The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards credit card earns 3% cash back in one category you choose, 2% at grocery stores and wholesale clubs, and 1% on everything else. The 3% category changes monthly if you want, which is rare in the cash back card market.
What makes this card genuinely different isn’t the rewards structure though. It’s the Preferred Rewards program, a Bank of America loyalty perk that can boost your cash back rate by 25% to 75% depending on your combined balances at BoA and Merrill.
For customers who already bank with Bank of America, this card can be one of the highest-earning no-annual-fee cards available. For everyone else, it’s a solid but unremarkable cash back card. Here’s what credit score you need to get approved and how Bank of America evaluates applications.
Recommended Credit Score for the Customized Cash Rewards Card
Most approved applicants have a credit score of at least 690, with the average landing around 705. That places the card in the good to excellent credit range.
Applicants above 720 tend to clear underwriting more smoothly and receive higher credit lines. Scores below 670 can still get approved when the rest of the profile is strong, but those approvals are the exception rather than the rule.
Bank of America uses FICO and VantageScore alongside its own internal scoring model. Existing BoA customers with strong banking relationships often see better outcomes than external applicants with identical credit profiles, which is worth factoring into your timing.
How Bank of America Evaluates Applications
Bank of America’s underwriting weighs several factors beyond your credit score. These are the ones that carry the most weight:
- Existing BoA relationship: Current checking or savings customers with positive account history have an advantage. New-to-bank applicants face tighter underwriting.
- Payment history: Recent behavior carries more weight than long-term history. A single 30-day late in the past year can complicate an otherwise qualifying application.
- Credit utilization: High balances on existing cards signal limited capacity to handle another line. Paying down balances before applying strengthens both your score and your approval odds.
- Income relative to requested credit: Bank of America uses income heavily in credit line sizing. Report all legitimate household income including self-employment and regular side income.
- Recent credit activity: Multiple hard inquiries or new accounts in the past six months signal risk. Space out applications when possible.
What You Get With the Customized Cash Rewards Card
The rewards structure is built around flexibility. You choose one 3% category each month from six options: gas, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement and furnishings. You can change that selection monthly if your spending patterns shift.
Grocery stores and wholesale clubs automatically earn 2%, and everything else earns 1%. The 3% and 2% combined bonus categories cap at $2,500 in purchases per quarter, after which those categories drop to 1% for the rest of the quarter.
That quarterly cap works out to $10,000 per year of bonus-category spending. For a household that hits the cap in both categories, that’s up to $300 in bonus cash back annually at the base rates.
The card also includes these perks:
- Welcome offer: $200 online cash rewards bonus after spending $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
- Intro APR: 0% on purchases and balance transfers for 15 billing cycles, then 17.49% to 27.49% variable. Balance transfers must be made in the first 60 days.
- Flexible redemption: Cash back can be redeemed as a statement credit, check, direct deposit into a BoA checking or savings account, contribution to an eligible 529 college savings account, or deposit into a Merrill investment account.
- No annual fee: The card costs nothing to keep long-term.
How Preferred Rewards Transforms This Card
Preferred Rewards is where this card gets interesting. It’s a Bank of America loyalty program that boosts your credit card rewards based on your combined balances across Bank of America deposit accounts and Merrill investment accounts.
The tiers work like this:
- Gold ($20,000 to $50,000 combined): 25% rewards boost
- Platinum ($50,000 to $100,000): 50% rewards boost
- Platinum Honors ($100,000 to $1 million): 75% rewards boost
At the Platinum Honors tier, the 3% chosen category effectively becomes 5.25% cash back, the 2% grocery and wholesale category becomes 3.5%, and the 1% base rate becomes 1.75%. That’s genuinely elite territory for a no-annual-fee card.
The catch is that you need real money at BoA or Merrill to qualify. For applicants who don’t bank with Bank of America, the Preferred Rewards boost doesn’t apply and the card is just a decent no-annual-fee cash back option with a quarterly cap.
If you have investable assets you could move to Merrill, or if you’re already a BoA banking customer with a healthy balance, this is one of the most undervalued cards in the market.
How to Strengthen Your Application Before Applying
These steps address what Bank of America actually weighs in underwriting:
- Open a BoA account first: If you’re new to Bank of America, consider opening a checking account and seasoning it for 60 to 90 days before applying for the credit card. The existing relationship improves your application.
- Pay down revolving balances: Lower utilization strengthens both your credit score and the credit line Bank of America will approve.
- Space out hard inquiries: Avoid other credit applications in the 60 to 90 days before applying. Bank of America treats recent inquiry activity as a meaningful risk signal.
- Report full household income: Include all legitimate income sources. Higher reported income translates to better terms and higher credit lines.
- Check for pre-qualification: Bank of America offers pre-qualification through its site using a soft credit pull. Running it tells you your likely outcome before you submit a hard application.
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Bottom Line
The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card is a flexible cash back option with a monthly-changeable 3% category and solid 2% grocery and wholesale earnings. For customers with Preferred Rewards eligibility, it’s one of the best no-annual-fee cards available.
A credit score of 690 or above, paired with steady income and a clean recent payment record, puts you in reasonable position for approval. Higher scores and existing BoA banking relationships improve both your odds and your terms.
Pay down revolving balances before applying, consider opening a BoA checking account first if you don’t already bank there, and use the pre-qualification tool to check your likely outcome before submitting a hard application. Those three moves address the most common pitfalls.
