Bank of America relaunched its Travel Center on July 28, 2026, rebuilding the portal from the ground up in partnership with Rocket Travel by Agoda, the same Booking Holdings unit that already powers travel portals for several other major banks. The upgrade adds more than 500,000 properties, flights from over 170 airline partners, ground transportation through 170+ car rental companies, and 400,000+ activities. You can now book a flight departing on one airline and returning on another in the same search, and combine your card’s rewards points with a credit or debit card payment on a single booking instead of paying entirely in points or entirely in cash.
Who Actually Gets Access
This is the detail that matters most and the one easiest to miss: the redesigned Travel Center is limited to holders of the Premium Rewards Elite card, the Premium Rewards card, and the no-annual-fee Travel Rewards card. If you hold the Customized Cash Rewards card or another BofA cash-back product, this relaunch doesn’t apply to your account. That card still earns solid rewards on everyday spending, but it was never a travel-portal card and isn’t part of this rollout.
The Three Eligible Cards, Compared
| Card | Annual Fee | Base Earning Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travel Rewards | $0 | 1.5 points per $1 on everything | Readers who want portal access without an annual fee |
| Premium Rewards | $95 | 2 points per $1 on travel and dining, 1.5 points elsewhere | Frequent travelers who also want a $100 airline incidental credit and TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit |
| Premium Rewards Elite | Higher-tier annual fee | Elevated travel and dining rate, richer credits | Bank of America Preferred Rewards Platinum Honors clients already anchored in the BofA/Merrill ecosystem |
Points earned on any of the three cards are worth 1 cent each when redeemed as a statement credit against a travel or dining purchase, or now, directly inside the Travel Center toward a new booking.
What’s Actually New About the Booking Experience
The old BofA travel portal worked, but its hotel and flight inventory was noticeably thinner than what readers get from Chase Travel or the Capital One travel portal. The Rocket Travel by Agoda backend closes most of that gap: over 500,000 properties worldwide (with fuller listings, photos, amenities, and reviews than the previous version), 170+ airline partners with mix-and-match one-way booking on departure and return flights, and 400,000+ bookable activities and experiences layered onto the same checkout flow. The mix-and-match flight booking is the standout upgrade. Previously, most bank travel portals required round-trip searches on a single carrier; now you can book, say, an outbound flight on Delta and a return on American in the same transaction if that combination is cheaper or better-timed.
The other meaningful change is payment flexibility. You can apply however many points you’ve accumulated toward the cost of a booking and put the remainder on your card, which matters most for readers who have a points balance that doesn’t quite cover a full trip.
The Preferred Rewards Multiplier Most Readers Miss
Separately from the Travel Center relaunch, Bank of America’s Preferred Rewards program lets anyone with a BofA personal checking account join for free and earn a bonus on eligible credit card rewards, starting at 10% and climbing to 75% at the top Platinum Honors tier, based on your combined BofA/Merrill balance. That bonus applies to the points you earn before you ever get to the Travel Center, so a Travel Rewards cardholder earning a flat 1.5 points per dollar could see that climb meaningfully higher depending on tier, before those points get applied to a portal booking. If you’re already banking with BofA and hold one of the three eligible cards, checking your Preferred Rewards tier is worth doing before your next big booking, since it changes the math on whether paying with points, cash, or a mix makes more sense.
Why This Is a Catch-Up Move, Not a First-of-Its-Kind Launch
Rocket Travel by Agoda already powers travel portals for other major card issuers, including U.S. Bank, which moved to the same backend in 2024. Bank of America’s version arriving in 2026 means its travel portal ran on comparatively thin inventory for roughly two years while competing banks had already made the switch. That context matters for expectations: this relaunch brings BofA’s portal up to parity with what some other issuers’ cardholders have had for a while, rather than introducing something new to the bank travel-portal category as a whole. Readers who’ve used a Chase or U.S. Bank travel portal recently will find the mix-and-match flight search and expanded hotel inventory familiar rather than novel, but for BofA’s own cardholders, it’s still a meaningful step up from the old version.
How to Book Through the New Travel Center
- Log in to your Bank of America online banking or mobile app and open the Travel Center tab (visible only if you hold Travel Rewards, Premium Rewards, or Premium Rewards Elite).
- Search flights, hotels, cars, or activities the same way you would on any consumer travel site. Use the new mix-and-match flight option if a split-airline itinerary saves money or time.
- At checkout, choose how much of your points balance to apply and pay the remainder with your linked card.
- Confirm your Preferred Rewards tier beforehand if you bank with BofA. It applies automatically, but knowing your bonus percentage helps you decide whether to redeem points now or let them keep accruing value.
Bottom Line
If you carry the Travel Rewards, Premium Rewards, or Premium Rewards Elite card, the new Travel Center is worth using on your next trip, particularly for the mix-and-match flight search and the ability to blend points with a card payment. If you only hold the Customized Cash Rewards card, this change doesn’t touch your account, and there’s no reason to go looking for a Travel Center tab that isn’t there.
FAQ
Q: Does the new Travel Center change how many points I earn on travel purchases?
A: No. The relaunch changes the booking platform and inventory, not the underlying earning rates on your card. Travel Rewards still earns 1.5 points per dollar on everything, and Premium Rewards still earns 2 points per dollar on travel and dining.
Q: Can I still redeem points as a plain statement credit instead of booking through the portal?
A: Yes. Redeeming points as a statement credit against a travel or dining charge on your statement remains available at 1 cent per point, separate from booking directly inside the Travel Center.
Q: Why can’t I see the Travel Center on my Customized Cash Rewards account?
A: The redesigned Travel Center is only available to Premium Rewards Elite, Premium Rewards, and Travel Rewards cardholders. Customized Cash Rewards is a cash-back product and was never part of this rollout.
Q: Is the mix-and-match flight option available on every route?
A: Availability depends on which of the 170+ airline partners serve your route. It’s most useful on routes with multiple competing carriers, less so on routes with limited airline options.
Q: Do Bank of America Preferred Rewards bonuses apply to points redeemed through the Travel Center?
A: Preferred Rewards bonuses apply to the points you earn on card purchases, not to how you later redeem them. The bonus percentage boosts your earning rate regardless of whether you eventually redeem through the Travel Center or as a statement credit.