How many Bank of America Premium Rewards points for a flight?

An explanation of Bank of America's rewards for travel

Saranya Das Sharma

June 5, 2020

Credit Cards

Bank of America has a range of rewards cards on which you can redeem points for travel. Each point earned on your card is equal to 1 cent, which can be redeemed for travel-related expenses like buying plane tickets, booking hotel stays, etc. This means that a $1000 plane ticket will be equal to 100,000 rewards points. However, it is important to note that Bank of America does not have partnerships with individual airlines or hotel groups, although you can book flights directly from the Bank of America website. This can be a good thing though because your BoA points can be used to pay for fun travel experiences.

BoA has three main rewards cards: the Premium Rewards Card, the Cash Rewards Card, and the Travel Rewards card. Although each of them provides points that can be redeemed for travel, they have some key differences. Here’s a breakdown

	Travel Rewards Card	Premium Rewards Card	Cash Rewards Card
Signup Bonus	25,000 bonus points for $1,000 spent in the first 90 days of account opening	50,000 bonus points for $3,000 spent in the first 90 days of account opening	$200 cashback for $1,000 spent in the first 90 days of account opening
Rewards Program	1.5x points on every purchase	2x points on dining and travel 1.5x points and up for non-category bonuses	3% cashback on a category of your choice (which can be travel) 2% cashback on grocery stores
Rewards Redemption	Statement credit for travel-related purchases	Cashback, travel purchases and gift cards	Through statement credit, cheque, direct account deposit or deposit into an eligible 529 account
Other Features	Free FICO score Fraud protection	$100 credit for Global Entry $100 airline credit Trip delay, cancellation, and baggage loss insurance	Visa signature travel protections and benefits
Foreign Transaction Fee	$0	$0	$0

Although this is a generally good and simple rewards program, the number of rewards points you earn can be greatly multiplied if you enroll in BoA’s Preferred Rewards Program. The Preferred Rewards Program consists of three tiers, gold, platinum, and platinum honors (with Platinum Honors requiring $100,000 placed in qualifying Bank of America and Merill accounts). If you are a Platinum Honors member, you would get 2.625x instead of 1.5x points on the Travel Rewards card and the Premium Rewards card and a 5.25% cashback instead of a 3% cashback for the Cash Rewards card, which will make travel purchases even cheaper and more economical.

Due to its lack of foreign transaction fee, additional benefits, and solid rewards program, especially when enrolled in the Preferred Rewards Program, the Premium Rewards Card is BoA's best rewards option for frequent travelers.