Don’t get me wrong: Bank of America credit cards are perfectly serviceable. They have low or no fees, decent rewards programs and the occasional small signup bonus. They’re fine. Just fine.
The phrase you’re looking for, I believe, is “damned with faint praise.” That’s because while the BofA credit cards are all right, you don’t have to settle for them. Better rewards, lower fees, better signup bonuses…there are quite a few cards out there that are just plain better.
Bank Americard Cash Rewards
The Bank Americard Cash Rewards gives 3% on gas and 2% on groceries, up to $1,500 spent each quarter, and an unlimited 1% elsewhere. It boosts your rewards rate by 10% if you deposit into a BofA savings or checking account, and it boasts a 12-month 0% purchase APR period. Finally, it comes with a $50 cash back signup bonus if you spend at least $100 in the first 60 days. Okay, so that’s the Bank Americard.
Now, here are the cards that use the Bank Americard as a wingman because they know that they look more attractive by comparison.
Chase Freedom: Not a fan of annual fees? The Freedom offers no annual fee as well as killer rewards deals: 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories, up to $1,500 a quarter, and an unlimited 1% elsewhere. Think of it this way: the Bank Americard can give you at most $180 in bonus rewards a year, if you spend your $1,500 in quarterly rewards spending exclusively on gas. With the Freedom, on the other hand, you can get $300 with spending on categories as diverse as clothing, airfare, movies and groceries. Oh, and did we mention that the Freedom comes with a $100 cash back bonus, which is, oh, four times the Americard’s?
American Express Blue Cash Preferred: Want rewards on groceries and gas? The AmEx Blue Cash Preferred offers 6% rewards on groceries, 3% on gas and department store spending, and 1% elsewhere, with no quarterly caps. It also comes with a $100 signup bonus. It does have a $75 annual fee, but if you spend $210 on groceries a month, you’ll have made up for the annual fee based on the extra 3% grocery rewards alone. I’m a 5’1” twenty-something who’s never home, and even I spend $210 on groceries a month. And that’s not even counting the Blue Cash’s higher gas and clothing rewards rate, or lack of spending caps.
Bank of America Accelerated Rewards
The BofA Accelerated Rewards has a pretty good rewards rate: 1.25% on all purchases, and it pays out in Bank of America Worldpoints. The Accelerated Rewards card gives up to $75 in statement credits ($50 if you spend $50 in 60 days, and $25 if you make at least one purchase at Target, Staples or Costco) and has no annual fee. Sound good? Just you wait.
Capital One VentureOne: Let’s start with the similarities. Both give 1.25% on all purchases, and neither has an annual fee. And that’s it for the similarities. Why is the VentureOne better than the Accelerated Rewards? First, the signup bonus: the VentureOne gives 10,000 No Hassle Miles, worth $100. Second, Bank of America WorldPoints suck. You need to accrue 25,000 WorldPoints (aka spend $20k) before you get the points’ full value, and your points expire in 5 years. No Hassle Miles can be redeemed for a statement credit in any increment (rather than trading in 25,000, you can swap 7,325 or whatever arbitrary number you choose) and they expire in…never.
Capital One Cash: Capital One offering #2 has an even better rewards rate: 1.5% cash back on all purchases. It also gives a $100 signup bonus, while the Accelerated Rewards gives $75. You do the math. It, too, has no annual fee. And going back to the WorldPoints are terrible theme, the CapOne Cash pays out in, well, cash, so your rewards are a) easy to use and b) longer-lasting than a Hostess Twinkie.
Bank of America Cash Rewards for Business
We’ll ignore the BofA Cash Rewards’ counterpart, the WorldPoints Rewards for Business, because at this point it’s just a waste of space to say why we don’t like the rewards program. The Cash Rewards card gives 3% cash back on office supplies, gas and computer network services, and 1% back elsewhere. It has no annual fee, and offers no interest on purchases or transfers for 9 months. The competition?
Chase Ink Cash: The Chase Ink Cash also gives, you guessed it, cash back. It has a signup bonus of $250, which is about $250 more than the Cash Rewards’ bonus, and has a much better rewards program:
- 5% back on office supplies, cable and telecom services, up to $25k/yr
- 2% back on gas and dining, also up to $25k/yr
- Unlimited 1% back elsewhere
While it has a shorter intro period, it gives 0% interest on purchases and transfers for 6 months. You run a business. Do the math.
SimplyCash Business: The SimplyCash Business from AmEx has a pretty spectacular rewards rate. It’s also a no-fee cash back credit card. While, like the Cash Rewards, it has no signup bonus, it gives:
- 5% back on wireless and office supplies
- 3% back on gas
- 1% back elsewhere
What’s more, it gives 0% interest on purchases and transfers for 12 months, longer than the Cash Rewards’ intro period.