Do you love the idea of using points for travel, but not the idea of hunting for award seats? If that’s you, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card could be a good fit.

We spend a lot of time talking about finding award flights and booking hotels with points. We love those redemptions, but we also know that some travelers want a simpler way to use rewards. They want to book their trip, pay for it, and use points to help reduce the bill.

That’s how redemptions with the Travel Rewards credit card can work. The important part is choosing the right redemption option so you understand the value you’re getting. This card is generally best for applicants with excellent or good credit.

Earning Points With the Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card

Start With an Eligible Purchase

The Travel Rewards credit card allows you to redeem points for statement credits against eligible travel and dining purchases. Examples include flights, hotel stays, baggage fees, and restaurants, including takeout. It even includes tourist attractions like amusement parks, zoos, and aquariums, which is perfect for family trips!

You don’t need to find an airline award seat for this type of redemption. Instead, you make an eligible purchase with your card and then use rewards toward the posted charge. That can be appealing when your dates are fixed or you’ve found a paid travel option that works for your family’s schedule, like a spring break hotel near the theme park.

Know What Your Points Are Worth

For eligible travel and dining statement credits, points are worth 1 cent each, with redemptions starting at 2,500 points. Qualifying purchases must have been made within the past 12 months.

In our own example, let’s say you charge a $300 hotel stay to your card and have 25,000 points available. If that purchase qualifies, those points could provide a $250 statement credit, leaving $50 of the original hotel cost uncovered. You haven’t booked a free stay, but you’ve cut what that stay costs you.

How to Redeem Your Points

Once your eligible purchase has posted, sign in to Bank of America’s website or mobile app and open your Travel Rewards credit card account. Find the rewards redemption area and select the option for a travel or dining statement credit.

Review the qualifying purchases shown, choose the purchase or purchases you want to offset, and check the points required and credit amount before submitting. Bank of America may update its menu names, so follow the prompts in your account and review the confirmation carefully.

Choose the Redemption Option Carefully

The Travel Rewards credit card also offers cash redemptions, but those provide a lower value of 0.6 cents per point. For example, 25,000 points would give $150 in cash instead of $250 in eligible travel or dining statement credit. That’s a big difference for the same points balance.

We’d check eligible purchases before choosing cash. Redeeming only takes a few minutes, so it’s worth checking the value first so you don’t leave rewards on the table.

Bottom Line

These points offer a predictable way to help cover travel and dining expenses. You don’t have to turn every redemption into a complicated project. Sometimes using rewards to take $100 or $250 off a trip is exactly what you need. If you just want to book the trip and knock a little off the bill, this card keeps redemptions simple.

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed on this page are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline, or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by these entities.