BankAmericard Credit Card Review: Long 0% Intro APR, No Annual Fee

The BankAmericard® Credit Card, issued by Bank of America, is a plain, no-annual-fee card for moving a balance or financing a purchase over about 21 months. It is not a rewards card: based on verified data, it earns no rewards and has no sign-up bonus. It charges $0 a year and has no penalty APR.

Here’s the math. Moving $5,000 off a 24% card and paying it off over 21 months costs $250 in transfer fees here, versus about $1,100 in interest on the old card (the 24% rate is an example, not a Bank of America figure). For other long windows, compare the 0% APR and balance transfer roundup.

Who This Card Is For

The cardholder with $5,000 on a card charging around 24%. If you can move it in the first 60 days and clear it within the intro window, you pay about $250 in fees instead of about $1,100 in interest. Net, about $850 stays in your pocket.

Someone planning a large purchase. The 0% offer covers purchases for 21 billing cycles too, so you can pay a big purchase down over the window with no transfer and no 5% fee.

Someone who wants a low standard rate as the fallback. The standard range of 15.24%–26.24% starts lower than Citi Simplicity and Wells Fargo Reflect, which both start at 17.74%.

Who should NOT get it: anyone who wants rewards (the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards is the rewards option from the same issuer), anyone who can pay off in 12 months or less (Citi Simplicity’s 3% intro fee and Navy Federal’s $0 fee cost less), and anyone who travels abroad, since the card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee.

The Intro APR Offer: What You Actually Get

There is no sign-up bonus. The value is the introductory APR: 0% for 21 billing cycles on purchases, and on balance transfers made within the first 60 days of opening the account. A transfer made after day 60 does not get the 0% rate.

The fee is 5% of each balance transfer, flat, with no lower introductory fee. On $5,000 that is $250.

Move $5,000 from a 24% card and pay it off over 21 equal payments, and the old card would cost about $1,100 in interest. Here the interest is $0 and the fee is $250, so you save about $850. On a 12-month plan the old card costs about $650, so the saving is about $400. For the mechanics and the traps, read how balance transfers work.

The honest verdict: it’s a strong deal if you move the balance early and finish paying it inside the window, and a modest one if you don’t.

What a $5,000 Balance Costs on This Card

The method is simple: the balance declines with equal principal payments, there are no new purchases, and interest is charged monthly on what’s left. The standard-rate rows show what you’d pay if the intro offer didn’t exist.

The window matters, too. Once it ends, every $1,000 left untouched costs about $152 to about $262 per year, depending on where your rate lands. Purchases made after the window run at the standard APR, and a balance transferred after day 60 does not get the 0% rate. If the mechanics are fuzzy, what APR means and how card interest works covers it.

Paying It Off and Applying

There are no rewards to redeem, so the work is all in the payoff plan. The timing trap is the one to watch: request your transfers in the first 60 days.

Divide the balance by the number of billing cycles to get the monthly payment. For $5,000 over 21 cycles that is about $238 a month.

Bank of America doesn’t publish a minimum score. If you’re not sure where you stand, what counts as a good credit score breaks down the tiers. Complexity is simple: apply, transfer, pay it down.

Fees and Costs

$0 a year. There’s no fee to break even against. The purchase and balance transfer APR is 15.24%–26.24%, variable and tied to the Prime rate. Carry a balance past the intro window and you’re back to normal card interest.

Balance transfers cost 5% of each balance transfer, with no lower intro fee. The card carries a 3% foreign transaction fee; see what a foreign transaction fee is for ways around it.

There is no penalty APR. A late payment can cost up to $41.

How It Compares

The Wells Fargo Reflect review shows the same window length and the same $250 fee on $5,000; Reflect gives 120 days to transfer, while this card’s standard APR is lower. The Citi Simplicity review shows a $150 intro fee on $5,000 against $250 here, for a window three cycles shorter. Navy Federal Platinum wins on cost for members who can clear a balance in 12 months, and the Navy Federal Credit Union review explains who can join.