The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card is a premium For travelers who want the flexibility to redeem rewards for any airline or hotel. Although it has a premium annual fee ($550), its annual credit and lounge benefits can help offset it. Additionally, 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 — a $750 value — after you make at least $5,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
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Buy 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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benefit
- Up to $100 in statement credits for 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 24/7 full-service concierge to book your travel, dinner reservations, event tickets, and more
You can earn a welcome bonus as a new cardholder, but you have to rely on the rewards rate to earn consistently. Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite has elevated spending categories for travel and dining, making it a great card for travelers and foodies. You also have an above-average base earning rate if your normal spending doesn’t match the bonus categories.
You can earn even more as a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, but you’ll have to calculate whether earning 25% to 75% more on purchases is worth storing money with available Bank of America deposit and Merrill investment accounts. is eligible
To qualify for the lowest tier of the Preferred Rewards program, you’ll need a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $20,000 in these accounts. This will unlock a 25% points bonus on your card.
Points earned from Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite do not expire, so there is no need to redeem them. Customers can redeem points for travel, cash back, statement credits, experiences, or gift cards.
Remember, using points to book domestic or international airfares will save you 20%.
Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite is loaded 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 expenses, such as seat upgrades, baggage fees, airline lounge fees, and flight services. These credits do not apply to airfare.
This credit includes a variety of lifestyle subscriptions and expenses, such as video streaming services, fitness subscriptions, food delivery, and rideshare.
Charge your card application fee for TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry up to $100 over 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 receive up to four free Priority Pass Select memberships, so you can share these benefits with your friends and family.
Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite is best for frequent travelers who can use the card’s annual credit, airport lounge access, and travel protection. If you don’t use the card’s credits for eligible purchases, the credits expire without earning any benefits.
Additionally, customers with large deposits and investment balances will get up to 75% more points on every purchase. These extra rewards for your spending can help justify the card’s hefty annual fee and generate a large amount of rewards.
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Up to $450 in annual credits for eligible airline expenses and lifestyle purchases
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Up to $100 in TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry reimbursements every four years
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Choose up to four free Priority Pass memberships
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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 the value of rewards
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The high annual fee is hard to justify for some customers
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Limited bonus categories to earn extra points on purchases
As a Visa Infinite 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 leading credit card processors in the US and abroad, so you should have no problem using this card when traveling domestically or internationally. The card also waives foreign transaction fees, making it a great option for spending outside the US.
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Automatic recurring payments
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Approximately 3,700 Bank of America branches and 15,000 ATMs ()
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Calling customer service at (800) 236-6497
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Payment by mail to PO Box 15019, Wilmington, DE 19850-5019
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Overnight Delivery to Bank of America, Attn: Payment Process, DE5-023-03-02, 900 Someset Drive, Newark, DE 19713
While the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite has many attractive features, it’s not the best card for every customer. One of its major drawbacks as a luxury credit card is that there are no transfer partners available to maximize the value of your rewards. If that doesn’t sound right 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 — equal to $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠.
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Ongoing purchases APR
20.74% – 27.74% variable
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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 points on all other purchases
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benefit
- Points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for airfare, 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 equal to 10% of your total purchases made in the previous year
Why we like it: Despite not being a premium card, this is one of the most popular travel credit cards for good reason. It has a low $95 annual fee, so there’s little to worry about when trying to offset the cost of a card member each year. Plus, you can earn flexible Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to more than 12 airline and hotel loyalty program partners.
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reward rate
- 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked 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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benefit
- $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 Lounges and 1,300+ other lounges through partner networks
Why we like it: Earn flexible rewards that can be redeemed in different ways, such as transferring them to more than 15 travel partners. Venture X is also attractive because of its direct benefits that can easily help offset the annual fee each year. These include an annual $300 travel credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel and 10,000 bonus miles each year starting on your first anniversary.
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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 points on all other purchases
- *After the first $300 is spent on annual travel purchases
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benefit
- Points are worth 50% more when you redeem through Chase Travel
- Earn up to $300 in annual statement credits for travel purchases
- Receive a statement credit of up to $120 every four years to cover application fees for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS.
Why we like it: is one of the most popular premium travel credit cards. This card includes a $300 annual credit applied to any eligible travel purchase, plus airport lounge access, premium travel protection, and more. Its points have many redemption options, including transferring to more than 12 airline and hotel partners or getting 50% more value when booking travel through Chase Travel℠.
This article was edited by Ben Walker (CEPF, CFEI®)
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