Key Points

• Bank of America relaunched its Travel Center with roughly one million bookable options, but access and payment flexibility depend entirely on which card you carry.
• The portal skips cruises entirely and won't let a booking earn points if you pay for it 100% with points.
• Cardholders who stack the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program with the right card can turn this new portal into a meaningfully better deal than the old one.

Introduction

If you've got a Bank of America credit card sitting in your wallet, there's a new Bank of America travel portal worth a look before your next trip. The bank quietly rebuilt its Travel Center, swapping in a much bigger inventory and some new payment flexibility that the old version never had. It's not a universal upgrade, though. What you can book, and how you can pay for it, changes depending on which BofA card you're holding. Here's what actually changed, where the portal falls short, and how to get the most out of it if you're already in the BofA ecosystem.

What Happened

Bank of America's refreshed Travel Center now runs on Rocket Travel by Agoda, a platform owned by Booking.com, which explains the jump in inventory. The bank is advertising close to a million travel options: more than 500,000 hotels, flights across upwards of 170 airline partners, ground transportation from over 170 rental car companies, and more than 400,000 bookable activities. Notably absent is any cruise booking option, so cruisers will still need to look elsewhere.

Hotel listings now include photos, amenities, and guest reviews, and the flight search lets you mix carriers on your outbound and return legs, a feature that plenty of bank-run portals still don't offer. You can also split a payment between rewards points and your card on a single booking, which is genuinely useful if your points balance falls just short of covering a trip.

Access varies by card. Premium Rewards and Premium Rewards Elite holders get the most flexibility, booking with points, card payments, or both through the app or Online Banking. Travel Rewards cardholders can pay by card through Online Banking. Customized Cash Rewards and Unlimited Cash Rewards holders can pay by card but need to access the portal through Erica or search, since points redemption isn't part of the deal for cash-back cards. BankAmericard holders can use points and payments online as well. If you're weighing which of these fits your spending best, our breakdown of the choice between Travel Rewards, Platinum Plus, and Unlimited Cash Rewards sign-up bonuses is a useful starting point.

Why This Matters

The biggest catch is one that's easy to miss: if you pay for a booking entirely with points, that transaction earns zero rewards. Paying with your card, or splitting the cost between points and card, keeps your earning intact. That's an important distinction if you're trying to build points for a future trip while also redeeming for a current one, and it's worth understanding before you decide whether a travel credit card is worth carrying in the first place.

There are a few other wrinkles worth knowing before you book. Points refunds post immediately if a trip falls through, but card refunds can take seven to 10 business days. You also can't attach a hotel or rental car loyalty number inside the portal itself, so frequent guests will need to add that at check-in instead. And if you're already traveling internationally, some booking categories may lock up entirely depending on your location, a restriction that reportedly doesn't resolve with a VPN or cleared browsing history.

Compared to the Chase Travel portal or American Express Travel, BofA's version is playing catch-up on total inventory but is now much closer in scope. Where it can pull ahead is the Preferred Rewards angle: if you're already banking with Bank of America and qualify for Gold, Platinum, or Platinum Honors status, your points-earning rate on eligible cards gets a 25% to 75% bonus. Stack that bonus on top of the Premium Rewards card's 2x travel and dining rate, and portal bookings start looking a lot more competitive with what you'd get through a bigger-name travel agency.

What You Should Do

• Check your Preferred Rewards tier before your next big booking, since even Gold status boosts your points rate on travel purchases.
• Split payment between points and card rather than paying 100% in points if you want the transaction to keep earning rewards.
• Confirm loyalty program numbers directly with your hotel or rental car company at check-in, since the portal won't save them for you.
• If you're traveling abroad when you try to book, call BofA Travel directly rather than troubleshooting through your browser.
• If flight pricing looks high, check when the best time to book actually is before assuming the portal's rate is your only option.

Cardholders comparing options should also weigh how a Bank of America Travel Rewards card's no-annual-fee structure stacks up against the richer earning on Premium Rewards, especially if portal bookings will become a regular habit. Cash-back-focused cardholders eyeing card payments through the portal might also compare the flat 1.5% rate on Unlimited Cash Rewards against the rotating 3% category on Customized Cash Rewards, since travel can be selected as your bonus category. For a full breakdown of how BofA's card lineup compares, our guide to the best Bank of America credit cards walks through which one fits your spending pattern.

FAQ

Does the new Bank of America Travel Center let you book cruises?
No. Hotels, flights, cars, and activities are the four categories currently available, and there's no indication cruises are coming.

Will I still earn points if I redeem points for a booking?
Only if part of the payment comes from your card. A booking paid entirely in points earns no additional rewards.

Can international travelers use the portal while abroad?
It depends on location. Some travelers have reported flights, cars, and activities becoming unavailable overseas, with only hotel bookings still working, even after switching to a VPN.

Conclusion

Bank of America's revamped Travel Center is a real step up in inventory and flexibility, but it rewards cardholders who understand its quirks, especially the points-only earning gap and the geographic restrictions abroad. Pair the right card with your Preferred Rewards tier and this portal becomes a genuinely useful tool rather than just a backup option. This article contains affiliate links. If you apply through our links, we may earn a commission at no cost to you, which helps us continue sharing points and miles strategies with the community.