Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards Review: Decent Rate, Intro APR

The $0-annual-fee Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card can be paired with other Bank of America® credit cards to earn maximum rewards, but you won’t get the most value from it unless you’re a loyal Bank of America® customer.

You’ll get a decent 1.5% rewards rate on all purchases if you don’t keep bank accounts or Merrill accounts with Bank of America®. That rate is respectable, but it doesn’t beat the solid 2% rewards rate offered by multiple competitors.

At best, it’s a decent no-frills option for rewards or paying down debt, but it’s not the best.

» MORE: See NerdWallet's best cash-back credit cards

Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card: The basics

Card type: Cash back.

Annual fee: $0.

Sign-up bonus: $200 online cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening.

Rewards: Earn 1.5% cash back on all purchases. (Bank of America Preferred Rewards® members earn 25% to 75% more cash back on every purchase, which means you could earn up to 2.62% cash back on every purchase if you qualify.)

Redemption options: Statement credit, deposits made directly into a Bank of America® checking or savings account or credit to an eligible Merrill account. Cash rewards don’t expire.

Interest rate: 0% intro APR on Purchases for 15 billing cycles and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-28.24% Variable APR.

Balance transfer fee: 3% of the amount of each transaction.

Foreign transaction fee: 3%.

No annual fee

With a $0 annual fee, the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card can stay in your wallet for a long time. You'll never have to worry about counting rewards to determine if you're offsetting the annual cost.

Robust rewards for Bank of America loyalists

If you keep a significant amount of money with Bank of America, you can earn elevated rewards on the bank's credit cards, including the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card. You can join the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program if you keep $20,000 or more with the bank. (Bank of America calculates your assets by calculating the three-month combined daily balance of your accounts.) Along with other benefits, you'll earn up to 75% extra rewards:

If you qualify for the Platinum Honors Tier or higher, you'll earn 2.625% back on every purchase, which is an absolutely stellar rate for a flat-rate credit card.

A decent sign-up bonus

The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card offers a decent sign-up bonus that’s easy to earn. You get a $200 online cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening. (This offer is only available online on select channels.)

Flexible cash-back redemptions

Reward redemptions are flexible with the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card. You can redeem for cash back as a deposit to an eligible Bank of America bank account, credit to Merrill accounts (including 529 accounts) or statement credit. Some cards allow you to redeem cash back in only some of these categories.

» MORE: Credit cards that can help you save for — and pay for — college

Breathing room on interest charges

The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card offers a lengthy introductory interest rate: Get a 0% intro APR on Purchases for 15 billing cycles and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-28.24% Variable APR. That’s enough time to finance a large purchase or several small ones. But, if you're planning on transferring a balance from another credit card, you will have to pay 3% per transaction.

Rewards redemptions favor current Bank of America® customers

Although the Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card offers flexible cash-back redemption options, most of them tend to favor Bank of America® customers. Other credit cards, like the $0-annual fee Discover it® Cash Back and the $0-annual-fee Chase Freedom Flex℠, don’t require you to redeem rewards with an in-house bank account from the issuer when you want a deposit. You can redeem rewards for deposits into qualifying bank accounts at other institutions. Plus, these cards earn 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories (on up to $1,500 spent per quarter) when you activate. All other purchases get 1% cash back. The Chase Freedom Flex℠ also earns rewards in other categories.

Other cash-back cards offer 2%

While 1.5% cash back isn't bad, it’s possible to get 2% cash back on a no-annual-fee card. The $0-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, for example, offers an unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, and it has some noteworthy incentives for new cardholders. The introductory offer is: 0% intro APR on Purchases for 15 months and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers 15 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR. There's also a nice sign-up bonus: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. It has a $0 annual fee.

» MORE: Credit cards that earn 2% cash back or more on purchases

Longer intro APR offers for purchases and balance transfers exist

The Bank of America® Unlimited Cash Rewards credit card already offers a lengthy 0% intro APR period, but if you’re willing to go without rewards, you can buy yourself a few more months. The BankAmericard® credit card offers 0% Intro APR for 18 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days of opening your account. After the intro APR offer ends, a Variable APR that's currently 16.24%-26.24% will apply.. It has a 3% balance transfer fee.