Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card review
This is a terrific credit card for cardholders who value choice in their cash-back rewards programs. You can change it, too, by updating your choice category for future purchases once each calendar month, or keep it the same.
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Key Features
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- Maximize your cash back in the category of your choice: gas (including EVC stations), online shopping (including cable, streaming, internet and phone services), dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings.
- Now earn 3% cash back in your choice category and 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.
- Earn a $200 online cash back bonus after you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days after account opening. Plus, enjoy intro_apr_rate,intro_apr_duration, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. (After the intro APR offer ends, reg_apr,reg_apr_type will apply.) Balance transfer fees apply: balance_transfer_fees.
- This offer is very competitive, but earning additional bonus cash back (25%-75% more on each purchase) is reserved for those who are Bank of America Preferred Rewards clients.
With no annual fee, a $200 online cash rewards bonus after you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days of account opening, and the ability to choose which category you’ll earn 3% back in (up to a quarterly cap), it’s hard to beat the CardName.
It’s a straight-forward, simple credit card. Rewards don’t expire (as long as your account remains open), there is no annual fee, and categories for earning your 3% back don’t change unless you want them to. It doesn’t get much easier than that.
Bank of America® customized cash card rewards categories
The categories in which you can earn cash back rewards with the CardName are on a tiered system.
- The first tier is the 3% cash back tier where you can earn 3% cash back in one of the following categories: gas and EV charging stations, online shopping/cable/internet/phone plan/streaming, dining, travel, drug store/pharmacy or home improvement/furnishings. You choose which category depending on where you spend the most money.
- The second tier is 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases).
- The last tier is 1% cash back on all other purchases.
In addition to these three tiers of cash-back rewards, if you’re a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member you can earn 25%-75% more cash back on every purchase made. That means the 3% choice category rewards could be worth as much as 5.25% and the 2% categories could be worth as much as 3.5% back! That’s a steal for a card with no annual fee.
Bank of America® customized cash card redemption options
Just as the name says, this is a cash back rewards-based card. Rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open. They can be redeemed as a credit on your statement, deposited directly into your Bank of America accounts, or to eligible Merrill accounts.
Bank of America® customized cash foreign transaction fee and other potential downsides
The CardName charges a foreign_fee foreign transaction fee, so if you frequently travel abroad, you might want to consider bringing another card along for your international purchases. This fee might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but think about it this way: if you spend $3,000 on a trip abroad with your CardName, you’ll be looking at an extra $90 in fees. This might not be a huge deal to if you rarely travel internationally, especially because this card has no annual fee, however, if you’re taking multiple trips abroad each year, the extra money you’ll spend because of this fee can quickly add up.
Another potential downside of the CardName also depends on your spending habits. You do get to choose the category you want your cash back rewards in, but the cap is $2,500 per quarter. Do the math, do your homework, and make sure it’s worth it for you. You don’t want to leave money on the table if you could earn more with another card.
Finally, unless you’re a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member, you won’t be able to unlock every benefit of the card, including the 25%-75% more cash back on every purchase.
How do cardholders rate the Bank of America® customized cash card?
CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results for the Bank of America® customized cash card:
| Current Scores | Past Scores | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 81.1 | 80.2 |
| Features Satisfaction | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| Customer Service | 7.9 | 8.1 |
| Website/App Usability | 8.6 | 8.1 |
| Likelihood of Continuing to Use | 9 | 7.9 |
| Recommend to a Friend/Colleague | 7.7 | 7.8 |
How does the Bank of America® customized cash card compare to other cards?
CardName vs. CardName
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With the CardName you’ll get balance_transfer_duration_months of introductory 0% APR on balance transfers. After the intro period, the APR jumps to RegAPR. If you have a major purchase on the horizon that would be easier to pay off in smaller increments, the balance transfer intro could be appealing. Citi is a CardRatings advertiser.
One unique thing about the CardName is that it earns you 1% cash back when you buy and 1% cash back as you pay for those purchases (whether you pay your balance in full or over time, though you must make the minimum payment on time to earn cash back). So while the structure is different than the Bank of America card that offers tiered reward levels of 3%, 2%, and 1%, the Citi card gives you double the opportunity to earn cash back on every purchase made.
CardName vs. CardName
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If it’s the foreign transaction fees that make you weary of the CardName, the CardName might be a suitable alternative as it does not charge a fee on foreign transacations.
The other main difference between these two cards is that the CardName gives rewards in points, not in cash. Its welcome offer has a low spend threshold of at least $1,000 spent in the first 90 days that the account is open, to earn 25,000 bonus points – worth $250 toward travel.
Neither card has an annual fee, and rewards on both cards don’t expire as long as your account is open and in good standing. The decision between these two will likely be the question of whether you frequently travel or keep closer to home.
Is the CardName a good card?
If you like having choices and flexibility and don’t plan to frequently make foreign transactions, the CardName could be a good fit for you. To make the most of it though, you need to be on top of your spending habits and know which category would be the best in terms of earning cash back.
This card is also great if you are not the type of person who wants to spend all of their rewards. Instead, you could use it as a savings tool by depositing your cash back rewards into one of your Bank of America accounts.
The CardName is also a sweet deal for Bank of America Preferred Rewards clients as this status helps you to earn additional cash back on every dollar you spend.
Frequently asked questions
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Our Methodology
Survey methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents’ scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. Current Scores reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); “Past Scores” reflect scores from the 2022 survey.
Disclaimer:The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.
This content is not provided by any company mentioned in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company. CardRatings.com does not review every company or every offer available on the market.
