Step-by-step: Find out how to redeem factors utilizing the Financial institution of America Premium Rewards card
In the event you maintain the Financial institution of America® Premium Rewards® bank card, you have got a number of decisions when it comes time to redeem your factors: You need to use them to e-book journey, get money again or purchase present playing cards. However how precisely do you go about redeeming them? Right here’s a step-by-step information for utilizing your Financial institution of America Premium Rewards bank card factors.
Getting began
First, you’ll must register to your Financial institution of America account, choose your Premium Rewards bank card from the listing of accounts and click on on the “Rewards” tab. That tab will present your complete obtainable factors and supply an choice to redeem them.
Clicking on “Redeem Factors” brings you to a display screen with three redemption choices — you should utilize your factors for journey, money or present playing cards. There’s a 2,500-point minimal on all redemptions.
Financial institution of America doesn’t have any airline or lodge switch companions, however the first redemption choice — “Journey” — will can help you use your factors to immediately e-book a flight, lodge or automotive rental. The redemption charge is one cent per level, simply as it’s with the opposite two decisions.
Buying portals and present card redemptions
Nonetheless, you’ll most likely be higher off reserving your journey one other means. For example, should you use a web-based journey company (OTA) equivalent to Orbitz or Expedia, you may earn further rewards from the OTA itself. Additionally, many OTAs seem on cash-back purchasing portals, so you may double-dip on a reserving and get much more money again. Then should you nonetheless wish to use your Premium Rewards factors for the journey reserving, simply redeem them for a press release credit score for a similar quantity and also you’ll get the equivalent one-cent redemption charge.
The identical recommendation applies to present card redemptions — you’ll get one cent per level. You’re not shedding any worth by going this route, however there are usually higher methods to purchase present playing cards with a reduction or money again, or you may simply pay for purchases with a bank card and earn further rewards that means.
Money redemptions
That brings us to probably the most beneficial choice — money. We love factors and miles, however nothing is extra versatile than money and the Premium Rewards card is among the strongest cash-earning playing cards on the market, particularly once you mix it with the Financial institution of America Most popular Rewards banking program. With this program, you may earn as much as a 75% bonus in your bank card rewards, however to achieve this tier you’ll must have $100,000 in belongings with Financial institution of America or its Merrill Lynch sibling.
So once you click on on the “Money” choice, you’ll come to a display screen that lets you use factors for a direct deposit right into a Financial institution of America or Merrill account, a 529 Faculty Financial savings Plan or a press release credit score to your Premium Rewards card. Click on the “Redemption Choices” pull-down menu and also you’ll discover your numerous Financial institution of America accounts listed, together with the Premium Rewards card itself.
When you’ve chosen an account, you may enter the variety of factors you wish to redeem. Financial institution of America will present the money quantity you’ll obtain for these factors and ask you to verify your entry.
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The ultimate display screen will present a affirmation that your redemption request has been submitted, together with all the main points and a transaction ID quantity (which it is best to word in case there are any points). It may possibly take as much as 5 enterprise days for the redemption to seem, so don’t panic should you don’t see it instantly.
Computerized redemptions
You may need seen that, together with the above course of of creating a single redemption (which Financial institution of America refers to as a “One-Time Redemption”), there’s a tab to the correct that provides the chance to arrange an Auto Redemption.
Turning on Auto Redemption will trigger all of the factors you earn to be routinely redeemed as a press release credit score or deposited into the account you’ve set on the finish of every month, so long as you have got not less than 2,500 factors to redeem. In the event you’d wish to set your redemptions on autopilot, you’ll by no means have to consider it. Simply watch the money construct up every month.
As you may see, redemptions with this card are fairly simple and the Premium Rewards card has an inexpensive annual payment.
Different playing cards
The Chase factors you earn with the Sapphire Most popular are price one cent every as money again or 1.25 cents every towards journey booked by way of the Final Rewards journey portal. It earns the next 3 factors per greenback on eating and 5 factors on journey booked by way of the Chase journey portal (or the identical 2 factors per greenback on journey booked elsewhere).
For spending that falls exterior of those bonus classes, the Premium Rewards card’s 1.5 factors per greenback beats out the Sapphire Most popular’s 1 level per greenback. However with the Sapphire Most popular you have got the flexibility to switch Chase factors to the issuer’s airline and lodge companions.
This selection makes the perfect journey bank cards a a lot better choice for reserving business- and first-class flights than even the perfect cash-back playing cards. For some examples of what you are able to do with transferrable Chase factors, try our article on the perfect methods to make use of Chase Final Rewards factors.
Or, should you desire the simplicity of incomes money again and don’t qualify for Financial institution of America’s Most popular Rewards program, the Citi® Double Money Card is a superb alternative. It has no annual payment and earns 2% money again on purchases: 1% once you make the acquisition and an extra 1% as you pay your steadiness off.
Backside line
Redeeming factors with the Financial institution of America Premium Rewards card is fast and simple. This card is among the high cash-back playing cards to make use of in your on a regular basis spending, particularly should you qualify for the very best standing with the Financial institution of America Most popular Rewards program.
In the event you do, you’ll get a 75% bonus in your bank card rewards, making each buy with the Premium Rewards card price not less than 2.62% money again — an excellent charge of return.
Apply right here: Financial institution of America Premium Rewards card.
Extra reporting by Ryan Wilcox and Jason Stauffer.
