Bank of America has quietly given its credit card travel portal a massive overhaul. Rebuilt in partnership with Booking.com’s tech arm (Rocket Travel by Agoda), the refreshed Travel Center brings the bank much closer to the modern booking experience you get with Chase or American Express.
Instead of feeling like an afterthought, the updated platform boasts nearly a million bookable options worldwide. Here is what actually changed, how card access works, and what to watch out for before locking in your next trip.
Key Upgrades to the Booking Experience
- A Massive Bump in Inventory: The portal now connects cardholders to more than 500,000 hotel properties, over 170 airlines, 170 rental car companies, and upwards of 400,000 activities.
- Mix-and-Match Flights: You aren’t forced to stick with a single carrier for round-trip flights. You can pair an outbound flight on one airline with a return trip on another to get the best schedule or price.
- Points-Plus-Cash Payments: If your points balance falls short of covering the full trip, you can split the payment on a single checkout by combining rewards with a credit or debit card.
- Richer Hotel Information: Listings now showcase high-res photos, detailed amenity lists, and guest reviews directly on the page, so you don’t have to keep a dozen browser tabs open to double-check property details.
How Access Varies by Card
How you navigate and use the new Travel Center depends entirely on which Bank of America card is sitting in your wallet:
If you carry a Premium Rewards or Premium Rewards Elite card, you get the full suite of options. You can redeem points, pay cash, or split your payment directly through either the mobile app or online banking. Premium Rewards Elite cardholders also get a 20% discount when redeeming points for airfare through the portal.
For Travel Rewards and BankAmericard cardholders, you can book trips and pay using your card or rewards by signing into online banking. If you hold cash-back products like the Customized Cash or Unlimited Cash Rewards cards, you can’t redeem rewards directly inside the portal, but you can still use the Travel Center to book trips with your card by searching through the mobile app’s Erica assistant or online banking.
What To Note Before You Book
When going through inventory ,which is great on paper, standard portal caveats still apply:
- Booking hotels through a third-party portal means you usually forfeit earning elite night credits, hotel points, and status perks like free breakfast or room upgrades.
- The portal handles flights, hotels, cars, and activities, but excludes cruise bookings entirely.
- Before confirming a booking, always check direct prices on the airline or hotel website to make sure the portal rate hasn’t been marked up.
