It does operate on 5% categories each quarter, but those categories tend to be really common and broad, and their systems aren't exactly the best at determining when something shouldn't be in a category. In 2021, their categories are (Grocery Stores, Walgreens, CVS), (Gas Stations, Wholesale Clubs, Streaming Services), (Restaurants, Paypal), and (Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Target.com). That's in addition to 1% on everything else.
Combine that with no annual fee (the BofA Premium Rewards card is $95/year, Sapphire Reserve is $550/year)... its very difficult to beat.
That being said, I'm a bigger fan of the Chase Freedom Unlimited or Flex, as I have everything else with Chase and I prefer keeping total "accounts to log in to" at a minium. The Flex has a rewards system similar to Discover, whereas the Unlimited is more static x% on Dining; they both get pretty close to Discover.
The Amazon card rewards redemption is pretty much automatic, so I think the only additional hassle of this particular second card is that there's an additional monhtly bill to make sure gets paid on time.
"Within 45 calendar days, transfer a total of $250,000 or more in new money or securities to a combination of eligible checking, savings and/or investment accounts (excludes Chase business checking and savings accounts, any You InvestSM, J.P. Morgan retirement accounts and CDs), and maintain the balance for at least 90 days."
But note, another requirement is: "Meet with a Private Client Banker by January 15, 2021 to upgrade your account to Chase Private Client."
Alliant Visa Signature (3% cash back first year, no fee. $99 fee per year and 2.5% afterwards) for all purchases. Edit: It looks like now they have removed that 1st year 3% rate
Amazon's card is 5% back on Amazon purchases
Apple's card is 3% back for Apple purchases
I still find that American Express have some of the best perks/service as far as disputing charges & insurance (rental car insurance for example is better than Visa - or was last year)
You can change you category once per calendar month. E.g., mine is normally online shopping, but when I needed a leak repaired on my work, I waited until near the end month, flipped the category to home improvement, paid the roofing bill, and then on the first of the next month flipped it back to online hopping.
Without the tiered rewards, it is 3% cash back for the selected category, 2% grocery stores and wholesale clubs, 1% everything else.
The tiers are at $20k, $50k, and $100k in BofA or Merrill checking/savings/investment accounts (3 month average combined balance). First tier gets you 1.25x the base rewards. Second tier is 1.5x. Third tier is 1.75x.