Preferred Rewards, a groundbreaking program that recognizes and rewards clients for choosing Bank of America for more of their banking and Merrill Edge for their investment needs, is now available for clients in California, Oregon, Arizona and Idaho. These states are within wave two of a four-wave national rollout of the program that began in June and will be completed in September.

“Preferred Rewards is the first program of its kind to offer clients benefits and rewards for everyday banking,” said Dean Athanasia, president of Preferred Banking at Bank of America. “It is the result of deep client research to develop and deliver a simple program that provides clients benefits and rewards they will actually use, and shows them how much we appreciate it when they choose to do more business with us.”

Clients with a Bank of America personal checking account and a three-month average combined balance of $20,000 or more across their checking, savings and/or Merrill Edge® investment accounts can enroll. And, as clients’ combined balances grow, so do their benefits and rewards. With a three-tier structure – Gold, Platinum and Platinum Honors – clients have additional opportunities to earn, save and get more back based on their tier, including:

• Rewards bonus: Bonus rewards – points or cash back – on eligible Bank of America credit cards.
• Priority service: Access to a dedicated team of specialists available to handle all our Preferred clients’ banking and service needs.
• Extra interest: Higher interest rates on Rewards Money Market Savings accounts.
• $0 equity and ETF trades*: $0 Merrill Edge online equity and Exchange-Traded Funds trades (30 per month for Platinum and 100 per month for Platinum Honors)
• Home equity interest rate discount: Interest rate reductions for home equity loans or lines of credit.
• Mortgage relationship credit: A relationship credit – $200 for Gold, $400 for Platinum and $600 for Platinum Honors – on a mortgage purchase or refinancing of a loan.
• No fees on select everyday banking services: Fees waived for services standard check orders, cashier’s checks and stop payments.

There is no fee to enroll in the Preferred Rewards program for qualified Bank of America clients. Once clients begin receiving benefits, their three-month average balance will be reviewed monthly for the opportunity to achieve additional benefits. The program was created to bring more benefits to Bank of America clients that do more business with the bank.

“The lower qualifying balance for Preferred Rewards than Platinum Privileges means more of our clients are able to participate in the program and earn greater rewards,” said Aron Levine, head of Preferred Banking and Merrill Edge Investing at Bank of America. “The rewards are broader and reach across the bank, so more clients can experience all that Bank of America has to offer through one simple program.”

Clients who are currently enrolled in Bank of America’s Platinum Privileges program are encouraged to enroll in Preferred Rewards at http://bankofamerica.com/preferredrewardsnews. Once they enroll in Preferred Rewards, their new benefits will replace existing Platinum Privileges benefits.