Does the BankAmericard® Earn Rewards? (And the Legacy Cards That Did)
Does the BankAmericard® Earn Rewards? (And the Legacy Cards That Did)
No, today’s card doesn’t. Here’s what it offers instead, and what its predecessors used to pay.
Written by
Jackie Lam
Jackie Lam is a credit card writer for BestMoney.com and is based in Los Angeles. Her previous writing experience includes work for various publications. Additionally, Jackie is an accredited AFC® financial counselor and educator with a passion for helping artists, freelancers, and gig economy workers manage their finances.
The short answer is no. The BankAmericard® Credit Card doesn’t earn points, cash back, or miles on anything you buy. That’s not an oversight; it’s the trade-off the card is built around. But it wasn’t always the only BankAmericard-branded option, and if you’ve heard of a version that paid rewards, you’re probably thinking of one of two legacy cards.
Key Insights
No rewards on the current card: Today’s BankAmericard doesn’t earn rewards of any kind. Its value comes from no annual fee, no penalty APR, and a long intro APR.
A renamed card: The old BankAmericard Cash Rewards card lives on as the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card.
A discontinued card: BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards accounts were converted to the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards card in May 2023.
Where to go for cash back: If earning cash back is the priority, Bank of America’s Customized Cash Rewards and Unlimited Cash Rewards cards are the better fit.
Earn 6% cash back for the first year in the category of your choice. You’ll automatically earn 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. After the first year from account opening, you’ll earn 3% cash back on purchases in your choice category. Earn 6% and 2% cash back on the first $2,500 in combined purchases each quarter in the choice category, and at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, then earn unlimited 1% thereafter. After the 3% first-year bonus offer ends, you will earn 3% and 2% cash back on these purchases up to the quarterly maximum.
BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards
Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. No limit to the amount of cash back you can earn and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
Does the BankAmericard Earn Rewards?
No. The BankAmericard credit card today doesn’t have a rewards program of any kind. There are no points, no cash back, no miles, and no welcome bonus for new applicants. Its value proposition is built around what it saves you rather than what it pays you back.
What Do You Get Instead of Rewards?
Instead of rewards, the BankAmericard offers three things:
$0 annual fee
No penalty APR, so paying late won’t automatically raise your interest rate
0% Intro APR for 21 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the Intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that’s currently 15.24% - 26.24% will apply. A 5% fee applies to all balance transfers. Balance transfers may not be used to pay any account provided by Bank of America.
Once the intro period ends, the standard variable APR is currently 15.24% - 26.24%. That range starts lower than on Bank of America's cash-back cards, and its intro window is longer. If you’re planning to pay down a balance over time, that combination can be worth more than a rewards rate.
Before you apply, make sure the payoff math works with your budget. A long promotional window does the most for you when you go in with a plan to clear the balance before it ends.
Walk In With a Plan
The offer is built for the person who walks in with a plan. Without one, the window doesn’t shrink the debt. It just moves the debt to a new address and pauses the clock. Which means the card question answers itself once you run one number.
What Happened to the BankAmericard Cash Rewards Card?
If you remember a rewards-earning card with the BankAmericard name, it was likely the BankAmericard Cash Rewards credit card. Bank of America has since renamed it and folded it into its current cash-back lineup as the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card, which lets you choose the category where you earn a higher rate. The BankAmericard name is no longer attached to a cash-back product.
What About BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards?
There was also a BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards card, a niche product that paid a small quarterly cash reward for making on-time payments rather than for spending.
That card has been discontinued. According to Doctor of Credit, which published Bank of America’s notice to cardholders, existing accounts were converted to the Unlimited Cash Rewards card on May 16, 2023. If you still have a card with the old name, check your statement or call Bank of America to confirm what your account has become.
If you do have the Unlimited Cash Rewards card, you can earn more from its unlimited cash back if you already bank with Bank of America or invest with Merrill, suggests Jose M. Sanchez, founder of Norte Wallet Intelligence.
That’s because BofA Rewards™ members get a bonus on top of their credit card cash back, based on the combined balances they keep in qualifying Bank of America deposit and Merrill investment accounts. Here’s how it adds up on the Unlimited Cash Rewards card:
BofA Rewards Tier
Minimum Combined Balance
Rewards Bonus
Effective Rate on Unlimited Cash Rewards
Member
None (qualifying checking account required)
10%
1.65%
Preferred Plus
$30,000
25%
1.87%
Preferred Honors
$100,000
50%
2.25%
Premier
$1,000,000
75%
2.62%
The same boost applies to the Customized Cash Rewards card, where a 3% cash-back reward in your choice category becomes 4.5% at the Preferred Honors tier or 5.25% at the Premier tier.
Why Doesn’t Bank of America Offer Rewards on This Card?
Every card is priced around a trade-off. Rewards cards often carry higher APRs, and sometimes an annual fee, to help pay for the points or cash back they offer. The BankAmericard takes a different approach:
No rewards to fund: The card focuses on keeping costs down instead of paying money back.
Lower costs: It pairs a $0 annual fee with a lower starting APR than Bank of America’s cash-back cards and a longer 0% intro period.
It’s built for people who’d rather save on interest than earn points.
If you're paying off a balance within the BankAmericard's intro APR period, remember that the window doesn’t erase your debt; it pauses the clock. What you do before your 0% intro APR ends is what matters, says Chancey.
His advice: take your balance, divide it by the number of promotional billing cycles, and look at the result.
If that monthly figure fits your real budget, this kind of card is a genuine tool, and a long window like [this one] is exactly the kind worth having, because more months means a smaller required payment. If the number doesn’t fit, no window is long enough, and the honest move is dealing with the budget before the transfer, not after.
Bank of America renamed its banking relationship program from Preferred Rewards to BofA Rewards in May 2026, and one of its perks is a rewards bonus on eligible credit cards. That bonus has nothing to work with on a BankAmericard account, since the card doesn’t earn rewards in the first place.
The card’s other account protections, including the $0 Liability Guarantee for fraudulent transactions and optional Balance Connect® overdraft protection for a linked Bank of America checking account, are still available regardless of your BofA Rewards status.
If You Want Rewards, Which Card Should You Get Instead?
If earning cash back matters to you, Bank of America has two options separate from the BankAmericard:
Customized Cash Rewards: Lets you pick a cash-back category, such as gas and EV charging, online shopping, or dining, to earn an elevated rate in.
Unlimited Cash Rewards: Offers a flat rate with less to manage. It’s the same card legacy Better Balance Rewards accounts were converted to.
Both are worth comparing directly if rewards are your priority.
Sanchez suggests thinking of rewards like a coupon: a perk that should fit the life you already have, not drive your spending.
Let Spending Pick the Card
Go with the Customized Cash Rewards card if there is a clear category already taking a big share of your month.
Does the current BankAmericard offer any rewards at all?
No. It doesn’t earn points, cash back, or miles. Its value comes from no annual fee, no penalty APR, and a long intro APR instead.
What happened to BankAmericard Cash Rewards?
It’s now marketed as the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card, a separate product from the current BankAmericard.
What happened to BankAmericard Better Balance Rewards?
It was discontinued, and accounts were converted to the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card in May 2023. Contact Bank of America directly if you’re unsure what an older account has become.
Should I get the BankAmericard if I want to earn rewards?
No. The BankAmericard doesn’t earn rewards, so look at Bank of America’s Customized Cash Rewards or Unlimited Cash Rewards cards instead, both of which are built to earn cash back. Before you apply, it’s worth comparing cash-back credit cards to see how Bank of America’s rewards lineup stacks up.
The Bottom Line
The BankAmericard doesn’t earn rewards, and it isn’t trying to. It’s a no-annual-fee card built around a long intro APR and a lower standard rate, which makes it a strong fit if paying down a balance is your goal. If you’re after cash back, the legacy BankAmericard rewards cards now live on as Bank of America’s Customized Cash Rewards and Unlimited Cash Rewards cards, and BofA Rewards members can boost what those cards earn.
Why Trust BestMoney?
Our mission at BestMoney is to make financial decisions less overwhelming. This article was produced by the BestMoney credit cards editorial team, which reviews and compares financial products to help readers make informed decisions.
Fact-checked by Jackie Lam, a credit card writer for BestMoney.com based in Los Angeles. She’s an accredited AFC® financial counselor and educator with a passion for helping artists, freelancers, and gig economy workers manage their finances. Her writing has appeared in a range of publications throughout her career.
BestMoney may receive compensation from some of the card issuers featured on this page, including Bank of America. This may influence which products we cover and where they appear, but it does not affect our editorial evaluations. Not all card offers available in the market are included.Card details are accurate as of publishing date and are subject to change. Your APR will depend on your creditworthiness. Terms and conditions apply. See the issuer’s website for current rates, fees, and full terms.All cards are subject to credit approval. Prequalification is not a guarantee of approval. Checking prequalification uses a soft inquiry that won’t affect your credit score; submitting a full application results in a hard inquiry.Examples are for illustration only and are rounded. They assume no additional purchases, on-time payments, and no other fees. Your actual costs will depend on your APR, balance, and payment behavior.
Written byJackie Lam
Jackie Lam is a credit card writer for BestMoney.com and is based in Los Angeles. Her previous writing experience includes work for various publications. Additionally, Jackie is an accredited AFC® financial counselor and educator with a passion for helping artists, freelancers, and gig economy workers manage their finances.
