Bank of America-Credit Card vs. Debit Card Comparison

Bank of America offers a range of credit cards from basic charge cards to reward credit cards. Besides the membership rewards charge card, the Blue series as well as the INSIDE rewards Citi Cards have also been introduced. The American Express also issues affinity cards for Delta Airlines, JetBlue, Starwood Preferred Guest as well as Hilton HHonors. The Green and Gold charge cards would be of use to those who travel a lot. Under the Blue series come the Blue, Blue Cash and Blue Sky. These are three different cards. The Blue is a no annual credit card version of the original green and gold charge card and its reward program is based on the membership rewards option program. Blue cash is a cash rebate card whereas Blue Sky is a unique travel rewards credit card which allows you to find the best deals and later claim rewards.

The IN:NYC card has been targeted at the younger crowd of New York. The card holder can earn points and later redeem them at restaurants, theatres etc. With the two Delta frequent flyer cards, you can either use skypoints to get discounts on Delta flights or convert them into skymiles.

Bank of America is the number one debit card issuer in the country and has issued more than 22 million cards till date. In fact the company has reached its $100 billion milestone mainly because its customers with debit cards are using them more often. Also, a much higher percentage of customers are getting the cards when they open accounts. The convenience, security and record keeping abilities of debit cards make it a preferred way of payment than cash or checks. Customers can use these cards at thousands of stores as well as use it to pay cash or get balances at any Bank of America ATM.

However, debit card rewards tend to be lesser than that of credit cards. For instance, while most banks generally offer one point for every $2 spent with a debit card, there is just one point for every $1 spent with a credit card. In other words, if you are trying to earn something like a large screen TV with a debit card, it might take almost twice as long as with a debit card as with a credit card.

Asha Prakash

Hi-Tech Editorial Division