A no-annual-fee card that pays 6% cash back in the category of your choice for the first 12 months is a rare thing, and Bank of America's Customized Cash Rewards card does exactly that. New cardholders also get a $200 bonus after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days. For travellers, the interesting part is which categories qualify — and one of them is travel itself.
The card earns 3% in a chosen category normally, with an extra 3% added during year one. The pick includes gas and EV charging, online shopping, dining, travel, drugstores, or home improvement and furnishings. You can switch the category once per calendar month, though the default is gas, so change it right away if you want something else. Groceries and wholesale clubs earn 2%, everything else 1%, and the bonus rates share a $2,500 quarterly cap before dropping to 1%.
Why travel matters here: Bank of America's definition is broad. It covers airlines and hotels, but also cruises, vacation rentals, attractions, transit and parking — and you book directly rather than through a portal. Many strong travel cards bonus airfare and hotels but treat a cruise deposit or a short-term rental as ordinary spending. Swapping this card in for that one big payment could earn 6% in year one. Travel is also a solid first-year default over online shopping if you have a large trip on the calendar, since online shopping excludes taxes, utilities, insurance and tuition even when paid on a website.
Another angle: online shopping. The category spans Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, Ticketmaster, plus cable, internet, phone plans and streaming — a broad net that stacks with shopping portals. Home improvement is a sleeper pick too, since qualifying contractor payments (plumbers, electricians) and furniture stores count. Keep online shopping selected and flip to home improvement before a big repair or furniture buy.
There's a multiplier for existing Bank of America or Merrill customers. Relationship bonuses of 10% to 75% apply based on qualifying balances — from a basic checking link up through $100,000+ for Preferred Honors (7.5% in the category) and $1 million+ for Premier (8.25%). Merrill investment and retirement accounts count toward the threshold, so you don't need idle cash in a checking account. Note the bonus applies to the base 3%, not the extra first-year 3%.
Caveats worth knowing: the card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so it's strictly for domestic spending, and after the quarterly cap even top-tier customers earn a maximum 1.75% on everyday purchases — worse than a flat 2% card. Cash back redeems as a statement credit with no minimum, and rewards don't expire while the account is open. Taking the cash as a credit is a clean way to cover award ticket taxes or an independent hotel your points can't touch.
Verdict for a points-and-miles traveller: about 4 out of 5 as a niche specialist, not a daily driver. It slots in beside strong travel cards to bonused the spending they ignore — cruises, rentals, online orders — at rates that are hard to beat in year one.
