Bank of America Preferred Rewards: Unlock Exclusive Perks

The Bank of America Preferred Rewards program is a loyalty program that provides a range of financial perks if you’re a customer who maintains a qualifying balance across your Bank of America and Merrill accounts. With benefits that increase as your combined account balance grows, the program offers everything from waived banking fees and higher credit card rewards to discounted loan rates and higher savings account rates.

Key takeaways

• Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program is designed for loyal customers who have several Bank of America deposit accounts and Merrill investment accounts.
• The Preferred Rewards program is separated into five tiers, each requiring a different three-month combined average daily balance.
• The higher you ascend in the Preferred Rewards tiers, the more rewards and incentives you receive.
• To qualify for the program, you must have a Bank of America personal checking account and a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $20,000 in eligible Bank of America and Merrill accounts.

What is the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program?

Bank of America is one of the best banks for customer rewards. Its Preferred Rewards program lets you receive certain perks and benefits that vary depending on how much money you have combined in qualifying Bank of America accounts. The eligible accounts can include various Bank of America deposit accounts as well as Merrill investment accounts.

Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program is designed for loyal bank customers who have a considerable amount of money held at the bank. The program is divided into five tiers, each with a different minimum balance requirement. The options start with the Gold tier, which requires a minimum three-month average combined balance of $20,000, up to the Diamond Honors tier, which requires a minimum combined balance of $10 million.

The higher your tier, the more discounts and benefits you can receive. The perks of being a Bank of America Preferred Rewards member include:

• Waived select service and monthly maintenance fees
• Rewards bonuses on eligible Bank of America credit cards
• Interest rate discounts on auto loans and home equity loans
• Discounts on foreign currency orders
• Reduced mortgage origination fees
• Interest rate boosts on Bank of America Advantage Savings accounts
• Annual fee discounts on Merrill Guided Investing and more

How to qualify for the program

To qualify for the Preferred Rewards program, you must have an eligible Bank of America personal checking account and at least a three-month combined average daily balance of $20,000 across your eligible Bank of America deposit accounts and Merrill investment accounts.

Accounts that qualify for the program include Bank of America Advantage Banking (checking), savings, money market, CD, IRA, Merrill Cash Management Account (CMA), Merrill IRAs, 529 plans on your Merrill account, and revocable grantor trust accounts.

Once you’ve qualified, your membership in the Preferred Rewards program lasts for one year, regardless if your combined balance temporarily falls below $20,000. So, if you have at least $20,000 in your accounts, you should enroll in the program to take advantage of the benefits. Participating won’t cost you anything.

Bank of America reviews your program qualification annually. After a year, if you fall below the $20,000 minimum balance required, you have a three-month grace period to get it back up before you lose your Preferred Rewards benefits. And, even if you do lose your benefits, the bank can still reinstate you within 24 months if your balance increases to meet the minimum.

Bank of America Preferred Rewards tiers

The Bank of America Preferred Rewards program has five tiers based on your three-month average combined account balance. The lowest tier is the Gold tier, and the highest one is the Diamond Honors tier.

Bank of America reviews your account status monthly. As your qualifying balance increases, the bank automatically upgrades you to the next tier once you reach the minimum balance required.

The rewards you receive will increase as you ascend the tiers. For example, Gold tier members receive a 25% rewards bonus on eligible Bank of America credit cards. However, if you’re in the Diamond tier, you’ll receive a 75% rewards bonus on those credit cards.

The table below shows the five Bank of America Preferred Rewards tiers with their required three-month average combined balances and select benefits. We’ll cover each tier in detail.

Tier	Credit Card Rewards Bonus	Advantage Savings interest rate boost	Mortgage discounts
Gold ($20,000 - $49,999)	25%	5%	$200 off origination fees
Platinum ($50,000 - $99,999)	50%	10%	$400 off origination fees
Platinum Honors ($100,000 - $999,999)	75%	20%	$600 off origination fees
Diamond ($1 million - $9.99 million)	75%	20%	0.250% interest rate reduction (with PayPlan)
Diamond Honors ($10 million+)	75%	20%	0.375% interest rate reduction (with PayPlan)

Gold tier

The lowest tier in Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program is the Gold tier, which requires a three-month combined average daily balance of $20,000 to $49,999. With this tier, you’ll avoid select banking service and monthly maintenance fees (for four savings and four checking accounts).

One of the main advantages of the Preferred Rewards program is getting discounts on mortgages and car loans. With the Gold tier, you’ll get $200 off origination fees if you take out a new mortgage or refinance your current one. If you need an auto loan, you’ll get an interest rate discount of 0.25%. Plus, you’ll get a 0.125% rate discount on a home equity line of credit (HELOC) if you need cash to remodel your home, consolidate debt, or accomplish other goals.

Other Gold tier benefits include:

• 25% rewards bonus on the bank’s eligible credit cards
• 5% interest rate boost on a Bank of America Advantage Savings account
• 1% exchange rate discount for online and mobile foreign currency orders
• 0.05% discount on Merrill Guided Investing annual fees

Platinum tier

You reach the Platinum tier with a three-month combined average daily balance of $50,000 to $99,999. If you’re already a Gold tier member, you’ll enjoy an automatic upgrade to the Platinum tier when your three-month combined account balance reaches this tier’s minimum.

Like with the Gold tier, you can avoid select banking and monthly maintenance fees. However, you also get 12 free out-of-network ATM transactions per year (up to one per statement cycle).

The Platinum tier gets you reduced fees and discounts at a higher level. For example, you’ll receive a $400 discount on mortgage origination fees and a 0.250% interest rate discount on a HELOC. The rate discount for auto loans increases to 0.35%, and the credit card rewards bonus jumps to 50%.

Other Platinum tier perks include:

• 10% interest rate boost on your Bank of America Advantage Savings account
• 1.5% exchange rate discount on mobile and online foreign currency orders
• Annual program fee discount of 0.10% on Merrill Guided Investing accounts

Platinum Honors tier

If you often use non-Bank of America ATMs, the Platinum Honors tier will benefit you because it gives you unlimited fee-free transactions at out-of-network ATMs. To qualify, you’ll need a three-month combined average daily balance of $100,000 to $999,999 across your eligible Bank of America and Merrill accounts.

Once you reach the Platinum Honors tier, your benefits and discounts increase as follows:

• 20% interest rate booster on your Bank of America Advantage Savings account
• 75% rewards bonus on your Bank of America credit cards
• $600 reduction on mortgage origination fees
• 0.375% HELOC interest rate discount
• 0.50% interest rate discount on new auto loan applications
• 2% exchange rate discount on mobile and online foreign currency orders
• 0.15% discount on annual Merrill Guided Investing fees

Diamond tier

The Diamond tier of Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program is where you want to be if you travel often and complete transactions abroad. It offers unlimited fee-free international transactions and ATM use.

To reach the Diamond tier, you’ll need a considerable amount of money in your eligible accounts – a three-month combined average daily balance of $1 million to $9.99 million. But in exchange, you get access to exclusive lifestyle benefits that include discounts and incentives on travel, fashion brands, dining, golf courses, spa resorts, and vehicle buying and leasing.

Several benefits in the Diamond tier are the same as the Platinum tier offers. For example, the credit card rewards bonus, savings account boost, auto loan rate discount, foreign exchange rate discount, and Merrill Guiding Investing annual fee discount remain alike.

But if you’re a current or aspiring homeowner, the Diamond tier offers attractive incentives, including a 0.625% interest rate discount on a HELOC and a 0.250% interest rate reduction on mortgages. You must enroll in PayPlan, Bank of America’s automatic payment service, to receive the mortgage rate discount. If you don’t, you’ll still get the 0.125% discount provided under the Diamond tier.

Diamond Honors tier

The top tier of Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program is the Diamond Honors tier, which requires a three-month combined average daily balance of $10 million or more. It’s very similar to the Diamond tier except for the discounts offered on mortgages and HELOCs.

As a Diamond Honors tier member, you can receive a 0.375% interest rate reduction on mortgages with PayPlan enrollment and a 0.750% interest rate discount on new HELOCs.

How to enroll in Preferred Rewards

Enrolling in the Preferred Rewards program is easy and free. To qualify, you must have a Bank of America personal checking account and a three-month combined average daily balance of at least $20,000 across your eligible Bank of America deposit accounts and Merrill investment accounts.

You can enroll before you meet the $20,000 minimum, but you must reach that level within 30 days of opening your Bank of America checking account. Once you reach that level, the bank automatically enrolls you in the Gold tier of the Preferred Rewards program. The benefits you receive will become available within 30 days of enrollment.

You can move up in the program’s tiers by increasing the amount of money you have in your eligible accounts. The bank reviews your three-month average daily balance every month, and once it reaches the minimum for the next tier level, you will get an automatic upgrade.

Remember that the program is based on a three-month average daily balance, so increasing the balance in just one month may not entitle you to an upgrade.

Say you’ve been in the Gold tier with a balance of $40,000 for the past seven months and then increase your balance to $60,000 in the eighth month. At that point, your three-month average daily balance would be about $46,667. However, if you have a $60,000 balance in the ninth month, your three-month average daily balance would be $53,333, qualifying you for Platinum.

Which credit cards qualify for the program?

All the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program tiers offer reward bonuses on eligible credit cards through the bank. These range from 25% to 75%, depending on your tier.

Here’s a list of the Bank of America credit cards that you can use with the program.

• Bank of America^® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
• Bank of America^® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card
• Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card
• Bank of America^® Premium Rewards^® credit card
• Bank of America^®️ Premium Rewards^® Elite Credit Card
• Bank of America^® Customized Cash Rewards credit card for Students
• Bank of America^® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card for Students
• Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card for Students
• Bank of America^® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card
• Bank of America^® Unlimited Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card
• Bank of America Travel Rewards Secured
• Susan G. Komen^® Customized Cash Rewards Visa^® credit card from Bank of America
• Norwegian Cruise Line World Mastercard

How to get the most out of Bank of America Preferred Rewards

No matter which tier you’re in, you can enjoy many benefits through the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. To make the most of it, consider the recommendations below.

Get and use an eligible Bank of America credit card

Bank of America offers some of the best rewards credit cards available, and its Preferred Rewards program can help you earn even more. All tiers provide a rewards bonus on eligible Bank of America cards.

For example, if you have a Bank of America^® Customized Cash Rewards credit card that earns 3% on select purchases, you’d earn $3 cash back on a $100 transaction. As a Gold tier member, you get a 25% rewards bonus, which means you earn $3.75 in cash back on the same transaction. Your 50% rewards bonus as a Platinum tier member would equate to $4.50 per $100, and your 75% rewards bonus would get you $5.25 per $100 if you're a Diamond tier member.

Open a Bank of America Advantage Savings account.

As a Preferred Rewards member, you can receive a 5% to 20% interest rate boost on your Bank of America Advantage Savings account, which offers a standard rate of 0.01%-0.02% (as of 11/1/24).

Take advantage of loan discounts

Whether you’re buying or refinancing a home, purchasing a new vehicle, or considering a HELOC, Bank of America’s Preferred Reward program offers discounts you’ll want to utilize. For example, you can get a reduction in mortgage origination fees between $200 and $600, depending on whether you’re on the Gold, Platinum, or Platinum Honors tier.

If you’re a Preferred Rewards member who is buying a new car, you can get an interest rate discount between 0.25% and 0.50%. You can also receive interest rate discounts anywhere from 0.125% to 0.750% on new HELOCs.

Invest with Merrill Guided Investing

Merrill, the investment arm of Bank of America, offers an advisory program called Merrill Guided Investing, where Merrill professionals help build, monitor, and rebalance your portfolio. You usually have to pay a program fee of 0.45%.

Merill calculates the fee monthly based on your account balance from the prior month. So, if your account balance at the end of July is $2,000, then your cost for August is $0.75 ($2,000 x .0045 /12). However, as a Preferred Rewards member, you can get a discount on that fee for anywhere between 0.05% and 0.15%.

For example, being a Platinum tier member would get you a 0.10% annual program fee discount, so your fee would be 0.35% rather than 0.45%. With the same calculations used above, your cost for August would be $0.58 ($2,000 x .0035 /12).

FAQs

Bottom line

The Bank of America Preferred Rewards program offers substantial benefits if you have a significant amount of money in qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts and Merrill investment accounts. From waived fees and enhanced credit card rewards to discounted loan rates and investment fee reductions, the program is a valuable option for loyal Bank of America customers. While the minimum balance requirement may be a hurdle for some, if you can meet it, the program's perks make it worth participating in.