Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card review

bank-of-america-business-advantage-travel-rewards-reviewImage: bank-of-america-business-advantage-travel-rewards-review

In a Nutshell

If you travel for work and have a strong relationship with Bank of America, the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card is worth considering. This entry-level travel card may lack some of the bells and whistles that its luxury competitors offer. The card’s $0 annual fee and handful of additional perks make it a decent choice for those not looking for extra frills.
Editorial Note: Intuit 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. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

This offer is no longer available on our site: Capital One Spark Cash Select for Good Credit

Pros

  • $0 annual fee
  • Unlimited travel reward points
  • Multiple ways to redeem rewards

Cons

  • Strong credit needed to qualify
  • Personal guarantee required
  • Rewards boost for Preferred Rewards for Business members
From our partner

Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card

See details, rates & fees

Key features of the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card

With so many travel cards to choose from, it’s often challenging to tell them apart.

While this one may not stand out from the competition at first glance, it’s worth a second look for its various offerings.

No annual fee

Some business travel rewards cards charge an annual fee, but you won’t find one with this card.

Simple rewards

Many rewards cards utilize rotating reward categories, which can make it confusing to keep track of how many points you’re earning. The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card aims to simplify the rewards-earning process by offering you a set number of points for every dollar spent on any purchase other than travel.

The card offers 1.5 points for every $1 you spend on non-travel purchases for your business. And there’s no limit on how many points you can earn.

A broad definition of travel

The card offers bonus points that you can redeem for a statement credit to cover a wide variety of travel-related purchases. So if your definition of work travel includes more than airfare, you’re in luck.

Your statement credit will cover purchases such as airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, trailer parks, motor home and recreational vehicle rentals — on top of other modes of transportation and lodging. This means you get more points for your dollar. But to earn those points, you’ll have to make those eligible purchases through the Bank of America Travel Center rather than deal with your favorite merchant directly.

If you’re wondering about the rewards-earning rate for those travel-related purchases: You can earn three points — which is 1.5 base points plus an additional 1.5 bonus points — for every $1 spent on purchases made through the Bank of America Travel Center. That’s double the rewards-earning rate of 1.5 points that you earn on your standard travel purchases.

You already have a business account

The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card is best for business owners who already have a strong relationship with Bank of America, or those who are Preferred Rewards for Business Platinum Honors tier members. Depending on the tier of your Preferred Rewards status and the type of card you have, you can earn 25% to 75% more rewards with eligible bank accounts along with other benefits.

Are the perks worth it?

While the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card doesn’t charge an annual fee, it doesn’t offer much of a reason to enthusiastically apply either. Unless you’re an existing Bank of America customer, you’ll want to carefully weigh some of the drawbacks of this credit card before deciding to apply for it.

Lackluster welcome bonus

As a new cardholder, you may be eligible to earn the card’s 30,000-point welcome bonus, which is worth $300 as a statement credit towards travel or dining purchases, if you spend $3,000 in qualifying purchases within the first 90 days after opening a new account. That’s quite a bit to have to spend in order to receive a few hundred dollars.

So if you’re considering the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card for its travel rewards, you may want to look elsewhere.

Personal guarantee required

No matter how strong your business credit may be, one downside of this card is that it requires you to personally back any purchases should the business not be able to cover them.

While this is by no means unique to the industry, it’s worth considering whether you want to risk personal liability for purchases.

Minimum points needed

While earning travel points may be streamlined with this card, redeeming them is less so. Points are redeemable as statement credits to cover travel purchases made through the Bank of America Travel Center. You can also choose to redeem for cash back or gift cards.

It’s worth noting that you must earn a minimum of 2,500 points, which is worth $25, to redeem them. While that may not be an issue for business travelers who typically reach these thresholds quickly, it’s a restriction worth pointing out.

Other important details

Here are some other noteworthy features to know about if you are considering signing up for the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card.

  • No foreign transaction fee — You can use this card anywhere in the world where Mastercard is accepted without paying any currency or foreign transaction fees.
  • Travel coverage — If your trip is canceled or delayed, or if you run into trouble along the way, the card may cover the cost with travel accident insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, trip cancellation coverage, and trip delay reimbursement benefits.
  • 0% introductory period — This card offers an introductory 0% purchase APR for the first 9 billing cycles after opening a new account. After that, the variable purchase APR will be 18.49% - 28.49%, depending on your credit history.

Who this card is good for

This credit card is best for business owners who already have a strong relationship with Bank of America. The rewards rate on most purchases is equivalent to 1.5% back for travel, which is a fair rate but nothing all that exciting. But adding 25% to 75% more, depending on your Preferred Rewards tier, makes this card more of a consideration.

If you’re already a part of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program, or are eligible to join, you should seriously consider this card. If you don’t already bank with Bank of America, this business credit card is relatively basic in its offerings.


Not sure this is the card for you? Consider these alternatives.


About the author: Romy Ribitzky is a senior editor at Credit Karma specializing in autos, auto insurance, credit, personal loans, savings and tax. Romy is an Edward R. Murrow Award–winning journalist and a marketing leader, having hone… Read more.