Credit Score Required for Americard Bank

Bank of America content was last updated on November 9, 2022.

If you’re looking for a balance transfer credit card to help you consolidate and pay off debt at 0 percent interest, a BankAmericard® Credit Card may be your solution.

This Bank of America card offers a generous initial period of 21 billing cycles for purchases and balance transfers made within the first 60 days (followed by a variable annual interest rate of 14.99 to 24.99 percent). There is no annual fee, although there is a 3 percent balance transfer fee ($10 minimum) when using this card for debt consolidation.

However, you will need to assess your eligibility and creditworthiness before applying. This includes knowing if there are any BankAmericard credit score requirements and also if your credit score is high enough to qualify for you on your own.

Read on to learn about BankAmericard’s credit score requirements and the steps you can take if your application is rejected.

What credit score is required for BankAmericard?

BankAmericard is for those with good or excellent credit, which usually includes any FICO credit score of 670 or higher. Scores between 670 and 739 are considered good for FICO, and scores between 661 and 780 are considered good for VantageScore. However, lenders can define “good” in different ways, so being in the upper end of the range is a plus.

Good news: Bank of America allows you to get pre-approved online without scrutinizing your credit report. Pre-approval won’t hurt your credit score as it uses a soft rather than a hard one to assess your chances of acceptance. Cards that don’t offer pre-approval or pre-qualification tools are more risky to apply as your account is likely to be temporarily hit by a hard pull.

However, if your credit score is in the “good” range and you have a stable employment and income history, you can be reasonably sure that you will be approved for this card. Other than getting pre-approved, filling out an application is the only way to know for sure.

What if my application is rejected?

If your application is denied, Bank of America will let you know why. His decision will also include a list of what credit report and score he used to make the decision, and this information will be sent to you automatically. If this happens, be sure to review everything and see where you can make changes to improve things.

Pay particular attention to the reason codes (or statements) listed. According to FICO, the most common is “too high proportion of credit limit balances in bank/national revolving or other revolving accounts.” This means that your credit card balances (usage) are too high.

If you are trying to transfer your balance from another Bank of America card to take advantage of the initial interest rate, you will be disappointed. BankAmericard cannot be used for this purpose. Only balances on cards of another credit card issuer are accepted for transfer.

How can I improve my score to receive this card?

If you find that your application has been rejected because you do not meet the BankAmericard minimum credit rating requirements, you will need to do some work before submitting a new application. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to improve your credit score in a short amount of time.

Steps to take immediately include:

• Timely payment of all monthly payments. This step is important as your payment history is the main factor in determining your FICO score.
• Pay the debt off. The size of your debt in relation to your credit limit is the second most important factor influencing your FICO credit score, so paying off debt can help a lot in this category.
• Use loan instruments. A loan creation tool known as Experian Boost can help you get credit for streaming services, utilities, and other bills you pay. The best thing is that it’s absolutely free. There is also UltraFICO, which takes into account banking activity and history.

bottom line

If you have a good credit score (minimum 670), you are most likely eligible for the BankAmericard program. However, you may need to do a little research before deciding whether or not to buy BankAmericard.

To start this part of the process, read our BankAmericard credit card review. With a little digging and taking the time to compare offers, you are sure to find a map that will help you get out of debt once and for all.

Steve Bucci has been helping people decipher and solve personal finance issues for over 20 years. He is the author of The Dummies’ Credit Management Kit, The Dummies’ Credit Repair Kit, Barnes and Noble Debt Management, co-author of The Dummies’ All-In-One Money Management Kit, and The Credit Repair Kit. For Dummies (Australia). Steve is an experienced expert witness in identity theft, credit scoring and debt cases. He has been a speaker at the FICO InterACT Global Conference, the Federal Reserve and the International Credit Symposium at the University of Cambridge in the UK.