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Banks offer all sorts of programs and incentives to earn your business. Most people have a checking and savings account, and maybe some investment or retirement accounts. The more accounts you have, the more valuable you are to a bank. They want all of that business, so why shouldn't they reward you for giving it to them? That’s where the BofA Rewards™ program comes in.
A single visit or phone call with a Bank of America banker can unlock serious earning potential. In some cases, you can even multiply the rewards you earn on your Bank of America credit cards. Here's how it works.
The BofA Rewards program replaced the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program on May 28, 2026.
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The BofA Rewards Program
The BofA Rewards program offers customers various bonuses and discounts based on the amount they keep in eligible Bank of America or Merrill accounts. You can deposit funds or transfer stocks and other brokerage assets to fund your accounts.
Quite often, you can earn bonuses when you open these new accounts. Bank of America gives customers a tangible cash-back reward incentive to earn their banking business. This can include earning up to 75% extra on every purchase with your credit card. That can push your card earnings as high as 3.5% cash back for the first year.
If you have a qualifying Bank of America checking account, you can enroll with no minimum combined balance. To reach higher tiers, you'll need to meet the combined balances required across eligible Bank of America and Merrill accounts.
Eligible account types
The following types of accounts count towards the BofA Rewards program balance thresholds to help determine your BofA Rewards tier:
- Bank of America checking, Advantage Banking, savings, money market savings, CDs, and IRAs
- Merrill investment accounts, including IRAs and Cash Management Accounts
- Merrill 529 college savings accounts
Many of Bank of America's credit cards are a part of the program and are eligible for tier-based bonuses. You can have multiple cards that qualify for bonus earnings. Understandably, credit cards that do not earn rewards aren't eligible, and nearly all co-branded credit cards are also excluded.
Unfortunately, business credit cards are not eligible for the personal BofA Rewards program. However, Bank of America offers a Preferred Rewards for Business program with a similar rewards system for business customers who hold assets in business accounts with Bank of America and Merrill.
Other types of Bank of America accounts that do not qualify are:
- Employee benefit plans, including 401(k) accounts, and annuities managed by Bank of America or Merrill
- Irrevocable trust accounts
- Uniform Transfers to Minors accounts and Uniform Gifts to Minors Act accounts
Qualification considerations
While the savings thresholds might seem high, consolidating all your assets from various banks and brokerages can actually simplify your banking. Also, there will almost certainly be bonuses available for your efforts.
Merrill is an easy-to-use brokerage site that offers commission-free online trading in stocks, ETFs, and options. If you have an individual retirement account, whether a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA, transferring those assets to Merrill is a quick and easy path to higher BofA Rewards tiers.
The bankers can easily move your assets over from other accounts, so all you need are the account numbers and some paperwork.
BofA Rewards Tiers
BofA Rewards has four tiers based on your 3‑month combined average daily balance across eligible Bank of America and Merrill accounts: Member, Preferred Plus, Preferred Honors, and Premier. Each tier offers a different level of credit card bonuses and banking/investing benefits. You will not automatically be placed in a tier upon depositing funds into new accounts.
You can usually have your banker speed this process along so that it doesn't take a full three months to be placed into your tier. Also, your tier can change if your balances dip below the threshold needed to maintain your current tier. You will be permitted to keep the higher tier level for one year. After a three-month grace period, you will be placed in the lower tier based on your current balances.
Discounts and better rates
As you go into each higher tier, you'll earn better rates, boosters, and discounts. This includes boosted rates on savings accounts, discounted rates on home equity lines of credit, auto loan applications, foreign currency exchanges, and Merrill Guided Investing, as well as reduced origination fees on new-purchase or refinance mortgages and waived banking fees.
All BofA Rewards tiers come with priority member service, no monthly maintenance fees on eligible checking and savings accounts from Bank of America, and no fees on select services — such as standard check orders, cashier’s checks, incoming domestic wire transfers, and more — and even reduced origination fees on new purchase or refinance mortgages.
Member tier
You qualify for the Member tier with a three‑month combined average daily balance of less than $30,000 in eligible Bank of America and Merrill accounts. Benefits at the Member tier include:
- 10% rewards bonus on eligible Bank of America credit cards
- $100 reduction on the origination fee of a new Bank of America purchase or refinance mortgage
- 0.1% interest rate discount on a new Bank of America auto purchase or refinance loan
- 0.125% interest‑rate discount on a new Bank of America home equity line of credit when you qualify for BofA Rewards and meet HELOC requirements
- Waived monthly maintenance fees on at least one eligible checking account and one eligible savings account (or per BofA’s current Member‑tier policy
Preferred Plus tier
You qualify for the Preferred Plus tier with a three-month combined average daily balance between $30,000 and $99,999 in eligible Bank of America and Merrill accounts. Benefits at the Preferred Plus tier include:
- 25% rewards bonus on eligible Bank of America credit cards
- $300 reduction on the origination fee of a new Bank of America purchase or refinance mortgage
- 0.1% interest rate discount on a new Bank of America auto purchase or refinance loan
- 0.25% interest‑rate discount on a new Bank of America home equity line of credit.
- 0.25% interest‑rate discount on a new Bank of America auto purchase or refinance loan
- No fee for one withdrawal and one transfer per statement cycle at non‑BofA ATMs in the U.S., plus a refund of the ATM operator fee for one withdrawal and one transfer per statement cycle when you use an eligible Bank of America debit or ATM card
- Waived monthly maintenance fees on multiple eligible checking and savings accounts as part of relationship‑based pricing under BofA Rewards
Preferred Honors tier
You qualify for the Preferred Honors tier with a three-month combined average daily balance between $100,000 and $999,999 in eligible Bank of America and Merrill accounts. Benefits at the Preferred Honors tier include:
- 50% rewards bonus on eligible credit cards
- $600 reduction on the origination fee of a new Bank of America purchase or refinance mortgage
- 0.375% interest‑rate discount on a new Bank of America home equity line of credit
- 0.35% interest‑rate discount on a new Bank of America auto purchase or refinance loan
- No fee for all withdrawals and transfers at non‑BofA ATMs in the U.S., plus refunds of ATM operator fees for those U.S. transactions when you use an eligible Bank of America debit or ATM card
- Waived monthly maintenance fees on multiple eligible checking and savings accounts
- Increased Merrill investment benefits, including higher program‑fee discounts on certain managed‑account and Merrill Guided Investing products
- Up to $8 per month ($96 per year) in statement credits toward eligible streaming and other subscriptions when you enroll in the subscription‑credit benefit and pay from an eligible Bank of America checking account
- Access to curated lifestyle offers and experiences
Premier tier
You qualify for the Diamond tier with a three-month combined average daily balance of $1 million or more in eligible Bank of America and Merrill accounts. Benefits at the Premier tier include:
- 75% rewards bonus on eligible credit cards
- 0.625% interest‑rate discount on a new Bank of America home equity line of credit
- 0.50% interest‑rate discount on a new Bank of America auto purchase or refinance loan
- Up to a 0.375% mortgage interest‑rate reduction on eligible new Bank of America purchase or refinance mortgages when you combine Premier status with automatic payments from an eligible Bank of America deposit account, subject to BofA’s mortgage and BofA Rewards terms
- No monthly maintenance fees on all eligible Bank of America checking and savings accounts
- Unlimited no‑fee ATM transactions worldwide, including refunds of non‑Bank‑of‑America ATM operator fees when using an eligible Bank of America debit or ATM card
- Up to $15 per month ($180 per year) in subscription credits toward eligible streaming and other subscriptions when you enroll and pay from an eligible BofA checking account.
- The most extensive “premium lifestyle” experiences and curated offers under BofA Rewards, plus dedicated support through Bank of America Private Bank for qualifying clients
The Credit Card Sweet Spot With BofA Rewards
One of the most useful BofA Rewards benefits is the bonus multiplier on eligible Bank of America credit cards. This can raise your cash-back earnings on all purchases.
Reaching the million-dollar threshold to qualify for the Premier tier's highest multiplier (75%) may be out of reach for most. But the Preferred Honors tier still earns a respectable 50% multiplier on your credit card rewards.
With a no-annual-fee card like the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card, your ongoing earning rate after the first year would be 2.25% cash back on every purchase, with no earnings cap.
- Earn 2% cash back on purchases for the first year from account opening
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases after year one
The bonus also applies to other no-annual-fee cards from Bank of America, like the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card. When you factor in the Preferred Honors multiplier, this card goes from 1.5x to 2.25x points on all purchases.
- 1.5 points for every $1 you spend on all purchases
For those who spend heavily on travel or dining out, having the Preferred Honors tier along with the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card will enable you to earn 2.25x points on all purchases and 3x points on travel and dining.
- 2 points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases
- 1.5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases
Another great sweet spot is with the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card. This card offers up to 6% cash back on $2,500 in spending in a category of your choosing each quarter for the first 12 months (then 3%), with a very generous selection of categories. With Preferred Honors tier status, category earnings jump from 6% to 9%. This is an excellent return for a no-annual-fee card.
- 6% cash back for the first year in the category of your choice: gas and EV charging stations, online shopping/cable/internet/phone plan/streaming, dining, travel, drug store/pharmacy purchase, or home improvement/furnishing purchases, then 3% after the first year of card membership*
- 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs*
- 1% cash back on all other purchases
- * You'll earn 6% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter, then earn 1%. After the 3% first-year bonus offer ends, you will earn 3% and 2% cash back on these purchases up to the quarterly maximum.
Maximize Your Credit Card Earnings With BofA Rewards
If you are able to deposit $100,000 or more in funds and assets with Bank of America and Merrill, you can supercharge your earning rates on all of your Bank of America credit cards. Earning an uncapped 50% boost on each purchase can put significant additional rewards in your pocket.
Using these higher cash-back rates is also a simple way to keep track of your rewards. While you can do better in some instances with various rewards programs, this can be confusing and time-consuming for some. Maximizing your redemptions takes time and skill, but cash back is as easy as it gets.
Bottom Line
You have to keep your money somewhere. Keeping it with Bank of America and Merrill to unlock top credit card rates can make sense for those who qualify.
The benefits are tangible, offering lower fees and interest rates, as well as extra earnings when you use your credit card. For those who qualify for higher tiers with BofA Rewards, it could be worth the paperwork to move your assets, given the available benefits.
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