Credit card issuers have increasingly invested in their travel portals over the past several years.
Now, Bank of America is giving its Travel Center one of its biggest updates yet.
Bank of America, in partnership with Booking.com, has redesigned its Travel Center, with expanded hotel and flight inventory and new features that it says will give travelers more flexibility when booking trips.
Credit card issuer travel portals need to offer competitive pricing, broad inventory and useful features to persuade customers to book through them instead of booking directly with the airline or hotel.
Here’s what Bank of America cardholders can expect from the redesigned portal.
The redesigned Bank of America Travel Center
Powered by Booking.com’s Rocket Travel by Agoda, Bank of America’s redesigned Travel Center offers several enhancements:
- Expanded airline and hotel inventory
- More comprehensive hotel information, including amenities and reviews
- Improved search tools to help travelers narrow their search based on timing, price and amenities
- More flexible booking options, including the ability to combine credit card rewards with a payment by card
- The ability to mix and match different airlines for outbound and return flights
These changes modernize Bank of America’s Travel Center and bring it more in line with the kinds of experiences we can expect from portals like Chase Travel℠ and American Express Travel. These travel portals already offer features such as detailed hotel descriptions and the ability to combine card rewards with cash payments.
It’s difficult to judge how much of an improvement the redesigned Travel Center will be until we’ve had a chance to use it ourselves. Better search tools and expanded inventory are positive additions on paper, but the overall booking experience and pricing will ultimately determine how competitive the portal is.
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An intuitive booking process can make travel portals easier to use, while expanded inventory gives travelers more options when comparing flights and hotels.
Related: Crunching the numbers: Is it more expensive to book flights through a credit card travel portal?
How to access the Bank of America Travel Center
You’ll be able to access the issuer’s travel by holding an eligible Bank of America credit card. If you’re interested in opening a BofA card, here are three solid options to consider:
The information for the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite credit card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Best Bank of America credit cards
Bottom line
Bank of America’s redesigned Travel Center gives eligible cardholders a more robust way to search, compare and book travel. With expanded inventory, improved search tools and more flexible booking options, the updated platform promises a smoother booking experience than before.
We’ll reserve final judgment until we’ve had the opportunity to book through it ourselves, since pricing and the overall booking experience will ultimately determine how useful the redesign is.
As with other issuer travel portals, remember that hotel bookings may not qualify for elite status benefits or earnings. Even so, lower prices, bonus rewards or valuable statement credits can sometimes outweigh those missed perks.
