Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card Review 2026 — Is It Worth It?

Overview

I have a love-hate relationship with this one, and I'll explain why. On paper, the Bank of America Premium Rewards is a fine-but-forgettable $95 travel card — 2x on travel and dining, 1.5x on everything else, a $100 airline credit, the usual. If that were the whole story, I'd tell you to look elsewhere.

But it isn't the whole story, and this is the part people miss. If you keep real money at Bank of America or Merrill, the Preferred Rewards boost kicks in and changes everything. At the top tier it turns that boring 1.5x into an effective 2.62% back on literally everything — no categories, no thinking. I've watched friends with big Merrill balances quietly out-earn people carrying much fancier travel cards. It's the rare card whose value depends almost entirely on your banking relationship.

Key Benefits

• 2 points per dollar on travel and dining purchases, and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases, with no category tracking required
• Preferred Rewards members earn a 25%–75% rewards bonus based on their tier (Gold, Platinum, Platinum Honors), dramatically increasing the effective earn rate
• Up to $100 per year in airline incidental statement credits (covers things like checked bags, seat upgrades, and lounge day passes)
• Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees (up to $100, once every four years)
• No foreign transaction fees, plus travel and purchase protections including trip delay, lost luggage, and auto rental coverage
• Points never expire and can be redeemed for travel, cash back, or statement credits at a flat 1 cent each with no portal restrictions

Rewards Structure

The base earning structure is simple: 2x on travel and dining, 1.5x on everything else, with points worth a flat 1 cent each toward travel or cash back. That alone makes it a competent $95 travel card, roughly on par with other mid-tier options before any bonus.

The Preferred Rewards multiplier is what changes the calculus. Bank of America customers who hold qualifying balances across BofA deposit accounts and Merrill investment accounts earn a 25% bonus at $20,000+ (Gold), 50% at $50,000+ (Platinum), or 75% at $100,000+ (Platinum Honors). At Platinum Honors, the 1.5x base becomes an effective 2.625x on all purchases and the 2x travel/dining becomes 3.5x — uncapped, on every purchase.

For someone who can hit Platinum Honors, this is one of the best flat-rate return rates available anywhere, and it requires no category management. The catch is that the points are not transferable to airline or hotel partners, so the value is capped at 1 cent each — excellent for simplicity, less flexible than Chase or Amex points.

Annual Fee Breakdown

The $95 fee is offset substantially by the two credits: up to $100 per year in airline incidental credits (checked bags, seat fees, lounge passes) and a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit worth up to $100 every four years. If you fly even occasionally and use the airline credit, the card effectively pays for itself before any rewards.

For Preferred Rewards members, the value tilts even further positive. The boosted earn rate alone — up to 2.625% back on all spending at Platinum Honors — can generate hundreds of dollars in extra rewards per year compared to a standard 1.5% card, making the $95 fee almost an afterthought.

Who Should Get This Card

• Bank of America or Merrill customers with $20,000+ in combined balances who can unlock the Preferred Rewards boost — this is the card's ideal user
• Anyone at the Platinum Honors tier ($100,000+), for whom this becomes one of the best flat-rate cards in the U.S. at an effective 2.625% on everything
• Travelers who want a simple, no-category card with an airline credit and Global Entry/TSA credit to offset the fee
• People who value simplicity and a flat 1-cent redemption over the complexity of transfer partners

Who Should Skip This Card

• People who don't bank with Bank of America and won't reach a Preferred Rewards tier — without the boost, other $95 cards offer comparable or better value with transfer partners
• Anyone who wants to transfer points to airline and hotel partners for outsized premium-cabin value — these points cap at 1 cent each
• Those who won't use the airline incidental credit and don't travel enough to justify a travel card's fee

How It Compares to Alternatives

Against the Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95), the BofA card wins on flat-rate earning for Preferred Rewards members and on simple 1-cent redemptions, while the Sapphire Preferred wins decisively for everyone else thanks to transfer partners, the 25% travel boost, and stronger travel protections.

Against the Capital One Venture ($95, flat 2x miles with transfer partners), the BofA card only pulls ahead for customers who reach the higher Preferred Rewards tiers; below that, the Venture's transferable miles and simple 2x are more flexible.

The BofA Premium Rewards is best understood not against other travel cards in isolation but as part of the Bank of America banking relationship — its value scales directly with how much you keep at the bank.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

So here's how I'd decide. No Bank of America relationship? It's a perfectly okay travel card that the Sapphire Preferred outclasses on flexibility. But if you're sitting at Platinum Honors, this becomes one of the best flat-rate cards in the country — set it, forget it, earn 2.62% on everything.

Run your own numbers based on what you keep at BofA or Merrill, because that single factor decides whether this is a 'meh' card or a quietly excellent one. To me it's the clearest example of a card you should only get for a specific reason — but if that reason is yours, get it.