The best Bank of America credit cards for 2026, ranked, plus the Preferred Rewards boost math that turns a 1.5% card into 2.62%. Customized Cash 3% (up to 5.25%), Unlimited Cash, Travel Rewards, Premium Rewards, and the $550 Elite.
The short version: on their own, most Bank of America cards earn middle-of-the-road rates. The thing that makes them worth carrying is the Preferred Rewards boost, which adds 25% to 75% on top of every card's rewards if you keep balances with Bank of America or Merrill. The Customized Cash Rewards ($0) is the flagship: 3% in a category you choose, boosted as high as 5.25%. For flat cash with zero thinking, the Unlimited Cash Rewards ($0) turns 1.5% into 2.62% at the top tier.
The math that decides it: a Bank of America card's real value is its base rate times your Preferred Rewards bonus. No BofA banking relationship? These are average cards. Top-tier relationship? They quietly become some of the best flat-rate cards you can carry.
Bank of America's card lineup looks unremarkable until you factor in the one thing the marketing buries: the Preferred Rewards boost. It is the difference between a forgettable 1.5% card and a 2.62%-on-everything card. Here is the full lineup ranked, plus the boost math that decides whether any of them belong in your wallet.
If you hold deposit or investment balances with Bank of America and Merrill, you qualify for Preferred Rewards, which adds a flat bonus on top of everything your BofA cards earn. The bonus comes in three tiers: 25%, 50%, or 75%, set by your combined three-month average balance. (Bank of America adjusts the balance thresholds over time, so check the current tiers on the Preferred Rewards page.)
That bonus applies to the card's full earn rate, so it compounds across every category:
| Base rate | +25% tier | +50% tier | +75% tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5% | 1.87% | 2.25% | 2.62% |
| 2% | 2.5% | 3% | 3.5% |
| 3% | 3.75% | 4.5% | 5.25% |
A 1.5% flat card becoming a 2.62% flat card is the single best reason to put your cards where you already bank, and the single biggest reason these cards are forgettable if you bank elsewhere. With no relationship, you earn the base rates below. With the top tier, they punch well above their fee.
Every rate, fee, and welcome offer below comes from Bank of America's own card terms. "Top boosted rate" assumes the 75% Preferred Rewards tier.
| Card | Rewards | Top boosted rate | Annual fee | Welcome offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customized Cash Rewards | 3% in one category you pick, 2% groceries + wholesale clubs, 1% else | 5.25% in your 3% category | $0 | $200 after $1,000 in 90 days |
| Unlimited Cash Rewards | 1.5% on everything | 2.62% on everything | $0 | $200 after $1,000 in 90 days |
| Travel Rewards | 1.5x points on everything | 2.62x | $0 | 25,000 points after $1,000 in 90 days |
| Premium Rewards | 2x travel and dining, 1.5x else | 3.5x travel/dining | $95 | 60,000 points after $4,000 in 90 days |
| Premium Rewards Elite | 2x travel and dining, 1.5x else | 3.5x travel/dining | $550 | 75,000 points after $5,000 in 90 days |
See every current Bank of America welcome offer next to the rest of the market in our welcome bonus tracker.
The Customized Cash Rewards card is the one most people should carry. You pick a 3% category each month from a list (gas and EV charging, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores, or home improvement), earn 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and 1% everywhere else. The 3% and 2% rates share a $2,500-per-quarter cap on combined spending, then drop to 1%. With the top Preferred Rewards tier, that 3% category becomes 5.25%, which beats almost every flat card on the market in whatever category you select. No annual fee, $200 welcome bonus after $1,000 of spend.
The Unlimited Cash Rewards card earns a flat 1.5% on everything with no categories to track and no caps. On its own it is unremarkable, but the boost is what makes it shine: 2.62% on every purchase at the top tier is a genuinely strong no-fee flat rate. Pair it with the Customized Cash for non-bonus spending and you have a clean two-card BofA setup.
The Travel Rewards card is the Unlimited Cash card's points cousin: 1.5x points on everything (2.62x at the top tier), redeemed as a statement credit against travel purchases. No annual fee, a 25,000-point welcome bonus worth $250 toward travel after $1,000 of spend. Pick it over Unlimited Cash if you would rather bank points toward trips than take straight cash; the earn rate and boost are identical.
The Premium Rewards card earns 2x on travel and dining and 1.5x on everything else. Its standout perk is an annual airline incidental credit that more than covers its modest fee by itself:
| Credit | Value |
|---|---|
| Airline incidental credit | $100 |
The 60,000-point welcome bonus is worth $600 toward travel. At the top Preferred Rewards tier, 2x travel and dining becomes 3.5x. This is the BofA card to hold if you want a travel card and you bank with BofA.
The Premium Rewards Elite card earns the same 2x and 1.5x as the Premium Rewards. The difference is the fee: $550 a year, which is steep. What it buys is a bigger stack of annual statement credits:
| Credit | Value |
|---|---|
| Airline incidental credit | $300 |
| Lifestyle credit | $150 |
It also includes a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee reimbursement. Add it up and the everyday perks come to about $450 a year before you touch rewards, so the Elite only makes sense if you will reliably use both the airline and lifestyle benefits. If you will not, the $95 Premium Rewards earns at the same rate for far less.
The Preferred Rewards boost is the whole story, so here is what it does to a year of spending. Say you put $30,000 a year on a flat card:
That $336 difference is free money for banking where you already hold a card. Run the same exercise on the Customized Cash 3% category (capped at $2,500 a quarter, so $10,000 a year): $300 at 3% becomes $525 at 5.25%. The boost is worth chasing only if you already keep the balances; nobody should move six figures to Merrill purely for a card bonus. But if the balances are already there, leaving the boost on the table is the mistake.
For most people, the Customized Cash Rewards card: 3% in a category you choose (up to 5.25% with the top Preferred Rewards tier), 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and no annual fee. If you would rather not track categories, the Unlimited Cash Rewards card earns a flat 1.5% (2.62% boosted).
It adds 25%, 50%, or 75% on top of your card's rewards, depending on your tier, which is set by your three-month average combined balance with Bank of America and Merrill. The boost applies to every category the card earns.
Only if you will use its perks. The airline and lifestyle benefits come to about $450 a year, plus Global Entry or TSA PreCheck reimbursement. That works if you reliably use both; if not, the Premium Rewards earns at the same rate for far less.
No. Anyone can apply and earn the base rates. The Preferred Rewards boost is the only part that requires a banking or Merrill investment relationship, and it is what makes these cards competitive.
Sources verified June 2026 against Bank of America's own card pages and the Preferred Rewards program page. Rewards rates, perks, and welcome offers change; confirm current terms with Bank of America before applying. Boosted rates assume the top Preferred Rewards tier and are rounded.