Add text background like in Premiere

I take your point, but it works differently because After Effects has the ability to do more.

And for the record, both of these presets has a section named Round Corners, for exactly that. 

It's different, but the same functionality (and much more) is indeed here, and only a click or two away. 

Yes I know there are workarounds but this doesn't give the option to add corner radious for example. I just wished the options for text that Premiere has could be in AE too.

Look under Animation Presets for "2D Text Box." You'll find a mask version that applies directly to the text layer, and a shape layer version that creates a separate layer that just needs to be pointed toward the text layer in question.