(EXPIRED) Rakuten offering bonus cashback/rewards on select Bank of America credit cards

Last year, Rakuten started offering bonus rewards when applicants were approved for select Chase credit cards. The only Chase card available via Rakuten at the moment is the Freedom Unlimited®, but there are now also two Bank of America credit cards for which you can earn bonus rewards on top of the credit card welcome offers.

Note that these bonuses ARE NOT available if you have your earning method set to American Express Membership Rewards,” only if it’s cash or Bilt points.

The cards in question are the Travel Rewards card and the Customized Cash Rewards card. Details for both of the cards are below, but note that clicking through to apply for the cards from our site won’t get you the bonus rewards from Rakuten.

Card Offer and Details

Bank of America Travel Rewards ⓘ $234 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 25K points worth $250 Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler 25K after $1K spend in the first 90 days No Annual Fee Learn more Alternate Offer: Rakuten is offering bonus cashback if you click through from their site Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Earning rate: 1.5X everywhere; 3X for travel booked through BOA's travel center Base: 1.5% Portal Flights: 3% Portal Hotels: 3% Card Info: Visa Signature issued by BOA. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Up to 75% bonus for Preferred Rewards banking customers See also: Bank of America cards: awesome if you've got $100K lying around

Card Offer and Details

Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards ⓘ $179 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates $200 Cash Back + 6% back in category of your choice Non-AffiliateThis is NOT an affiliate offer. We always present the best offer even when it means less revenue for Frequent Miler $200 after $1K spend in the first 90 days + 6% back in quarterly category of your choice (up to $2,500 spend/qtr) for the first year No Annual Fee Learn more Alternate Offer: Rakuten is offering bonus cashback if you click through from their site Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Earning rate: 3% back on your choice of the following: gas and EV charging, online shopping, cable, streaming, internet & phone plans, dining, travel, drugstores, home improvement & furnishings (can choose a new category monthly) ✦ 2% back at grocery stores & wholesale clubs ✦ 1% back everywhere else. 2% and 3% rewards are capped at $2500 in combined purchases per quarter Base: 1% Travel: 3% Flights: 3% Hotels: 3% Grocery: 2% Dine: 3% Gas: 3% Card Info: Visa Signature issued by BOA. This card imposes foreign transaction fees. Noteworthy perks: Up to 75% bonus for Preferred Rewards banking customers

The Travel Rewards card is the most rewarding of the two options in terms of the welcome bonus and combined Rakuten rewards. The welcome offer from Bank of America itself is 25,000 points (redeemable as $250 cash back) after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. If you were approved for that card after clicking through from your Rakuten account, you’ll earn $125 bonus cashback or 12.5K Bilt points, depending on the earning settings on your Rakuten account.

The other card available via Rakuten is the Customized Cash Rewards card. The welcome offer from Bank of America is $200 bonus cashback after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days, as well as 6% cashback on up to $2,500 spend per quarter for the first year in a category of your choosing. If clicking through from Rakuten before being approved, you’ll also earn $75 bonus cashback or 7.5K bonus points.

While that Rakuten bonus is now the same for both of these cards, the Customized Cash Rewards card is a better keeper card, given the ability to earn 3% cashback on $2,500 spend every quarter in a category of your choosing for as long as you keep the card.

The categories you can choose from are gas and EV charging stations, online shopping/cable/internet/phone plans/streaming, dining, travel, drug stores/pharmacies, or home improvement/furnishings. Many of those categories have ways in which you can easily generate $2,500 of spend each quarter in order to max out the spending category. The earning rate will also be increased if you have Preferred Rewards status with Bank of America, although be aware that that’ll be changing.

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