The Most Comprehensive Guide to BofA Preferred Rewards Benefits: New Tier Benefits Are Now Live

On May 26, 2026, this change officially took effect. You can already see the new membership tiers and benefits in the account, and reimbursements have already started.

The streaming benefit reimbursement is also live. You need to activate it first, then use the debit card linked to the designated checking account to make direct purchases with eligible merchants. Preferred Honors can be reimbursed up to $8 per month, and Premier up to $15 per month.

The benefits have also been updated.

• For example, the extra rewards on Preferred Honors credit cards are now only 50%.
• The other useful benefit is probably identity monitoring, which can automatically notify you of changes on your credit report. BofA Rewards members can now use enhanced fraud and identity monitoring through My Credit.
• Also, if you are a regular checking customer, credit cards now earn an extra 10% cash back, which is still pretty good.

Latest Tiers

Bank of America’s customer loyalty program, “Preferred Rewards,” was officially renamed “BofA Rewards™” in May 2026. This brand update is not just a name change; it also comes with major changes to the membership tiers, eligibility review process, and related benefits.

• Official program overview

The key changes are as follows:

• The old Platinum Honors tier, which used to earn a 75% cash back bonus with $100,000 in deposits, has been replaced by Premier, which now requires $1,000,000 in deposits to earn the 75% bonus; if you only have $100,000, you can only reach the Preferred Honors tier, which gets only 50%
• A new Member tier has been added for balances below $30,000, with an extra 10% cash back bonus
• Preferred Honors and Premier now come with additional reimbursement benefits: $8 or $15 per month

Details are below:

The membership tiers have been reorganized. The original Gold, Platinum, Platinum Honors, and Diamond Honors tiers will be replaced by a completely new naming system. The new tiers are determined entirely by the combined average daily balance of qualifying deposits and investment assets over the past three months:

• Member tier: under $30,000;
• Preferred Plus tier: $30,000 to $100,000
• Preferred Honors tier: $100,000 to $1,000,000
• Premier tier: $1,000,000 or more

Automatic transition for existing members: on the transition date (May 26), customers already enrolled in the old program will be automatically moved to the new program, as follows:

• Old Gold / Platinum members → Preferred Plus tier
• Old Platinum Honors members → Preferred Honors tier
• Old Diamond Honors members → Premier tier

Credit card rewards have been boosted across the board. Under the new program, eligible Bank of America credit cards will earn bonus rewards based on the customer’s tier. When a purchase posts, the extra rewards are determined by the current tier.

• Member tier: extra 10% rewards
• Preferred Plus tier: extra 25% rewards
• Preferred Honors tier: extra 50% rewards
• Premier tier: extra 75% rewards

New subscription benefits: for Preferred Honors and Premier members, the new program has introduced a subscription fee reimbursement benefit. This benefit must be activated first, and payments must be made directly to eligible subscription merchants using the debit card linked to the designated Bank of America checking account.

• Preferred Honors tier: up to $8 per month in reimbursement
• Premier tier: up to $15 per month in reimbursement

Other changes

• Eligibility review process update: the new program introduces a more flexible review mechanism. For the first 30 days after enrollment, eligibility is reviewed based on the end-of-day balance, but the requirement must be met for at least 3 business days; regular reviews calculate the combined average daily balance on the third business day of each month. Eligible customers will be moved to a higher tier within 3 business days, but the new benefits may take up to 30 days to take effect.
• Other benefit updates, loan perks: newly applied mortgage loans may receive different levels of loan fee reductions ($100 at the Member tier to $600 at the Honors tier). Premier tier customers who enroll in PayPlan automatic repayment can receive up to a 0.375% interest rate discount. Credit monitoring: BofA Rewards members can use enhanced fraud and identity monitoring through My Credit. Lifestyle benefits: available only to Preferred Honors and Premier members.

About BofA Rewards

Although BofA points cannot be converted, they also have their own member rewards system called BofA Rewards. Now you can join as long as you have an eligible BofA personal checking account, and there is no longer a $20,000 minimum asset requirement. The biggest benefit is the ability to boost credit card cash back, up to 1.75x, meaning a 3% cash back rate can become 5.25%. In addition, there are benefits such as loan discounts, ATM fee waivers, investment discounts, subscription reimbursements, and identity monitoring. It’s pretty good value.

Currently, BofA Rewards has four tiers in total

• Member: assets under $30,000, with a 10% credit card rewards bonus
• Preferred Plus: requires $30,000-$100,000 in assets, with a 25% credit card rewards bonus
• Preferred Honors: requires $100,000-$1,000,000 in assets, with a 50% credit card rewards bonus
• Premier: requires more than $1,000,000 in assets, with a 75% credit card rewards bonus

Eligibility

To join BofA Rewards now, you need an eligible and active BofA personal checking account. The Member tier has no minimum asset requirement; higher tiers depend on the total amount of assets held at BofA and Merrill. This has nothing to do with credit history, credit score, number of credit cards, and so on. In other words, if you have enough money, you can level up once you’ve deposited enough — simple and direct. There are two keywords here: assets and total amount. Let’s go through them one by one.

Total Amount

The total amount requirement does not mean you have to stay within that range at every moment. For regular tier reviews, BofA still looks at the combined average daily balance of qualifying accounts over the past three months.

However, the first 30 days after joining BofA Rewards are special. During that period, BofA reviews based on the account balance at the end of each day. As long as the balance meets the requirement for at least 3 business days, you can be upgraded fairly quickly once eligible. After the first 30 days end, a Monthly Balance Check is performed on the third business day of each month.

In short, the core long-term metric is still the three-month average daily balance. As for how the monthly average daily balance is calculated, the industry convention is to add up the balance at the close of each day and then divide by the number of days in the month. BofA should calculate this automatically for checking, savings, and investment accounts.

Assets

From an asset perspective, the definition is actually fairly broad: all assets related to BofA and Merrill investment accounts count. Note, however, that they must be Personal Accounts; business accounts are not included. In addition, 401(k) plans and other Employee Benefit Plans, as well as annuities, do not count toward total assets. Eligible assets mainly include:

• Bank of America deposit accounts: Checking, Savings, CD, IRA, and so on
• Merrill investment accounts: including Cash Management Account (CMA), Traditional/Roth/Rollover/SEP/SIMPLE IRA, and so on
• 529 Plans shown on a Merrill statement
• Eligible revocable grantor trust accounts

A quick explanation of a few commonly used ones:

• BofA Checking: this is the one most people use
• BofA Saving: the base rate has never been very high, and after May 2026, the personal version of BofA Rewards has already removed the original Preferred Rewards Savings interest rate booster
• Certificate of deposit: a fixed-term deposit, one type of time deposit. The rate changes based on the term and current promotions; see BofA's current CD rates for details
• Merrill Edge: an investment account that can buy stocks and ETFs with $0 commissions
• 529 Plan: a U.S. tax-advantaged investment tool designed to encourage saving for a designated beneficiary's future higher education expenses.

If you want to reach the top-tier Premier level, parking $1,000,000 in cash in checking or savings is still not very cost-effective. A 529 Plan is a relatively low-risk investment option, or you can open a Merrill Edge account and buy some lower-risk ETFs. If you already trade stocks, gradually moving assets into Merrill Edge is also not bad, since it is basically like getting a 75% extra cash back bonus on your credit card for free.

Note that the account-opening requirements for Merrill Edge are fairly strict. In the past, you needed to be a U.S. citizen or green card holder to open an account online. Recent user reports suggest that people on H1B and other work visas can also apply, but student visas still do not work.

How it takes effect

The new BofA Rewards is much more flexible for new users than before. For the first 30 days after joining, BofA checks the end-of-day balance of eligible accounts every day. If you meet the balance requirement for the corresponding tier for at least 3 business days, you will generally be upgraded to the higher tier within 3 business days after qualifying, although it may take up to 30 days for all new benefits to fully take effect.

After the first 30 days, it goes back to reviewing based on the three-month average balance, with checks on the third business day of each month. Joining is also very simple: once you have an eligible BofA personal checking account, you can do it.

• BofA Rewards sign-up link

What if you no longer meet the requirements later?

The new BofA Rewards does not downgrade you the moment your balance drops. BofA conducts an Annual Review during your membership anniversary month each year to check whether you still maintain an eligible checking account and whether your three-month average assets still meet the current tier.

If you no longer meet the current tier at the time of the annual review, BofA will provide at least a 3-month Grace Period. If you meet the requirements again during that period, you can continue keeping the original tier; if you still have not met the requirements by the end of the grace period, you will be downgraded to the corresponding tier based on your asset balance at that time. If you no longer have an eligible checking account, you may lose BofA Rewards eligibility outright.

Of course, if your assets later meet the requirements again, the system will adjust your tier again based on subsequent monthly reviews.

Benefits overview

BofA positions the BofA Rewards benefits as fairly comprehensive, covering credit cards, ATMs, waived monthly fees, lower rates, loan discounts, and more. If you already have a good impression of BofA and plan to use its products or loans, this premium membership benefit is definitely worth getting.

Credit card benefits

For most of us, the credit card benefits are probably the most valuable, since they can provide up to an extra 75% in rewards. This 75% does not apply only to the traditional 1x portion; it applies to all points earned from your spending. For example, if your BofA Customized Rewards card gives 3% cash back on online shopping, then with the 75% bonus it becomes 3% * (1 + 75%) = 5.25% cash back. Unfortunately, sign-up bonuses are not included in the scope of the extra bonus.

Under the new four-tier structure, if a purchase would normally earn 3% cash back, the Member / Preferred Plus / Preferred Honors / Premier bonuses would bring it to 3.3% / 3.75% / 4.5% / 5.25%, respectively. Sign-up bonuses and some special promotional bonuses usually do not participate in the BofA Rewards extra bonus.

The range of credit cards eligible for this extra cash-back reward is fairly broad. Basically, the bank's own cash-back cards and points cards are included, such as Unlimited Cash Rewards, Customized Cash Rewards, Travel Rewards, and Premium Rewards. We'll go into more detail in the next section. Here are the ones that cannot get it:

• Airline, hotel, and other co-branded cards usually do not participate in this personal BofA Rewards card bonus structure; the final answer depends on the eligible / ineligible cards listed by BofA
• Business credit cards do not participate in the personal BofA Rewards program; they are covered by the separate Preferred Rewards for Business program

Other benefits

Some of the other discount benefits can still be pretty useful for people who need them, such as fee-free cash withdrawals at ATMs nationwide and loan discounts.

Credit card analysis

Under the highest Premier 75% bonus, the following cards all perform very well!

BofA Customized Cash

• After the maximum bonus, you can choose one category from online shopping, travel, drugstores, home improvement, gas, or dining and earn 5.25% cash back; supermarkets and wholesale clubs earn 3.5%; everything else earns 1.75%. This can basically function as a one-card setup, and the rates are all fairly solid.

BofA Travel Rewards

• After the maximum bonus, everyday spending earns 2.625x points; spending through the Bank of America Travel Center starts at 3x, and Premier can reach as high as 5.25x
• In addition to redeeming points at 1 cent per point to offset eligible travel and dining purchases, you can now also redeem them directly for cash, although cash redemption is only 0.6 cent per point

BofA Unlimited Cash Rewards

• After the maximum bonus, all spending earns 2.625% cash back, directly beating the current highest no-category card rate of 2% (such as Double Cash). So anything below 2.5% cash back is not even worth a look.
• Points can be redeemed directly for cash! That is a bit more convenient than Travel Rewards

BofA Premium Rewards

• After the maximum bonus, travel and dining earn 3.5%; everything else earns 2.625%, giving you higher earning rates on dining and travel
• Although there is an annual fee, the credits are very easy to use.

Preferred Rewards for Business

BofA also has a separate business version, Preferred Rewards for Business. Note that the personal version has already been renamed BofA Rewards, but the business version still keeps the Preferred Rewards for Business name and the original three tiers, so it is no longer fully symmetrical with the personal version. Here is a summary:

• Tiers: Gold/Platinum/Platinum Honors require $20,000-$50,000/$50,000-$100,000/$100,000 in business account assets
• Requirements: rolling three-month calculation; if not met, it expires after one year and three months
• Benefits: an extra 25%/50%/75% cash-back bonus on business credit cards, plus various business-related services, loans, investments, and ATM discounts
• Business Preferred Rewards info link

My Take

For BofA all-in users, this benefit is still pretty solid. Most of BofA’s cash-back cards have no annual fee, and the earning categories are generally strong. While the welcome bonuses are a bit lower than what you’ll find at other issuers, these cards are very rewarding to hold long term. If you can reach Premier and get the 75% bonus cash back, many BofA cards instantly become must-haves. For users who don’t want to deal with mileage redemptions, this is absolutely the best choice.

However, this update is a real downgrade for Platinum Honors users who previously qualified with $100,000 in assets. In the past, $100,000 was enough to get the 75% card bonus; now the same assets only get Preferred Honors 50%, and to keep the 75% bonus you need to reach Premier, which means $1,000,000 in assets.