The Complete Guide to Bank of America Preferred Rewards

Contents

1 Bank of America Advantage Banking $100 Bonus Offer
2 Preferred Rewards 101
3 Preferred Rewards Benefits
4 Bottom Line

The Bank of America Preferred Rewards program is designed to attract casual Bank of America (BofA) clients and turn them into loyal customers. By consolidating your checking, savings, investments and retirement banking into BofA and Merrill accounts, you’ll get access to a variety of banking perks. Including a 25% to 75% points and cash back boost on qualified BofA credit cards. The more total combined assets you have across eligible accounts, the more benefits you’ll get.

In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know about Bank of America Preferred Rewards.

Bank of America Advantage Banking $100 Bonus Offer

What you’ll get: $100 bonus offer
How to earn it:
- The $100 bonus offer is an online only offer and must be opened through the Bank of America promotional page
- The offer code is DNB100CIS
- The offer is for new checking customers only
- Offer expires 12/31/2022
- To qualify, open an account through the promotional page and set up and receive qualifying direct deposits of $1000 or more into that account within 90 days of opening.
- Bank of America will attempt to pay bonus within 60 days.
- Additional terms and conditions apply. See offer page for more details.
- Member FDIC

Learn More at Bank of America

Preferred Rewards 101

To qualify for Bank of America Preferred Rewards, you need:

A BofA personal checking account, and
At least $20,000 in eligible BofA accounts, including Merrill Edge and Merrill Lynch investment accounts.

The Preferred Rewards program has three tiers, based on your three-month average combined balance:

GOLD	PLATINUM	PLATINUM HONORS
$20,000 – $49,999	$50,000 – $99,999	More than $100,000

Qualifying BofA and Merrill account include:

Emergency accounts
Holiday accounts

Savings accounts
Checking accounts

Investment accounts (including IRAs)

Keep in mind, SafeBalance Banking accounts do not count towards Preferred Rewards balance requirements.

Balances don’t have to originate with BofA or Merrill in order to qualify. You can roll your existing investment accounts and IRAs over to eligible ones, then use those rolled over balances to establish the three-month average you’re aiming for.

You can move up a Preferred Membership tier in any month, when your average daily balance for the three previous month reaches the tier minimum. But moving down a tier can only occur once a year, when Preferred Rewards conducts an annual review of your account.

The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but for the most up-to-date information, please click here to find our source.

Preferred Rewards Benefits

Let’s dive deep into what you get with your Preferred Rewards membership:

CREDIT CARD REWARDS BONUSNO-FEE BANKING SERVICESFREE NON-BofA ATM TRANSACTIONSSAVINGS INTEREST RATE BOOSTLOAN DISCOUNTSMERRILL GUIDED INVESTINGFOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE DISCOUNT

Preferred Rewards members get a 25% to 75% bonus on credit card points and cash back:

TIER	REWARDS BONUS
Gold	25%
Platinum	50%
Platinum Honors	75%

If you want to make the most out of your Preferred Rewards membership, you’ll want the Bank of America Travel Rewards or the Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card.

Bank of America Travel Rewards earning rate with the Preferred Rewards boost:

Non-Member	1.5x on all purchases
Gold	1.875x points on all purchases
Platinum	2.25x points on all purchases
Platinum Honors	2.625x points on all purchases

Bank of America Cash Rewards earning rate with the Preferred Rewards boost:

Non-Member	3% cash back on a choice category 2% back at grocery stores 2% back at wholesale clubs 1% back on all other purchases
Gold	3.75% cash back on a choice category 2.5% back at grocery stores 2.5% back at wholesale clubs 1.25% back on all other purchases
Platinum	4.5% category of your choice 3% grocery stores 3% wholesale clubs 1.5% all other purchases
Platinum Honors	5.25% category of your choice 3.5% grocery stores 3.5% wholesale clubs 1.75% all other purchases

Not all BofA credit cards are eligible for the Preferred Rewards bonus. The following cards do not qualify:

Non-rewards credit cards
Business credit cards
Bank of America Accolades
Better Balance Rewards
Merrill Lynch-branded
U.S. Trust-branded
AAA Gas Rebate
Air France KLM World Elite Mastercard
Alaska Airlines

Allegiant World Mastercard
Amtrak Guest Rewards
Amway
Asiana Airlines
Celebrity Cruises
Royal Caribbean International
Sonesta World MasterCard
Spirit Airlines
Virgin Atlantic Airways

All Preferred Rewards members get:

Monthly maintenance fees waived on up to 4 eligible checking and 4 eligible savings accounts.
Overdraft protection transfer fees waived from linked savings accounts, secondary checking accounts or from a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC).

You’ll also enjoy fee-free:

ATM or debit card replacement
Standard check orders
Cashier’s checks
Check image service

Check copies
Stop payments
Incoming domestic wire transfers

In addition to all of the above, Platinum and Platinum Honors members don’t have to pay fees for incoming international wire transfers and can access a small safe deposit box at a BofA branch for free.

Platinum and Platinum Honors members won’t have to pay non-BofA ATM fees in the United States. You’ll receive a refund on ATM operator or network fee for withdrawals, balance inquiries and balance transfers.

TIER	FREE TRANSACTIONS
Gold	None
Platinum	12/year
Platinum Honors	Unlimited

To take advantage of this perk, you’ll need a BofA Rewards Money Market Savings account. Enrollment in Preferred Rewards will not automatically convert your existing savings account without your request.

TIER	INTEREST RATE BOOST
Gold	5%
Platinum	10%
Platinum Honors	20%

LOAN DISCOUNTS	GOLD	PLATINUM	PLATINUM HONORS
Mortgage reduced origination fee	$200	$400	$600
Home equity rate discount	0.125%	0.250%	0.375%
Auto loan rate discount	0.25%	0.35%	0.50%

	GOLD	PLATINUM	PLATINUM HONORS
Guided investing (fee discount)	0.05%	0.10%	0.15%

The foreign currency exchange rate discounts below only apply to online orders and includes free standard shipping.

TIER	RATE DISCOUNT
Gold	1%
Platinum	1.5%
Platinum Honors	2%

All of the information presented above has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but for the most up-to-date information, please click here for details on Preferred Rewards benefits and here for details on free waivers.

Bottom Line

Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards is an underrated relationship rewards program that most BofA clients aren’t even aware of. Not only do members get boosted credit card rewards, but they’ll also benefit from waived banking fees, free ATM transactions and much more.

If you’re already a BofA customer, you should seriously consider moving all your banking and investing over to Bank of America to take full advantage of the perks that come with the Preferred Rewards program.

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