Bank of America Launches cash-back earning Unlimited Cash Rewards Card

A new rewards credit card has just hit the market: The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards Card enters a crowded field of cash-back cards. The Unlimited Cash Rewards Card is a no-annual fee card that earns 1.5{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} cash back on purchases with the ability to earn a higher cash-back rate if you’re a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member. 

The Unlimited Cash Rewards Card has a straightforward rewards program with a twist. The card earns 1.5{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} cash back on everything, but it also allows you to tap into Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards Program, which gives you the potential to gain an additional 25{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} to 75{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} uplift on your rewards, depending on your Preferred Rewards program member tier.

Bank of America joins Wells Fargo and Citigroup which have both rolled out new cash-back cards in the past few months.

“Some customers choose to have flat cash-back products and we noticed that some of our customers [would] go elsewhere to seek out that type of product, because Bank of America didn’t offer it,” Jason Gaughan, Consumer Card Product Executive at Bank of America said.

The card offers a solid welcome bonus of $200 if you spend $1,000 within the first three months of opening the card and a 15 month 0{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} APR introductory period on balance transfers and purchases (after, variable APR 13.99{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} to 24.99{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146}). It also has a 3{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} foreign transaction fee, so it’s not a great card for international travelers.

You can redeem your cash back as a statement credit, a direct deposit into a Bank of America checking or savings account or a credit to an eligible Merrill® account.

In order to become a Preferred Rewards program member, you’ll need at least $20,000 or more invested in a Bank of America® deposit and/or Merrill® investment account.

There are three Preferred Rewards tiers. If you’re in the highest tier, Platinum Honors, you earn 2.625{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} back on purchases with the Unlimited Cash Rewards Card. If you’re in the lowest tier, Gold, you receive 1.875{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} back, and if you’re in the middle tier, Silver, you’ll earn 2.25{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} cash back.

“…It pays to have a relationship, or a full relationship, with us [Bank of America]. The more you do with us, the more you get rewarded,” Don Vecchiarello, spokesperson for Bank of America, said.

The ability to earn a greater cash-back rate by being a Preferred Rewards member, up to 2.625{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146}, potentially makes the Unlimited Cash Rewards Card the best flat-rate cash-back card currently on the market. Most other cash-back cards offer rewards rates of 1.5{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} to 2{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} back, and cards with higher cash-back rates of 5{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} typically have rotating categories or spending caps.

While cardholders have the ability to earn more by being a Preferred Rewards Program member, there are other cash-back cards on the market with better rewards systems if you’re not a member. The new product from Bank of America competes against other well-known cards in the cash-rewards space, namely the Wells Fargo Active Cash^SM Card, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and the Citi® Double Cash Card Card. Some, like the Active Cash Card, have a welcome bonus and a 0{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} APR introductory period.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash offers 2{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} cash rewards on all eligible purchases and a $200 cash reward welcome bonus if you spend $1,000 within the first three months of account opening.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited gives 1.5{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} cash-back on all purchases in addition to 5{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} on grocery purchases, up to $12,000 in the first year, 3{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} on dining and drugstores and 5{b530a9af8ec2f2e0d4045baab79c5cfb9bfdc23e498df4d376766a0b44d3f146} cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. The Unlimited also has a $200 welcome bonus but you’ll only have to spend $500 within the first three months of account opening.

Regardless of which cash-back card you choose, the Unlimited Cash Rewards Card comes with the potential to earn the highest cash-back rate, on all purchases, of many cards. You’ll just need to be at least a Gold or Platinum Preferred Rewards program member to reap those rewards.