300 in annual statement credits for travel purchases
- Receive up to a $120 statement credit every four years to cover the application fee for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS
Why we like it: One of the most popular premium travel credit cards is the . This card includes a $300 annual credit that automatically applies to any eligible travel purchase, plus airport lounge access, premium travel protections, and more. Its points have several redemption options, including transferring to over 12 airline and hotel partners or getting 50% more value when booking a trip through Chase Travel℠.
This article was edited by Ben Walker (CEPF, CFEI®)
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