Bank of America Business Travel Rewards Review: Good No-Fee Option

Business travel can be expensive, and most business travel credit cards add to the expense with an annual fee. The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card, however, is a low-cost alternative with rewards that even some of the best business travel cards can't match.

Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card: Basics

• Card type: Small business.

• Annual fee: $0.

• Sign-up bonus: Earn 25,000 bonus points when you make at least $1,000 in net purchases within 60 days of your account opening which can be redeemed for a $250 statement credit towards travel purchases.

• Rewards: 

  • 1.5 points per $1 spent.

  • 3 points per $1 spent when booking travel through the Bank of America® Travel Center.

  • Points can be redeemed (at varying rates) for travel, statement credit against travel purchases, cash back or gift cards. Points don't expire as long as your account is in good standing.

• APR: 0% on Purchases for 9 billing cycles, and then the ongoing APR of 12.99% - 22.99% Variable APR.

• Foreign transaction fees: None.

Why you might want this card

Great travel rewards for a $0 fee

The Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card has a lot in common with the issuer's excellent consumer travel card: No annual fee, a base rewards rate of 1.5 points per dollar spent, a sign-up bonus, even a 0% introductory APR offer, which is relatively rare among travel cards. What takes it to another level, though, is the ability to earn 3 points per dollar when you book travel through the issuer's travel center. That's just about the best rate on travel spending you can get with a  $0-annual-fee business travel card.

Affinity bonuses for Bank of America® customers

Bank of America® credit cards are especially rewarding if you also have a banking relationship with the issuer. That's true for consumers, and it's true for business credit card holders, too. Under the Preferred Rewards for Business Platinum Honors program, if your business maintains at least $20,000 in deposits at Bank of America®, you can get bonuses of 25% to 75% of the rewards you earn with this card. Your status level is determined by your average balance over a three-month period:

A BREAK ON INTEREST

Cash-back cards commonly offer 0% introductory APR periods, but they're more rare on travel cards. If you have a big-ticket purchase coming up, or you expect your cash flow to be slow for a few months, the 0% period on the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card can help you out.

no foreign transaction fees

You should never have to pay a foreign transaction fee on a travel card, especially if your business requires a lot of overseas trips. This card doesn't charge one.

Why you might want a different card

While the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card is a great choice if you spend a lot on travel, there are a couple of things to consider before pulling the trigger.

a cash-back card provides more flexibility

Getting extra rewards for booking travel through the Bank of America® Travel Center is nice, but if you want to redeem your points as cash, you're not going to get as much value. Cash redemption starts at 2,500 points for $15 (for a value of 0.6 cents per point), and 3,500 points earn a $25 gift card (about 0.7 cents per point). If you redeem for travel, however, 2,500 points are worth $25 (or 1 cent per point).

The Capital One® Spark® Cash Select for Business, on the other hand, earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase. It doesn't offer extra rewards for certain travel purchases like the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card. But you can use your cash back for anything you want without worrying about getting a subpar redemption rate for it.

The card's annual fee is $0. It offers a decent sign-up bonus: Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. It also offers a 0% intro APR period on purchases, and like all Capital One cards, it doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee.

travel rewards are better elsewhere

If your business spends enough to merit carrying a card with an annual fee, you're more likely to get a bigger sign-up bonus and better ongoing rewards with the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business. This card offers 2 miles per $1 spent on every purchase, plus a killer sign-up bonus: Earn 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months and earn 150,000 bonus miles when you spend $50,000 in the first 6 months of your account opening. Miles are worth 1 cent apiece and can be redeemed for any travel purchase.

The card has an annual fee of $0 for the first year, then $95. However, you'll make up for the fee if you spend $4,750 annually. Any rewards you earn beyond that are gravy. Plus, you'll pay no foreign transaction fee.

Is the Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card right for you?