THESE CREDIT CARDS REWARD YOUR LOYALTY

If you have bank or investment accounts with your credit card issuer, you may qualify for extra cash back, waived fees and other benefits.

- JASON STEELE

IT’S nice to be in a strong relationship—not just in your personal life, but in your financial life, too.

Some banks and credit unions offer extra benefits on their credit cards to customers who have a broader banking or investment relationship with the institution. In some cases, you could earn hundreds of dollars in additional rewards each year.

Here’s how it works: Most credit card issuers also offer deposit accounts, and they may have investment accounts, too. Some of these institutions grant additional rewards or fee waivers on their credit cards to customers who also hold investment or deposit accounts. In most cases, you must maintain a specified average monthly balance to qualify for the increased rewards. Or, with some issuers, certain credit cards are available only to applicants who hold a qualifying account with the card issuer or a partner.

The decision of where to hold your cash and investments depends on many other factors besides the potential to boost your rewards on a credit card. But if one of these programs is available to you because of your existing status with a card issuer or one of its partners, it’s worth exploring whether you could be reaping the benefits. Below, we’ve outlined the relationship programs from some well-known issuers.

BANK OF AMERICA PREFERRED REWARDS

One of the most longstanding and generous relationship bonuses is for Bank of America customers who are part of the bank’s Preferred Rewards program. The program has four tiers, based on your combined average daily balance over three months in both Bank of America deposit accounts and Merrill investment accounts: Gold ($20,000 to less than $50,000), Platinum ($50,000 to less than $100,000), Platinum Honors ($100,000 to less than $1 million) and Diamond Honors ($1 million or more).