465250516_3ae012eeea

Continuing our review of debit card rewards programs, Bank of America offers two different choices. Unlike the other banks we have discussed here on BankShout, Bank of America has exclusive “cash back” programs; rather than earning points towards merchandise or gift cards, the BofA plans put money back into your bank account when you make qualified purchases. The programs are called Keep the Change and Add It Up.

To be eligible for the Keep the Change option, you must have all three of the following at BofA

  • Checking account
  • Debit card
  • Savings account

Basically, Keep the Change works like this: whenever you buy something with your debit card, let’s say a slice of pizza, BofA rounds up to the nearest dollar makes a deposit to your savings account. If your pizza costs $1.49, then Keep the Change would mean .51 cents would go into your savings…but only during the first three months of the program. After that, your account would only earn 5% of the rounded-up amount, every time you use your debit card. The total yearly amount of cash back is capped at $250.

The second option, Add It Up, gives you up to 20% cash back when you make online purchases at selected retailers, including Best Buy, Sears, and Macy’s. You register through Bank of America–you only need to have a checking account and a debit card, not a savings account–and BofA credits the cash back rewards to your checking.

Although the cash back rewards programs are distinctive–especially compared to the standard points-and-catalog rewards at many banks–Bank of America’s options have drawbacks. Keep the Change is only really generous for the first three months when the bank is matching change amounts at 100%, and the $250 cap means that someone who really uses their debit card a lot may be better off in a different program. Add It Up has a large variety of retailers; many different stores, however, mean all different types of exclusions and exceptions, so you will want to check the small print before you buy that big screen TV or the new outfit you want.

Still, the BofA cash back rewards do offer an alternative to points accounts. As such, the cash back options are certainly worth exploring.