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5 ways BofA Rewards can unlock more value


Loyalty programs often reward you for a single type of activity. Airline programs reward flights. Hotel programs reward stays. Credit card rewards programs reward spending.

Bank of America’s BofA Rewards™ program rewards you for your entire financial relationship with the bank, whether you’re making everyday purchases, saving for a big goal or financing major life milestones.

Even better: The program is now more accessible than ever before. Anyone with a Bank of America personal checking account can join — with no minimum balance or enrollment fee required. Your tier is determined by a three-month combined average of daily balances across qualifying Bank of America and Merrill accounts.

Depending on your tier and how you use the program, you can receive between $150 and $4,000 in annual value as a BofA Rewards member, thanks to benefits like credit card rewards bonuses, cash-back deals, loan discounts and enhanced identity monitoring.

Here are five ways the program can help you get more value from the financial decisions you’re already making.

Making a large credit card purchase

Big purchases can be a great opportunity to earn extra rewards.

As a BofA Rewards member, you can earn an additional credit card rewards bonus of 10% to 75% on eligible credit card purchases, depending on your member tier.

Imagine you’re buying a new refrigerator online for $2,000 with your Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card and qualify for the BofA Rewards Preferred Honors tier.

If you’ve selected “online shopping” as your 3% cash-back category of choice, the card would normally earn you $60 cash back on the purchase. But your Preferred Honors tier adds a 50% credit card rewards bonus, boosting your total cash back to $90 for that single purchase. This combination turns your 3% category into an effective 4.5% cash-back rate — a powerful return on a purchase you were already making.

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That means the rewards you earn on your purchase could increase significantly simply by being enrolled in the program.

If you regularly put larger purchases on your credit card — whether they’re home appliances, electronics or travel — those extra rewards bonuses can add up over time.

Shopping online and in-store

Many people already use shopping portals or loyalty programs to stretch their spending a bit further.

As a BofA Rewards member, you’ll have another way to do that through cash-back deals and other discounts available from more than 15,000 popular national and local brands.

These deals allow you to save money when shopping with participating merchants. Plus, if you’re paying with a Bank of America credit card, you can still earn your everyday card rewards.

For regular purchases like clothing, dining, travel and household items, stacking these deals with credit card rewards can make everyday spending more rewarding.

Buying a car

Buying a car is one of the largest purchases many people make. Even a small reduction in a loan rate can make a noticeable difference over time.

As a BofA Rewards member, you’ll receive an interest rate discount on Bank of America auto loans ranging from 0.10% to 0.50%, depending on your tier.

To see how that can add up, imagine financing a $40,000 vehicle with a five-year loan. For example, if your Premier member tier qualifies you for the maximum 0.50% interest rate discount, that could lower a 6% loan rate to 5.5%.

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On a loan of that size and length, that half-percentage-point reduction would save over $550 in interest over the life of the loan.

For members already planning to finance a vehicle through Bank of America, that discount can help lower the overall cost of the purchase while rewarding their broader banking relationship.

Purchasing or renovating a home

Homeownership often comes with major financial decisions, from purchasing the property itself to renovating and maintaining it over time.

As a BofA Rewards member, you can receive discounts on mortgage origination fees, saving between $100 and $600 at the Member through Preferred Honors tiers and up to a 0.375% interest rate reduction on a mortgage loan at the Premier tier.

Those savings can help offset some of the upfront costs associated with buying a home.

Eligible clients may also find value when tapping into a home equity line of credit for renovations or other projects. As with the mortgage benefit, these savings are designed to reward customers who deepen their relationship with the bank over time. This benefit becomes particularly valuable for larger projects.

Monitoring for fraud

Financial benefits are important, but peace of mind can be just as valuable.

Unlike fraud alerts tied to a single credit card, BofA Rewards members receive access to newly enhanced fraud and identity monitoring, including features like dark web monitoring, Social Security number monitoring and full-service identity restoration.

Identity theft can be costly and stressful to resolve. Tools like these can help members detect suspicious activity early and respond quickly if an issue arises.

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For many customers, having these monitoring tools included as part of a broader rewards program adds another layer of holistic value.

Think of it as the foundation that comes with consolidating your finances. While rewards bonuses help you build value, these integrated tools are there to help safeguard them.

Bottom line

The BofA Rewards program is designed to reward customers for their entire relationship with Bank of America, not just a single financial product.

Members can earn extra credit card rewards, access cash-back deals with thousands of brands, receive loan discounts and take advantage of identity monitoring tools. As your financial relationship with the bank grows, you’ll unlock additional benefits — like streaming subscription credits and exclusive entertainment access.

But perhaps the most exciting aspect of the program is its accessibility. Anyone with a Bank of America personal checking account can join the program at no cost, making it easier for more customers to start benefiting right away.

If you want to learn more about how the program works and what benefits you may qualify for, visit the BofA Rewards website.

Banking services provided by Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC. For full terms and conditions, visit bofa.com/bofarewards.

BofA Rewards™ Eligibility. Customers can enroll and maintain their membership in BofA Rewards™ if they have an open, qualifying Bank of America® checking account. BofA Rewards tiers are based on each customer’s combined average balance in qualifying deposit and investment accounts. The minimum balance for each tier is: Member, no minimum balance; Preferred Plus, $30,000; Preferred Honors, $100,000; and Premier, $1,000,000. When you enroll, you’ll be placed in the appropriate tier for your combined average balance and then moved to the highest tier you’re eligible for based on one of the following:

  1. For the 30 calendar days following your first enrollment, the combined end-of-day collected balance of your qualifying accounts (“Daily Balance”), provided that your Daily Balance remains above the required amount for a minimum of three business days; or
  2. Subsequently, the combined average balance of your qualifying accounts calculated on the third business day of each month.

Eligible customers will be moved to the higher tier within 3 business days. New tier benefits may take up to 30 days to become effective. For full terms, including qualifying accounts and the method of calculation of average balances, refer to your Personal Schedule of Fees.

To participate, you just need an eligible Bank of America checking account. Checking accounts may have a monthly maintenance fee if waiver requirements are not met.

Credit Card BofA Rewards™ Bonus. Certain credit cards are eligible to receive a BofA Rewards™ bonus. Enrolled BofA Rewards members with eligible Bank of America® credit cards can receive a BofA Rewards bonus of 10% for the Member tier, 25% for the Preferred Plus tier, 50% for the Preferred Honors tier, or 75% for the Premier tier. If your card receives the 10% customer bonus, the BofA Rewards bonus will replace the 10% customer bonus. The BofA Rewards bonus for eligible cash rewards credit cards will be applied after all base and bonus cash rewards have been calculated on a purchase. For example, a $100 purchase that earns 3% ($3.00) will actually earn $3.30, $3.75, $4.50 or $5.25 based on your tier when the purchase posts to your account. For all other eligible card types, a purchase that earns 100 base points will actually earn 110, 125, 150, or 175 points, based on your tier when the purchase posts to your account. The BofA Rewards bonus also does not apply to the bonus earn for certain programs and is not applied to any account opening bonus or non-standard rewards that are part of a special offer, unless we indicate otherwise. This information can be found in the Program Rules associated with those credit cards. Other terms and conditions apply. Please refer to your card’s Program Rules for details about how you will receive the BofA Rewards bonus. Program Rules are mailed upon account opening and are accessible through the rewards redemption site via Online Banking or by calling the number on the back of your card. View a complete list of eligible cards.



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Fifth Circuit Expands Tire Import Excise Tax – Houston Tax Attorneys


In the tax world, excise taxes are often the neglected step-child. They take a back seat to income and estate taxes. They do not make the headlines very often.

Excise taxes are largely transaction-based taxes that target specific industries or activities. The businesses that are subject to these taxes generally just pay them, and consider it a cost of doing business.

But the law and rules for these taxes are often not well developed and they can be very difficult to apply in practice. This can be problematic as a misstep with these taxes can be financially devastating for a business. It often spells the end for the business, or, at a minimum, a need to resolve a significant tax balance with the IRS.

The recent case of Texas Truck Parts & Tire, Inc. v. United States, No. 23-20588.(5th Cir. Oct. 8, 2024) provides an opportunity to consider the ill-defined tire import excise tax. This case resulted in a significant tax liability and expanded definition of who qualifies as an “importer” for this tax–which could be extremely problematic for businesses that import tires for sale in the United States.

Facts & Procedural History

The taxpayer (“Texas Truck”) is a wholesaler and retailer of truck parts and tires based in Houston, Texas.

From 2012 to 2017, Texas Truck purchased tires from Chinese manufacturers, which shipped and delivered the tires to Houston. Texas Truck believed that the Chinese manufacturers were the importers of the tires under applicable law and therefore did not file quarterly excise tax returns or pay any excise tax on the tires.

The IRS audited Texas Truck and determined that it, not the Chinese manufacturers, was the importer of the tires and therefore owed approximately $1.9 million in taxes. Texas Truck paid a portion of these taxes and filed an administrative claim for a refund. After the IRS failed to act on the claim, Texas Truck filed suit seeking a refund.

The district court determined on summary judgment that the Chinese manufacturers imported the tires and were therefore liable for the tax. The Government appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which resulted in the current court opinion.

About Excise Taxes on Imported Tires

Section 4071 imposes tax liability on manufacturers, producers, or importers of taxable tires for their sale. The “or” in the code means that the tax could be imposed on any one of these parties.

This leaves one wondering who qualifies as a manufacturer, producer, or importer? The implementing regulations provide definitions of these terms. As relevant to this case, the regulations define an “importer” as any person who “brings” a taxable article into the United States from a source outside the United States, or who withdraws such an article from a customs-bonded warehouse for sale or use in the United States. These rules are found in Treas. Reg. § 48.0-2(a)(4)(i).

The regulations go on to provide an exception for nominal importers. The regulations say that the beneficial owner, not the nominal importer, is liable for the excise tax. The regulations use the example of a broker who ships an item for the ultimate owner, saying that the owner and not the broker should be liable for the excise tax. As we’ll see below, it is not easy to square the “brings” rule with this exception for nominal importers.

As a side note, astute readers may note that the “sale” is what triggers the tax, not the act of importing the tires. They might wonder if this excise tax could be avoided by having an integrated foreign manufacturer-U.S. sales company so there is no “sale.” The statute addresses this. It says that if a manufacturer, producer, or importer delivers tires to its own store or outlet, it is liable for the excise tax in the same manner as if it had been sold when delivered. Thus, for an integrated manufacturer-sales company, the excise tax is essentially triggered on delivery to the United States.

Who “Brings” in the Taxable Item into the United States?

This tax dispute focused on who “brings” the taxable item into the United States as defined in the regulations. This is important as the regulation clearly says that the party who “brings” the taxable item into the United States is liable for the excise tax.

Let’s start with the IRS’s position. The IRS argued that the term “brings” means causing or making something come from abroad. Under this broad definition, any United States business that ordered tires manufactured abroad would be subject to the tax, regardless of who physically transported the tires into the country. This interpretation would cast a wide net.

The district court did not accept this broad definition. It concluded that the Chinese manufacturers were the parties who brought the tires into the United States, as they physically made the delivery. This interpretation aligns with a common-sense understanding of the word “brings”–i.e., the party that physically transports an item from one place to another.

On appeal, the Fifth Circuit agreed with the district court’s narrower interpretation of “brings.” The Chinese manufacturer was the party that brought the tires to the United States. However, the appeals court concluded that the focus should have been on the other language in the regulations regarding “nominal importer” and “beneficial owner” and that these terms basically overrule the language about who “brings” the tires into the United States.

Who is a Nominal Importer vs. Beneficial Owner?

Okay, so if we ignore who “brings” the tires to the United States, who is a “nominal importer” and who is a “beneficial owner?” These are concepts that are often used with trusts, and even foreign FBAR reporting obligations. The regulations provide a starting point.

A “nominal importer” is an entity that appears to be the importer on paper or in form, but doesn’t have the substantive benefits or risks associated with importing. In this case, the Chinese manufacturers were considered nominal importers because they merely handled the logistics of shipping the tires to the United States on Texas Truck’s behalf.

The “beneficial owner,” on the other hand, is the entity that derives the real economic benefit from the importation. The Fifth Circuit, drawing on previous case law and IRS rulings, defined the beneficial owner as the party who is “the inducing and efficient cause of the importation.”

In applying these concepts, the appeals court considered several factors:

  1. Who initiated the order: Texas Truck placed specific orders with the Chinese manufacturers.
  2. Who benefited from the importation: Texas Truck received the tires for resale in the U.S. market.
  3. The nature of the transaction: The Chinese manufacturers didn’t import tires speculatively to sell in the U.S.; they shipped tires in response to Texas Truck’s orders.
  4. The intent of the parties: The arrangement was set up for Texas Truck to receive tires for its business, not for the Chinese manufacturers to establish a U.S. presence.

The Fifth Circuit concluded that Texas Truck was the beneficial owner of the tires. Even though Texas Truck didn’t physically bring the tires into the country, it was “the inducing and efficient cause” of their importation. The Chinese manufacturers, while technically bringing the tires into the U.S., were merely acting as agents facilitating the transaction.

The Takeaway

Businesses importing tires for sale in the United States, particularly those in Texas and other states within the Fifth Circuit’s jurisdiction, should carefully review their importing practices in light of this decision. They may need to reassess their potential excise tax liabilities and ensure they are properly reporting and paying any applicable taxes. Factors such as who initiates the order, who benefits from the importation, and how the sales process is structured can all impact the determination of who is the “importer” for tax purposes. This interpretation may result in taxpayers needing to restructure their business or having to consider filing excise tax returns for the first time or amended returns to seek refunds.

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