• by March 10, 2009

The "Bank of Opportunity" is giving its customers yet another opportunity to save money during the recession. 

Bank of America on Tuesday officially introduced Add It Up, a program that offers its online customers cash back when purchasing from over 270 Web retailers. The money is placed into the buyer's credit or check card account, and Add It Up can be combined with other BofA programs like "Keep the Change," which places change from the dollar on check card purchases into savings accounts, and BankAmericard Rewards, its ongoing loyalty program.

To reach consumers where they have traditionally gone to find money-saving opportunities, the bank will advertise Add It Up in Sunday newspaper circulars in selected markets. Other marketing efforts on will include national and spot TV, radio in major markets, online display and search, magazines, point of sale materials in banking centers and emails to current customers.

For a limited time, Bank of America said, it will match the cash consumers earn from select online retailers including Home Depot, Sears, Staples, and Walmart, all of whom were featured on the Add It Up home page on Tuesday.

Other retailers in the program include Target, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble. iTunes, Macys, Sephora, Gap, Petco, Overstock and Lands' End.

Bank of America says the offers go as high as 20% cash back. One tech blogger who apparently signed up for Add It Up, Victor Godinez of the Dallas Morning News, found cashback offers of 5% at CompUSA and 4% at TigerDirect, plus straight dollar deals like $15 from Netflix and $60 from buying a two-year T-Mobile plan.

Add It Up has been operating quietly for a couple of months and actually replaced the Bank of America Mall, which launched last summer.

Bank of America's aggressiveness on this front comes amidst reports of other financial institutions cutting back on rewards programs. SmartMoney, for example, recently reported that Citibank this Sunday will begin to invoke an expiration date on points in its Thank You Network, amongst other changes.

American Express, meanwhile, has expanded its mix of rewards to include gas and other more downscale items.