Not to be outdone by rivals in a month that has seen several new and retooled credit card rewards program announcements, Bank of America Corp. on Wednesday rolled out upgrades to a couple of its core cash-rewards cards.
Like Capital One Financial Corp.'s newest cash-back credit card, B of A's latest entry features a twist designed to stem attrition in the hotly competitive rewards-card category.
To encourage cardholders to broaden their relationship with the bank, BankAmericard customers who earn rewards may earn an additional 10% bonus on their rewards when they transfer them to a B of A checking or savings account, a spokeswoman says.
"With this new feature we're focused on giving extra rewards to customers who bring more business to the bank," the spokeswoman says.
Cap One on Aug. 23
Card issuers are turning up the heat on card-rewards offers to compete in what has become an aggressive race to lure customers and possibly woo them away from using increasingly less-lucrative signature-debit cards.
Bank of America, based in Charlotte, N.C., is relaunching its BankAmericard Cash Rewards Visa card for consumers by boosting its rewards-earning rate from 1% cash back on all purchases to include 2% back on grocery store purchases and 3% back on gasoline purchases.
Consumers may earn the cash-back rewards up to the first $1,500 spent each quarter on groceries and gasoline; after reaching that limit all purchases generate 1% cash back.
B of A's companion card for small-business customers, the Cash Rewards for Business MasterCard, rewards cardholders with 1% cash back on all purchases, plus 2% on restaurant purchases and 3% on purchases at office supply stores, as well as purchases of gasoline and computer network services.
The business card has no caps on earning rewards in specific categories.
