Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card Review: A formidable contender

Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card Overview

If you qualify for the Bank of America® Preferred Rewards® program, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card has the potential to be even more rewarding to use for everyday spending and travel. For those who prefer transferable rewards, there are better value travel cards. Card Rating*: ½

* Card evaluation is based on the opinion of TPG editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

Among the ordinary heavyweights of his world premium rewards cardssuch as Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and The Platinum® Card from American ExpressBank of America has its competitor — though its competitiveness comes with the caveat that to reach the card’s full potential, you must qualify for Bank of American Preferred Rewards. More on that below.

Unveiled in 2021, the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card comes with a $550 annual fee and is designed for Bank of America’s high net worth customers. But it’s not exclusive to that customer base, and you don’t have to have one relationship with the bank to apply Approved applicants usually have a credit score of 670 or higher.

At first glance, the new card looks like an upgraded version of the old one Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Credit Card.

However, the new card might be worth considering based on its lifestyle credits and all-metal design. Here’s what you need to know about the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card.

Information for the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Pros and Cons of the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card

Pro	Cons
Preferred Rewards members can earn additional bonus points TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit Annual travel credit Lounge access	High annual fee No transfer partners Limited redemption options

Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card Welcome Bonus

New Premium Rewards Elite cardholders earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. These points have a fixed value of 1 cent each, meaning this bonus is worth $750.

Bank of America has no published restrictions that specifically apply to earning welcome bonuses, but they do have the infamous the 2/3/4 rule regarding card applications where you can only get approved for two Bank of America cards in a two-month period, three cards in a 12-month period, and four cards in a 24-month period.

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Benefits of the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card

Most rewards cards with high annual fees offer perks that help offset some (or all) of that annual cost. The Premium Rewards Elite Card is no different, with the following notable benefits:

Up to $300 annually in incidental airline statement credits; this includes purchases such as seat upgrades, baggage fees and airline lounge fees, but not plane ticket
Up to $150 annually in lifestyle convenience statement credits; these include streaming services, food delivery, fitness subscriptions and transportation services
Up to $100 in statement credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees (once every four years)

Other benefits include up to four Priority Pass Select memberships, 20% savings on domestic or international airfares in any class when you pay with points, travel and shopping protection and no foreign transaction fees.

That’s a decent set of benefits for a card that comes with a $550 annual fee, as long as you use all the credits offered.

Earning points on the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card

With the Premium Rewards Elite card, you earn 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining and 1.5 points per dollar on everything else. Travel and dining categories are broadly defined, similar to Chase Sapphire Reserve®meaning there are a lot of expenses that can qualify for double points.

The real differentiator is with Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program. Essentially, if you have enough assets at Bank of America, you are rewarded for using one of the bank’s credit cards.

Preferred Rewards members earn a 25%, 50% or 75% rewards bonus on select Bank of America cardsincluding the Premium Rewards Elite card.

Categories of expenses	Regular cardholder	Preferred Rewards Gold (25% bonus)	Preferred Rewards Platinum (50% bonus)	Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors, Diamond Honors or Diamond (75% Bonus)
Travel and meals	2 points per dollar spent	2.5 points per dollar spent	3 points per dollar spent	3.5 points per dollar spent
Anything else	1.5 points per dollar spent	1,875 points per dollar spent	2.25 points per dollar spent	2.625 points per dollar spent

Redeeming points on the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card

One of the biggest downsides to the Premium Rewards Elite card is the limited number of redemption options. Unlike comparable cards, there are no airline or hotel transfer partners.

Points can be redeemed for travel, cash back, a cashout, experiences or gift cards at 1 cent each. Additionally, points can be redeemed for 20% savings on airfare in any class when you pay with points through the Bank of America Travel Center or concierge. This brings your value per point for these redemptions to 1.2 cents.

What cards compete with the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card?

The best cards to compare to the Premium Rewards Elite card are cards with similar annual fees or benefits, such as the following cards:

If you like Chase: The Chase Sapphire Reservewith an annual fee of $550. The card offers a $300 annual travel credit that can be used toward any purchase that codes for travel, including but not limited to airline tickets, hotels, rental cars, tolls, parking meters, train tickets or travel by subway. The card also earns 3 points per dollar spent across broadly defined travel and dining categories. To learn more, read on full review of the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
If you like Read: The Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see tariffs and taxes) comes with a lower annual fee of $95, which is offset by a $100 discount on a qualifying hotel stay of $500 or more when booked through Citi Travel. The Strata Premier shines with its 10-point earning rates per dollar spent on hotel, car rental and attraction bookings made through Citi Travel; 3 points per dollar spent on air travel, other purchases at hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations; and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. To learn more, read on Citi Strata Premier full review.
If you like American Express: The Amex Platinum comes with a hefty $695 annual fee (see tariffs and taxes), though you can recoup that cost and then some if you maximize the multitude of statement credits and benefits that come with it. For frequent travelers, the card earns an impressive 5 points per dollar spent on airline ticket purchases made directly with an airline or through AmexTravel.com (for the first $500,000 in a calendar year, 1 point per dollar thereafter) . In addition, cardholders enjoy benefits such as Gold Elite status at Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors (registration required). To learn more, read on full review of Amex Platinum.

For additional options, take a look at our picks for the best travel cards.

Is the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card Worth It?

If transfer partners aren’t a big deal for you, you might consider the Premium Rewards Elite card. If you’re a Preferred Rewards member, the card becomes more of an idea because you’ll earn more bonus points in all categories. However, if you don’t use your statement credits, then this card has little value and is better off with a mid-tier travel card.

Conclusion

The Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Card appears to target existing or first-time Preferred Rewards customers by offering them a higher-priced product within the Bank of America ecosystem. The card will likely remain a niche player, especially given that Bank of America has no airline or hotel transfer partners. That said, it’s still a solid card for those who bank with Bank of America and can take advantage of its annual statement credits.

For Amex Platinum rates and fees, click Here.