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Bank of America is the latest credit card issuer to offer eligible new cardholders an extended time period to earn their welcome bonus. Recently, Chase and American Express announced similar offers, as many consumers nationwide are having difficulty meeting their minimum spending requirements amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Similar to the Chase offer, if you opened a new Bank of America credit card account between January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020, you will automatically be given an additional 90 days to earn the welcome bonus. That comes out to a total of 180 days to earn the bonus.
So if you opened the Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card back on January 3, 2020, you'd typically have until April 2, 2020. But with the new 90-day extension, you have through July 1, 2020.
Bank of America welcome bonuses have some of the highest minimum spending requirements among major card issuers, starting at $1,000 and increasing to $3,000. For instance, the Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card offers a $200 cash rewards bonus after making at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of your account opening (offer valid when you apply online). Meanwhile, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card offers 50,000 bonus points after you make at least $3,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.
This extended time period is good news for eligible cardholders who may find it hard to spend upwards of $1,000 within the traditional 90-day period. If you're able to meet the spending requirements within the extended 180-day period, you can use the bonus cash back or points to offset the cost of groceries or household goods through statement credit and gift card redemptions, or as a deposit into a linked Bank of America checking or savings account.
However, if it's still a stretch for you to earn the welcome bonus, that's OK too. It's better to forgo your bonus than overspend and carry a balance on your card, which may come with high interest charges.
Information about the Bank of America® Cash Rewards credit card and Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
