The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card lives up to its name with unlimited 1.5% cash back on purchases. Add in an intro-APR offer and no annual fee, and you have a sound pick for your non-category purchases. Read our full Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card review for more info.
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
Credit Score:
Good/Excellent (670-850)
Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Intro APR Info IconCircle with letter I in it. See terms.
Purchases: See terms.
Balance Transfers: See terms.
Welcome Offer Info IconCircle with letter I in it. $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening
$200 cash rewards
A solid pick for a one-card wallet with a nice sign-up bonus, great 0% intro APR offer, and simple rewards program. It's an even better pick for Bank of America customers in the Preferred Rewards program.
- Unlimited cash back
- Sign-up bonus
- No annual fee
- Great 0% intro APR offer
- No bonus categories
- Balance transfer fee
- Foreign transaction fee
- $200 online cash rewards bonus after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
- If you're a Preferred Rewards member, you can earn 25%-75% more cash back on every purchase. That means you could earn 1.87%-2.62% cash back on every purchase with Preferred Rewards.
- No annual fee.
- No limit to the amount of cash back you can earn and cash rewards don’t expire.
- Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
- This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.
Full Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card review
This credit card is a good fit for: Bank of America Preferred Rewards members and one-card wallet-seekers who want unlimited cash back rewards with no categories to track.
Top perks
This card is a pretty standard unlimited cash back card for most folks, but it really excels for Preferred Rewards members.
Unlimited 1.5% cash back
Cardholders will earn 1.5% cash back on purchases, no matter the category, with no limit on how much cash back you can earn. And your cash back rewards won't expire so long as your account remains open and in good standing. While this is a solid cash back rate, it's pretty standard for unlimited cards. If you have the good credit required for this card, you can likely qualify for several cards that earn higher unlimited rates.
0% intro APR
A 0% intro APR for 18 billing cycles on both purchases and balance transfers made within 60 days is highly competitive among cash back credit cards. This feature gives cardholders ample time to pay off card balances without interest, whether it's financing the cost of a big purchase or helping to pay off debt faster with balance transfers.
Bonus rewards for Preferred Rewards members
If you're a Bank of America banking and investment customer, this card could be a real stand-out. That's because Preferred Rewards members earn bonus cash back on their rewards cards. To qualify for the bonus, you need to meet minimum balance requirements in your Bank of America savings and Merrill investment accounts. The tiers to that program are:
- Gold: $20,000 to $49,999 combined balance minimum, 25% bonus rewards
- Platinum: $50,000 to 99,999 combined balance minimum, 50% bonus rewards
- Platinum Honors: $100,000-plus combined balance minimum, 75% bonus rewards
So, if you are a Gold member, you'll earn 1.875% total cash back on purchases. Platinum members will earn 2.25% total unlimited cash back, and Platinum Honors members will earn a whopping 2.625% total cash back rewards. This turns a pretty typical unlimited cash back card into something quite competitive.
Read more: Best Rewards Credit Cards
$200 sign-up bonus
Another perk for new cardholders comes in the form of a decent sign-up bonus. Eligible applicants can earn a $200 sign-up bonus for spending just $1,000 on their new card in the first 90 days of account opening. This bonus is on par with many other no annual fee cards, and higher than a few. The $1,000 spending requirement is a bit higher than several other comparable card bonuses, but it should still be attainable for most cardholders.
No annual fee
As we've come to expect of unlimited cash back cards, this one has no annual fee just for keeping your account open. Having no annual fee is useful for a flat-rate cash back card, especially if you're using it as a part of an overall card strategy to maximize your rewards. That's because you won't have to worry about trying to earn enough in rewards to make up for an annual fee.
Alternatives to consider
If you want better unlimited cash back: The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card comes with unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. Plus, the card also has a competitive sign-up bonus.
If you want bonus rewards on everyday purchases: The Chase Freedom Unlimited® not only offers the same unlimited 1.5% cash back, but it also has 3% cash back on dining and drugstore purchases, as well as 5% back on travel purchased through Chase.
As of Sep. 30, 2022
| Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card | Chase Freedom Unlimited® |
Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars. 5.00 stars
Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for
you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. | Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars. 5.00 stars
Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for
you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs. |
Apply Now for Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card On Wells Fargo's Secure Website. | Apply Now for Chase Freedom Unlimited® On Chase's Secure Website. |
Read Full Review | Read Full Review |
| Rates & Fees | |
Credit Rating Requirement: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending
decisions. | Credit Rating Requirement: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending
decisions. |
Welcome Offer: Welcome Offer info $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $1000 in purchases in the first three months $200 cash rewards offer | Welcome Offer: Welcome Offer info Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases. Up to $300 cash back |
Rewards Program: 2% cash rewards | Rewards Program: Info IconCircle with letter I in it. Enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5% on all other purchases 1.5% - 5% cash back |
Intro APR: Intro APR Tooltip 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. The balance transfer fee is 3% for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5%; min: $5 Purchases: 0% intro APR, 15 months from account opening Balance Transfers: 0% intro APR, 15 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers | Intro APR: Purchases: 0% Intro APR on Purchases, 15 months Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers, 15 months |
Regular APR: 17.99%, 22.99%, or 27.99% (variable) | Regular APR: 17.24% - 25.99% Variable |
Annual Fee: $0 | Annual Fee: Annual Fee Tooltip N/A $0 |
Highlights:
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Apply Now for Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card On Wells Fargo's Secure Website. | Apply Now for Chase Freedom Unlimited® On Chase's Secure Website. |
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What could be improved
The lack of bonus categories means this card blends into the pack, and the extra fees will make it expensive for some users.
No bonus cash back categories
The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card has a single cash back rewards rate on purchases. While this is good for purchases that don't fit into common rewards categories, those purchases that do fit into popular categories will be earning less than they would with other cards. You can even find cards that have the same unlimited cash back rate as well as bonus rewards categories, like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® that has 1.5% cash back on purchases, plus 3% back on dining and drugstore purchases.
Balance transfer fee
Although the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card has a generous intro-APR offer for balance transfers, it only applies to transfers made in the first 60 days. Plus, all balance transfers will incur a balance transfer fee of $10 or 3%, whichever is greater. This can add a lot of extra cost onto transferring a balance, which easily eats into some of the savings you'd see from the lower interest rate. It also reduces the total amount you can transfer. If you're getting a big APR reduction, the balance transfer fee can be worth paying, but it's something to factor in.
Foreign transaction fee
As nice as it can be to earn unlimited rewards on purchases, there are some cases where you simply shouldn't use this card, such as when making foreign transactions. That's because this card comes with a 3% foreign transaction fee on both transactions made in a foreign currency and on transactions in U.S. dollars made or processed outside of the country. Foreign transaction fees are added on top of any other fees.
Suggested credit score
The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card is intended for cardholders with at least good credit, which typically means credit scores of 670 or better. Bank of America will look at your entire credit profile when evaluating your application, not just your credit scores. So, you could potentially qualify with a lower credit score, but you'll have the best chances of approval if you have a good to excellent credit score.
Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards card is right for you if:
Unlimited cash back rewards are always useful, and the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card pairs them with a generous intro-APR offer and a competitive sign-up bonus. But the real winners with this card will be Preferred Rewards members who can boost their cash back with the bonus rewards offered to members.
That being said, unless you're a Preferred Rewards member, this is a pretty typical unlimited cash back card with little to make it stand out from the crowd. Other credit cards have higher unlimited rates or bonus rewards on certain purchases that may be far more lucrative for regular cardholders.
FAQs
Credit limits for the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card vary by cardholder from around $1,000 to over $50,000. Bank of America uses several factors, including your annual income and credit history, to set your credit limit upon approving you for the card.
Bank of America cash rewards don't expire as long as the card account is open and in good standing.
Yes, you can use the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card internationally. It charges a foreign transaction fee of 3% of the purchase amount in U.S. dollars.