Bank of America’s loyalty program, formerly called Preferred Rewards and now BofA Rewards, ties perks to how much you hold across your Bank of America deposit accounts and your Merrill investing accounts. This guide keeps the Merrill Edge Preferred Rewards name in its title because many readers still search for it. The tiers are Member, Preferred Plus, Preferred Honors and Premier, and the credit card rewards bonus runs from 10% to 75% of the base rewards you earn.
The key number: At $100,000 in combined balances (Preferred Honors), the credit card rewards bonus is 50%. At $1,000,000 (Premier), it is 75%.
BofA Rewards Tiers at a Glance
| Tier | Combined Balance Required | Credit Card Rewards Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Member | No minimum | 10% |
| Preferred Plus | $30,000 | 25% |
| Preferred Honors | $100,000 | 50% |
| Premier | $1,000,000 | 75% |
Tiers use the combined average balance in qualifying deposit and investment accounts, and you need an open, qualifying Bank of America checking account to enroll. Bank of America’s older tier names (Gold, Platinum, Platinum Honors, Diamond and Diamond Honors) and their $20,000, $50,000 and $10,000,000 thresholds no longer apply. Because Bank of America sets which accounts qualify, a Merrill balance counts toward your tier only if it is a qualifying investment account; check the program terms for your accounts.
What the Credit Card Bonus Actually Means
The bonus is a percentage of the base rewards you earn on an eligible Bank of America credit card, so it multiplies your card’s base rate rather than adding a fixed amount. Bank of America’s own estimates describe it as a bonus “not including base rewards earned.”
Worked Example: $30,000 Annual Card Spending
Take a card that earns 1.5% back on everything (an illustration, not a statement about any specific card). Base rewards on $30,000 are $450 a year.
| Tier | Bonus | Bonus Rewards | Total Rewards | Effective Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | 10% | $45.00 | $495.00 | 1.65% |
| Preferred Plus | 25% | $112.50 | $562.50 | 1.875% |
| Preferred Honors | 50% | $225.00 | $675.00 | 2.25% |
| Premier | 75% | $337.50 | $787.50 | 2.625% |
The same arithmetic applies to any base rate. A card earning 3% in a bonus category would pay 3% × 1.5 = 4.5% at Preferred Honors and 3% × 1.75 = 5.25% at Premier. Check which Bank of America cards are eligible and how each earns before counting on a particular rate.
Other Benefits by Tier
Bank of America lists additional benefits that vary by tier:
| Benefit | Member | Preferred Plus | Preferred Honors | Premier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card rewards bonus | 10% | 25% | 50% | 75% |
| Mortgage origination fee reduction (one time, new mortgage or refinance) | $100 | $300 | $600 | See Bank of America |
| Monthly maintenance fees waived on checking and savings | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Streaming subscription credits | — | — | Up to $96 a year | Up to $180 a year |
Preferred Plus and above also get fees waived on select banking services such as cashier’s checks and stop payments, according to Bank of America’s program pages. Benefits can change, so confirm the current list on Bank of America’s BofA Rewards page.
Merrill Edge Self-Directed charges $0 commission on online stock, ETF and option trades for everyone, regardless of tier (options still carry a per-contract fee), and Merrill Guided Investing lists a 0.45% annual program fee on Merrill’s pricing page. Neither is tied to a BofA Rewards tier on that page.
How Qualification Works
Bank of America describes the process this way:
- When you enroll, you are placed in the tier that matches your combined balance, and you can be moved up during the first 30 days if your balance stays above a higher tier’s minimum for at least three business days.
- After that, your combined average balance is calculated on the third business day of each month, and eligible customers are moved to a higher tier within 3 business days.
- New tier benefits may take up to 30 days to become effective.
- If you no longer meet your tier’s balance requirement at your annual review, you get a 3-month grace period before moving to a lower tier.
Practical implication: Because tiers use average balances, a lump sum moved in late in a month may not lift your average right away.
Is It Worth Reaching a Tier?
- Preferred Plus ($30,000): A 25% bonus on card rewards, waived monthly maintenance fees and a $300 mortgage origination fee reduction. It suits someone who already has an emergency fund and an IRA that add up to $30,000 across Bank of America and Merrill.
- Preferred Honors ($100,000): The card bonus rises to 50%, the mortgage fee reduction to $600 and the program adds streaming credits. It may be worth it if the balance is there for other reasons.
- Premier ($1,000,000): A 75% bonus and the largest streaming credit. Few households reach this tier only for the perks.
- Skip it if you bank elsewhere, prefer a brokerage with a different banking tie-in, or would have to hold money in lower-returning places just to qualify. A bonus of a few hundred dollars a year is small next to the difference a better savings rate or lower fund fees can make.
For full context on Merrill Edge as a brokerage, see the Merrill Edge review. To compare it against the competition, see Schwab vs. Merrill Edge and our best brokerage accounts guide.
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