Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Visa Infinite Review - Forbes
For those at the highest tiers of the Preferred Rewards program, the $550-annual-fee Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite credit card* card outearns most other premium travel cards. But for those who don't qualify for a higher earning rate via Preferred Rewards, the card's value is greatly diminished. Without the bank's Preferred Rewards earnings boost, the card is simply a gussied-up version of the bank's lower annual fee card, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card. It earns the exact welcome bonus and same elevated rewards structure–with or without qualifying for higher rewards via the Preferred Rewards program– as the $95-annual-fee card without "elite" in its title.
Pros
- Top-notch rewards rate for those at the highest tier of Preferred Rewards
- Airline benefits including lounge access
- Up to a $150 annual lifestyle credit
Cons
- Can get the same rewards on a card with a lower annual feeWithout Preferred Rewards, earn rate is just so-so
- No travel transfer partners
Highlights
- Receive 50,000 online bonus points – a $500 value – after you make at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
- Earn unlimited 2 points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases and unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Earn up to $300 in Airline Incidental Statement Credits annually on qualifying transactions and TSA Pre✓®/Global Entry Statement Credits of up to $100, every four years
- Earn up to $150 in lifestyle statement credits annually on qualifying rideshare, food delivery, streaming service and fitness transactions at select merchants
- Receive 20% off the cost of airfare when redeeming points through the Bank of America Travel Center
- Enrolled cardholders receive 12-month Priority Pass Select membership to access airport VIP lounges worldwide
Introduction
The Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card may appeal to existing Bank of America customers who are looking for an in-house version of an upscale travel credit card. The card does its best to match or exceed what cards like the Platinum Amex and Chase Sapphire Reserve have to offer.
The Premium Rewards Elite card earns elevated rewards of 2 points per dollar on travel and dining purchases and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases. Cardholders who are part of Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program can earn even greater rewards of 25% to 75% more. At the highest level, this would make the card earn up to 3.5 points on travel and dining purchases and up to 2.62 points on all other purchases for every dollar spent.
The card also comes with travel benefits and extras including a 20% points boost when redeeming for airfare through the Bank of America rewards center, a $300 airline incidental fee credit Priority Pass Lounge access, a $100 TSA Precheck/Global Entry application fee credit, Visa Infinite benefits, Medevac coverage up to $100,000 and preferred pricing on NetJets private planes.
But, the rewards rate, welcome bonus and TSA Precheck/Global Entry application fee credit and several travel protections are exactly the same as what's being offered on the $95-annual fee Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card which means you'd have to get a lot of use out of the additional benefits to make it worth the extra $455 a year to own this card vs its less-expensive sibling.
At a Glance
- $550 Annual fee
- 50,000 online bonus points after making at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of opening an account
- 2 points per dollar on travel and dining purchases and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases (25% to 75% more for Preferred Rewards)
- An up to $300 annual airline incidental fee credit
- A 20% points boost for airfare points redemption
- No foreign transaction fees
- Visa Infinite benefits including access to the Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection
Rewards
Earning Rewards
The card earns 2 points per dollar on travel and dining purchases and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases. Preferred Rewards members can earn between 25% and 75% more, which means those at the highest rewards tiers with a 75% boost can earn up to 3.5 points on travel and dining purchases and up to 2.62 points on all other purchases for every dollar spent.
There's also a first-year welcome bonus of 50,000 online bonus points after making at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of opening an account.
Redeeming Rewards
Rewards can be redeemed as offering cash redemptions via direct deposit to qualifying Bank of America checking or savings accounts, credit redemptions to Merrill accounts, as statement credits to your card account or for gifts or purchases at the Bank of America Travel Center. All redemptions are worth a penny apiece with the exception on this card being a 20% points bonus on airfare redemptions through the Travel Center. For example, if you're redeeming 10,000 points for a statement credit, you'd receive $100 towards your bill. But, redeeming that same 10,000 points through the Travel Center for airfare would be worth $120.
Rewards Potential
To determine the rewards potential of the Bank of America Premium Rewards card we have to look at the bonus categories and calculate what an example American household might spend in those areas. Forbes Advisor uses data from various government agencies in order to determine both baseline income and spending averages across various categories. The 70th percentile of wage-earning households bring in $100,172 annually and we base spending on that number.
Forbes Advisor estimates that our sample household has $26,410 in expenses that can be reasonably charged to a credit card. We estimate that our example family will spend $7,591 on travel and dining combined and $18,819 on other purchases that can reasonably be charged to a credit card. This will result in a total of 43,410 in points earned each year. These points could be redeemed for $434.10 in statement credits each year.
Cardholders who are members of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program will fare even better.
- Gold—53,262 points (Equivalent to $532.62 in statement credits)
- Platinum—65,115 points (Equivalent to $651.15 in statement credits)
- Platinum Honors, Diamond and Diamond Honors—75,967 points (Equivalent to $759.67 in statement credits or $911.60 in airfare through the Travel Center)
Other Card Benefits
- Priority Pass Select lounge membership: Receive access to Priority Pass lounges upon enrollment for the cardholder and authorized users.
- Up to $300 Airline Incidental Credit: Receive annual statement credits for qualifying airline incidental fees which incudes seat upgrades, checked baggage fees in-flight entertainment, onboard food and beverage charges, and eligible airport lounge fees.
- A $100 TSA Precheck or Global Entry application fee credit: Valid every four years.
- An annual $150 "lifestyle" credit: This can be used towards the purchases of qualifying rideshare, food delivery, streaming service and fitness transactions at select merchants.
- A 20% discount off of airfare: When redeeming points through the Bank of America Travel Rewards Center get a 20% discount of airfare.
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Visa Infinite benefits: This includes trip delay insurance, trip cancellation coverage, lost luggage reimbursement, primary auto rental coverage and access to Visa's concierge service.
Fine Print
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 15.99% - 22.99% variable
- Purchase Intro APR: N/A
- Balance Transfer Intro APR: N/A
Fees
- Annual Fee: $550
- Balance Transfer Fee: Either $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
- Cash Advance: Either $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.
- Foreign Purchase Transaction Fee: $0
How The Card Stacks Up
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite credit card* vs. The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card was designed to appeal to luxury card seekers who may have been considering a card like theThe Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply. See rates and fees). Although the Bank of America card has a slightly more palatable annual fee at $550 to the Amex Platinum's $695 annual fee, the Platinum card comes with a fuller suite of benefits including some of the most comprehensive airport lounge access available, hundreds of dollars worth of potential credits and a long list of travel benefits and travel transfer partners.
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite credit card* vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium travel card that's jam-packed with extras for the $395 annual fee. The Venture X comes with a 10,000 anniversary points bonus and up to a $300 annual travel credit for use on the Capital One Portal. Those two alone may justify the annual fee. The travel credit is limited to the portal but using the credit is not nearly as heavy a lift as the airline incidental credit on other cards.
The card earns 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases and 5 miles per dollar on flights and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel, which is a better rate overall than the Premium Rewards Elite card, unless you have a hefty chunk of your money parked in an eligible Bank of America and/or Merrill investment account and qualify for Preferred Rewards bonuses. But overall, the Venture X simply comes with more stuff than the Bank of America Preferred Rewards Elite card and for several hundred dollars less a year annually.
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite credit card* vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
If the travel gods set out to design a perfect travel card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is as close to heavenly as you'll find. For a relatively low annual fee of $95, the card comes jam-packed with juicy rewards and other travel perks that make it a worthy contender in a field crowded with cards costing hundreds of dollars more a year to own.
It's rewards rate bests the Bank of America Premium Elite Reward card earning 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3 points per dollar on dining and 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and one point per dollar on all other eligible purchases. And it comes with trip cancellation and interruption insurance, auto rental coverage, purchase and extended warranty protections plus a 25% points boost when you use your rewards to redeem for nearly any type of travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. No, it doesn't come with lounge access but with the $455 you'd save on annual fees, you can buy several day passes to nearly any airport lounge you'd like.
Compare Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Visa With Other Cards
Is The Card For You?
For high-tier Bank of America Preferred Rewards customers, particularly those who fly a lot and want travel and airport-specific perks, the card could be a good choice. The rewards rate for those at the 75% points boost tier is unmatched and the included extras are generally on a par with the other premium cards in the market.
But those who aren't eligible for that highest points boost level or who want to stretch their rewards value to go further on all of their travel may find that a card that offers a points boost for all travel redemptions and/or has travel transfer partners can get more value for their money than this card.
To view rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.