Last year, Rakuten started offering bonus rewards when applying and being 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.
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 |
|---|
 ⓘ $234 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates 25K points worth $250 25K after $1K spend in the first 90 daysNo Annual Fee 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 |
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $179 1st Yr Value EstimateClick to learn about first year value estimates $200 Cash Back + 6% back in category of your choice $200 after $1000 spend in the first 90 days + 6% back in quarterly category of your choice (up to $2,500 spend/qtr) for the first yearNo Annual Fee 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 Rakuten rewards combined. 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 $250 bonus cashback or 25K bonus points, depending on the earning settings on your Rakuten account. You’ll therefore be doubling the welcome offer value, or doing even better than that if you’re earning Rakuten rewards as Amex Membership Rewards points or Bilt Rewards points and value those points at more than one cent per point.
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 7,500 bonus points.
While that Rakuten bonus is less than a third of the Rakuten bonus for the Travel Rewards card, 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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