How to use your rewards to book a trip through the Bank of America Travel Center

The Bank of America content was last updated on Feb. 14, 2022.

If you have the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card, Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card  or Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card*, you might have considered booking your next trip through the Bank of America Travel Center. However, does the Bank of America Travel Center offer good value, or are you better off redeeming points for an outside travel purchase?

Bank of America points are very flexible, and cardholders can book travel on a third-party travel site and redeem rewards for that purchase up to a year after it was made. That means you can hunt for a great deal without worrying about losing any point value. On the flip side, Bank of America Travel Rewards and Business Advantage Travel Rewards cardholders get a higher rewards rate on purchases made through the Travel Center – making it tempting to book through Bank of America.

Card	Earning rate
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card	3X points on travel purchases (car, hotel, airline) booked through the Bank of America® Travel Center 1.5X points on other purchases
Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card	2X points on travel and dining purchases 1.5X points on other purchases
Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® credit card	3X points on travel purchases (car, hotel, airline) booked through the Bank of America® Travel Center 1.5X points on other purchases

What is the Bank of America Travel Center?

The Bank of America Travel Center is the bank’s travel booking platform, designed for travel rewards cardholders to easily redeem their points for flights, hotels and car rentals. Eligible cardholders can access the Travel Center directly from their online account to make booking their next vacation simple.

How to book a trip through the Bank of America Travel Center

When you sign into your Bank of America credit card account, you can view all the ways you can redeem your points. To get to the Travel Center right from this page, just select “Book now.”

Through your account, you’ll be able to search for a flight, hotel or car rental just like you would with any third-party booking site.

Booking flights

When you search for your preferred flight in the Bank of America Travel Center, you’ll be able to easily filter between your preferred airlines. Each search result has a score out of 10 to help you determine if it’s a good deal and flight path.

Booking hotels

Like booking a flight, booking a hotel on the Bank of America Travel Center is very straightforward. You just enter in information about your destination and travel dates. In the search results, some properties with good deals or temporary discounts are flagged as “Special Price” to help you ensure you find the best deal.

Booking car rentals

The final travel purchase you can book on the Bank of America Travel Center is a rental car. Once again, the search is very straightforward, and you’ll be presented with a wide variety of rental car providers.

Unfortunately, the Bank of America Travel Center doesn’t offer vacation packages, cruises, experiences or other kinds of travel purchases – like many other bank travel portals.

Drawbacks to booking travel through the Bank of America Travel Center

Though the Bank of America Travel Center is certainly easy to use, there are a few drawbacks to booking this way.

No hotel elite benefits

If you are part of a hotel loyalty program, you might not be able to take advantage of your elite status perks when you book through a third-party booking site. Since Bank of America points are flexible and can be redeemed for most travel purchases, frequent travelers who want to enjoy these benefits might be better off booking directly with the property itself and redeeming points for a statement credit after the fact.

Only Bank of America travel cardholders can book through the Travel Center

While some travel portals – like American Express Travel – allow anyone to book a trip on the site, the Bank of America Travel Center is limited to cardholders who earn travel rewards with the bank. If you have a checking or savings account with Bank of America or a card that just earns cash back, you can’t take advantage of the platform.

Is booking through the Bank of America Travel Center worth it?

While booking through the Bank of America Travel Center is certainly convenient, it doesn’t have much that separates it from booking on another site. You’ll get the same point value either way, and prices are competitive across booking platforms.

Bank of America Travel Center rates compared to other booking sites

In general, the prices you can find on the Bank of America Travel Center are competitive with rates on other sides. For example, take this flight from Charlotte to Chicago.

Whether you book the trip through Bank of America, United or Priceline, it’ll cost you the same amount.

Though prices are not typically better than other sites, there is one case where booking through Bank of America makes more sense. If you have a Bank of America Travel Rewards or Business Advantage Travel Rewards card, you get a higher rewards rate on purchases made through the portal. To quickly rack up points to use toward your next trip, book on the Bank of America Travel Center.

Tips for maximizing the Bank of America Travel Center

• Always compare prices to other booking sites to ensure you are getting the best deal. You can redeem points for a statement credit to cover an outside travel purchase.
• Pay any cost you can cover with points with a Bank of America Travel Rewards card or Business Advantage Travel Rewards card to earn bonus points on those purchases.
• Keep an eye out for special prices on hotels to save on your next trip.

Bottom line

The Bank of America Travel Center is a straightforward booking platform and an easy way to redeem your rewards. If you have a Bank of America Travel Rewards card, you can also earn extra points on purchases made there. However, since you can redeem points for an outside travel purchase retroactively, there aren’t many other perks to booking through Bank of America.

*All information about the Bank of America Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard credit card has been collected independently by CreditCards.com. The issuer did not provide the content, nor is it responsible for its accuracy.