Cash back bank of america credit card

The offer mentioned below for the for the Citi® Double Cash Card is no longer available.

A new rewards credit card has just hit the market: The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Card enters a crowded field of cash-back cards. The Unlimited Cash Rewards Card is a no-annual fee card that earns 1.5% cash back on purchases with the ability to earn a higher cash-back rate if you're a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member. 

The Unlimited Cash Rewards Card has a straightforward rewards program with a twist. The card earns 1.5% cash back on everything, but it also allows you to tap into Bank of America's Preferred Rewards Program, which gives you the potential to gain an additional 25% to 75% uplift on your rewards, depending on your Preferred Rewards program member tier.

Bank of America joins Wells Fargo and Citigroup which have both rolled out cash-back cards in the past few months.

"Some customers choose to have flat cash-back products and we noticed that some of our customers [would] go elsewhere to seek out that type of product, because Bank of America didn't offer it," Jason Gaughan, Consumer Card Product Executive at Bank of America said.

The card offers a solid welcome bonus of $200 if you spend $1,000 within the first three months of opening the card and a 18 month 0% APR introductory period on balance transfers and purchases (after, variable APR 16.99% to 26.99%). It also has a 3% foreign transaction fee, so it's not a great card for international travelers.

You can redeem your cash back as a statement credit, a direct deposit into a Bank of America checking or savings account or a credit to an eligible Merrill® account.

Boost your cash-back earning with Preferred Rewards

In order to become a Preferred Rewards program member, you'll need at least $20,000 or more invested in a Bank of America® deposit and/or Merrill® investment account.

There are three Preferred Rewards tiers. If you're in the highest tier, Platinum Honors, you earn 2.625% back on purchases with the Unlimited Cash Rewards Card. If you're in the lowest tier, Gold, you receive 1.875% back, and if you're in the middle tier, Silver, you'll earn 2.25% cash back.

"...It pays to have a relationship, or a full relationship, with us [Bank of America]. The more you do with us, the more you get rewarded," Don Vecchiarello, spokesperson for Bank of America, said.

The ability to earn a greater cash-back rate by being a Preferred Rewards member, up to 2.625%, potentially makes the Unlimited Cash Rewards Card the best flat-rate cash-back card currently on the market. Most other cash-back cards offer rewards rates of 1.5% to 2% back, and cards with higher cash-back rates of 5% typically have rotating categories or spending caps.

Other flat-rate cash-back cards

While cardholders have the ability to earn more by being a Preferred Rewards Program member, there are other cash-back cards on the market with better rewards systems if you're not a member. The new product from Bank of America competes against other well-known cards in the cash-rewards space, namely the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and the Citi® Double Cash Card Card. Some have a welcome bonus and a 0% APR introductory period.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash offers 2% cash rewards on all eligible purchases and a $200 cash reward welcome bonus if you spend $1,000 in purchases within the first three months of account opening.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited offers 3% on dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services) and drugstores and 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Cardholders earn an additional 1.5% for all eligible purchases, on up to $20,000 spent in the first year.

The Citi Double Cash Card also has a 2% cash-back on purchases; 1% when you buy and 1% as you pay but doesn't have a welcome bonus, making the Active Cash Card a stronger choice.

Bottom line

Regardless of which cash-back card you choose, the Unlimited Cash Rewards Card comes with the potential to earn the highest cash-back rate, on all purchases, of many cards. You'll just need to be at least a Gold or Platinum Preferred Rewards program member to reap those rewards.

Information about the Bank of America's Unlimited Cash Rewards Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.

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