What does the Bank of America Premium Rewards downgrade to?
Bank of America Premium Rewards can normally be product-changed to three lower-fee cards in the Bank of America rewards family, though only one of them keeps Bank of America points. The cheapest is Bank of America Travel Rewards at no annual fee — a saving of $95 a year that keeps the account, and its age, open.
Maintained reference data · as of 2026-09 · updated 2026-09-16
Product changes are granted at the issuer's discretion and the rules change without notice. A downgrade normally keeps your account age and credit line but is not guaranteed, may not be offered on your account, and can forfeit unused statement credits or an unearned welcome bonus. Confirm with the issuer before you act — this is maintained reference data, not a live feed.
Where Bank of America Premium Rewards can go
| Downgrade to | Annual fee | You save | Earns | Headline rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Travel Rewards
No fee, same points, no travel credit. |
None | $95/yr | Bank of America points | 1.5¢/$ |
| Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards
No fee, 3% in a category you choose. |
None | $95/yr | cash back | 2.0¢/$ |
| Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards
No fee, flat 1.5% cash back. |
None | $95/yr | cash back | 1.5¢/$ |
Headline rate is the best non-portal bonus rate on each card, valued in real cents per dollar at our conservative point values — not the raw multiplier, which flatters low-value currencies.
What you keep and what you give up
- Your Bank of America points balance stays put if you move to Bank of America Travel Rewards — same currency, same account.
- A different rewards currency on Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards or Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards — cash back instead of Bank of America points. Check where your existing balance ends up before you move.
- The account, its age and its credit line normally carry over. That is the whole point: closing the card shortens your average account age and removes its limit from your utilization; a product change does neither.
- You give up $100/yr of printed statement credits — the ones Bank of America Premium Rewards carries and the lower-fee cards do not. If you were actually using them, run the break-even math before you move.
- No earn rate at all, as it turns out — the best downgrade target matches Bank of America Premium Rewards at its headline rate (2.0¢ against 2.0¢ per dollar). Everything the $95 fee buys here is perks, credits and status, not rate.
Downgrade or cancel?
A downgrade is almost always the better of the two if you no longer want the fee. Cancelling removes the account's credit line from your utilization and eventually drops its history off your report; a product change keeps both, and you land on a card with no fee to justify. The one thing a downgrade will not do is earn you the new card's welcome bonus — that requires a fresh application, which is a different decision with a different cost.
Bank of America's own rules: Bank of America is comparatively flexible about moving cardholders between its own consumer cards after the account has been open a year, including across its rewards lines. Availability still depends on the account.
Timing matters more than most people expect. Issuers generally refund an annual fee only within a short window after it posts, so the month you notice the charge is the month to decide — and the credits on Bank of America Premium Rewards that reset each year are worth using before you move.
Before you downgrade, check whether the fee actually earns out. Is the Bank of America Premium Rewards worth it? runs the break-even math — printed credits, top earn rate, and the spending it takes to clear $95.
Other cards in the Bank of America rewards family
Which card should this spending actually be on? The demo re-scores a year of realistic spending against every card in a wallet — free, no signup. See it on sample data →
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