Rewards Plan
Welcome Bonus
Credit Rating
0% Intro
Annual Fee
APR
- Statement Credit
- TSA PreCheck Reimbursement
- No Travel Transfer Partners
- Low Rewards Rate
Rewards Plan
Welcome Bonus
0% Intro
PROS
- Statement Credit
- TSA PreCheck Reimbursement
CONS
- No Travel Transfer Partners
- Low Rewards Rate
APR
20.24% - 27.24%
Annual Fee
$550
Balance Transfer Fee
3%
Credit Requirements
Excellent
This card is the most premium card among Bank Of America cards, offering an impressive variety of perks that should more than offset this expense – and high annual fee. The statement credits alone add up to the cost of the annual fee, and you can also enjoy lounge access and a decent selection of travel insurances. If you’re already a Bank of America customer, particularly if you already have Preferred Rewards status, this card could be a good choice for you.
On the other hand, if you have no connection to Bank of America, there are numerous other cards on the market that offer similar rewards and a similar benefits package at a lower annual fee. In this scenario, you would be far better to explore the alternative cards rather than simply opting for the Premium Rewards Elite.
- Airline Incidentals Statement Credit
- Statement Credit for Lifestyle Conveniences
- Reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Priority Pass Select
- Airfare Point Savings
- Preferred Rewards Points Bonus
- Travel Protections
- Car Rental Benefits
- Access to Concierge Services
- Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection
- Low Rewards Rate
- Lackluster Rewards without Preferred Rewards Status
- No Travel Transfer Partners
Can I get pre-approved?
Bank of America does not have a pre approval option on its website for this card, but it may send out mailers or other promotional materials offering pre approval to select customers.
How do I redeem rewards?
There are several reward redemption options with this card including direct deposit to qualifying Bank of America accounts, statement credit or purchases at the B of A Travel Center. To redeem your rewards, you will need to log into your account and click on redeem rewards. From there, you can explore the options including opening up the Travel Center to search for flights, hotels and other travel purchases.
How hard is it to get a Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card?
Bank of America requires applicants to have excellent credit to qualify for this card, but you may also need to demonstrate that you have sufficient income to properly service the card. This may make it difficult for some applicants to get approved for the Premium Rewards Elite.
In this Review
Simulation: How Much Rewards You Can Earn?
Take a look at the table below to see how many points you can get by using the Premium Rewards Elite card. The table shows an estimate of the points you could earn based on your usual spending in different categories.
Remember that this table is just an approximation, and the points you actually earn may be different due to your spending habits and other factors. However, it gives you a good idea of the potential advantages of this card.
| |
|---|---|
Spend Per Category | Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite
|
$10,000 – U.S Supermarkets | 10,000 points |
$3,000 – Restaurants
| 6,000 points |
$5,000 – Airline | 10,000 points |
$4,000 – Hotels | 8,000 points |
$4,000 – Gas | 4,000 points |
Estimated Annual Points | 38,000 Points |
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Pros and Cons
Just like any other credit card, the BoFa Premium Rewards Elite credit card has some advantages and disadvantages:
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Airline Incidentals Statement Credit | Low Rewards Rate |
Statement Credit for Lifestyle Conveniences | Lackluster Rewards without Preferred Rewards Status |
Reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck | No Travel Transfer Partners |
Priority Pass Select | |
Airfare Point Savings | |
Preferred Rewards Points Bonus | |
Travel Protections | |
Car Rental Benefits | |
Access to Concierge Services | |
Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection |
- Airline Incidentals Statement Credit
You can receive up to $300 per year for qualifying airline incidental charges to your card. This includes baggage fees, seat upgrades, in flight services and airline lounge fees.
- Statement Credit for Lifestyle Conveniences
You can also receive up to $150 per year for lifestyle conveniences billed to your card. This includes rideshare services, food delivery, video streaming services and fitness subscriptions.
- Reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
Provided that you use your card to pay for your application fees, you can receive up to $100 every four years as reimbursement for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
- Priority Pass Select
As a cardholder, you’ll have Priority Pass Select offering free, unlimited airport lounge access for you or an authorized user.
- Airfare Point Savings
When you pay with points for your domestic or international airfare, you can save 20% regardless of the fare class.
- Travel Protections
The card also has a suite of travel protections. This includes trip delay, cancellation and interruption insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, baggage delay cover, roadside assistance and access to emergency transportation and evacuation.
- Access to Concierge Services
Since this is a Visa Infinite credit card, you can access the highest tier of Visa concierge services. This includes help to find tickets to events, making dinner reservations, booking travel and more 24/7.
- Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection
This perk provides benefits at premium hotels when you book from the collection. This includes benefits such as free breakfast, late checkouts and automatic upgrades, but some benefits are subject to availability.
- Low Rewards Rate
There are a number of other rewards credit cards, which offer a similar rewards rate with a lower annual fee. So, while this card does offer some nice perks, if your main priority is accumulating point rewards, you may prefer an alternative travel card.
- Lackluster Rewards without Preferred Rewards Status
If you have the top tier Preferred Rewards status, you can access some impressive rewards with this card. If you don’t have status, the rewards for this card are rather lackluster.
Unfortunately, even the base tier of Preferred Rewards requires an average daily balance of $20,000 across qualifying Bank of America accounts, which may be a barrier for many people.
- No Travel Transfer Partners
When you want to redeem your rewards, there are several options, but if you’re interested in travel, you are limited to the Bank of America Travel Center.
This means that you cannot simply transfer your points to the loyalty program of a partner airline or hotel brand.
- Preferred Rewards Points Bonus
If you’re a Preferred Rewards member, you can earn up to 75% more points on each purchase. This increases the point earning potential of this card to 3.5 points per dollar on travel and dining and up to 2.62 points per dollar on all other purchases.
- Car Rental Benefits
You can enjoy complimentary status upgrades, VIP amenities and discounts with several partner companies including Hertz, Avis and National.
Who May Consider The BoFa Premium Rewards Elite ?
Since this is a premium card, it is obviously best suited to those who tend to be higher spenders. If you fly regularly, you’re likely to get the most value from the reimbursements, discounts and statement credits, particularly the Priority Pass Select lounge access and statement credit for airline incidentals. These two items alone should offset the high annual fee.
The card could also be a good fit for higher tier Preferred Rewards members since you can get up to 75% more points on your purchases. So, if you have Preferred Reward status and tend to dine out several times a month and fly at least a couple of times per year, you’ll be able to accumulate an impressive points balance.
Here are some premium travel cards that can be considered as good alternatives:
Card | Rewards | Annual Fee |
| 2X – 5X
5x total points on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases and select streaming services. 2x on other travel purchases. Plus, earn 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
| $95
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1X – 3X
3X miles per dollar on eligible Delta flights and Delta Vacations® with 1X miles on all other purchases
| $650 | |
| 1X – 10X
10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights and 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases
| $395 | |
| Up to 4x miles
4x miles on United Airlines purchases, 2x miles on all other travel purchases, dining and eligible delivery services and 1x miles on all other purchases
| $525 | |
| 2X – 6X
6 Marriott Bonvoy points for each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy™ program, 3 points at Worldwide restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines and 2 points on all other eligible purchases
| $650 | |
| 1X – 10X
5X total points on air travel and 10X total points on hotels, car rentals and dining when you purchase through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, immediately after earning your $300 annual travel credit. Also, earn 3x points on dining at restaurants and travel (after meeting the $300 travel credit), then 1x points per dollar spent on all other purchases. | $550 | |
| 1X – 5X
5X points on up to $500,000 spent on directly-booked airfare and flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel (per calendar year), 2X points on prepaid car rentals through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases
| $695 (Rates & Fees) |
Tips for Using the Premium Rewards Elite Card
Although the Bank Of America Premium Rewards Elite card is quite straightforward, there are a few things that you can do to maximize its value.
-
Use Your Card For Airline And Lifestyle Purchases
Although things such as streaming services and rideshare don’t attract the highest tier of reward points, you can receive statement credit.
Between the statement credit for airline incidentals and lifestyle purchases, you can almost offset the entire cost of the annual fee.
-
Sign up for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
Both of these programs are attractive for regular travelers since you can minimize the time you spend in customs lines at the airport.
As a card holder, if you pay for the application fees using your card, you will essentially get your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck for free, since the charges will be reimbursed.
-
Book All Your Travel With Your Card
Not only can you earn more points on travel purchases, but the travel insurance coverage will kick in.
This card has an impressive suite of travel protections including baggage delay, trip cancellation/delay/interruption, and lost luggage reimbursement.
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FAQs
Does the card provide travel insurance?
Yes, if you pay your common carrier fares with your card, the coverage will kick in. This includes trip interruption/delay/cancellation cover, but you can also get reimbursement for lost luggage, baggage delay insurance and access to emergency transportation and evacuation services.
What are card income requirements?
There are no official income requirements published by Bank of America for this card, but you do need to have excellent credit.
When it may not be a good idea?
This card is not a good idea if you have no other connections to Bank of America. There are more generous reward credit cards offered, since the rewards rate for non Preferred Rewards members is a little lackluster, particularly outside of travel and dining spending categories.
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