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Inside BofA Rewards: Bank of America’s New Vision for Customer Loyalty (#775)

Let's Talk Loyalty · 2026-05-28 · 34 min

0:00--:--

Bank of America is fundamentally transforming its loyalty offering with the launch of BofA Rewards on May 27, 2026, shifting from the subscription-based Preferred Rewards program to a comprehensive, no-fee ecosystem accessible to anyone with a personal checking account. Sheikha Narula, managing director of consumer deposit products transformation and rewards at BofA, discusses how removing the $20,000 minimum balance requirement will expand membership from 11.2 million to potentially over 22 million clients. The new program features four tiers (Member, Preferred Plus, Preferred Honors, Premier) with escalating benefits ranging from $150 to $4,000 in annual value, including 10-75% credit card rewards bonuses, subscription credits, fraud monitoring, personalized cash back deals, and lifestyle experiences (dining, travel, wellness partnerships with Soul Cycle, Tonal, Audible). The program reflects broader industry trends: moving beyond transactional points toward integrated benefit ecosystems, leveraging behavioral data for personalization, and building value through merchant partnerships - positioning loyalty as a relationship-deepening tool that drives product acquisition and retention rather than mere rewards distribution.

Key takeaways

  • →Removing barriers to entry by eliminating minimum balance requirements and opening the program to all checking account holders is expected to more than double membership from 11.2 million to over 22 million clients.
  • →The four-tier structure (Member, Preferred Plus, Preferred Honors, Premier) is designed to deepen customer relationships by offering $150-$4,000 in annual value and incentivizing product acquisition, with 30% of clients adding a new product within 30 days of joining.
  • →Personalization goes beyond static tiers - the program uses transaction history, behavioral data, and geolocation to serve curated offers from merchant partners like Soul Cycle, BMW, Virgin Hotels, and Lexus that are relevant to individual clients.
  • →Card-linked offers and a centralized BofA Rewards Hub accessible through mobile app and online banking create an omnichannel, mobile-optimized experience designed to maximize customer engagement with available benefits.
  • →Modern loyalty is shifting from transactional points-based programs to integrated ecosystems bundling credits across categories like streaming, wellness, and dining, with partnership-led value creation becoming increasingly important.

In this episode

  1. 1Introduction and Host Background
  2. 2Sheikha Narula's Career Overview and Current Role at Bank of America
  3. 3BofA Rewards Program Announcement and Transformation from Preferred Rewards
  4. 4Program Pillars: Accessibility and Removal of Balance Requirements
  5. 5Tiered Structure and Experiential Benefits Growth
  6. 6Personalization Strategy and Card-Linked Offers
  7. 7Tangible Benefits, Partnership Value, and Annual Benefit Tiers
  8. 8Loyalty Trends and Integrated Ecosystem Approach in Financial Services

Mentioned

Bank of AmericaAmerican ExpressCitigroupWise Marketer GroupLet's Talk LoyaltyBofA RewardsPreferred RewardsSoulCycleTonalAudibleSheikha NarulaPaula Thomas

Guests

Sheikha Narula

Topics in this episode

BofA RewardsPreferred RewardsFour-tier loyalty structureCard-linked offersSubscription creditsPersonalized cash back dealsLifestyle benefitsFraud and identity monitoringSoul CycleTonal

Questions this episode answers

What are the eligibility requirements for the new BofA Rewards program launching in May 2026?

All you need is an active personal checking account with Bank of America to become a member. The program removed the previous $20,000 minimum balance requirement, making it accessible to millions more clients.

How many tiers does BofA Rewards have and what are the asset thresholds?

The program has four tiers: Member (below $30,000 in combined balances), Preferred Plus ($30,000-$100,000), Preferred Honors ($100,000-$1 million), and Premier ($1 million+). Benefits scale with each tier, with annual value ranging from $150 to $4,000.

What types of benefits are included in BofA Rewards beyond credit card rewards?

Benefits include fraud and identity monitoring, personalized cash back deals, subscription credits (streaming and wellness), lifestyle experiences (dining, travel, wellness), auto and home lending discounts, and curated offers with partners like Soul Cycle, Tonal, Audible, BMW, Lexus, and Virgin Hotels.

How does Bank of America personalize offers within the BofA Rewards program?

BofA uses client behavior analysis, transaction history, geolocation data, and past interactions to serve personalized cash back deals and lifestyle offers. Card-linked offers are seamlessly integrated into the online banking and mobile app platforms.

What are the specific subscription credit benefits for higher-tier members?

Preferred Honors tier members receive approximately $96 annual value in subscription credits for news and streaming services, while Premier tier members receive $180 annual value for the same category of services.

Conversation analysis

Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.

Share of words spoken

  • Speaker C54%
  • Speaker B37%
  • Speaker A9%

Most-used words

loyalty56program38rewards38clients38benefits31bank23tier21america20preferred15available15value14financial13today12offers12across12become12

Episode notes

AI platforms are changing how customers discover brands. Phaedon is leading the discussion on what this fundamental shift means for loyalty leaders like you.

Full transcript

34 min

Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.

Speaker A: What happens to loyalty when the customer never visits your loyalty program? Today, customers are using AI to discover brands, evaluate options, and make purchase decisions, changing the traditional path to engagement. Fayden is leading the discussion on what this shift means for loyalty leaders, where brands risk becoming invisible, and how organizations can prepare for a future where AI sits between the customer and the brand. Reserve your spot@loyaltyinsiders.com that's loyaltyinsiders.com. Hello and, um, welcome to let's Talk Loyalty and Loyalty tv, a show for loyalty marketing professionals. I'm Paula Thomas, the founder and CEO of Let's Talk Loyalty and Loyalty tv where we feature insightful conversations with loyalty professionals from the world's leading brands. Today's episode is part of the Wiser Loyalty podcast series and is hosted by Bill Hannifan, Chief executive Officer of Wise Marketer Group. Wise Marketer Group is an education, advisory and research and media service company providing resources for loyalty marketers through three business a global leader in loyalty education through the Loyalty Academy platform, which offers the Certified Loyalty Marketing Professional, or CLMP designation A, uh, trusted advisor through its advisory and research services supporting loyalty brands, and a leading source of news, information and insights through the Wise Marketer digital publication. I hope you enjoy this episode brought to you by let's Talk Loyalty and Loyalty TV in partnership with Wise Marketer Group.

Speaker B: Welcome, everyone. I'm Bill Hannifin, the managing editor of the Wise Marketer, and I'm here for a Wiser Loyalty podcast, which is a series produced in partnership with Paula Thomas and her team at let's Talk Loyalty with the Wise Marketer. And we bring you interviews of C level executives who are transforming strategy into plans that generate true business results. So today I'm delighted to be with Sheikha Narula, who's managing director, head of consumer deposit products transformation and rewards at bank of America. Sheikha, how are you today?

Speaker C: I'm good. How are you, Bill?

Speaker B: Really good. Really good. I'm excited about this. Um, I know that you're a, uh, repeat guest on let's Talk Loyalty, but, um, there's a lot of news in between the last time you were here and now. So we're going to have a good conversation.

Speaker C: Yes. I'm so happy and so excited to be back and happy to be having this conversation today. Like you said, a lot has happened in between that time frame. So thrilled to share some of that with you.

Speaker B: Absolutely. So I'll tease it out a little bit. The big news that we are going to talk about is this announcement that came out from bank of America about the relaunch or reinvigoration of BofA rewards. It's coming in May 2026. That's just um, barely a month away. So this is uh, for those that haven't seen the announcements so far, it's a no fee program designed to reward clients throughout their financial journey. And it represents an evolution of preferred rewards, a program that you had before. Um, and I found it really interesting that it was built on four characteristics that were accessibility, uh, experiential, personalized. It is. And the tangible aspect of it. So those are all things that we'll dig into and talk about a little bit. But to me it's exciting, having been close to financial services my whole life, that this comprehensive approach to customer loyalty is a concept that seems like it's having a renewal and it seems like this is the right moment in time for it. So we're going to dig into why the approach is well suited to build strong, lasting relationships with banking customers. Um, and a lot more. So let me quick intro of Shika, if it's possible to do a quick intro, um, because you're quite an accomplished person. Um, but as I mentioned, she's head of Consumer Deposit Products Transformation Rewards. Uh, her team is responsible for developing and delivering client centric strategies and innovative solutions to meet bank of America's clients current and emerging financial needs. And goes without saying, she oversees the new loyalty program which is BofA rewards, which is what we're going to talk about. So I found it really interesting that you have really been with the who's who's throughout the industry. So prior to joining bank of America in March 2022, Sheikha was head of US consumer lending products at American Express. Quite interesting. And prior to that she was with Citigroup for 16 years where she held management positions in cards, customer marketing and product management. So, um, yeah, uh, I'm very impressed and it's just nice to have a few minutes to talk to you. Thanks again.

Speaker C: Thank you.

Speaker B: Yeah. So you know Paula Thomas has a favorite question. I guess she's a big reader and she loves to know what other people are reading. So she's always asking folks the question and has one for the guest which is what your favorite or most recently read nonfiction book might be. Do you have anything top of mind that you can share?

Speaker C: I think it's one that I had shared with uh, Paul the last time I was there when Smart Brevity is a book I've truly enjoyed. So I think I'm going to stay with that as one of my favorite books. But outside of that, you know, very heavily into reading all kinds of things that are happening in the various news outlets on a daily basis. So an avid Wall Street Journal reader. First thing in the. That's how I like to start my day.

Speaker B: That's good, that's good. All right, excellent. So, so I shared your bio and there's a lot there. Um, I'd love it if you could just fill in the blanks a little bit because everybody that love to know like who we're talking with know a little bit about you. So can you fill in some of the interesting aspects of this career that you've had and what your current responsibilities are at bank of America?

Speaker C: Yeah, so I'll start with my current responsibilities. So I lead, uh, consumer deposit products transformation and rewards at bank of America. Um, my responsibility here is solely focused on thinking about how do we continue to innovate for our clients, how do we continue to build better solutions, better products, better services for our clients, specifically in the consumer deposit space, uh, deposit product space, as well as in the loyalty and reward space. And like you said, we're going to talk about bio data wars today, much of which is a work product of the work that me, um, and my team have been doing over the last couple of years. Uh, prior to coming to bank of America, uh, I have had two decades of experience in the financial services industry, uh predominantly with roles at American Express, um, and at ah, Citigroup within product management as well as in the loyalty and rewards space. So uh, that's where my focus has been um, in my career.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it's really great brands and uh, you've had a lot, a lot of uh, perspective I would say over the years that you've gathered. So tell me a little bit about what's coming with B of A Rewards. So it's, we know it's a comprehensive rewards program. It's going to span multiple products. It's what at least in my parlance we used to call a total relationship banking program or a whole of bank program. You may have a completely different term. So I'd love to hear what that is and how you're referring to it internally or, or to the outside world. But um, just talk to us about the program, what's coming and uh, what the top line essentials are that really define the program.

Speaker C: Yeah. So we are in the process of launching the Affair Awards. It's going to launch on May 27th. Very excited about it, what the program is. So as you said we've had preferred awards till date. So this is a total transformation, total revamp of the program. The key things that I'll call out, it is going to be a no fee or it is a no fee loyalty program, uh, which is now going to be accessible to millions more clients. So in the past with Preferred Rewards we had a minimum balance requirement of $20,000 across deposits and investment. We have removed that minimum balance requirement and all you need to have is a personal checking account uh, with bank of America to become eligible and you can become a member. Uh, so that's number one. The other thing I'll call out that's special about the program is you know we have a, ah, breadth of uh, benefits that we offer. So it's not just anchored to credit card rewards. We have a breadth of benefits that we offer ranging from uh, credit card rewards, um, to you know, auto home lending discounts. But now we're expanding that um, breadth and suite of rewards and we're going to bring in many new benefits. We're expanding the level of deals, personalized deals that are going to be available to members. We're bringing in fraud and identity monitoring solutions, we're expanding our lifestyle benefits. So we're introducing many new benefits and a number of benefits that we're expanding for our clients. So just truly uh, excited to see the changes and how they're going to be received by our clients.

Speaker B: Yeah. So it almost sounds like it's um, much more than what I would call an evolution of preferred rewards. It's really a brand new program, isn't it?

Speaker C: In many sense, yes. Yes. We're calling it a complete transformation if uh, our rewards program.

Speaker B: Yeah, it's. No, it's great. It's really, it's compelling and it has an aspect of acquisition. It seems like since you've lowered that threshold and made it available to anyone with a checking account then it's, it's got to be a, a big acquisition tool I would think for new customers. And at the same time it's one that will help you know, grow the relationships and, and uh, help with retention of existing. So it seems like you've designed something that's able to accomplish multiple goals.

Speaker C: Absolutely. I think it's designed keeping in mind that we want benefits and rewards that are going to grow with our clients. So as their relationship grow with us, um, the rewards and benefits that they get from us are going to grow as well. Uh, it's just our way of rewarding them and uh, acknowledging them and appreciating them for Their loyalty with bank of America.

Speaker B: Right, right, right. So I really was intrigued by the four, I would say characteristics or pillars, depending on your preference for terminology. But the fact that it's accessible, it's experiential, it's personalized and tangible, I think it's worthwhile just walking through each one of those. Um, I'm guessing the accessibility is based on what you've been talking about, but can just share a little bit more there and then we can walk through the other elements.

Speaker C: Yeah, I think accessibility, like we just talked about, we are removing that $20,000, um, balance requirement. All you need to have is just, uh, an active personal checking account with bank of America and you can become a member to us. That's going to open the doors for millions more clients. So Today we have 11.2 million clients that are part of the Preferred Rewards program. With this change, we are expecting that over time that number is going to more than double. So it's just very exciting to see how accessible the program is going to become and how many more clients, millions more clients, will be able to take advantage of it. Part of the reason for expanding is we want to be able to make sure it's such an amazing benefit that we offer to our clients. And we know clients value that because we have a 99% retention rate. So once clients see it and once clients experience it, we know they value it and they stay with us longer. Right. And by making it accessible to everyone, we will be able to talk about it in a big way so that we can spread that awareness much more broadly than what we've been able to do in the past.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's brilliant. So, you know, when you, you mentioned something, these, these kind of go together and you're talking about accessibility and dropping the threshold to allow, uh, really, it's available to everybody, so you're allowing anybody to join. But the experiential aspect is you've built in a series of tiers so people can grow, as you mentioned. But can you talk about how you created this tier structure and how that's meant to add more value, plus the experiences as people become, uh, stronger customers with you?

Speaker C: Yes. Um, the program is going to have four tiers. It starts with the member tier, which will be clients that have, um, combined balances across deposits and investments below $30,000. Um, at that tier, we believe clients value the everyday benefits. They want those benefits to be much more tangible. So they're going to see some of that. Right. Whether it's, um, through a 10% credit card rewards bonus, whether it's through fraud and ID monitoring tools, whether it's through personalized cash back deals, lot of what they're going to see at that tier are those everyday tangible benefits. But then from there on, as their assets and their relationship with bank of America grows, and as they grow in their own financial life, they're going to see those benefits materially improve and increase. So the next tier we have is the Preferred plus tier, which goes from 30,000 to under $100,000. And then from there it goes Preferred honors which is 100,000 uh, to under a million. And then the premier tier goes 1 million plus. But at every tier they're going to see much more uh, personalized and experiential benefits. And one other thing I'll call out is lifestyle benefits. In the past we had lifestyle benefits that were available to clients over a million dollars in assets. One of the changes we've now made is now those will be available at the preferred Honors tier level. So anybody, uh, with 100,000 or more in assets will have um, access to lifestyle benefits which are. So it's all about experiential rewards there. Uh, so you know we're giving you curated personalized offerings across um, arts, uh, across travel, across entertainment, dining, um, wellness, uh, so clients can just feel uh, a lot of the rich value across these um, various categories.

Speaker B: Interesting. So, yeah, so nice segue into the personalization element. That's, that's every marketer's favorite term I think these days. But speaking about personalization is a lot different than executing on it. So um, yeah. How did you go about putting together a plan to truly personalize the program? And can you give us some examples maybe of what you might see as we move along?

Speaker C: Yes, yes, Some of what I talked about starting with like I said at the members here, we wanted to care for and make sure they were getting tangible value that's relevant uh, in their everyday lives. But then from that point on with every tier we add and expand those benefits. So every tier above that will get the tier benefits that they had, but the value will increase. But then beyond that, you know, as we introduce new benefits, as an example, subscription credit benefit comes in at the preferred Honors level, um, to kind of more personalize it to the client. But more importantly, think of um, Cash Back Deals as an example. Cash Back Deals, uh, we are able to kind of look at your behavior, your transaction history, how you've interacted with bank of America in the past. And based on that we are able to offer curated personalized deals to you which will grow at every tier. Um, and same thing applies to lifestyle, uh, benefits as well. So based on your past behavior as well as where you are as an example, geolocation, we're able to see where you are, where you might be and we're uh, providing you with local dining offers as an example. So those are just some nuggets of how we're able to personalize. But then the more important thing is the benefits grow at every tier which uh, corresponds to where a client might be in their financial, uh, life and in their personal life and it goes them.

Speaker B: Very interesting. So is there an element of what we might call card linked offers in the program? You have digital offers from brands that would would appear, say in someone's online banking or in the mobile app?

Speaker C: Yes, absolutely. A lot of the deals that are, that will be available will be through card linked offers. They will, you know, can seamlessly go into the platform, activate them and it's going to be available to them to take advantage of.

Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. And then you mentioned wellness. I was intrigued by that. So you know that that's important for a lot of people. Um, what, what are you doing in that area? That's, that you might want to talk about.

Speaker C: Yeah. So there will be curated offers available. I can share some examples, you know, offers as an example with Soul Cycle, with Tonal, with auditing, giving uh, clients mechanisms for them to be able to track, um, their health, their fitness as well as, you know, making sure they're keeping up with it. So that's some of what clients might see.

Speaker B: Yeah, very good, very good. So you, you've, you've kind of been talking about a lot of the tangible benefits as well as the experiential. But I, I noticed um, the bonuses become significant as you move up into the tiers. There were some, some bonus areas, but so can just talk about the, the richness of the offer and how you've structured some of those incremental offers as you go up in tier.

Speaker A: What happens to loyalty when the customer never visits your loyalty program? Today, customers are using AI to discover brands, evaluate options and make purchase decisions, changing the traditional path to engagement. Fadan is leading the discussion on what this shift means for loyalty leaders. Where brands risk becoming invisible and how organizations can prepare for a future where AI sits between the customer and the brand. Reserve your spot@ah, loyaltyinsiders.com that's loyalty insiders.com.

Speaker C: Yes. So with the tiers, clients will see anywhere between $150 to $4,000 in annual value, uh, across the various benefits that they have based on their tier, based on their level of engagement with, based on what they take, uh, advantage of. Right. So that's, that's the level of value we believe we're offering as part of the program. I think some of the tangible value I did touch, uh, and by way of some of the curated offers that are going to become available. Um, you know, um, there will be offers across automotive, as an example with brands such as BMW, Lexus. There'll be, um, offers across, uh, travel, um, ranging from, you know, whether it's Virgin Hotels or region, um, seven Sea Cruises. Uh, so those are some of the brands that will be available. Outside of that I mentioned their subscription credits that will become available on news, uh, and streaming services. Uh, there will be subscription credits, uh, for preferred honors, um, about $96 a year annual value. For Premier tier, it's $180 a year, uh, annual value. So those are some more tangible, meaningful benefits that clients will be able to touch and feel. And of course they get anywhere between 10 to 75% credit card rewards bonus, which can be significant based on the level of card spending that they have at bank of America.

Speaker B: Very, very interesting. So you. I know, um, you know, we always talk about mapping current, current and desired behaviors, you know, in these loyalty programs. So we think about the, you know, you, all your analytics and your research tells you about the current behaviors and you're creating these tiers to hopefully motivate some, some desired behaviors. But um, are there specific behaviors that you're encouraging, moving people from tier to tier? Is it, is it about, um, you know, deepening relationships, acquiring more products? Is it maybe something else I haven't thought of?

Speaker C: It is very much about deepening relationships that always been a priority for, for us, uh, what we've seen with preferred Aw, you know, clients or members, once they become a member, within 30, uh, within 30 days, about 30% of them get a new product with bank of America. So deepening is absolutely, um, uh, a key objective, but also looking at retention rates, want to make sure that, you know, with deepening come stickiness, the fact that they love the program, they are going to stay loyal to us. And we uh, see a, um, 99% retention rate. Then we would love for that to continue with the new program. Um, outside of that, of course, we're looking for, um, the ability to attract new clients to bank of America. So acquisitions is absolutely an objective. Now that we're able to talk about the program more broadly. We believe this will attract new clients to bank of America. So that's very much part of the strategy.

Speaker B: Yeah, interesting, very interesting. And I see that you've got a multi channel approach or omnichannel, depending on your terminology. But um, it's available through the online banking, of course, and through a mobile banking app. I assume that you have an app for the rewards program itself. Those two key access points being what they are. Would you term the program as truly a mobile first program or is it Omnichannel? Not necessarily mobile first.

Speaker C: It is omnichannel. It is also very immersively designed for mobile and you'll all get to see this. Uh, so, uh, we have a BFA rewards hub that's going to be available across our digital channels or mobile app and clients go in, they'll be able to see it. Um, it's a very streamlined, immersive experience. They will have access to all of their benefits in one place. They will be able to engage, explore as well as activate any of the benefits that require activation. They'll be able to go in and do that seamlessly. Uh, and it will be completely personalized to the client where they can see exactly what they have and take advantage of it. Uh, the intent very much is we want clients to be able to maximize the benefits. So we want to make sure uh, they're able to see it clearly and interact with it.

Speaker B: Yeah, very good. So let's maybe broaden the discussion a little bit and then we can come back to the rewards program in a moment. But you have so much experience, uh, you're exposed to a lot, you have a lot of resources available and you're a real student in a, and a leader at the same time. So when you kind of sit back in your chair and you're thinking about what trends are in the loyalty and rewards space, especially in financial services, um, what comes to mind and what would you want to share that others should know about?

Speaker C: Yeah, I think a few trends are called out. I think it starts with loyalty is no longer being viewed as, you know, transactional points based loyalty. It's much more about integrated ecosystems of rewards, uh, where um, institutions are bundling various credits together. Whether it's across streaming, wellness, dining, all of it is coming together. So it's very much about creating this integrated ecosystem of rewards and benefits which is very much the direction we've taken with biovaid awards. I think the other thing I'll call out is just personalization. It's very much about clients expect you to know them and they Expect you to provide benefits and rewards that are tailored exactly for them. And some of what we talked about in terms of being able to look at our client's behavior, their transaction history, their geolocation, being able to serve up offers that are absolutely relevant to them, I think is another highlight. The third thing I'd call out is just partnership led value. So a lot of institutions are leaning on whether it's co brand partners or just broader merchant partners to be able to bring more value for their, for consumers. Uh, so it's something which you know, works well for the financial institution. It works well for consumers as well given the brand affinity that they have and various um, brands and merchants. So to me those would be the big ones that I'd call out and I'd say that the avatar wards we have mean on each one of those trends and we have made sure we're caring for them in the newly designed program.

Speaker B: Yeah, very good. Yeah, excellent. Um, and that's all the conversation, it's always comes up in articles and things that we've covered over the last six to nine months is how do we move loyalty forward, you know, recognize it and it's not just about the transactional side and about the points in the currency, but so much more so it looks like you're addressing all those things. You're right on trend, if not ahead. So hey, you know the, the banking business, retail banking is so competitive. Um, and I'm wondering how, how have you, through bank of America, have you strategically positioned B of A rewards to break through and to get the attention of the customer in the loyalty landscape today?

Speaker C: Yeah, so I would say I think preferred rewards, the way we had it on its own was strategically differentiated in the marketplace. Because if you think about other financial institutions, a lot of them anchor their rewards to credit card rewards, whereas uh, preferred rewards is already differentiated by being a relationship based loyalty program rewarding clients for their entire relationship, the breadth of their relationship. Right now with the upcoming launch of B of the rewards, we've only made it better, right? We've made it much more accessible where millions more clients will have access to it. We've modernized the program, uh, where now we're adding many more benefits which we believe will resonate more with clients of tomorrow. Uh, and we continue to anchor to our strength which is we're continue to provide uh, benefits. Uh, so for me all of this I think positions us even stronger versus our competitors when it comes to, you know, how we play and how we show up in the loyalty space.

Speaker B: And I'M intrigued. So if you look at BofA's overall growth strategy, I'm um, intrigued about how BOA Rewards fits into that. And it kind of begs a bigger question. Is the recognition of the importance of customer loyalty taking on kind of C suite importance, is it recognized at the highest levels of the bank driving growth in retail banking?

Speaker C: Yes, it absolutely is. Ah, you would have heard, um, our head of consumer bank Colley o' Neill talk about it at Investor Day of how critical this is to our success. Um, we know the measures of success here. We've seen clients engaged with the program. We have 94% primacy rate, 99% retention rate. We know when clients engage with the loyalty program and they become members. Uh, we see that 30% of them deepen, uh, and open another product with us in the first 90 days. We know members have um, 3x the card spend and 3x the investment spend. So all of it to indicate that uh, it's a key driver of loyalty and of engagement. Uh, we have 11.3 million um, members today for preferred rewards, ah, that carry about 2 trillion in assets. And like I said, we expect this is going to more than double. So it's going to be or to our strategy to drive growth in the future.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's pretty exciting. Very exciting. So, um, what haven't I asked about that you wanted to talk about? Did you have any ideas or thoughts on the tip of your tongue that you top of mind that you wanted to share?

Speaker C: Yeah, I would say we're at this close. It's happening. It's going to be here on 27th of May. So you know, if you're not a, uh, bova, uh, bank of America client, open a checking uh, account today and you can, you will be eligible, you can become a member. If you are already a BFA client and if you are a Preferred Rewards member today, we will automatically transition you to the new program. If you're not a member, it's going to be very easy. You can go into the mobile app, you'll see the ways to activate, engage, enroll right there. So I would say take advantage of it. It's a wonderful program and I think clients are going to enjoy it.

Speaker B: It sounds like an amazing opportunity. I was jokingly going to tell you that I was going to pause the interview so I could write my, my goodbye note to my banker and,

Speaker C: and we will say, welcome Bill.

Speaker B: That's right, Absolutely. Yeah. It's fantastic. So let me ask you one last question. Um, you know, because we journey through, we Run programs.

Speaker C: We.

Speaker B: We do a lot of things, and we're always focused on the, you know, the immediacy and the financial impact. We have goals to meet and everything. But have you ever. Just throughout your career and your. All your interactions with customers and. And customer loyalty, have you ever had an epiphany moment, something you'd call an epiphany moment in loyalty, where you. You kind of observe that, um, you know, I think this really works. I think this really works.

Speaker C: So I would say it has happened a number of times in my tenure here at bank of America, where, you know, I've visited a financial center, and in conversations with the financial center associates, they've shared a story of how they were talking to a certain client, and they talked about, oh, you're only so many dollars away from becoming the next tier or getting to the next tier. And, you know, in how many number of times the clients have responded by saying, oh, yes, I have this other account at this other company, uh, and, you know, I'd be happy to consolidate it. And for me, the epiphany there is. It's not as much about. Because the associate was telling them about, here are the three things you're going to get, but it is about that recognition of, uh, that loyalty, the recognition of kind of seeing that progress, seeing themselves progress as well as being acknowledged for it. Um, to me, that's what loyalty is all about. And we've seen so many proof points of that in some of these conversations that we've had, ah, where, you know, financial center associates will tell us these stories, uh, of clients, um, time and again.

Speaker B: So m. That's great. I've often thought that people that, um, that are critics of loyalty programs that say, you know what, you just haven't observed the ones that are really well planned and executed because they. They do, um, they do create the desired results when well done. So, um, yeah, congratulations on everything you're doing. And, um, if you missed the intro, we've been doing a wiser loyalty podcast with Sheikha Narula, who's managing director head of Consumer Deposit Products and transformation and Rewards at Bank of America. Sheikha, thank you very, very much for your time. I really appreciate it. And just best of luck on the launch. Um, May 27th, right?

Speaker C: That's right.

Speaker B: Okay. And then in the meantime, maybe we'll put in the show notes here, some links where people can learn more about the program in between prior to launch. And, uh, hopefully they're all ready to make that switch over as soon as the program's available.

Speaker C: Absolutely. Thank you, Bill. A uh, pleasure being here. Thank you for the conversation.

Speaker B: That's great. Yeah. Thanks again. Thanks to you. And thanks to Paula Thomas and her team. And thanks everyone for joining us. See you next time. M

Speaker A: this show is sponsored by Wise Marketeer Group. Operating the Wise Marketeer and Loyalty Academy for nearly 25 years, the wise Marketer is the industry's longest serving publication and source for news, information and insights, which now includes its own branded industry research, insights and advice for global coverage of customer engagement and loyalty. Check out thewisemarketer.com and become a Wiser Marketer member or subscriber. The Loyalty Academy sets a global industry standard for loyalty education with its Certified Loyalty marketing professional, or CLMP, designation, which has created a community of more than 1200 marketing executives and professionals across more than 50 countries. Learn more about global loyalty education for individuals or corporate training@loyaltyacademy.org thank you so much for listening to this episode of let's Talk Loyalty. If you'd like us, uh, to send you the latest, latest shows each week, uh, simply sign up for the let's Talk loyalty newsletter on letstalkloyalty.com and we'll send our best episodes straight to your inbox. And don't forget that you can follow let's Talk Loyalty on any of your favorite podcast platforms. And of course, we'd love for you to share your feedback and reviews. Thanks again for supporting the show.

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