Bank of America credit cards

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Hear from our editors: The 5 best Bank of America credit cards of October 2022

Updated September 30, 2022

This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.

Editorial note: Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. It’s accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Written by: Kat Tretina

When it comes to choosing a Bank of America credit card, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the different options available. But whether you’re a frequent traveler or a college student looking for your first credit card, there could be a Bank of America card for you.

• Best for students: Bank of America^® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for students
• Best for rewards with no annual fee: Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
• Best for travel rewards: Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Visa® credit card
• Best for balance transfers: BankAmericard® credit card
• Best for small business: Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card

Best for students: Bank of America^® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for students

Here’s why: While many student credit cards offer few rewards beyond their credit-building capabilities, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for students is different.

The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for students delivers, allowing you to earn 3% cash back in your choice category, choosing from gas purchases, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores or home improvement/furnishings. And you can get 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs. You get the bonus cash back rate on up to $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter, after which you’ll get 1% back on those purchases. You’ll also earn 1% cash back on all other purchases.

Plus, you’ll get a $200 online cash rewards bonus if you spend at least $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of your account is open.

The card also offers an introductory 0% APR for 18 billing cycles from account opening on purchases and on balance transfers made within the first 60 days of opening the account (with a 3% or $10-minimum balance transfer fee). After the intro period, the regular variable APRs for each will range from 16.24% to 26.24%.

On top of that, this card has no annual fee.

Check out more offers for credit cards for college students on Credit Karma.

Best for rewards with no annual fee: Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card

Here’s why: You can still earn valuable cash back rewards without paying an annual fee. If you spend a lot of money on gas, groceries and purchases at wholesale clubs, this might be the right card for you.

Like the student version of the card, the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card offers excellent rewards for a card with no annual fee. You can earn 3% cash back in a category of your choice (choose from gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores and home improvement/furnishings) and 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs. Those bonus rates apply only on up to $2,500 in combined purchases for the bonus categories each quarter. You’ll earn 1% cash back on all other purchases. That means you can earn rewards just for your routine spending.

As an added incentive, you can also get a $200 online cash rewards bonus if you spend at least $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of your account opening.

Learn more about the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card in our review.

Best for travel rewards: Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Visa® credit card

Here’s why: The Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Visa® credit card has solid rewards with a competitive annual fee of $95. You’ll earn two points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases, and 1.5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases. You can redeem those points for statement credit, deposits into your eligible Bank of America or Merrill accounts, gift cards or purchases at the Bank of America Travel Center.

The card also offers a nice 50,000-point sign-up bonus after you make $3,000 in purchases within 90 days of account opening. That sign-up bonus is worth up to $500.

You’ll get access to a suite of travel benefits, like a $100 airline incidental-fee credit and up to $100 in Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application-fee credit. There are also added protections that can make your travel easier, like trip cancellation insurance and lost luggage reimbursement. This card’s foreign transaction fee? None.

Read our review of the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Visa® credit card.

Best for balance transfers: BankAmericard® credit card

Here’s why: If you’re looking to pay off debt, this card offers a See Terms introductory APR for 21 billing cycles on eligible purchases and balance transfers made within the first 60 days after you open the account.

After that, the ongoing variable APR for both purchases and balance transfers increases to See Terms. And there’s a balance transfer fee: Either $10 or 3% of the amount of each transaction, whichever is greater.

But keep in mind that the card doesn’t have a rewards program, so you might not find much extra value in the card once those introductory offers end. The good news is there’s a $0 annual fee.

For more details, read our review of the BankAmericard® credit card .

Best for small business: Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card

Here’s why: The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card lets you earn valuable miles that can offset your business travel expenses.

If you travel often for business, you can rack up rewards quickly with the card. You can earn three points per $1 spent on travel purchases (flights, rental cars and hotels) booked through the Bank of America Travel Center. Plus, you can earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases. As long as your account remains in good standing, your points never expire, and there’s no limit to how much you can earn.

Its annual fee is $0. And foreign transaction fees? Also $0 — which makes it an ideal choice for traveling overseas. Currently, you can get a 30,000-point sign-up bonus after making at least $3,000 in net purchases within the first 90 days of account opening — a $300 value when redeemed as a statement credit toward travel purchases.

Click here for our picks for the best business travel credit cards.

How we picked these cards

Bank of America offers a wide range of credit cards, so we divided them into audience-specific subcategories to address the unique needs of a few large groups. When evaluating each Bank of America credit card, we decided to focus on five main categories: cards for students, cards for travelers, small-business cards, cards with no annual fee and balance transfer cards.

We reviewed each credit card that Bank of America currently offers, carefully considering factors like sign-up bonuses, potential rewards and relevant fees. We tried to balance the value of rewards against the cost of maintaining your account to come up with picks that won’t require constant attention.

How to make the most of these Bank of America credit cards

When it comes to maximizing the value of your Bank of America credit card, there’s another feature you should know about, regardless of the type of card you have.

If you have a Bank of America card, it could make sense to link (or sign up for) an active Bank of America checking or savings account or a Merrill investment account so that you can utilize the company’s Preferred Rewards program.

When you enroll in the program, you can earn higher rewards on eligible Bank of America credit cards depending on how much money you have deposited in your account. There are three tiers — Gold, Platinum and Platinum Honors — with different account thresholds and rewards levels. The Gold tier offers a 25% bonus on points for eligible Bank of America credit cards, while the Platinum Honors tier offers the highest bonus rate at 75%.

Even the Gold tier requires keeping a serious amount of money ($20,000) in your account, so these added benefits aren’t for everyone. It’s best to think of the tiers as an add-on benefit and not a core component of your Bank of America credit card.