Most people are familiar with Bank of America – as it serves 69 million US customers with 3,700 locations and approximately 15,000 ATMs.
While you may be familiar with the basic offerings — a wide variety of checking accounts, a savings account with a low annual percentage yield (APY) and a highly-rated mobile app — there are several valuable perks you could be missing out on.
Whether it’s free admission to museums, one-on-one financial guidance or the ability to earn cashback on your debit card purchases, consider starting to use these benefits if you are a Bank of America customer.
Learn more: Bankrate’s Bank of America review
1. Earn up to $500 every year with Preferred Rewards
If you have an eligible Bank of America checking account and at least $20,000 in combined deposit balances and Merrill investment accounts, you can take advantage of Preferred Rewards at no extra cost.
On average, members increased their overall benefits to $500 a year, according to Bank of America. Benefits are tier-based and depend on your balance but can include:
Read more: Bankrate’s guide to Bank of America Preferred Rewards
2. Get free admission to hundreds of museums each month
Bank of America’s “Museums on Us” program gives credit and debit cardholders free general admission to museums during the first full weekend of every month.
Participating institutions include:
3. Create a personalized financial roadmap with Life Plan
With Bank of America Life Plan helps you create and track both short-term and long-term financial goals. The program, which has been used by 18.7 million clients since launching in 2020., provides:
- Personalized goal tracking dashboards
- Step-by-step checklists for financial goals
- Interactive calculators for major purchases
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Progress visualization tools
Once you set your goal, such as saving for a vacation or a new car, you can get a consolidated view to monitor your progress. Popular goals come with personalized tips and tools and a step-by-step checklist.
4. Earn cash back on everyday purchases with BankAmeriDeals
BankAmeriDeals allows customers to earn up to 15% cash back when shopping with participating merchants. .
You can select deals from available offers then use your debit card while you shop to earn rewards. Cash back is is credited to your account within 30 days.
Popular merchants include Starbucks, The Home Depot and Kroger
Read more: Guide to BankAmeriDeals, Bank of America’s bonus cash back program
Looking for more cash back opportunities?
Compare the best cash back checking accounts that can help you earn on everyday spending. Many banks offer competitive rewards programs that could earn you even more than your current account.
5. Access free financial guidance from specialists
Bank of America provides free access to financial specialists that can help with your banking and small business banking needs along with guidance on increasing your saving, building your credit score and improving money management.
Schedule an appointment to speak with a specialist for financial advice for both personal and small business customers. Some locations even have Merrill financial solutions advisors to cover saving for retirement, managing retirement income and expenses and investment options.
Plus, you can access a free financial education platform. Better Money Habits is Bank of America’s website with hundreds of videos and articles on money. Videos, which are available in both English and Spanish, cover a wide variety of topics, including saving money, budgeting, debt management, investing and more.
See more: How a lack of financial literacy could be costing you thousands
6. Build savings automatically with the Keep the Change program
Bank of America’s free Keep the Change program will round up your debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and then automatically deposit the difference into your enrolled savings account.
For example, if you spend $38.50 on gas, an additional $0.50 would be taken from your checking account and transferred into your savings.
This is a great way to automate your savings without thinking. However, you also want to monitor your checking account balance regularly since more money is being withdrawn and deposited into your savings.
See also: 5 mobile bank apps that help you save money
7. Get extra cash by opening a new checking account
Banks often offer a sign-up bonus to entice new customers, and you can often find one of these deals at Bank of America. Recently, Bank of America offered a $300 bonus for opening an eligible checking account. Bonus opportunities may change, and often come with other requirements, such as receiving a certain amount of qualifying direct deposits.
You can check out Bankrate’s list of best bank account bonuses for more ways to earn money by opening an account.
8. Get AI-powered assistance from Erica
Erica is Bank of America’s virtual financial assistant, designed to help quickly answer questions, manage your money and get connected to a live specialist.
Erica will notify you if your credit score changes or if a recurring membership charge increases. It will also keep track of your refunds, track your spending and manage Preferred Rewards. It can also help you easily retrieve account information, locate specific transactions or replace a lost card.
9. Utilize a wide range of mobile and online banking features
Bank of America’s online banking and mobile banking platform goes beyond basic account features to include tools where you can:
- Create a budget based on your spending history with their interactive tool
- Set savings goals, and track your progress
- Customize alerts, including security alerts and when deals are expiring
- Lock and unlock your debit card if you misplace it
- Check your FICO score
10. Get a custom debit card
Bank of America offers various custom debit card designs at no additional cost, including college and university logos, military branch designs honoring service members, professional sports team logos and charitable cause designs.
Bottom line
Bank of America offers a suite of perks and benefits that can provide significant value, especially for customers who take full advantage of the Preferred Rewards program.
While their savings account rates lag behind many online banks, the additional benefits like museum access, cash back opportunities, and comprehensive digital tools may offset the potential disadvantages.
If you’re already a Bank of America customer, explore these benefits to make sure you’re maximizing the value of your relationship.
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