Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards Review (Oct 2026)
NCnextcard team
Customized Cash Online Shopping Category: What Counts?
NC
nextcard teamPublished Oct 16, 2026
Advertiser Disclosure: nextcard may receive compensation from card issuers. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain. For the most up-to-date terms & conditions, refer to the official credit card application on the issuer's website.
The Online Shopping category for the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card is particularly good because it covers a lot of area. In fact, some people anecdotally says that its easier to ask what purchases don’t qualify for the Online Shopping category since it’s so generous.
TL;DR
Online Shopping covers eligible website and app purchases
Bank of America lists Amazon, Comcast, Etsy, Netflix, Nordstrom, Ticketmaster and Walmart (online) as examples of merchants that fall under Online Shopping
Tuition, insurance, taxes, medical bills and certain other services are excluded, even when paid online
Cardholders have reported bonus earnings on rideshare, games, food delivery and grocery pickup; the way a payment is processed is key to everything
The current new account offer earns 6% in your selected category for the first year from account opening, then 3%, subject to a shared quarterly spending cap
How does Bank of America define a purchase as “Online Shopping”?
Merchants are assigned a four-digit “Merchant Category Code” (MCC) based on the type of business they operate. Bank of America groups these codes into its rewards categories. The classification generally reflects the merchant’s business, rather than each individual item you buy. An MCC describes the type of merchant; separate transaction information identifies whether the payment was online or in person.
Most choice categories use lists of qualifying MCCs. Online Shopping instead uses a list of excluded MCCs. A purchase must be identified as online using information supplied by the merchant and avoid those excluded codes to receive the Online Shopping bonus.
This explains why a restaurant order or travel booking can qualify when paid through an eligible website or app. It can retain its restaurant or travel MCC while qualifying for the selected Online Shopping category. Conversely, an insurance payment coded 6300 is excluded even if it is paid online.
What purchases qualify for the “Online Shopping” category?
According to the official Bank of America Customized Cash category guide:
Online Shopping category includes purchases made online via a website or a digital application (an app).
The guide also comes with the following examples of eligible Online Shopping purchases & merchants:
Purchase type | Everyday examples | Example merchants |
|---|---|---|
Online retail shopping | Clothes, electronics, books, toys and other merchandise ordered online | Amazon, Etsy, Nordstrom and Walmart |
Entertainment tickets | Tickets purchased through an eligible website or app | Ticketmaster |
Cable and internet | Service bills, including recurring charges | Comcast |
Streaming | Streaming subscriptions | Netflix |
Phone plans are also included. Bank of America expanded the online shopping category in 2023 to add cable, streaming, internet and phone plans, including recurring charges.
What purchases are excluded
The line is drawn in two ways. Firstly, if your purchase is not ordered online, it won’t count. Here’s what Bank of America officially says:
Purchases made by phone, mail and in-person, including those ordered online but paid for in store will not be eligible to receive the choice category bonus rewards.
Purchases made in-store using a mobile or digital wallet or a contactless payment device are not online purchases.
Secondly, Bank of America also excludes the following merchant classes. The table includes all 55 excluded MCCs listed in its July 2026 program rules, page 3; examples summarize the individual classifications.
Excluded merchant class | Examples covered by the exclusion | Excluded MCCs |
|---|---|---|
Insurance | Insurance marketing, sales, underwriting and premiums | 5960, 6300 |
Utilities | Electricity, gas, sanitation and water services | 4900 |
Colleges, Universities, Professional Schools and Junior Colleges | Elementary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, correspondence schools, business and vocational schools, and other education services | 8211, 8220, 8241, 8244, 8249, 8299 |
Membership Organizations | Country and athletic clubs, private golf courses, civic and social associations, and political or religious organizations | 7997, 8641, 8651, 8661 |
Doctors and Hospitals | Medical and dental care, ambulances, laboratories, home health care, nursing facilities, opticians and eyewear | 4119, 8011, 8021, 8031, 8041, 8042, 8043, 8049, 8050, 8062, 8071, 8082, 8099 |
Government Services and Taxes | Tax preparation and payments, court costs, fines, government lotteries, government services and government postage | 7276, 7800, 9211, 9222, 9311, 9399, 9402, 9405 |
Non-Retail Services | Veterinary, freight, courier, moving, storage, camp, laundry, counseling, advertising, credit reporting, debt collection, pest control, cleaning, staffing, programming, data processing, integrated systems design, consulting, security, legal, child care, accounting and other professional services | 0742, 4214, 4215, 4225, 7032, 7210, 7277, 7311, 7321, 7322, 7342, 7349, 7361, 7372, 7392, 7393, 8111, 8351, 8931, 8999 |
Miscellaneous | POI funding transactions, which can include certain stored-value or prepaid-card purchases and reloads | 6540 |
Purchases Customized Cash cardholders report working
Disclaimer: These are anecdotal, unofficial reports that supplement the discussion above. They describe individual cardholders’ results, rather than guaranteed eligibility for every purchase from that merchant.
The following examples come from 2026 discussions.
Purchase type | Examples reported to earn the bonus | Discussion date |
|---|---|---|
Online retail and marketplaces | September 28 and July 24, 2026 | |
Video games | September 28, 2026 | |
Rideshare | September 28 and January 3, 2026 | |
Food delivery | 2026 | |
Grocery delivery | 2026 | |
Grocery pickup | 2026 | |
Streaming | July 24, 2026 |
As you can probably tell, the online shopping category is much broader than it looks at a first glance.
Customized Cash purchases with failed or mixed results
Purchase or payment method | What cardholders reported | Discussion date |
|---|---|---|
The original poster tested a payment and reported that it did not earn the Online Shopping bonus. Another commenter reported success through First Citizens Property Pay, a different processor. | May 5, 2026 | |
The poster reported missing the bonus despite an online-purchase indicator. The merchant description was professional services, an excluded classification. | 2026 | |
Users reported different results across stores and transactions; September commenters also reported success. | July 24 and September 20, 2026 |
The PayPal example shows why an online-purchase indicator alone is insufficient: the merchant classification must also qualify. Successful Walmart Pay reports likewise do not change the written exclusion for in-store mobile-wallet purchases.
If you are considering a purchase because of a data point, match the merchant and payment method as closely as possible. A website order, an app order and an in-store app payment are three different transactions to evaluate.
How much cash back can you earn
With Online Shopping selected on the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card, the current new-account offer earns:
Purchase category | First year from account opening | After the first year |
|---|---|---|
Eligible Online Shopping purchases (if selected as Choice Category) | 6% | 3% |
Eligible grocery store and wholesale club purchases | 2% | 2% |
Other purchases and spending above the shared quarterly cap | 1% | 1% |
The $2,500 quarterly cap is shared across the selected choice category, grocery stores and wholesale clubs. It is not a separate $2,500 allowance for online shopping. These rates are before any applicable relationship rewards bonus via BofA Rewards.
For example, let’s say you spend $1000 in eligible grocery and wholesale club purchases during a calendar quarter. That leaves $1,500 within the cap for qualifying online purchases to earn at the boosted choice category rate. Spending that remaining $1,500 online would earn $90 at the first-year 6% rate, or $45 at the ongoing 3% rate, before factoring in any relationship bonuses.
Also check that Online Shopping is selected before purchasing. New accounts default to Gas & EV Charging Stations, and you can change the category once per calendar month through Online Banking or the Mobile Banking app.
Frequently asked questions
Do PayPal purchases automatically qualify for Online Shopping?
No. Paying through PayPal does not override Bank of America’s merchant-category exclusions. A cardholder reported missing the bonus on an auction purchase classified as professional services, even though it showed an online-purchase indicator.
Do Apple Pay and Google Pay purchases count?
They can qualify when used for an eligible website or app purchase (online shopping). Tapping your phone at an in-store terminal does not qualify under Bank of America’s written rules, even if the merchant’s MCC is outside the exclusion list.
Do online orders picked up in-store qualify?
They can qualify if you pay online and the transaction meets the category requirements. Picking up merchandise in person does not automatically disqualify the purchase. However, placing an order online and paying at the store does not qualify (since that would be an in person purchase).
Do gift cards purchased online qualify?
Some retail gift card purchases have worked. Cardholders have reported earning the bonus on Costco Shop Cards purchased online. However, Bank of America is clear that prepaid card purchases are excluded.
How can I check why an online purchase didn’t earn the bonus?
After the charge posts, look for Merchant description in its transaction details. Cardholders report that this field shows the merchant classification; it differs from Transaction category. Compare the description with Bank of America’s excluded MCCs.
Also check that Online Shopping was selected and you had room under the shared $2,500 quarterly cap. “Online purchase: Y” alone does not establish eligibility.
