The Bank of America Preferred Rewards program has long been one of the most distinctive features of BofA credit cards. The basic idea is simple: if you keep enough deposits or investments with Bank of America or Merrill Edge, you can receive a bonus on your BofA credit card rewards.
The most popular tier has historically been the $100k tier, which gave a 75% rewards bonus. This turned a card that normally earns 1.5% cash back on everything into a very strong 2.625% cash back card with no category restrictions. That uncapped 2.625% earning rate was extremely competitive.
However, all good things must come to an end. Bank of America has officially changed the Preferred Rewards program and renamed it BofA Rewards. The changes went into effect on May 27, 2026.
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Changes to the Credit Card Rewards Bonus
First, let’s review the old Preferred Rewards tiers:
Levels Deposit/investment requirement Rewards bonus
No level $0+ 10%
Gold $20k+ 25%
Platinum $50k+ 50%
Platinum Honors $100k+ 75%
Diamond $1M+ 75%
Under the new BofA Rewards structure, the tier names and credit card rewards bonuses are:
Levels Deposit/investment requirement Rewards bonus
Member $0+ 10%
Preferred Plus $30k+ 25%
Preferred Honors $100k+ 50%
Premier $1M+ 75%
The biggest change is obvious: the 75% rewards bonus, which previously required only $100k in assets, now requires $1M. The $100k tier only receives a 50% rewards bonus going forward.
To be honest, this is not completely impossible to understand. After years of inflation, there are simply more people with $100k in assets, and the old 75% bonus was arguably too good to last forever.
New Subscription Credit
There is one new benefit being added: a subscription credit for select streaming and digital subscription services.
The Preferred Honors tier ($100k+) receives an $8/month subscription credit, while the Premier tier ($1M+) receives a $15/month credit.
Levels Deposit/investment requirement Rewards bonus Subscription Credit
Member $0+ 10% -
Preferred Plus $30k+ 25% -
Preferred Honors $100k+ 50% $8/month
Premier $1M+ 75% $15/month
The eligible merchants are:
You need to activate this benefit first, and payments must be made with your Bank of America checking account debit card.
For these services, it’s pretty hard to fully offset the subscription cost with the $8/month credit tier—you’ll generally still have to pay a little out of pocket. If you qualify for the $15/month tier, though, you should be able to get some of these subscriptions essentially for free.
Where Do Your Assets Need to Be Held to Count?
Your assets can be held in a BoA checking or savings account, or in a Merrill investment account, Merrill Edge (Merrill and BoA are under the same corporate umbrella). One important point: assets held in a 401(k) do not count.
If you plan to keep $100k+ in assets with BoA/Merrill, where should you actually put that much money? Keeping such a large balance in a BoA checking account makes little sense because it earns essentially no interest, and BoA savings accounts have historically paid an insulting 0.01% APY. The opportunity cost of leaving a large amount of cash there is simply too high.
So in practice, the only sensible place is a Merrill Edge investment account. Stocks are basically the same regardless of which brokerage holds them, and Merrill Edge is a $0-commission broker that is perfectly decent, so it does not have any major disadvantages compared with other brokerages.
Merrill Edge Eligibility Restrictions
If you are a U.S. citizen or green card holder, you can apply directly online. Note that Merrill is very strict about immigration documentation and will require you to upload a copy of your green card.
If you are neither a U.S. citizen nor a green card holder, you will need to apply by phone or at a branch, and you must meet at least one of the following requirements:
- Merrill used to have very strict requirements for applicants who were neither citizens nor green card holders. The policy has recently changed, and people on working visas such as H-1B are now allowed to apply! Customer service specifically emphasized that student visa holders are still not eligible;
- Merrill has partnerships with more than 100 employers. If you happen to work for one of those companies, you may be eligible to open an account;
- You can also qualify by depositing $250,000 within 90 days of account opening. In addition, your I-94 and visa generally need to have at least 12 months of validity remaining. This requirement may be somewhat flexible: if your visa has less than 12 months but at least 6 months remaining, you may be able to provide supplemental documents such as an I-797. You will also need to provide proof of work authorization, such as an EAD card or I-797. For this route, Merrill will mail you a paper application form, which you complete and mail back. Alternatively, it appears that you may be able to complete the application with an investment specialist at a branch.
Which Credit Cards Receive the Bonus?
The main cards that benefit are the following:
BoA Customized Cash Rewards ($0 Annual Fee)
The card’s standard cash back structure is:
- Choose one of the following categories to earn 3% cash back: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement/furnishings. Among these, online shopping has by far the broadest coverage (see the official website for eligible merchants), so this is generally the category we recommend;
- 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (such as Sam’s Club);
- 1% cash back on all other purchases;
- The 3% and 2% categories share a combined $2,500 spending cap per quarter. After reaching the cap, purchases earn only 1% cash back.
Suppose you have $100k in assets at Merrill Edge and qualify for the Preferred Honors tier. With the +50% rewards bonus, the effective cash back rates become: 4.5% cash back in your selected category (including online shopping), 3% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and 1.5% on all other purchases! A 4.5% return on online shopping is extremely strong. If you have $1M in assets and qualify for the Premier tier, it gets even better.
BoA Unlimited Cash Rewards ($0 Annual Fee)
The card’s standard cash back structure is:
- 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Suppose you have $100k in assets at Merrill Edge and qualify for the Preferred Honors tier. With the +50% rewards bonus, you would earn 2.25% cash back on all purchases! That is an extremely strong return for completely uncategorized spending. If you have $1M in assets and qualify for the Premier tier, you would earn 2.625% cash back on everything, which is even better.
BoA Travel Rewards ($0 Annual Fee)
The card’s standard rewards structure is:
- Earn 1.5x points on all purchases;
- Points can be redeemed at a fixed 1:1 rate toward travel purchases, so their value is effectively equivalent to cash back.
Suppose you have $100k in assets at Merrill Edge and qualify for the Preferred Honors tier. With the +50% rewards bonus, you would earn 2.25x points on all purchases! That is an extremely strong return for uncategorized spending. If you have $1M in assets and qualify for the Premier tier, you would earn 2.625x points on everything, which is even better.
BoA Premium Rewards ($95 Annual Fee)
The card’s standard rewards structure is:
- Earn 2x points on travel and dining, and 1.5x points on all other purchases;
- Points can be redeemed directly for statement credit at a 1:1 ratio.
Suppose you have $100k in assets at Merrill Edge and qualify for the Preferred Honors tier. With the +50% rewards bonus, you would earn 3x points on travel and dining and 2.25x points on all other purchases! That is an extremely strong return for uncategorized spending. If you have $1M in assets and qualify for the Premier tier, you would earn 3.5x points on travel and dining and 2.625x points on all other purchases, which is even better.
BoA Premium Rewards Elite ($550 Annual Fee)
The card’s standard rewards structure is:
- Earn 2x points on travel and dining, and 1.5x points on all other purchases;
- Points can be redeemed directly for statement credit at a 1:1 ratio.
Suppose you have $100k in assets at Merrill Edge and qualify for the Preferred Honors tier. With the +50% rewards bonus, you would earn 3x points on travel and dining and 2.25x points on all other purchases! That is an extremely strong return for uncategorized spending. If you have $1M in assets and qualify for the Premier tier, you would earn 3.5x points on travel and dining and 2.625x points on all other purchases, which is even better.
Summary
After receiving the rewards bonus, several BoA credit cards become extremely competitive for online shopping and uncategorized spending.
If you move $1M in assets to BoA/Merrill, you can receive a 75% rewards bonus: 5.25% cash back on online shopping and 2.625% back on uncategorized purchases. The $1M threshold is obviously very high, but $100k is attainable for quite a few people. At that level, the 50% rewards bonus is already quite attractive: 4.5% cash back on online shopping and 2.25% back on uncategorized purchases.
The biggest obstacle is eligibility. If you are a U.S. citizen, green card holder, or have an eligible working visa, you can open a Merrill Edge investment account. From there, depending on your financial situation, you can transfer some of your existing stock holdings to Merrill Edge to qualify for the corresponding rewards tier.