Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Lounge Access
When you saw the title I bet the Chase Ritz card came to mind, didn't it? Nope, that not so secret gem of a card has been talked about enough, including by us. It normally ranks among the best for cards that offer Priority Pass. Right up there with the Sapphire Reserve card, for the restaurant access and all. You know which one should be up there by the ToP, but never gets discussed? That Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite lounge access, that one. The funny thing is that it doesn't even make it on the list for most sites. That is because they haven't taken the time to look at it. Not us though, we're here to shout it from the roof tops! With a big assist from our friend Divya in the ToP Facebook Group too.
Update 2/23/24:
I promised I would come back after testing this card out myself at restaurants. A few weeks back, I used my Priority Pass card at a Anita's Kitchen at Detroit Metro (DTW) no problem. My bill was completely covered by the credit and no additional charges have been added to my credit card. That means you are free to hit up those restaurants!
Premium Rewards Elite Credit Card
I have written about the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite credit card a few times now, and how it is a sneaky good value. Especially if jumped on that triple dip opportunity back in December. If you did follow my advice, you will not only get the $750 welcome offer the card has. You will also net $900 in travel incidentals and $450 in Uber credit. That is all for the low price of $550. That is a deal I can get behind every day, and twice on Sunday!
The Premium Rewards Elite card doesn't come with a great earning structure, unless you have Bank of America Preferred Rewards status that is. Otherwise, the card tops out at 2% earning with a 1.5% floor. Nothing to write home about, especially for a $500+ credit card.
What about the perks though? While I like the credits a lot, and find them more useful than most (hi Amex Platinum), they still don't cover the fee on a yearly basis ($550 vs $450). You have your standard Visa Signature perks and a 20% boost when redeeming points on travel via the Bank of America portal etc. Neither moves the needle much here. But, the one thing people may want to keep this card for is the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite lounge access.
Premium Rewards Elite Priority Pass Membership
So, what makes the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite lounge access perk so good? I mean Priority Pass is Priority Pass after all. Isn't it? Kind of, but not really. We saw that when the Venture X card removed restaurants from their Priority Pass membership. Here are the 3 things that make this card's Priority Pass membership one of the best.
Restaurant Access
As you probably guessed, the Bank of America Priority Pass membership comes with restaurant access. That immediately puts it up towards the top of the credit card lounge access perk list. Right there with the Sapphire Reserve, Ritz-Carlton credit card and the Venture X Business (for now at least).
Giving Priority Pass Membership To 4 People (Not Authorized Users)
Here is where things get really interesting with the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite lounge access. You can gift a full Priority Pass membership to up to 4 people. Notice how I didn't say anything about authorized users? Yup, that is right, you don't need to add them to your credit card first. Which can be a weird request for some people anyway. You just use your card number to sign up for up to 4 Priority Pass memberships and it should be free of charge.
Here are the terms from the Bank of America site:
“…Bank of America will allow enrollment up to four persons as member(s) in the Priority Pass Select program, without charge of a membership fee.”
The catch is you can only use this 4 times, forever. You can not remove and add new members etc. which is a little bit of a bummer. Think of them as 4 free Priority Pass membership coupons essentially. I don't think you even need to use them on yourself if you are covered elsewhere.
Here is the Priority Pass sign up site for the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite lounge access.
What About Guest Access?
The last thing we need to discuss is guest access. This is where I ran into a snag. The terms say that you get free guests with each membership too, but it doesn't specify a cap or a price for additional guests. I spent over an hour calling Bank of America customer service, their concierge department, Priority Pass and even Visa Infinite. None of them had an answer for me. They couldn't find it in any of their terms either.
Could this mean the guests are unlimited, much like the Ritz-Carlton card was before they added in 2 guest policy terms? Could it be the standard 2 person or immediate family set up that others have? I have no idea. If you have brought in over 2 people as guests with this card please let me know over in the ToP Facebook Group.
Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite Lounge Access: ToP Thoughts
Where does the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite lounge access now rank for you? I have to admit, it is the ToP dawg for me now. Allowing you to get 4 Priority Pass memberships for anyone you want, without needing to add them as an authorized user (which comes with some risk for you and them) is tough to beat. Having restaurant access and potentially unlimited guesting policies is icing on the cake.
Let me know your thoughts on the Premium Rewards Elite Priority Pass membership over in the ToP Facebook Group. If you grabbed one for the triple dip like I told you too back in December, then hopefully your day just got a bit brighter!