BankAmericard® Credit Card Review: Zero Interest for Almost Two Years

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BankAmericard® Credit Card

This product is currently not available via Slickdeals. All information about this product was collected by Slickdeals and has not been reviewed by the issuer.

• Our Rating 4/5 How our ratings work
• APR16.24% - 26.24% Variable APR
• Annual Fee$0

The BankAmericard® Credit Card is a top choice, offering a way to move over existing debt and pay it off over the next year. While it lacks perks, this card's intro APR offer is a great way to pay off credit card debt interest-free.

A Good Balance Transfer Option

Using an intro APR offer to transfer credit card debt is a great way to pay off that debt interest free. The BankAmericard® Credit Card is a top choice for this, offering a way to move over existing debt and pay it off over the next year and a half.

Typically balance transfer cards don’t feature a list of perks you find with a travel rewards card. The BankAmericard® Credit Card is no different, with few redeeming qualities other than helping you save money and pay off debt. Check out our summary of the BankAmericard® Credit Card below to learn more about its benefits, its drawbacks and whether it’s worth a spot in your wallet.

Balance Transfer Offer

As mentioned above, balance transfers during the first 60 days from card opening earn 0% APR for 21 billing cycles. Once the introductory period expires, a 16.24% - 26.24% Variable APR will be applied. Balance transfers are great for people with existing high-interest credit card debt they want to pay off while avoiding interest charges. For example, if you had $3,000 in charges on another credit card, you could transfer it to your new BankAmericard® Credit Card and pay off the balance over the next 21 months without having to pay interest. Interest charges are quite costly and make paying off debt more difficult.

Another cost you need to factor in is the balance transfer fee. The BankAmericard® Credit Card charges a balance transfer fee of 3% of the balance transferred over. If you transferred a $3,000 balance over to the BankAmericard card, you would end up paying $90 in balance transfer fees. Look at your existing card balances and interest charges to determine whether it's a better value to transfer over your debt and pay the fees or stay put.

With the BankAmericard® Credit Card, you can transfer balances through online access or the Bank of America mobile app. You’ll need to know your other credit card’s current balance and interest rate. You should also continue to make payments on the other card balance until it shows up on your BankAmericard® Credit Card account. Balance transfers typically take two weeks or longer to process. Also, note that you can’t use your BankAmericard card to transfer over balances from other Bank of America accounts.

Always read the fine print when performing a balance transfer. With most balance transfer cards, interest accrues on the transferred balance. If you fail to pay the entire balance off before the end of the introductory period, you'll be charged interest on the whole transfer balance, not just the remaining balance. Keep in mind that your credit limit may affect how much you can transfer over from another credit card.

Intro APR Offer

As mentioned, the BankAmericard® Credit Card comes with a long-term intro APR offer on both purchases and balance transfers. Cardholders have access to the introductory 0% APR for 21 billing cycles on purchases and balance transfers made in the first 60 days.

After the introductory period ends, a 16.24% - 26.24% Variable APR (based on creditworthiness) applies to purchases and balance transfers. Your creditworthiness determines your assigned regular APR.

Penalty APR

Another nice feature of the BankAmericard® Credit Card is that it doesn’t charge a penalty APR if you are late with a payment. Many card issuers automatically increase your interest rate if you’re late on your monthly payment by a certain number of days. There is no automatic rate increase with the BankAmericard® Credit Card.

Annual Fee

Fees, like an annual fee, can cut into the value offered by rewards credit cards. As mentioned, the BankAmericard® Credit Card offers no rewards and few benefits, but it also charges no annual fee. The card is specifically designed for individuals who want to transfer over existing credit card debt and pay it off over time.

Credit Score

Credit scores are one of the most important factors in determining the creditworthiness of a credit card applicant. Like most card issuers, Bank of America doesn’t display its credit requirements publicly. We recommend you have at least a good to excellent credit score when you apply. A good to excellent credit score is a FICO® Score between 670 and 850.

Always check your credit before you apply for a new credit card. If your score isn’t good enough to qualify, consider building up your credit score before you apply. Your credit score also helps determine the card’s interest rate.

Card Benefits

The BankAmericard® Credit Card isn’t considered a rewards credit card and offers few benefits, most of which are standard with most credit cards these days.

Liability Coverage

You are protected against fraudulent charges if your BankAmericard® Credit Card is lost or stolen.

Mobile Access

Cardholders can access their credit card account from anywhere in the world through Bank of America’s highly rated mobile app. The app is available for iPhone and Android.

Alerts

Another nice feature is that cardholders can set up text and email alerts through Bank of America.

Free Credit Score

Your BankAmericard® Credit Card also comes with free access to your FICO® credit score. You can access your free score via online access or the Bank of America mobile app.

Contactless Card

The BankAmericard® Credit Card is a chip-enabled card, but it also is a contactless card for added convenience.

Overdraft Protection

If you’re a BofA banking customer, you can protect your deposit accounts with overdraft protection through your BankAmericard® Credit Card. Then, if you overdraft on your deposit account, Bank of America automatically transfers over funds from your credit card account to cover the expenses. The transfer is treated as a cash advance and may be subject to additional fees.

Rewards

The BankAmericard® Credit Card doesn’t earn any travel or cash back rewards on spending. If you're looking for rewards to sweeten the pot, you may be better off choosing a different card.

Fees

As mentioned earlier, the BankAmericard® Credit Card carries no annual fee. Unfortunately, it does charge another significant fee, especially if you are a frequent traveler — a foreign transaction fee. Foreign transaction fees are charged on purchases made outside of the country. The BankAmericard charges a 3% foreign transaction fee on all purchases made outside of the U.S or in a foreign currency. If you travel internationally, you’ll want to bring a different rewards credit card that doesn’t charge costly foreign transaction fees.

Below are some other fees you could see when using your BankAmericard® Credit Card:

• Annual fee: No
• Balance transfer fee: Yes
• Foreign transaction fee: Yes
• Cash advance fees: Yes
• Late payment fees: Yes

Always read the terms and conditions for any credit card you are thinking about applying for so you're familiar with its fees.

Drawbacks

The BankAmericard® Credit Card is a decent balance transfer credit card, but it doesn’t offer many benefits beyond its intro APR offer.

Here are some of the drawbacks to consider before deciding if the BankAmericard® Credit Card is right for you.

• No rewards: The BankAmericard® Credit Card doesn’t earn rewards for using the card for spending. It's not part of any Bank of America rewards program.
• No travel perks: On top of no rewards, there are also zero travel benefits with the BankAmericard® Credit Card.
• Foreign transaction fee: All international purchases made with your BankAmericard® Credit Card are subject to a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Bottom Line

If you have existing credit card debt and want to avoid costly interest charges, the BankAmericard® Credit Card is an excellent option. Other cards exist that offer introductory periods too, but the period on this card is pretty long, which might be a selling point. 

Before you apply, always read the fine print, paying attention to things like balance transfer fees and interest rates. Do the math to figure out if a balance transfer card makes sense for your situation.

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