Via @mileswhip, Bank of America sent out a snail mailer informing users the end of flight redemptions with WorldPoints in November.
Many Bank of America cards (and, previously, FIA Amex) have the ability to be cashed out at 1 cent per point as a statement credit, yet can also be used to book flights at up to 1.76 cents per point. See Bank of America WorldPoints: A Forgotten Program, Get Up To 1.76¢ Per Point for more details.
As per the mailer, this option is being gutted completely starting November 1. You can still redeem for flights until that date.
Big hit for those who redeem for flights.
Two of my bofa applications were rejected because of too many recent enquiries within the last year.
Unheard of with bofa
Yeah, the “premium” airfare options refers to the ability to book plane tickets up to $400 for only 25,000 points (similar to Flexperks), essentially giving you 1.6 cpp. I believe it was also possible to book more expensive flights to Alaska/Hawaii for 35,000 points up to $600 (max value of 1.71 cpp)… but it sounds like these better redemptions are going away soon, and you’ll only be able to redeem at a flat 1cpp. If you do a search on the world points travel portal, it even shows a message at the top of the screen stating that the premium air redemption will be going away as of November 1 (or something to that effect).
Bye bye 1.5 * 1.75 * 1.6 … nice while it lasted.
Gutted, that’s for sure.
dammit…
Hey NinjaX, any comments on my post here
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/bank-america-cash-rewards-200-sign-bonus-2/#comment-287800
about receiving a 1099-MISC if you redeem the cash back using a BoA relationship?
I’m reading it as a gutting of only “premium” airfare I . first/business class.
See the second paragraph, which says “airfare”
If I’m not mistaken, Premium Airfare is their code word for better redemption value, and airfare refers to 1 cent per point travel credits (like Arrival+ and Venture).