How to Redeem Bank of America Travel Rewards

The Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card is a great card for frequent travelers. With a very generous welcome offer of 25,000 online bonus points if you spend $1,000 within the first 90 days of account opening, this card provides many opportunities to earn bonus points. The Travel Rewards card also has no annual fee, which is a great deal given its 1.5x points per dollar rewards rate. After earning, you can redeem your Bank of America Travel Rewards points by logging into the Bank of America site, signing into the mobile app, or calling (888) 268-7800. 

Redemption options

After logging into either the Bank of America app or website, you can choose to redeem your Travel Rewards in a variety of ways. First, you can use points to get statement credits to help pay off travel-related purchases. Statement credits will be applied directly to your account, and you will not have to pay as much for purchases you make. These statement credits cover any travel-related expenses, which is beyond the typically thought of flights and hotels. Tickets for amusement parks, zoos, art galleries, and aquariums also count. While redeeming points for statement credits, one point is worth about one cent. To select this option, you must have at least 2,500 points in your account, worth $25 in travel.

You can also redeem Bank of America Travel Rewards for cash back via deposits into your bank account or paper check. Your points will be transferred into your bank account or mailed to you. To select this redemption option, you must have at least 2,500 points (worth $15 in cash back) and a bank account with Bank of America, Merrill Edge, or Merrill Lynch. The value of points is much lower for cash back than travel.

Finally, if you have more than 3,125 Bank of America Travel Rewards points, you can buy gift cards. Gift cards range from Amazon, to iTunes, to retail stores like Macy’s. It is worth noting that the value of points significantly goes down in this category, so you will not be getting as large of a reward with gift cards as opposed to travel statement credits.

Takeaways

This is a great card for frequent travelers. Cardholders can quickly build up points with the large 25,000-point welcome offer and the 1.5x rewards rate. With these points, cardholders can buy statement credits to alleviate travel expenses or receive cash back and gift cards. However, the best deal is to redeem for travel-related statement credits, since points lose value in the latter categories.