World Points: Bank of America’s Sub-Par Rewards Program

We give Bank of America WorldPoints program two thumbs down compared to other banks’ reward programs.

Why? In most cases, you need to horde 25,000 points before you can redeem points for a 1 cent value, the industry standard. This is about as bad as it gets in terms of bank reward programs.

Even Citi Thank You Points, which we aren’t particularly fond of, give you 1 cent per 1 points starting at 10,000 points. The best reward program, American Express Membership Rewards, lets you transfer points to just about any airline or hotel point program you can think of, or to redeem for cash and gift cards at 1 cent per point starting at 2,500 points.

The only place where Bank of America gets even an average rating is the WorldPoints Mall, where you can get big kickbacks when you sign up for services or buy flowers through their website.

WorldPoints aren’t great. What should I get instead?

If you’re willing to part with your WorldPoints card, we list rewards credit cards that can give you better value both in terms of overall rewards rate and ease of redemption.

There are simply too many credit cards that pay in the 1.5% to 2% range for the BofA cards to be a compelling option. Many of these pay out in cash, such as the American Express Blue Cash, which gives a whopping 6% back on groceries as well as 3% on gas and department stores and 1% elsewhere. The Citi Forward pays out in ThankYou Points at the rate of 5 points per $1 spent on dining, movies, music, and books (up to 75k a year). The Discover Escape, Capital One Venture, and the Fidelity American Express all give a flat 2% rewards rate on all purchases.

I’m Sticking with WorldPoints. What’s the best way to redeem them?

You have to save up 25,000 points before WorldPoints are worth 1 cent, unless you are willing to take your chances with a travel program filled with “subject to availability” and “terms and conditions apply” language.

See the table below:

* 7 day advance notification required and offers are “subject to availability”. Since this is pretty much open to interpretation, and is only valid for purchases booked through Bank of America, we place little value on this redemption option.
** According to the fine print, “ticket will be lowest coach class fare available through the WorldPoints redemption center” and “Additional terms apply”. We place little value in this option, given that it is very open to interpretation and may involve multiple connections and inconvenient layovers and departure times. Most other miles program, like Discover Miles, Capital One No Hassle Miles, and American Express Blue Sky Points allow card holders to purchase travel from anywhere, and use their Miles to offset the purchase price on their credit card statement.

In terms of the $250 gift cards, Bank of America only offers them for a limited number of their retailers. The list is as follows:

WorldPoints Mall: Accrue bonus points by signing up for services or buying flowers

When Bank of America or FIA (Fidelity, Schwab, etc.) cardholders buy things through WorldPoints Mall, they can earn “extra” WorldPoints for every dollar spent. So instead of 1 point per $1 spent, you can earn 2x, 3x, or even 10x in some cases. Why do they offer this program? Many retailers pay kickbacks to Bank of America when they drive business their way. Every time you buy something through the WorldPoints Mall, Bank of America makes money, and they share part of their profits with you.

We have built a nifty little app that lets you search every point mall for credit card bonus point offers, and you’ll see if you try out a few different stores that Bank of America WorldPoints mall is probably the second most generous program after ShopDiscover, which has fewer stores, but gives you 5% to 20% on all of them.

You can really clean up with subscriptions to expensive services. For example:

• 2,100 points for a NY Times subscription
• 1,800 points for an AT&T phone activation
• 4,500 points for a T-Mobile Phone Subscription
• 6,600 points for a DirectTV activation
• 180 points per Delta Ticket
• 360 points per Travelocity order
• 10+ points per $1 spent on just about any online flower store you’ve heard of

Rewards cards that might serve you better:

Blue Cash Preferred℠ Card from American Express	Citi Forward® Card
Signing Promo
$150 Cash Bonus after spending $1,000 - in the first 3 months.	10,000 Citi ThankYou Points Bonus after spending $650 - 10,000 bonus ThankYou® Points received after $650 in purchases & paperless statement sign-up in the first 3 months.
Intro APR Promo
Purchase: 0% for 12 mos Bal Trans: None	Purchase: 0% if you qualify for 7 months* Bal Trans: 0% if you qualify for 12 months*
Annual fee
$75	$0*
Details
Earn $150 cash back after spending $1,000 in eligible purchases in the first 3 months of Cardmembership 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months, flexibility to pay over time Get 6% cash back at supermarkets, 3% cash back at gas stations and department stores, and 1% cash back on all other purchases NO spend minimum, NO enrollment, and NO rotating rewards categories Get a $75 Referral Bonus for each friend or family member who is approved for the Card The annual fee pays for itself. With 6% cash back at supermarkets, if you spend just $25 weekly at your supermarket, you can receive over $75 cash back from these purchases alone.	$100 in gift cards - When you redeem the 10,000 bonus ThankYou(R) Points received after you make $650 in purchases and sign up for paperless statements within the first 3 months 0% intro APR for 12 months on balance transfers and for 7 months on purchases. After that, 12.99% - 22.99% variable 5 points for every $1 spent at restaurants and on books, movies and music. 1 point for every $1 you spend on all other purchases APR reduction on purchases when using credit wisely No annual fee.*