Examined Oct 2, 2026 Paid in cash rewards No annual fee Bank of America pays $200 for $1,000 of purchases in 90 days on Customized Cash Rewards, and the rewards die 90 days after you close the card, or at once if the bank does.
This is the online offer on Bank of America's own card page, with no invitation and no referral program at all. On top of the $200, a new account earns an extra 3% in the category you choose for 365 days, so 6% instead of the card's usual 3%, on gas and EV charging, online shopping, dining, travel, drug stores, or home improvement and furnishings. Grocery stores and wholesale clubs pay 2%, everything else 1%, and the 6% and 2% categories together are capped at $2,500 of purchases a quarter. Rewards redeem for any amount as a statement credit or a deposit into an eligible Bank of America account; checks, 529 contributions and automatic redemptions start at $25.
What pays what
| You, opening a new account from the offer page, $1,000 in purchases posted within 90 days | $200 cash rewards |
|---|---|
| Your one chosen category, for the first 365 days, on the first $2,500 a quarter combined with grocery | 6% (3% after year one) |
| Grocery stores and wholesale clubs, inside the same $2,500 quarterly cap | 2% |
| Everything else, and everything above the cap, with no annual fee | 1% |
| Anyone who has had this card in the preceding 24 months | May not get the card |
| Converting an existing Bank of America account instead of opening one | $0 |
| $1,000 reached with cash advances, balance transfers or fees, or undone by returns | $0 |
This card may not be available to you if you currently have or have had the card in the preceding 24 month period.
That sentence sits in the conditions of the application, not the bonus footnote: it is the card itself, not only the $200, that the 24 months can close off.
Do this, in this order
- Count back 24 months, and confirm you are opening a new account. The bonus “is limited to customers opening a new account in response to this offer and will not apply to requests to convert existing accounts.” You must be at least 18, or 21 as a permanent resident of Puerto Rico, with a residential address in the 50 states, Washington DC, an APO, FPO or DPO address, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa or the US Virgin Islands.
- Apply from the page that shows the $200. The page says: “This offer may not be available elsewhere if you leave this page.” The terms add that you may receive different promotional offers by mail, in person or online with different terms, and that you should apply through the original offer. A prequalification check is offered on the same page.
- Post $1,000 of purchases, fees excluded, within 90 days of the open date. The bank deducts “Returns, credits, and adjustments to this card” from the total, and it does so “even if this card was not the original payment method.” Cash advances and balance transfers do not count. The account must be open with active charging privileges to receive the offer.
- Pick your 6% category in the first week. The default when the account opens is gas and EV charging. You can change it once a calendar month in Online Banking or the app, and the terms warn you may not be able to change it immediately if you use the card before it arrives. The extra 3% applies to purchases that post within 365 days of opening.
- Redeem the $200 when it posts, within 1 to 2 billing cycles. Statement credits and deposits have no minimum. Keep the card open and active until you have. The bonus is taxable in the bank's view: “The value of this reward may constitute taxable income to you.” A Form 1099 may follow.
- Know the rates before you carry anything. 0% intro APR for the first 15 statement closing dates on purchases, and on balance transfers made within 60 days, then 17.74% to 27.74%. Balance transfers cost 3% in the first 60 days, then 5%. A first late payment costs $30, then $41 within six billing cycles, and can bring a penalty APR of up to 29.99% that the terms say applies indefinitely. Foreign transactions cost 3%.
What Bank of America does not publish, and one rule it does
No end date, and no date on the terms. The terms page says only that “The information in this offer is updated regularly, but may have changed since the last update.” The one date on it is the Prime Rate reference, 7.0% as of September 30, 2026. The PDF version of the disclosure returned a server error on the day we read it, so everything here is from the HTML page.
Whether the figures change by entry point. The page warns the offer may not be available elsewhere, and the terms say other advertised offers can vary from this one. Behind the page we saw two different campaign codes, one on a plain visit and one on the offer's own terms link, but the same $200, $1,000 and 90-day figures under both. We cannot say the terms differ by route; only the tracking codes did.
Your existing credit line can be moved. If you already have Bank of America cards, the terms say the bank may use the available credit on those accounts to approve the new card, which could include moving credit from an account with a lower rate or fee structure to a higher one, without increasing your overall credit limit.
Is it worth your time?
Yes, if $1,000 in 90 days is spending you would do anyway. There is no annual fee, the $200 lands within two billing cycles, and choosing the right 6% category, online shopping or dining for most people, adds real money in year one. Set the category the week the card arrives, since the default is gas.
Two habits make the difference. Redeem rewards as they post, because the closure clause gives you 90 days at best and nothing at worst. And do not reach the $1,000 with a big purchase you plan to return; the return comes off the total even months later, and even if you paid another way.
