Pros
- $200 initial bonus (online exclusive)
- Up to 3% cash back
- No annual fee
Cons
- Potential for a very high regular APR
- 3% foreign-transaction fee
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Transfer Fee: 3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4%
- Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, automatic 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases) and unlimited 1% on all other purchases.
- Choose 3% cash back on gas and EV charging station, online shopping/cable/internet/phone plan/streaming, dining, travel, drug store/pharmacy or home improvement/furnishing purchases.
$200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
Rewards Details
- $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Earn 3% cash back in the category of your choice, automatic 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases) and unlimited 1% on all other purchases.
- Choose 3% cash back on gas and EV charging station, online shopping/cable/internet/phone plan/streaming, dining, travel, drug store/pharmacy or home improvement/furnishing purchases.
- If you're a Bank of America Preferred Rewards® member, you can earn 25%-75% more cash back on every purchase. That means you could earn 3.75%-5.25% cash back on purchases in your choice category.
- No annual fee and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
Additional Info
- 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 18.24% - 28.24% will apply. A 3% Intro balance transfer fee will apply for the first 60 days your account is open. After the Intro balance transfer fee offer ends, the fee for future balance transfers is 4%.
- Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
- This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
- More Details & Reviews About Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
Is the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card Worth It?
The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card is worth it if you have excellent credit, spend a lot on groceries and want to pick your own second bonus rewards category. It offers an initial bonus of $200 for spending $1,000 in the first 90 days, has a $0 annual fee and gives 1 - 3% cash back on all purchases.
Here’s how those ongoing rewards work: You get 3% cash back in a category of your choice and 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 spent quarterly), plus unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card offers some promotional financing, too. It gives 0% for 15 billing cycles on purchases and 0% for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. This can save you a lot of money on interest if you’re trying to finance a big purchase or pay down existing debt. After the promotional period ends, the 18.24% - 28.24% Variable regular APR applies to any remaining balance.
What You Need to Do to Make the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card Worthwhile
To make the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card worthwhile, you should always pay your bill in full by your monthly due date. This will prevent interest from accruing and wiping out any value that you get from your rewards.
The exception is during the card’s introductory period of 0% for 15 billing cycles on purchases and 0% for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. As long as you make your minimum monthly payment on time, you can avoid interest during this promotional period, but you should strive to pay all or most of your balance off by the time the intro period ends, so you don’t owe any interest at the 18.24% - 28.24% Variable regular APR.
To further maximize the value of the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card, make sure to spend at least $1,000 in the first 90 days to earn the $200 initial bonus. You should also use the card primarily for purchases that will get you ongoing bonus rewards.
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card Highlights
$200 Initial Bonus For Online Applicants
The average consumer has more than $333 in credit-card eligible expenses each month. That means most qualified applicants will easily be able to meet the $1,000 threshold within the first 90 days of account opening and thereby claim their $200 prize. That’s effectively a discount of up to 20%, provided in the form of a statement credit.
Up To 3% Cash Back
You will earn 3% cash back in a category of your choosing (gas & Electric Vehicle charging stations, online shopping including cable, streaming, Internet and phone services, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings), and 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs - for the first $2,500 spent in those categories, collectively, every quarter. That means this flashy feature is worth a maximum of $300 per year.
Beyond that, you will earn slightly less than the rewards-card market average of 1.17% cash back, driving the average person’s first-year rewards earnings to $477, according to my calculations (not including the initial bonus). The best part is, your rewards will never expire, unless your account is closed, in which case any unused portion will be forfeited.
$0 Annual Fee
Many rewards cards charge annual fees to offset the cost of providing users with cash back, points and miles. Such cards can still pay off for high-volume, high-value spenders, but some people would rather avoid the pressure of having to make their card worthwhile. No-annual-fee rewards cards such as the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card help you avoid playing from behind, so to speak, while giving you the option of not using your card if you so choose.
Longer-Than-Average 0% Intro Rates
This Bank of America cash card also has financing appeal, thanks to its 0% intro rates on new purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 billing cycles your account is open.
Just bear in mind that you need to transfer your balance within the first 60 days, and there is a balance transfer fee of 3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4%. Plus, after the intro APR ends, a 18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR will apply.
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card Lowlights
18.24% - 28.24% Variable APR
You need excellent credit to get this card, but you may come to find that your interest rate is not worthy of the label “excellent.” For a point of reference, the average credit card offer for people with excellent credit has a 18.01%, while the average “fair credit” credit card charges 26.59%, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Landscape Report.
That means you’re guaranteed to get an above-average rate for your credit rating, and it could even be higher than what a financially unproven applicant could expect to pay on the open market. I definitely recommend paying the full statement balance by the due date each month to avoid seeing your rewards savings fly out the door in the form of interest payments.
3% Foreign Transaction Fee
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card is not a good international travel companion for the simple reason that it will tack a 3% fee onto each purchase. That’s $150 on a $5,000 family vacation to Europe, for example.
The same phenomenon also affects purchases made through internationally based merchants when you are physically in the U.S. A lot of people don’t realize that.
So, if you’re either a world traveler or a world consumer, you should probably find another card for related purchases. In either case, I suggest checking out WalletHub’s picks for the best credit cards without foreign fees.
Excellent Credit Required for Good Approval Odds
You need a credit score of 750+ to have a high likelihood of approval for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card. Fortunately, you can check your latest credit score for free right here on WalletHub.
Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card vs. The Competition
In the interest of helping you make an informed selection, I’ve compared the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card to other popular cash back credit card offers across five key categories. You can find the results below.
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card Review Methodology
This Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.
The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.
Ratings for each category reflect how close Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.
To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.
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