Earning miles and points for shopping online with a credit card

BankAmeriDeals: Overlooked travel discounts

Bank of America’s BankAmeriDeals don’t get quite as much attention as American Express My Offers, but it’s definitely worth a second look. Like most people, I largely ignored the many emails and alerts I received about BankAmeriDeals over the 10+ years I’ve banked with them.

That changed last month when I received a targeted deal from Bank of America: Make a payment on your cell phone bill with your Bank of America card and get a $75 statement credit.

I believe the payment minimum was something ridiculous like $15 and sure enough, the credit posted to my account. I decided to delve deeper into BankAmeriDeals and see what else they offered and was pleasantly surprised. 

BankAmeriDeals features deals with lots of popular merchants – Five Guys, Starbucks, Olive Garden, etc. Some of these deals are absurdly capped at 5% cash back up to $3 but there are some others I came across that were decent:

Airbnb BankAmeriDeals

Through December 12, BankAmeriDeals is offering 5% cash back on Airbnb rentals. The maximum cash back that can be earned through this promotion is $34, meaning you can earn rewards on up to $680 worth of Airbnb bookings. Not bad!

Starbucks BankAmeriDeals

The BankAmeriDeals Starbucks offer is one of those pathetic ones I mentioned earlier. Cardholders earn 5% cash back, up to $3, on their Starbucks purchases through December 28. This is actually a pretty regular offering, so I wouldn’t take advantage of it now. Especially since there are so many great gift card deals, along with that Visa checkout offer, available.

That said, if you’re ever reloading your Starbucks card with $60 and there’s nothing better around, this is worth considering. We all stop by a Starbucks at some point during our travels and it’s nice to be able to save a bit of cash doing so.

Raley’s BankAmeriDeals

Raley’s is another merchant capping 5% cash back at $3 through BankAmeriDeals. However, if you’re buying a Visa gift card to meet a credit card spending requirement or generate a few hundred extra miles this $3 credit can off-set the fee. Almost.

St. Regis BankAmeriDeals

I saved the best for last. While BankAmeriDeals are usually limited to a lot of fast food restaurants, there’s a pretty good offer from St. Regis Hotels. Through December 31, 2016 Bank of America cardholders can earn 10% cash back on U.S. St. Regis Hotel bookings. Cash back is limited to $250 and this deal does require a minimum of $500 spent. 

To take advantage of BankAmeriDeals, simply login to your Bank of America account, scroll over the Special Offers & Deals tab, select “cash back deals,” and choose the credit card you want to apply your deals to. You can do this by selecting “Credit Card account – ” next to “cash back pending”. Then pick the deals you want added to the card, much like you would with American Express offers. 

So while BankAmeriDeals aren’t quite up there with American Express Sync Offers, there are occasionally some good deals that come around. It’s worth checking the Cash Back Deals page occasionally to see what’s available.

Have you taken advantage of any good BankAmeriDeals cash back offers? Please share in the comment section.

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7 thoughts on “BankAmeriDeals: Overlooked travel discounts”

  1. I love Bank of America, these cash back deals can be sweet. They often have 10% back at auto supply stores. I’ve used it to get $20 off a $200 battery, alternator, etc, not bad for a few clicks on my phone.

    Since the cash back is applied at the BOA CC statement level, there are never any restrictions or hassles for stacking other deals.

    Once I successfully asked for a 10% matching discount on an already discounted Gopro at Bestbuy, after I showed the manager one of these cash back offers on my phone, for another big box store that sells Gopros.

    People love to hate on Bank of America but their cash back cards are sweet and I’m always really impressed with their customer service.

    Ariana, can I ask you an unrelated, random question about the Chase Reserve?

    I read somewhere that it’s possible to use this $300 travel statement credit twice, while only paying the annual fee once, since the statement credit is earned per calendar year and the annual fee is charged per anniversary.

    For example:

    Nov 2016: Open card, pay $450 annual fee
    Dec 2016: Use $300 statement credit for 2016
    Jan 2017: Use $300 statement credit for 2017
    Close/downgrade card at some point before Nov 2017 anniversary; avoid second payment of $450

    Do you think this would work?

    1. Agustin, As has been widely written about elsewhere, yes, you can in concept get two $300 credits on one annual fee paid this year (one for 2016, one for 2016. The $300 credit is per calendar year.). Has been some uncertainty about how to make sure your credits for this year area logged — instantly or via when that month’s statement closed. (To be on safe side, I’m getting all my travel expenses toward the credit for 2016 logged before statement closes later this month.)

  2. I used the ATT deal but never heard back Does it trigger an automatic email like AMExOffers or do you need to wait for statement to close? Hoping one does not need a follow-up

    1. I got an email when the credit was applied several weeks later (can’t remember if it coincides with the statement closing date). I’d definitely follow up if you haven’t gotten the credit after the statement closing date.

  3. From the website – “Your pending cash back will be credited to your eligible Bank of America account the month following redemption”

    Also, they offered me similar deals as the St. Francis at Westin and Hiltons over the last 18 months (I missed ’em both).

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