The Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card offers 3% cash back on your choice of one category, up to $2,500 in spending each quarter. (That’s worth up to 5.25% if you are a relationship customer.) They’ve now expanded two of the categories:
- Gas category now includes EV charging stations
- Online shopping category now includes cable, streaming, internet, and phone plan
- Dining
- Travel
- Drug store/pharmacy
- Home improvement/furnishings
View Comments (183)
FYI for anyone considering cancelling this card. I have 2 cards and called in to cancel the oldest card. They offered me free $50 in rewards as a retention offer.
Does the BoA quarterly category accumulation (the max spend) reset to zero for Q4 at 12 AM Eastern Time on October 1? Or 4 AM Eastern Time? I want to purchase a CD very early on 10/1/2024, before the CD rate goes down (if I can capture it). I suspect the credit union will lower CD rates on 10/1/2024.
I want the purchase, on my BoA card, to count as a fourth quarter purchase for Online Shopping category. I already maxed out the category for Q3. If I purchase at 4 AM on 10/1/2024 (if BoA uses west-coast time), would the transaction be considered to be in Q4? Thanks!
Based on the DPs from the More Rewards days with late purchases not automatically crediting, I suspect their system uses GMT, so you should be fine after midnight ET. If you're paranoid, wait until after 3am ET. Where are you purchasing from, and what terms? IIRC the More Rewards was announced on 10/24 last year with little notice before the 11/9 date, so might want to hold off and see if they bring it back. Maybe @6 has some contacts he can reach out to for a heads up? (hint hint)
Thanks, @guest_1920392. I purchased CDs around 7am on 10/1/2024. Yes, I wish I held off for the extra 2%. That would have been incredible... but then, the rates would have probably fallen. As it turns out, they haven't.
I just checked and saw that they are very limited in who they allow to join the CU. Of course, I know that you got in because of where you live. 😉
Anyone if I make payment to geico.com via using this card, will the transaction treated as online shopping? Thanks.
No. See my comment below.
https://www.doctorofcredit.com/which-online-retailers-earn-3x-with-bank-of-america-cash-rewards/#comment-1011338
BoA is NOT counting a manual online payment to AT&T to pay for internet services as "Online Shopping". I called BoA customer service and they said that AT&T coded the transaction as "Telecommunications Services" which, according to BoA, is not "Cable, Internet & Streaming Services" nor "Landline and Mobile Phone Providers". So it comes down to semantics and the actual code number, which I know, is the determiner, and I did not receive the Online Shopping category code rewards points.
@guest_1859125 I even filed a complaint with the CFPB, reporting that BofA did not give me the Online Shopping bonus percentage for my AT&T payments. BofA contacted me after I filed the complaint and said that even though BofA advertises that paying cell phone and Internet with the BofA Customized Cash Visa will give the Online Shopping bonus percentage (in my case 5.25% because of Preferred Rewards Status), BofA will not honor the payment unless the payee codes the transaction appropriately. And even if one sends BofA proof that the charge is for cable, Internet, or cellular, BofA still won't honor it.
Now, please know that if one manually pays AT&T with BofA card, AT&T won't code this manual payment correctly. But, if you have AT&T do automatic monthly charges, by signing up online, to your BofA credit card, AT&T will code those automatic transactions appropriately. Once I figured this out on my own, I have been getting the Online Shopping bonus percentage on my monthly AT&T payments.
There is no way to get AT&T to code the manual payments appropriately, and there is no way to get BofA to accept your manual payments to AT&T as Online Transactions for cellular, cable, or Internet.
By the way, T-Mobile manual payments do code appropriately to get the Online Shopping bonus cash back percentage. I do not have Verizon, so I do not know how manual payments to them code.
@guest_1901380, I meant to reply to your comment awhile ago - sorry for the delay.
I really appreciate the confirmation that your BoA rewards experience was exactly the same as mine.
Also, I appreciate the info that autopay will work, but manual pay will not. That explains a lot.
AT&T is currently giving a $5/mo discount for autopaying by debit card or bank account (but not by credit card). I set that up - and now I circumvent that by manually paying a few days earlier than the autopayment date with a credit card so I can still get my cashback (which, ironically, I am not, because of stinky BoA, LOL). (You still get the $5 autopay discount when you do this. AT&T has not taken that away - yet.) Found several posts on Reddit where others confirmed they were doing the same.
My next move is to charge my AT&T internet to Amex for three months while Amex has a $5 cashback offer... and then I'm going to use my US Bank Cash+ card which has "TV, Internet and Streaming Services" as a 5% cashback category.
UPDATE: Looks like Chase Ink Business Cash also gives 5% cashback on internet, cable and phone.
@guest_1859125 Thanks for the reply & info. I have had an AT&T Fiber Internet acct. for over 5 years now. It started at $69.99. Then went to $74.99, and the latest now is $84.99. AT&T just offered me $10 off per month if I autopay with debit or checking acct., or a continued $5 off if I autopay with credit card. I do not have AT&T cellular or TV.
Your plan of using US Bank Cash+ 5% cash back for Internet, cable, and phone sounds like the best option for you. Good luck with it all.
Anybody try Plastiq recently?
I just tried it.
I just tried it to hit the SUB. I'll let you know whether it goes through at all, whether it codes as a purchase, and whether it counts as online. Wish me luck!!!!!
My eBay purchase coded as "online shopping".
This is the latest version of the Program Rules (corrects the errors of the Online Shopping exclusions in the 2023-08 version)
https://www.managerewardsonline.bankofamerica.com/cms/published/root/duo/sharedContent/pdf/cash/CW1_202401_D_ADA.pdf
For the signup bonus, has anyone tried using Plastiq to hit it?
I like the online shopping category. As a relationship customer, 5.25% CB beats some rotating category cashback cards (e.g. when Discover It has 5% for Amazon) and many premium travel cards (most big travel purchases are online nowadays). The main limitation is the $2500 quarter limit.
I get the 3% on my Xfinity bill now. I will be adding Netflix as well. However, does Spotify get a similar cash back too? Thanks!