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Offers for Bank of America cards mentioned in this post have been updated as of 09/28/2023
The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card is a solid choice for a $0-annual-fee cashback credit card with effective rewards for your spending. In short, this card earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases — a competitive offer when it comes to no-annual-fee cashback cards.
What's more, the card isn't limited to just earning cashback rewards, as it comes with several other helpful features. And if you're open to switching your banking and investments to Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, you can boost the return on this card as high as 2.625% cashback on all purchases.
Here's everything you need to know about the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card Signup Bonus
After being approved for the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card, you can earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening. If you meet the minimum spending amount, you will earn at least $215 in cash back after factoring in your earnings from spending.
While you can get better sign-up bonuses through top rewards card offers, this is a solid sign-up bonus for a $0-annual-fee cashback credit card.
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card Earning Rates
Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases when using the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card. And as long as your card is open and in good standing, your earned rewards won't expire.
Boost Your Earning Through the Bank of America Preferred Rewards Program
1.5% cashback isn't bad, but you can potentially get a much higher earning rate by leveraging the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. The bonus that you'll earn depends on how much you have deposited with Bank of America as well as funds invested with Merrill.
The tier that you earn is based on your three-month average deposits. Here's how much you need in savings to earn each tier:
- Gold Tier: between $20,000 to $50,000 in average deposits.
- Platinum Tier: between $50,000 and $100,000 in deposits.
- Platinum Honors Tier: between $100,000 and $1 million in deposits.
- Diamond Tier: between $1-10 million in deposits.
You earn increased rewards from spending on the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card depending on which tier you fall into — up to 75% more to 2.625% cash back. Here's how the enhanced tiers break down:
- Gold Tier earns 25% more in credit card rewards, resulting in 1.875% cash back.
- Platinum Tier earns 50% more in credit card rewards, resulting in 2.25% cash back.
- Platinum Honors and Diamond Tiers earn 75% more in credit card rewards, resulting in 2.625% cash back.
If you have more than $100,000 in savings, the ability to earn 2.625% cashback on all purchases might be enticing enough to consider moving your deposits to Bank of America and Merrill.
Other Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card Benefits
0% Intro APR
The Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card offers a 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases. Plus, you'll get 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro period, a Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers of 18.24% - 28.24% will apply.
This can be a great feature if you're looking for spending flexibility for upcoming purchases or want to avoid paying interest on outstanding balances. Just make sure to do the math on how long before you'll pay off your balance, as there's a balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount of each transaction.
Digital Wallet Enablement
When you have the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card, you can easily add it to your mobile wallet such as Apple Pay or Samsung Pay.
$0 Annual Fee
The Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card charges a $0 annual fee. This makes the card even more valuable as your cashback earnings aren't hindered by having to pay an annual fee.
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card Redemption Options
The Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card makes redeeming cash back rewards simple. The options to redeem are:
- Deposit into your eligible Bank of America checking or savings account
- Credit into your eligible Merrill accounts, including 529 accounts
- Statement credit to your credit card
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card Comparison
The Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card is a valuable cashback credit card for those looking for simplified rewards without the hassle of tracking spending categories. However, there are dozens of other cashback credit cards worth considering to maximize the earnings on your purchases.
Here are a few alternatives that could offer you even more rewards:
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card vs. Citi® Double Cash Card
When it comes to no-annual-fee cashback cards, the Citi® Double Cash Card is the gold standard: Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
If you aren't taking advantage of the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program — or only have Gold Tier status — the Citi Double Cash will be more rewarding on everyday spending.
However, the $200 cash rewards bonus and the 0% Intro APR on the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card gives it a definite advantage to start for some cardholders.
If you're looking to pay down debt or finance a larger purchase, this card also comes with one of the best available introductory APR offers on balance transfers.
- Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases.
- 2% cash back on every purchase - 1% when you buy + 1% when you pay
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After that, the (Variable) APR will be 19.24% - 29.24% based on your creditworthiness
- Intro fee 3% of each transfer ($5 min) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, 5% of each transfer ($5 min).
- No annual fee
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card vs. Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card offers an identical cashback rate of 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day. The card also offers a similar $200 sign-up bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
A couple of aspects set the Capital One Quicksilver apart. First, you can earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. In addition, Capital One Quicksilver cardholders can enroll by November 14, 2024 to get complimentary six-month Uber One membership.
- One-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
- 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day
- 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day
- 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply)
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card vs. Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is a solid $0-annual-fee cashback credit card with potentially even better rewards than the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card. Cardholders Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. That beats the base earning rate of 1.5% of the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card — with an identical $0 annual fee.
Plus, the Active Cash Card offers a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. Also, the Active Cash Card offers up to $600 in cell phone protection.
Related: How to Get Free Cell Phone Insurance through Credit Cards
Bank of America Credit Card Application Restrictions
Bank of America doesn't have a defined rule for how many of their credit card products one person may have at a time. However, Bank of America has an unofficial 2/3/4 rule which restricts consumers to the following number of new Bank of America cards:
- 2 new cards in a 2-month period.
- 3 new cards in a 12-month period.
- 4 new cards in a 24-month period.
Some other rules have been reported online as to who the bank is approving. So, be sure to keep your applications few and far between to increase your odds of being approved.
Final Thoughts
The Bank of America Unlimited Cash Card is a great choice for someone who wants to earn cashback without a stiff annual fee. And that's particularly true for those that have substantial assets with Bank of America and/or Merill. The ability to earn 2.625% cashback on all purchases is simply unbeatable — especially considering the card's $0 annual fee.
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This is an amazing card and my go to card for everyday purchases. Earning 2.625% is truly unbeatable and the $0 annual fee makes this a no-brainer.