Credit Card News
BofA Announces New Additions to Customized Cash Rewards Card
Bank of America has unveiled some updates to its Customized Cash Rewards and, specifically, two of its rewards category options.
About the updates:
With the Customized Cash Rewards card, customers can select one eligible category and earn 3% back on purchases in that category. Now, Bank of America has announced updates to two options, giving customers even more ways to earn.
The first category seeing an expansion is gasoline. Now, this option will include EV charging stations as well. Meanwhile, cable, streaming, internet, and phone plans will now qualify for the online shopping category.
In addition to these updated categories, other options currently include dining, travel, drug stores & pharmacies, and home improvement & furnishings. Cardholders can change their 3% category selections up to once per month. Plus, cardholders earn 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs and 1% back on all other purchases. However, the 3% and 2% categories are capped at $2,500 in combined purchases (chosen category plus grocery stores and wholesale clubs) each quarter.
While these earning rates are the base for cardholders, those who qualify for the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program can enjoy increased rates. Depending on their tier, customers can earn between 25% to 75% more. For example, those who reach the Platinum Honors Tier (which requires a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $100,000 between Bank of America and Merrill accounts) can earn a 75% bonus on credit card rewards. For the Customized Cash Rewards card, this would equate to 5.25% back on a selected eligible monthly category, 3.5% back on grocery and warehouse club purchases, and 1.75% on all other purchases.
What they’re saying:
Commenting on the minor refresh to the card, BofA Head of Consumer Credit Card Products Jason Gaughan said, “We are constantly looking for ways to enhance our products to align with our clients’ needs and have observed growing demand for electric vehicle charging and streaming services.” Gaughan added, “We’re thrilled to introduce these new additions to our Customized Cash Rewards product and to offer our clients more ways to maximize rewards based on their own personal spending habits.”
My thoughts:
First, including EV charging in gasoline rewards categories seems to be a growing trend. Most recently, both Chase and Discover featured EV charging along with gas station purchases in their Q3 2023 rotating categories. With more electric vehicles hitting the road, this adjustment strikes me as a no-brainer.
As for the other change to the Customized Cash Rewards, I think that adding streaming, phone plans, and more to the online shopping category makes that option one of the card’s most compelling. With other cards singling out streaming services as their own category, putting these services with mobile plans and general online shopping seems quite generous.
With this update, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards does grow more interesting in my opinion. In particular, those who can qualify for the upper tiers of BofA Preferred Rewards could really benefit from the card and the potential 5.25% back in their chosen category. Then again, the downside of the card is its fairly specialized nature versus a card that offers rewards in a variety of categories or across the board (and without rewards caps). But, in the right hands, the newly-adjusted card could prove to be a powerful cashback tool.
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