Secured credit cards are meant for people with little to no credit history or who need to repair their credit profile. Bank of America has several secured cards, including two on our best secured credit cards list and now the issuer has added a fourth. The Bank of America® Travel Rewards Secured Credit Card* is meant for the traveler interested in building—or rebuilding—their credit and who has no intention of staying home while doing so.
Another no annual fee secured card from Bank of America, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards Secured Credit Card* earns 3 points per dollar on purchases made through the Travel Center and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases and has no foreign transaction fees, so you can bring it with you to Europe, Central America or wherever your travels take you. What’s even better is when your trip is booked through the issuer’s Travel Center, you’ll earn double the points: You get 3 points for every $1 you spend in the Travel Center, with no limit to how many bonus points you can pick up, and no blackout dates when booking trips.
As a secured credit card, you’ll need to open your account with a deposit between $200 and $5,000. But Bank of America will periodically review your account to determine if you can get that security deposit back.
The Bank of America® Travel Rewards Secured Credit Card* does not have a welcome bonus, nor does it come with an introductory APR for purchases and balance transfers. However, the card does have many of the security features Bank of America offers on its other cards:
- $0 fraud liability
- Overdraft protection
- Account alerts
- FICO Score access
- Digital wallet technology
Find the Best Secured Credit Cards of 2024
Redeeming Your Points
When you’ve amassed a pile of points, you can redeem them for a statement credit to pay for travel and dining purchases within the previous 12 months, up to the most recent 2,500 qualifying purchases. Bank of America includes cruises, tour operators, boat rentals, amusement parks, carnivals, zoos, bars, taverns, nightclubs and cocktail lounges among more traditional merchants like airlines, hotels and car rentals in its travel and dining categories. Points redeemed for travel credit are worth 1 cent each and you can redeem them starting at 2,500 points.
Using data from various government agencies, Forbes Advisor determined a sample household would spend about $606 on airfare and $2,250 on hotels a year. With this card, you’d earn 4,284 points. But if you booked all that travel through Bank of America’s Travel Center, you’d earn 8,568 points for an $85.68 statement credit.
Bottom Line
If you’re a traveler at heart in need of a simple way to build your credit, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards Secured Credit Card* is made for you. Earning 3 points per dollar on purchases made through the Travel Center and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases makes it easy to build up some points while improving your credit score.
