Bank of America Premium Rewards 2024 Review

Statement credits will save you money if you can take advantage of them

This card has two statement credits that can help you save on travel costs:

• It offers Up to $100 in airline incidental credits per calendar year. Bank of America examples of what are considered “flight accidents” include airline seat upgrades, baggage fees, in-flight services, and lounge fees.
• It offers up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Registration fees every four years. This is enough to cover the cost of both memberships and extend them.

Of the two, the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit is a fantastic benefit, especially if you're a frequent flyer. The immigration and customs process is much faster with Global Entry. It often takes less than a minute – much better than waiting in line. TSA PreCheck lets you get through airport security faster and with less intrusiveness.

By the way, a Global Entry membership includes TSA PreCheck. So if you think you want both, go with Global Entry.

The value of additional airline credits depends on your travel habits. If you pay these types of fees frequently, getting up to $100 per year back is a nice benefit. However, if you're good at avoiding airline fees, this feature might be useless for you.

A comprehensive package of travel and shopping insurance for protection and security

Traveling is exciting, but a lot can go wrong. Your luggage could be delayed – or end up on the other side of the world. There could be a travel delay or even cancellation.

Everyone hopes not to experience any of this, but just in case, it helps to be prepared. This Bank of America card offers protection from all of these situations. For eligible bookings paid with this card, it offers:

• Reimbursement for travel delays
• Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance
• Baggage delay insurance
• Lost baggage reimbursement
• Comprehensive insurance for rental cars

It also offers more than just travel protection. It has that too Purchase protection, extended warranty and return protection on eligible purchases.

Disadvantages you should know

For some people, this Bank of America card will be the perfect match. But if not, it's better to look elsewhere because there are a few big limitations too.

Poor reward pricing if you are not a Preferred Rewards member

Without the Preferred Rewards program, this card's rewards price is nothing special. It effectively takes 2% on travel and meals and 1.5% on other purchases. Technically there are points, but since 1 point is worth $0.01, we can simply convert these into percentages to make it easier.

These plans don't mesh well with the best credit card options. There are cash back cards that allow you to earn 2% back on purchases without incurring an annual fee. This Bank of America card costs $95 per year and earns less. There are also cards that earn 3% to 4% per $1 on travel and dining.

The Preferred Rewards program decides this card. If you're not a member and don't plan to be, I wouldn't understand.

Points have a limited value – it's essentially a cashback card

This Bank of America card offers some travel benefits, but it's not really a travel credit card. Points have the same value of $0.01 each regardless of whether you use them for cashback or travel.

Many travel credit cards allow you to transfer your points to airline and hotel loyalty programs. You can then use these points to book award flights or hotel stays. This is a great way to get more value for your points. Transferring my travel rewards often earns me $0.03 per point or more.

But Bank of America doesn't give you that option. You cannot transfer your points anywhere. This is frustrating because Chase, American Express, Capital One and Citi all offer this. Even Wells Fargo got in on the action. For this reason, this is not a good choice as a travel card.