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The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card and the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card are a perfect match as they offer additional bonus categories within the same rewards program. You can use one card to receive bonus rewards in the 3% cashback category of your choice, and the other card to return at least 1.5% cashback on all other purchases. In addition, both cards offer a 2% return on everyday spending categories that most people can take advantage of.
Having both cards can even help you earn $1,096 in first year rewards. If you’re wondering what it will take to reach this milestone with these two Bank of America credit cards, read on to find out more.
Maximize bonus categories
You should know that the Bank of America Premium Rewards card has many benefits when it comes to earning rewards in bonus tiers as well as recurring spending. Not only will you earn 2 points per dollar for travel and meals, but also 1.5 points per dollar for all other purchases. Points can be redeemed for statement credits at a rate of 1 cent per point.
Making the most of this card is easy. Spend at least $3,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening to earn 50,000 Reward Points (worth $500 on your credit statement). From there, spending $600 a month on regular purchases will earn you another 900 points, which are worth $9 a month or $108 a year. If you also used this card as your travel credit card and charged $300 for flights, hotels, and other travel purchases each month, you would earn another 600 points, which works out to $6 per month or $72 per year.
Add up these earnings and you’ll receive a reward of $680 with a single credit card over 12 months.
From there, you can further boost your first year income with the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Card. One of the benefits of the Customized Cash card is that you get 3% cash back on the category you choose (among gasoline, online shopping, restaurants, travel, pharmacies, or home goods) and 2% cash back on grocery stores and wholesale clubs. (up to $2,500 in combined costs of 3% and 2% each quarter, then 1% back). You also get 1% cashback on all regular purchases.
If you choose Dining as your selection category to receive a 3% cashback with your Customized Cash card, and spend $600 on groceries and $200 on meals each month, you’ll receive $216 in cash for the year. You will also receive a $200 credit for spending at least $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of opening an account. Follow this plan and you will earn $416 in rewards with this card alone in the first year.
| Cashback strategy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Premium Reward Card Earn $680 in the first year |
+ |
 Cash reward card Earn $416 in the first year |
| Total cashback earned = $1,096. | ||
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That’s how:
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If you add up the rewards and welcome bonuses of both cards, you will easily earn $1,096 within the first 12 months. This may be enough to pay for a family vacation or holiday expenses at the end of the year.
However, it should be noted that there is an annual fee of $95 for the Premium Rewards card. If you subtract the annual fee, your estimated first year income is $1,001—more than enough to make both cards worth it.
Earn even more with Preferred Rewards from Bank of America.
If you are a Bank of America customer and have a significant amount of savings at this financial institution, you can earn 25-75% more rewards with both of these cards. In fact, Premium Rewards cardholders can earn up to 3.5 points per dollar on travel and restaurant purchases and up to 2.62 points per dollar on general purchases.
Meanwhile, Customized Cash Rewards cardholders can earn up to 5.25% back on their 3% spending category and up to 3.5% back on grocery and wholesale club purchases.
The table below shows how much you need to deposit to qualify for each level:
| Bank of America Preferred Compensation Level | Total average daily balance for three months | Credit Card Reward Bonus Unlocked |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | $20,000+ but less than $50,000 | 25% bonus |
| Platinum | $50,000+ but less than $100,000 | 50% bonus |
| Platinum Awards | $100,000+ but less than $1M | 75% bonus |
| Diamond | $1,000,000+ but less than $10 million | 75% bonus |
| Diamond Awards | $10,000,000+ | 75% bonus |
Exchange for flexible rewards
While neither card allows you to earn points that are transferred to partner airlines or hotels, both offer different ways to use your rewards. Both allow you to earn rewards for loans or deposits to a Bank of America checking or savings account. You can also deposit rewards into your Merrill account, including 529 accounts to help you save for college. Be aware that redemptions on Merrill Investment and 529 accounts start at $25.
The Bank of America Premium Rewards card offers several more ways to redeem your points, including gift cards or purchases through the Bank of America Travel Center.
Save money on interest over 15 billing cycles
With the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card, you can also get a 15-pay cycle of 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers made within 60 days of account opening, followed by variable APR from 14.24% to 24.24%. Having 15 interest-free billing cycles makes it easy to pay for a large purchase without paying an arm and a leg in interest payments, but you can also use this offer to consolidate and pay off other credit card debt.
bottom line
If you’re looking for a way to earn close to $1,100 in credits and cash rewards this year (and possibly more), you can easily do so with the Bank of America Premium Rewards Card and Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Card. Having both cards makes it easier to get more rewards with less effort on your part, and who wouldn’t want that?
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