Does Bank of America Have Transfer Partners?

The short answer: No, and there is no sign that will change. Bank of America points do not transfer to any airline or hotel program. Instead of a transfer model, Bank of America built its rewards around Preferred Rewards, which boosts your earning rate by 25 to 75 percent based on your banking balances. Value the points at 1 cent and lean on that boost.

The short answer: no, by design

Bank of America does not have transfer partners, and unlike U.S. Bank it has never signaled plans to add them. Points from the Travel Rewards, Premium Rewards, and Premium Rewards Elite cards are fixed-value, worth about 1 cent each toward cash back or travel. You can book flights and hotels through the Bank of America travel center with providers like Alaska Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, but that is a fixed-rate redemption, not a transfer into their loyalty programs.

This is a deliberate strategy, not a gap the bank forgot to fill. Bank of America competes on a different axis from the transfer banks. You can see its full lineup on our Bank of America cards page.

Preferred Rewards instead of transfers

Where Chase and American Express reward you with flexible points you can transfer, Bank of America rewards you for keeping money at the bank. Its Preferred Rewards program boosts the rewards rate on its cards by 25, 50, or 75 percent depending on your combined balances across Bank of America and Merrill accounts.

At the top tier, that turns the flat 1.5 percent Travel Rewards card into an effective 2.62 percent, and the 2 percent categories on the Premium Rewards card into 3.5 percent. For someone who already banks and invests with Bank of America, that boost can outweigh what a transfer program would deliver, with none of the effort of finding award space. The trade-off is that the value is tied to the relationship: hold small balances there and the boost is small or zero.

Will Bank of America add transfer partners?

There is no indication it will. Bank of America has made no announcement, shown no groundwork, and its whole rewards philosophy points the other way. Its travel-partner focus goes into co-branded cards, most visibly the expanded Alaska Airlines relationship, rather than into flexible transfers.

Our take: assume Bank of America points stay fixed-value for the foreseeable future. Judge these cards on the 1 cent value plus whatever Preferred Rewards boost you personally qualify for, and do not wait on a transfer program that has never been promised.

How to get the most from Bank of America points

Two levers matter. First, qualify for the highest Preferred Rewards tier you reasonably can, since the earning boost is the single biggest source of extra value on these cards. Second, redeem at full value: cash back, statement credits, and the travel center all land near 1 cent, while some other redemptions fall below that.

If you want the higher ceiling that transfers unlock, a flexible-points card is the better fit. See our guide to transferable points and the banks that offer them on our ecosystem pages.

See exactly what an award costs

Stop guessing at point values. Look up the real award price and live availability for a specific trip before you transfer.

Search award flights on seats.aero →  ·  Search award stays on rooms.aero →

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer Bank of America points to airlines?
No. Bank of America points do not transfer to any airline or hotel loyalty program. They are fixed-value rewards worth about 1 cent each, redeemable for cash back, statement credits, or travel through the Bank of America travel center.
Why does Bank of America have no transfer partners?
It is a deliberate strategy. Instead of flexible transfers, Bank of America rewards you through Preferred Rewards, which boosts your earning rate by 25 to 75 percent based on your Bank of America and Merrill balances.
What is the Preferred Rewards boost?
A loyalty boost that raises the rewards rate on Bank of America cards by 25, 50, or 75 percent depending on your combined qualifying balances. At the top tier the 1.5 percent Travel Rewards card effectively earns about 2.62 percent.
Will Bank of America add transfer partners?
There is no sign of it. Bank of America has made no announcement, and its rewards model is built around banking relationships and co-branded cards rather than flexible transfers.

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Bryce Casson

Written by Bryce Casson, Founder of Cardocrat. About the author and how we rank cards.