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Bank of America WorldPoints

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How much is a WorldPoint worth?

Update: Check out our review of the Bank of America WorldPoints rewards program.

You have to save up 25,000 points before it’s worth 1 cent. 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.

Redemption Table

Reward Type Reward Value Points Required Point Value
Cash $12.50 2,500 0.5 cents
Cash $80 10,000 0.8 cents
Retail Gift Card $25 3,500 0.71 cents
Retail Gift Card $50 6,500 0.77 cents
Retail Gift Card $100 12,000 0.83 cents
Retail Gift Card $250 25,000 1 cent
Hotel & Car Rentals $50 credit 5,000 1 cent*
Domestic Airline Ticket $400 or less 25,000 Up to 1.6 cents**

* 7 day advance notification required; 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 don’t place much stock in this option either, given that it gives BofA a lot of wiggle room and may involve multiple connections, inconvenient layovers and departure times, and blackout dates. The best of the miles rewards programs, like Discover Miles, Capital One No Hassle Miles, and American Express Blue Sky Points allow cardholders to use their miles to offset any travel expense. For example, you can spend $257.99 in airfare, taxes, fees, food from the hotel minibar, and gas, and redeem 25,799 points against the whole lot of it.
To make matters worse, Bank of America only offers the $250 gift cards at a limited number of their retailers. The list is as follows:

  • A Pea In A Pod
  • BP
  • Banana Republic
  • Best Buy
  • Best Western
  • Bloomingdale’s
  • Brooks Brothers
  • Budget Rent a Car
  • Cabela’s
  • Chevron
  • Hammacher Schlemmer
  • Hyatt
  • Jos A Bank
  • Kay
  • Kohl’s
  • Land’s End
  • Lowe’s
  • Macy’s
  • Marriott
  • Neiman Marcus
  • Overstock.com
  • Pottery Barn
  • Restoration Hardware
  • The Ritz-Carlton
  • Ruth’s Chris
  • Saks
  • Sears
  • Sephora
  • Shell
  • Toys R Us
  • Travelocity
  • Walmart
  • Williams Sonoma
  • West Elm

Use WorldPoints Mall for max rewards on certain purchases

WorldPoints Mall is a good place to buy certain items. If you are signing up for ATT, DirectTV or T-Mobile; using Travelocity or Delta.com; or buying flowers online, expect to get hefty point rewards for booking through WorldPoints Mall. For example, you can get over 6,600 points for DirectTV and 11-13x points for most major online flower retailers. Bank of America gets a kickback from featured retailers, and passes some of the savings along to you.

How best to earn them:

Unfortunately, Bank of America credit cards aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. The Bank Americard Cash Rewards comes close to being a good deal: 3% on gas and 2% on groceries up to the first $1,500 spent cumulatively each quarter, plus an unlimited 1% spent elsewhere. You also get 10% more bonus points when you deposit into a BofA checking account, so you could have up to 3.3%, 2.2% and 1.1% rewards. Alternatively, you could:

  • Shell out a $75 annual fee, but get an unlimited 6% on groceries, 3% on gas and department stores, and 1% elsewhere with the AmEx Blue Cash
  • Take a slightly lower rewards rate but no annual fee on the AmEx Blue Cash Everyday: 3% on groceries, 2% on gas and clothes, and 1% elsewhere (there’s no limit on how much you can earn here, either)
  • Earn 5% back on rotating bonus categories that include gas, hotels, groceries, and dining out with the Chase Freedom, plus a $200 signup bonus