Card economics
Bank of America Premium Rewards
Rates shown are before any BofA Rewards relationship bonus (a 10%, 25%, 50% or 75% increase in card rewards depending on your combined Bank of America and Merrill balance; the lowest tier needs only a Bank of America checking account). The bonus is not modeled in the card's earn rates.
Annual fee
$95/yr
Foreign transaction fee
None
Some links may become affiliate links; today none pay us. Commissions are not solver inputs or ranking criteria; issuer terms, eligibility, channel offers, and your assumptions control the modeled result. Read the affiliate disclosure
Welcome offers change frequently — check the issuer's page for the current offer.
Earn rates
Points or cash back earned per dollar spent. 'x' means points multiplier, '%' means cash back percentage. Portal-only rates require booking through the issuer's travel portal.| Category | Rate |
|---|---|
| Dining | 2% |
| Flights outside issuer portals | 2% |
| Hotels outside issuer portals | 2% |
| Other travel outside issuer portals | 2% |
| Travel - Car Rentals / Agencies / Cruises | 2% |
| Tours & Activities (booked direct) | 2% |
| Transit | 2% |
| Amex Travel - Flights | 2%Portal only |
| Amex Travel - Hotels | 2%Portal only |
| Amex Travel - Car Rentals / Cruises | 2%Portal only |
| Bilt Travel - Flights | 2%Portal only |
| Bilt Travel - Hotels | 2%Portal only |
| Everything else | 1.5%Base rate |
Fee calculator
The effective fee is the annual fee minus credits you'll actually use. A $550 card with $400 in usable credits has an effective fee of $150. Adjust credit values based on how much you'll realistically use.Sticker Fee
$95/yr
Credits
-$75
Effective FeeWhat you actually pay after subtracting credits you use. This is the real cost of holding the card — the number that matters for optimization.
$20
Credits & Benefits
Adjust each credit's value based on how much you'll realistically use. 'Easy' credits are straightforward to use (dining, streaming). 'Conditional' credits may require specific merchants or booking methods.Max: $100/yr · annual
Up to $100/year toward incidental airline fees (baggage, seat upgrades, in-flight purchases). No airline selection is required.
Max: $25/yr · counted per year; renews every 4 years
Up to $100 every 4 years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee (~$25/yr effective). Statement credit.
Adds this card to your current wallet and keeps your spending. Premium uses your edited credit values; Free uses conservative defaults. The optimizer may recommend a different wallet.
Catalog record last reviewed Oct 11, 2026; see the Corrections page for later changes. Issuer terms and available offers control and may change.
Next step
One card is a start. The modeled setup is the whole wallet.
The Bank of America Premium Rewards might be useful on its own, but the modeled combination depends on your total spending. The optimizer searches eligible portfolios and clearly labels whether the result was proven optimal within that run's inputs or is the strongest valid setup found before timeout.