Bank of America quietly changed the structure of their 3% category on the Business Advantage Cash Rewards Mastercard to allow users to choose one of six categories to earn 3%, up to $50,000 maximum. This is somewhat similar to what they did recently on the personal Cash Rewards card.
Here are the six options on the business card:
- Gas stations (default)
- Office supply stores
- Travel
- TV/telecom & wireless
- Computer services
- Business consulting services
Under the old terms, you got 3% on gas stations and office supply stores, up to $250,000. Under the new terms, you get to choose one of these six categories, and are limited to $50,000. The $50,000 limit combines with the limit on earning 2% in the dining category (that’s the other bonus category on the card).
Overall, I’d say it’s a downgrade since under the old terms you could get 3% on both office supplies and gas stations, up to $250,000 per year, whereas under the new terms you get to choose just one category, and the limit is now $50,000, and the limit now also combines with the 2% dining limit. The upside is that someone who isn’t interested in the gas or office categories, can now choose one of the other four.
I don’t know what happens to existing cardholders, they’ll probably change everyone over eventually, but for now I’d assume it remains the same.
The card is more interesting if you have Preferred Rewards business status (that’s separate from the Preferred Rewards personal program), which gives you an extra 25-75% points on points earning. This means the 3x category becomes 5.25%% at the highest level.
Hat tip to reader Harry for sending this in
Best Signup Offer
The signup offer on the Bank of America Business Advantage Cash Rewards Mastercard is $300 after spending $3,000 within 90 days.
R/churning members mention this as an increased offer (alongside the changes to the card), but doing a site search it looks like there’s been a $350 offer with $3,000 in spend available since last year which is still available.
Interestingly, that offer page still shows the old 3% terms. I guess they haven’t updated all pages, it probably won’t last. Going through the $350 page should get you an extra $50 bonus, plus lock you in (at least temporarily) to the old 3% structure, which would be superior for many people.
[Update 5/16/19: The $350 link, is no longer working. I got an email with a targeted $350 link, but it doesn’t appear to publicly available any longer. If anyone sees a public link, please let us know. $300 offer is still publicly available.]
I’m not sure if the signup bonus gets the 25-75% Preferred Rewards boost. Check out these Things to Know about Bank of America Credit Cards before applying.
Data Point
BAC2020Q1 – 500NewBusChkgBONUSon20kDep PROMOTION as of 2019-10-07
10/08/2019 Signed up online
finished signup in branch w/ $25 opening dep
11/01/2019 Dep 2k,
11/07/2019 Completed 20k Dep qual
11/29/2019 Completed qualified electronic pymnts
01/17/2020 RECEIVED $500 BONUS10/08/2019 Signed up online
finished signup in branch w/ $25 opening dep
11/01/2019 Dep 2k,
11/07/2019 Completed 20k Dep qual
12/06/2019 Completed qualified electronic pymnts
01/17/2020 RECEIVED $500 BONUS
BAC2020Q1 – 300NewBusCCBONUSon3kSpending PROMOTION
2020-02-29 Applied for unsecured 3k Online and got DENIED.
2020-03-03 Received DENIED or Conditional Approval email (Can’t give unsecured. Can do secured)
2020-03-05 Opened 12 MONTH FEATURED 5k CD for LLC @ Branch Told them I saw that they have the 500 bonus. She said if you want to put 5K or more in the CD then you got it. 5k
2020-03-19 Received APPROVAL eMail – Card on way
2020-03-23 Rcvd card
2020-05-11 $2.03k away from 5k qual
2020-05-08 $605.68 away frim 5k qual
2020-05-08 Got email saying because of Covid-19 they’ve extended the qualifications for couple more months.
2020-07-09 Qualified by my calculations (May have been sooner but the insurance refunds during the quarantine times set my calculations back)
2020-07-13 RECEIVED $500 NEW ACCOUNT SPEND BONUS CREDITS
So the secured card option might be a way for some people. I needed to establish some business credit and so I took it plus the money would have been sitting in another promotion somewhere.
Targeted offer in my login: $500 for $5000 spend in 90 days.
Giftcardmall codes as “business consulting services”
Do you know if this is still true in 2020?
Confirmed as of March 2020.
and giftcardmall does count for sign-up bonuses for bank of america with no issue, right?
Hoping credit card funding codes as “business consulting services”. Will know pretty soon 🙂
Update: Memory Bank cc funding earned 3%. It coded as “professional services not elsewhere classified”.
Pleasantly surprised. Approved with $25,000 CL for my “business”. Just got declined for the Premium Rewards and Susan G. Komen Cash Rewards a few weeks ago. (I already have the regular Cash Rewards.) Gonna apply for the $500 business checking bonus.
Not showing up on my existing card yet.
Anyone know if a purchase would still code as an online purchase if done through PayPal?
It did on my personal cash rewards card
any data points as to what bestbuy codes as?
I think it’s electronic stores. If you spend a lot there the U.S. Bank cash+ card would be good to get. Electronic stores is a category and Best Buy is listed on there. You can get 5% cash back.
USbank Cash+ 5% capped at $2,000 spend/quarter
Any clue if Plastiq would code as one of these new categories?
Is the extra 25-75% points on points earning on base 1% or all 3%?
All 3%, with Platinum Honors giving 5.25%
Unlike the personal cards, I’m pretty sure the 25-75% bonus on business cards is only on the base 1%… unless that also changed with the new terms.
Ahh, you are right, FM wrote about this recently https://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/boa-platinum-honors-different-treatment-for-cash-rewards-vs-cash-rewards-for-business/
I’ll fix the post.
Actually, the 25-75% bonus used to be only on the base 1%, however, upon reviewing the new cash rewards website as well as the Business Advantage Relationship Rewards website, it clearly spells out that you earn 1.25%, 2.5% and. 3.75% with gold status, 1.5%, 3%, and. 4.5% with platinum status, and 1.75%, 3.5%, and 5.25% with Platinum Honors status. So for this card it is not just on the base. The details can be found at https://www.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/business-advantage/?cm_mmc=SB-Checking-_-vanity-_-SC01VN000V_relationshiprewards-_-NA&adlink=04132018 and then click on the 25% Rewards bonus if under the gold tier to see this information.
At the bottom of the business relationship rewards page linked above under footnote 2 it now states:
“Only certain credit cards are eligible to receive the program bonus. Enrolled clients with eligible cards will receive the program bonus of 25% for the Gold tier, 50% for the Platinum tier, or 75% for the Platinum Honors tier based on program tier and type of card. The Business Advantage Cash Rewards credit card Relationship Rewards bonus will be applied after all base and bonus earn cash rewards have been calculated on a purchase. For example, a $50 purchase that earns 3% ($1.50) will actually earn $1.88, $2.25 or $2.63 based on your tier when the purchase posts to your account. If you have an existing Business Advantage Cash Rewards 1%, 2%, 3% product, and subsequently enroll in Relationship Rewards, you will not receive the benefits of the combined base earn and bonus earn calculation on purchases that are made prior to May 1, 2019. For all other eligible card types, a purchase that earns 100 base points will actually earn 125, 150, or 175 points based on your tier when the purchase posts to your account. Other terms and conditions apply. If you have an eligible card, please refer to your card’s Program Rules for details about how you will receive the Relationship Rewards bonus on your business card. Program Rules are mailed upon account opening and are accessible through the rewards redemption site via Online Banking or by calling the number on the back of your card. Most Bank of America® branded business credit cards (such as the Business Advantage Cash Rewards, Business Advantage Travel Rewards and WorldPoints Rewards for Business credit cards) are eligible to receive the program bonus as long as the card account is open and in good standing. View a complete list of ineligible cards.”
Also if I am reading it correctly, it looks like effective May 01, 2019 existing Business Cash Rewards members will receive the relationship bonus of 25%, 50% or 75% on the full base and bonus earn.
I just wanted to comment that the article is inaccurate, it should be only on the base earn, but if you go to the rewards calculator ( https://promo.bankofamerica.com/CalculateBusinessAdvantageCashRewards/ ) it’s clear that it’s on all 3%, so Plat Honors is 5.25%.
Hmmmm..