How to Redeem Bofa Travel Rewards and Get the Most Value

To redeem Bank of America (BofA) travel rewards, you'll want to consider booking flights through the bank's travel portal, which offers a 1.25-cent redemption value per point.

This is because flights booked through the portal often come with fewer fees and restrictions compared to booking directly with the airline.

With BofA's travel rewards, you can also book hotels and rental cars, which can be a great way to earn points on everyday purchases and redeem them for travel expenses.

To maximize your redemption value, aim to book travel during off-peak seasons or use points to upgrade to a higher class of service.

To get started with redeeming your Bank of America travel rewards, you'll need to understand the basics of how they work. Bank of America travel credit cards have a smaller portfolio compared to other issuers.

You can redeem the rewards you earn for statement credits to cover travel-related purchases. This means you can use your rewards to pay for flights, hotels, or other travel expenses.

The Bank of America Travel Center is a valuable resource for searching travel deals and paying with cash or rewards. It operates similarly to travel search engines like Expedia or Orbitz.

Bank of America credit card and debit card holders have access to partner offers and deals, but keep in mind that the travel rewards program lacks travel transfer partners. This might limit your options for redeeming your rewards.

To increase the value of your rewards, consider joining Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program. This can boost the value of your rewards by 25 to 75 percent.

You can redeem your Bank of America Travel Rewards points in several ways. To redeem online, log in to your account, select your Travel Rewards credit card, and click on the "Rewards" tab.

You can pay for a travel purchase with your card through the BofA Travel Center and earn 3 points per $1 spent. Two days later, you can redeem those points to count toward the travel purchase as long as you have at least 2,500 points ($25 travel value).

If you don't want to wait, you can redeem immediately for cash back once you've collected at least 2,500 points ($15 cash back value). Alternatively, you can redeem points for gift cards with at least 3,125 points.

Using the Bank of America Travel Center can boost your rewards to 3 points per $1 spent on travel booked through the center. This includes flights, hotel nights, and rental cars, except for insurance.

You can earn unlimited extra points this way, making it a great way to rack up rewards on your travel purchases. Just make sure to spend enough to qualify for the sign-up promotion, which is 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.

The card's annual fee is a mere $0, which is a great deal considering other travel credit cards come with an annual fee. And, you won't have to worry about foreign transaction fees.

To redeem your points, you can follow these steps:

If you don't want to wait to redeem your points, you can pay for a travel purchase with the card through the BofA Travel Center and earn 3 points per $1 spent. Two days later, you can redeem those points to count toward the travel purchase as long as you have at least 2,500 points ($25 travel value).

Your Bank of America travel rewards don't expire as long as your account is active and in good standing.

If you're wondering about transferring points, the answer is no, you can't transfer points to another person. However, you may be able to transfer rewards from one of your Bank of America accounts to another, but you'll need to call customer service to see if your account qualifies.

You won't be able to buy Bank of America Travel rewards points, so don't look for a way to purchase them.

The value of your Bank of America travel rewards points varies depending on how you redeem them. You can get 1 cent per point when redeeming points for statement credit to cover purchases through the Bank of America Travel Center or eligible travel or dining purchases.

Redeeming points for cash back or gift cards typically gets you less value, with a redemption rate of 0.6 cents per point. However, this isn't unique to Bank of America, and many issuers make it so that redeeming points for cash back or gift cards is worth less than travel.

Here's a breakdown of the redemption options and their corresponding values:

To earn rewards, you just need to use your card for eligible purchases, no tracking or activation required.

Bank of America's travel and dining categories are quite extensive, so you can redeem your points for a wide range of expenses, from flights to zoo tickets.

Using your card for travel and dining purchases can earn you more rewards, but it's not necessary to track or apply for them.

You don't need to worry about rotating bonus categories or offers, just make your eligible purchases and earn your rewards.

To maximize the value of your Bank of America travel rewards points, it's essential to understand their redemption options and values. You can earn more points on your spending and maximize your rewards by being strategic with your redemptions.

The value of Bank of America travel rewards points varies depending on how they're redeemed. With a statement credit to cover purchases through the Bank of America Travel Center, you can get 1 cent per point, which is equivalent to $25 for 2,500 points. The same redemption rate applies to statement credits for eligible travel or dining purchases.

Redeeming points as cash back or gift cards typically gets the least amount of value for your points. For example, cash back as a check or direct deposit is worth 0.6 cents per point, which is equivalent to $15 for 2,500 points. Gift card redemption values vary based on available deals.

Bank of America doesn't have transfer partners, which means you can't boost your value by transferring points to airline or hotel partners. However, if you're a Preferred Rewards member, that may make up for the lack of travel partners.

To give you a better idea of the redemption options and values, here's a comparison of the redemption rates:

The best value you can aim for is 1 cent per point, which is the standard redemption rate for most Bank of America travel rewards points.

Understanding Rewards: What Counts as a Travel Purchase?

You can use your Bank of America travel rewards points for almost anything related to entertainment, making it a great option for redeeming points.

With Bank of America's travel rewards program, you can redeem points for purchases made at places like airlines, hotels, car rentals, and eligible transit.

Travel-related purchases also include those made with eligible cruise lines, parking garages, travel agencies, tourist attractions, art galleries, zoos, aquariums, amusement parks and more.

Some examples of eligible travel purchases include plane tickets, hotel reservations, and Airbnb rentals.

Here's a list of some of the many places you can use your points for:

You'll need at least $25 worth of points (2,500 points) to redeem for a travel credit statement through your Bank of America account.