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Bank of America may finally be building a travel card that points enthusiasts care about. On October 31, 2026, Doctor of Credit reported that BofA is surveying cardholders about either a refreshed version of the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card or an entirely new product. The details came from a Reddit user in r/CreditCards who was shown the concept in a customer survey.
Before anyone gets excited: this is a survey, not an announcement. Banks test card concepts all the time, and many never launch. Everything below is one person’s recollection of a survey screen, so treat every number as provisional.
What the surveyed card offered
According to the report, the concept card included:
- No annual fee
- 30,000-point welcome bonus (spend requirement not reported)
- 5x on travel booked through Bank of America’s travel portal
- 3x on dining, airfare and rental cars
- 2x on groceries plus one more category the survey-taker couldn’t remember
- 1x on everything else
- A $100 hotel credit on a hotel reservation of $400 or more
- A tease of transferable points
How it stacks up against today’s Travel Rewards card
The current Travel Rewards card is about as simple as travel cards get: a flat earn rate, no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, and points redeemed as statement credits against travel purchases at a penny each.
| Current Travel Rewards | Surveyed concept | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $0 | $0 |
| Welcome bonus | 25,000 points after $1,000 in 90 days | 30,000 points (terms unknown) |
| BofA Travel portal | 3x | 5x |
| Dining, airfare, rental cars | 1.5x | 3x |
| Groceries + one other category | 1.5x | 2x |
| Everything else | 1.5x | 1x |
| Hotel credit | None | $100 off a $400+ stay |
| Transfer partners | None | Teased |
Notice the trade-off: the concept drops the everyday earn rate from 1.5x to 1x in exchange for bonus categories. If you use the current card as a catch-all for non-bonus spend, the new version could actually earn you less. If most of your spending is dining, travel and groceries, it earns noticeably more.
The big question: transfer partners on a no-fee card?
This is the part that would make headlines. Bank of America currently has no airline or hotel transfer partners on any of its credit cards, including the Premium Rewards and Premium Rewards Elite. BofA points are a fixed-value currency, and that’s the main reason serious points collectors have ignored the issuer.
Doctor of Credit’s William Charles was skeptical that a no-annual-fee card would get full transfers, and we agree. The closest precedent is Citi: its no-fee ThankYou cards like the Double Cash and Strata can transfer, but most airline transfers convert at a reduced 1:0.7 ratio unless you also hold a Strata Premier or Strata Elite. If BofA launches transfers, a haircut like that on the no-fee card seems far more likely than a clean 1:1.
Just as interesting: if BofA builds transfer partners for a no-fee card, it would be strange not to extend them to the Premium Rewards family too. That would be a much bigger story, but for now it’s pure speculation.
Don’t forget the BofA Rewards changes
The biggest selling point of BofA’s cards has always been the relationship bonus, and that changed this year. On May 27, 2026, the old Preferred Rewards program was replaced by BofA Rewards, with these credit card bonuses:
- Member (BofA checking, under $30,000): 10%
- Preferred Plus ($30,000 to under $100,000): 25%
- Preferred Honors ($100,000 to under $1 million): 50%
- Premier ($1 million+): 75%
Under the old program, $100,000 got you the 75% boost. Now it takes $1 million. The survey report didn’t say whether the concept card would earn the BofA Rewards bonus at all, and that matters a lot: a 50% boost on 3x dining would be 4.5x, which would make this card genuinely competitive.
What we still don’t know
- Whether this replaces the current Travel Rewards card or launches alongside it
- The spending requirement for the 30,000-point bonus
- The second 2x category
- How the $100 hotel credit works (portal-only? once a year?)
- Which partners, at what ratio, and whether transfers need a premium BofA card
- Whether BofA Rewards bonuses would apply
- Timing, if it launches at all
Our take
On paper, a no-fee card with 3x dining and airfare, a $100 hotel credit and any form of transfers would be the most interesting thing Bank of America has done in years. But this is a survey, and surveys often go nowhere. We wouldn’t apply for, cancel or product-change any BofA card based on this report. If it becomes real, we’ll break down the final terms here.
Want transfer partners today?
If transferable points are what you’re after, you don’t have to wait on BofA. Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers 1:1 to partners like Hyatt, United and British Airways from the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve (referral link), and the Sapphire Reserve is one of our everyday cards. American Express Membership Rewards is the other big program we use; you can browse Amex cards through our Amex referral link.
Card terms and offers change often. Check the issuer’s site for current terms before you apply.
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