Hotel Credit Cards from Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the five-largest credit card issuers in the United States, with around 60 million active credit card accounts as of 2018. Also referred to as by its acronym, BOA, they account for over 10% of the total market share of credit cards in America, meaning their cards offer the kind of benefits and purchasing power on which consumers can rely. These credit cards cover every facet of the credit card category space, with something just right for almost every consumer. These include two co-branded hotel rewards cards: one Sonesta and another with Caribbean resort kingpin Sandals.
What Credit Score Do I Need for a Bank of America Hotel Card?
These credit cards offer exceptional perks and are highly prized by consumers. Because of this, BOA is selective when it comes to those whose applications are approved. Bank of America-branded credit cards – except for secured cards – are usually only available to those with high credit scores – though there have been instances where those with credit scores in the mid-to-upper-600s have been approved for some offerings.
What to Know Before Applying for a Bank of America Credit Card
As there are with Chase and other large card issuers, there are unwritten rules regarding who can – and can’t – apply for their credit card products. There appear to be two informal Bank of America hard inquiry rules – the 7/12 Rule and the 3/12 Rule – which stipulate that those who exceed a certain number of hard inquiries within a 12-month time frame are likely to be rejected for any new Bank of America credit card.
The 7/12 Rule applies to current BOA customers and seems to indicate that those who have 6 inquiries within a 12-month period will be rejected for their 7th application. The 3/12 Rule, on the other hand, is for non-BOA customers and stipulates those with more than three inquiries with 12 months are likely to be rejected on their card application for their third and any other subsequent applications within that period.
Some other idiosyncrasies of the Bank of America credit card application process include:
- Applicants are discouraged from having too many BOA card accounts, there an informal – but firm – limit on 4 BOA cards per customer.
- To increase the chances of approval, applicants can free the lower of their credit scores (Experian, for instance). Some applicants have reported that BOA will then call to ask which credit report the applicant would like them to use.
- Applying for multiple Bank of America credit cards in one day may result in all hard pulls being merged into one single pull.
What to Do if Your Application is Denied
If your Bank of America credit card application is denied it does not mean you can’t get approved. Your best course of action is to contact a BOA representative through their dedicated reconsideration lines, which are open from 8 AM to 7 PM Monday through Friday.
- Bank of America Reconsideration Line: 800-732-9194
- Business Reconsideration Line: 866-695-6598
If you applied online and your application status was listed as “under review” or “pending” you can contact the Bank of America general application status hotline and speak to a credit specialist.
- General Application Status Line: 866-422-8089
Editorial Disclosure — The opinions expressed on HotelCards’ reviews, blogs, and all other content on or relating to the website are solely those of the content’s author. They are not reflective of any card issuer or financial institution and have not been reviewed or approved by these entities unless otherwise noted. Further, HotelCards lists credit card offers that are updated daily with information believed to be accurate to the best of our knowledge.