Bank of America Preferred Rewards® Program Guide 2025

• Gold tier: $20,000 to $49,999 combined average daily balance in a qualifying account
• Platinum tier: $50,000 to $99,999 combined average daily balance in a qualifying account
• Platinum Honors tier: $100,000 to $999,999 combined average daily balance in a qualifying account
• Diamond tier: $1 million-plus combined average daily balance in a qualifying account

How to qualify for Bank of America Preferred Rewards®

You must be an owner or co-owner of a qualifying Bank of America and/or Merrill account, which can include:

• Checking
• Savings
• CD accounts
• Cash Management Account from Merrill
• 529 plans from Merrill
• Revocable grantor trust accounts

With the right accounts, you must meet and maintain certain balance requirements.

1. You must have a minimum of $20,000 in average daily balances across checking, savings and Merrill investment accounts to qualify for Bank of America Preferred Rewards®. Bank of America uses a three-month average to determine qualification. You can check your Bank of America online banking to see if you qualify for Preferred Rewards. If you do, you can easily enroll through online banking. Enrollment is free.
2. You’ll remain in a given tier for a minimum of 12 months after you qualify, even if your average balance dips below the qualification threshold. You’ll keep the benefits of your current tier through this period. At the end of 12 months, if your balance has not increased sufficiently, you’ll be given a three-month grace period. After this, you’ll be moved to a lower tier or lose your Preferred Rewards program benefits.
3. You may qualify for a new tier if your average daily balance increases. Bank of America will review your accounts every month to determine if you qualify for a tier upgrade. If you do, you’ll automatically be moved to the higher tier.

You can qualify for Preferred Rewards even if you don’t have hefty checking and savings account balances, since Bank of America includes retirement accounts in their qualification metric.

For example, you could move existing retirement accounts to Merrill, or move money you have with other banks to Bank of America. Retirement balances can add up quickly — even a 529 college savings plan for your kids counts as part of the Preferred Rewards qualifying balance. You don’t have to be super wealthy to qualify.

Credit card rewards bonus

One of the key benefits of Bank of America Preferred Rewards® is the 25-75% bonus it provides to your credit card rewards. This benefit applies to a variety of credit cards, from cash back credit cards to the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card with its travel perks.

For example, if you put $4,000 in monthly spending on a Bank of America^® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card, you’d normally earn $60 in cash back. A Preferred Rewards Gold member would earn $75 per month (25% boost). A Platinum Honors or Diamond member would earn $105 per month. This is a sizable increase and an effective rewards rate of 2.625% on every purchase.

Savings account booster

If you have a Bank of America Advantage savings account, being a Preferred Rewards offers you an annual percentage yield (APY) boost. You’ll get a slight boost regardless of your savings account balance. The typical Bank of America APY is 0.01%, but the following are what rates you can earn as a Preferred Rewards member:

• Gold tier: 0.02% APY
• Platinum tier: 0.03% APY
• Platinum Honors and higher tiers: 0.04% APY

No-fee banking services

Bank of America Preferred Rewards® members enjoy waived fees on a handful of banking services including standard checks, standard deposit tickets, incoming wire fees and at least one non-Bank of America ATM fee per statement. Platinum and higher Preferred Rewards members also enjoy other waived banking service fees.

Mortgage discount

Gold, Platinum and Platinum Honors members can receive $200 to $600 off origination fees for a new mortgage obtained with Bank of America. Preferred Rewards Diamond members can receive a 0.25% interest rate reduction when they enroll in PayPlan, a Bank of America automatic payment service. Even a small interest rate reduction like this can save you thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage.

Home equity discount

If you’re looking to finance a home improvement project, being a Bank of America Preferred Rewards® member can save you some of the cost through reduced interest rates. For a $20,000 loan paid off over a period of 10 years, you can save anywhere from $150 to $800 over the life of the loan.

Auto loan discount

Similar to the savings on a new mortgage or on a home equity loan, Preferred Rewards members are provided a discount on a new auto loan. This ranges from an interest rate reduction of 0.25% for Gold members and up to 0.5% for Platinum Honors and Diamond members. This represents a modest savings over the life of an auto loan.

For example, if you would normally finance $20,000 of a new auto purchase at a 7.5% interest rate, your savings would range from $140 to $280 over the life of a five-year loan, depending on your Preferred Rewards tier.

Foreign currency discount

If you travel abroad and like to order foreign currency in advance of your trip, you’ll enjoy a discount as a Preferred Rewards member. You’ll get 1-2% off the exchange rate, depending on which membership tier you have. Additionally, all Preferred Rewards members also enjoy free shipping on foreign currency orders.

No monthly maintenance fees

Account maintenance fees are waived for Bank of America Preferred Rewards® Gold, Platinum and Platinum Honors members on up to four checking accounts and four savings accounts. Preferred Rewards Diamond members receive waived monthly maintenance fees on an unlimited number of checking and savings accounts. Monthly maintenance fees can run anywhere from $4.95 to $25, depending on the type of account.

Merrill investing discount

Merrill Guided Investing offers investment advisory services to help you get the most out of your investment portfolio. There is an annual program fee for these services, which is currently 0.45% of the annual asset value. Preferred Rewards members receive a discount ranging from 0.05% at Gold to 0.15% at Platinum Honors or Diamond. If you have substantial investment deposits with Bank of America, this could represent significant savings.

No-fee ATM transactions

If you need to withdraw cash from a non-Bank of America ATM, the owner of the ATM typically charges a fee. However, some Preferred Rewards members can enjoy fee-free withdrawals, saving you money when you’re in a pinch. Platinum members get one fee-free ATM withdrawal per statement cycle (for a maximum of 12 per year), while Platinum Honors and higher members enjoy unlimited fee-free withdrawals.

No international transaction fees or ATM fees

In addition to unlimited no-fee ATM withdrawals within the U.S., Preferred Rewards Diamond members can also get unlimited no-fee withdrawals while abroad. This gives you great peace of mind while traveling, as you can get cash anytime you need using your Bank of America debit card.

Lifestyle benefits

The lifestyle benefits available to Preferred Rewards Diamond members range from discounts on private trip planning, to exclusive savings on luxury fashion brands and vehicles. Diamond members can also enjoy special savings from ReserveBar.com for home delivery of premium wine and spirits.

In addition to the Preferred Rewards program for personal accounts and investments, Bank of America also offers a Preferred Rewards for Business program. The benefits it offers are similar, including waived fees, increased rewards on business credit cards and discounts on services and loan interest rates. The Preferred Rewards for Business program has three tiers: Gold, Platinum and Platinum Honors.

The qualification requirements for the three Preferred Rewards® for Business program are similar to those for the personal program:

• Gold tier: $20,000 to $49,999 combined average daily balance in qualifying accounts
• Platinum tier: $50,000 to $99,999 combined average daily balance in qualifying accounts
• Platinum Honors tier: $100,000 to $999,999 combined average daily balance in qualifying accounts

Both business deposit and Merrill business investments accounts count toward the qualifying balance. If your business has sufficient deposits, the program can save you substantially on fees and substantially higher credit card rewards on Bank of America business credit cards.

Bank of America points are worth 1 cent per point for most redemptions. You’ll get 1 cent per point when you redeem points for statement credits on cash back cards and when redeeming points for travel in the Bank of America travel portal.

You can get a higher redemption value in some cases. For example, you can get 1.2 cents per point when you redeem for travel with the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card. Generally, however, expect to get 1 cent per point by redeeming your Bank of America points.

How to redeem Bank of America credit card points

The ways you can redeem your Bank of America points will depend on which card you have. Generally, you’ll get 1 cent per point, but the value you get for your points may depend on how you redeem them. Here are the various ways you can redeem Bank of America points:

• Cash back
• Statement credit
• Amazon.com and PayPal purchases
• Booking travel with the Bank of America Travel Center
• Deposit to a Merrill investment account
• Gift cards

Depending on what card you have, some redemption options may be more valuable than others. For example, if you have the Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card, options outside of travel statement credits may give you less value. However, most redemption options will get you 1 cent per point.

There are several different Bank of America credit cards that are part of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program. Being a member of the program makes having a Bank of America credit card even more valuable, since Preferred Rewards members can earn 25% to 75% more rewards on their credit card spending. This boost to your rewards earning rates makes many of these cards an excellent choice for Preferred Rewards members.

To make the most of the Preferred Rewards program, you’ll need to maintain a large account balance and take advantage of one of Bank of America’s top-earning cards. Here are some tips:

• Have at least $20,000 in combined checking, savings and investment balances that you can place in qualifying Bank of America or Merrill accounts
• Move as many accounts as possible to the Bank of America/Merrill ecosystem to take advantage of Preferred Rewards benefits
• Ideally, have at least $100,000 in combined Bank of America and Merrill balances to earn Platinum Honors status for the highest level of rewards benefits
• Apply for and regularly use at least one Bank of America credit card to take advantage of the bonus rewards

Whether the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program is worth it will depend entirely on your financial situation and long-term goals. If you have the financial means to qualify for any Premier Rewards tier, you can enjoy substantial savings on fees, not to mention enjoy an excellent bonus on the rewards you earn with Bank of America credit cards.