Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card Review

The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card is not your average cash-back credit card. With a very competitive sign-up bonus offer, an unusually long 0% intro APR promotion for both purchases and balance transfers, and a tiered rewards program that pays up to 3% cash back on eligible purchases, it’s well above average.

If you’re in the market for a new rewards credit card, it’s high time you took a look at Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards. If you’re a current Bank of America banking customer or willing to open a qualifying banking relationship with the financial services giant, the deal could be even sweeter.

Keep reading for everything you need to know to make an informed decision about this card.

What Sets the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card Apart

The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card stands out from the cash-back pack for three reasons:

• Very Flexible Rewards Program. As the name implies, the Customized Cash Rewards card has a flexible cash-back rewards program. You choose your 3% categories from a list of six popular options (or just let it default to gas), and can change your selection once per month. And the 2% categories (grocery stores and wholesale clubs) are useful for many would-be users.
• Long 0% APR Intro Period. This card has a 0% APR intro period on both purchases and balance transfers. It stretches 15 months from account opening, though balance transfers must be made within 60 days to qualify.
• Bonus Cash Back for Preferred Rewards Members. If you have at least $20,000 in combined eligible balances with Bank of America and/or Merrill Lynch, you may qualify for BofA’s Preferred Rewards program, which can boost your cash-back earnings by up to 75%. See below for an illustration — note the total 3-month cash-back values at the bottom.

Key Features of the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card’s signature features include a tiered rewards program, a competitive sign-up bonus for new cardholders, and an introductory APR promotion covering purchases and balance transfers.

Sign-up Bonus

Qualify for an online $200 cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days your account is open.

Earning Rewards

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards has a three-tiered rewards program:

First, you can earn 3% cash back in one spending category of your choice. Choose from:

• Gas
• Online shopping
• Dining
• Travel
• Home furnishings/home improvements
• Drugstores

Second, you can earn 2% cash back on all eligible grocery store and wholesale club purchases.

Third, you can earn 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

Your earnings in the 2% and 3% cash back categories are capped at $2,500 in total combined category spending each quarter. After hitting the quarterly spending cap, you’ll earn 1% cash back on purchases in those spending categories.

When you open your card account, your 3% cash back category will default to gas. You can change your 3% category as often as once per month in your online account dashboard or Bank of America mobile app.

Rewards Examples

Reading a description of a tiered credit card rewards program can be frustratingly abstract, so let’s quickly look at two simplified examples showing how much you could earn over 3 months with the Customized Cash Rewards card.

First, here’s what happens if you max out your allotted quarterly 3% spending and spend nothing else with your card during the period:

And here’s what happens if you spend $1,500 in the 3% tier and $1,000 in the 2% tier during the same period, again with no other spending on your card.

Realistically, you’ll probably spend at least a bit in the 1% tier, even if that’s not in your best financial interest. (There are plenty of excellent 1.5% and 2% flat-rate cash-back credit cards to choose from.) But these examples should help you think about how spending pattern changes can affect your cash-back haul.

Redeeming Rewards

The best way to redeem your accumulated rewards is for cash equivalents like statement credits or direct deposits to an eligible Bank of America account.

Bonus Rewards for Preferred Rewards Program Members

Bank of America Preferred Rewards members earn cash-back rewards at a higher rate than regular Bank of America customers. The cash-back boost tiers work as follows:

• Gold Preferred Rewards members (at least $20,000 in qualifying investment, checking, and savings account balances with Bank of America and/or Merrill Lynch) earn 25% more cash back on Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards purchases
• Platinum Preferred Rewards members (at least $50,000 in qualifying account balances with BofA or Merrill Lynch) earn 50% more cash back on card purchases
• Platinum Honors Preferred Rewards members (at least $100,000 in qualifying account balances) earn 75% more cash back on card purchases

Introductory APR Promotion

Enjoy 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 billing cycles. Qualifying balance transfers must occur within 60 days of your account opening date. Thereafter, variable regular APR applies.

Additional Features

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card has some additional features and capabilities worth noting, including:

• Complimentary monthly FICO score (accessible through the Bank of America mobile app or online banking dash) when you opt in
• Optional overdraft protection tied to your credit card, subject to overdraft transfer fees and other restrictions
• Complimentary fraud protection and $0 liability guarantee for fraudulent transactions
• Your choice of account alerts sent directly to your phone or inbox

Bank of America can describe these (and other) features better than we can. Here’s a shot from their website with more details:

Important Fees

There’s no annual fee. Foreign transactions cost 3% of the transaction value. Balance transfers cost 3% or $10, whichever is greater.

Credit Required

This card requires a good to excellent credit score. Applicants with limited credit histories or credit scores below the prime cutoff are unlikely to qualify.

Advantages of the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card has a lot going for it: an excellent sign-up bonus, a generous ongoing cash-back rewards program, and an unusually long 0% APR promotion for new cardholders, among other benefits.

• No Annual Fee. The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card does not charge an annual fee. Although it’s an excellent everyday spending card, it won’t weaken your budget if you don’t use it very often either.
• Very Good Sign-up Bonus. Of all the no-annual-fee Bank of America credit cards on the market, Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards has the most generous and easily attainable sign-up bonus. Of course, this is subject to change at BofA’s discretion.
• Unusually Long 0% APR Promotion for Purchases and Balance Transfers. This card’s 0% APR offer is quite long for a no-annual-fee rewards card: 15 months for both purchases and balance transfers. That’s more than enough time to pay down high-interest credit card debt or finance a major purchase made shortly after account opening.
• Broad 3% Bonus Categories. True to its name, the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card allows cardholders to choose one of six fairly broad 3% bonus categories. With budgetary cornerstones like gas, online shopping, and dining, it’s not difficult for most consumers to find a 3% category that fits their needs. And Bank of America lets cardholders update their preferences every month, providing welcome flexibility as spending needs change.
• Permanent 2% Bonus Categories Benefit Grocery Shoppers and Wholesale Club Members. Bank of America Customized Cash’s permanent 2% bonus categories qualify as budgetary cornerstones as well. If you’re not a wholesale club member, the grocery stores category is a fine fallback.

Disadvantages of the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card is not perfect. Its downsides include its foreign transaction fee and rewards caps that could impact heavy-spending cardholders.

• 3% Bonus Category Selection Isn’t Automatic. The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card requires cardholders to manually select a favored 3% bonus category. Otherwise, the category defaults to gas, which might not work for cardholders who don’t drive much, rarely patronize gas stations, or don’t own cars at all.
• Bonus Cash Back Earnings Capped at $2,500 in Quarterly Spending. Bank of America caps bonus cash back at $2,500 in combined quarterly purchases across all 2% and 3% bonus categories. Assuming you max out your 3% bonus category spending, that’s a hard limit of $75 in bonus cash-back earnings per quarter.
• Has a Foreign Transaction Fee. This card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee on purchases made outside the United States, including some online purchases made with foreign vendors. If you regularly patronize non-U.S. businesses, this could be a significant drawback, especially with so many foreign transaction fee-free cards on the market today.
• Low Baseline Cash Back Rate. Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards earns just 1% on eligible spending outside the 2% and 3% bonus categories and once you hit the quarterly spending cap in those categories. That’s lower than competing cards like the Citi Double Cash Card and the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.

How the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card Stacks Up

Not quite sure the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card is right for you? Before you apply, check out the similarly named Citi Custom Cash Card, which also has a fine-tunable rewards program.

See below for a side-by-side comparison, then read our full Citi Custom Cash Card review to decide for sure.

Final Word

The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card has a lot going for it: a great sign-up bonus, a generous ongoing rewards program, a choice 0% APR introductory offer, and potentially valuable perks for Bank of America banking customers.

Is it perfect? It’s not — no cash-back credit card is. Bank of America Customized Cash has a low baseline rewards rate, charges a foreign transaction fee, and caps bonus cash-back earnings at a relatively low level each quarter. It’s not ideal for heavy spenders or frequent travelers, nor for anyone who can’t fit its bonus cash-back categories into their budgets.

Still, it’s better than your average cash-back card. And that means it’s worthy of consideration, even if you ultimately decide to go with another card or issuer.