The news: Bank of America (BofA) plans to relaunch its loyalty program in May, expanding rewards from customers with more than $20,000 in combined deposits between the bank and Merrill to all personal checking account holders.

New benefits will include identity and fraud protection for all customers plus credits for some subscription services and “lifestyle benefits” for higher reward tiers.

Zoom out: This news comes shortly after BofA revealed an overhaul of its credit card strategy. It will use AI to better target prospective cardholders as well as encourage uptake of additional cards and banking products among existing customers. It will also revamp its credit card rewards program and seek new co-brand partnerships.

Banks today structure rewards programs around account balances, targeting segments from mass retail to affluent consumers.

• U.S. Bank, for example, has reward tiers from $0 to $100,000+ in deposits.
• Citi’s tiers roughly resemble BofA’s existing program.
• And Chase Sapphire Banking has a minimum daily balance of $75,000 to qualify for fee waivers and $150,000 for private client services.

Implications for banks: Rewards programs should reinforce whole banking relationships, not just credit card usage. By structuring tiers around asset balances, banks encourage customers to consolidate deposits and adopt higher-margin products—deepening engagement at a relatively low incremental cost to the bank.

BofA’s new rewards program reflects that strategy, quietly upping rewards requirements for the first gated tier to $30,000. This encourages emerging-affluent customers to funnel more of their income to the bank and, over time, adopt higher-touch, more profitable offerings.