American Express Blue Cash Preferred Credit Card Review
Snapshot
iv.0
Lesser line
Whether you're spending on everyday essentials like groceries and gas or treating your family to a dark in with streaming movies, this versatile carte du jour has y'all covered.
Best for everyday family unit purchases
Bluish Greenbacks Preferred® Card from American Express
Annual fee
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, so $95.
Regular APR
14.24%-24.24% Variable
Recommended Credit Score
Expert to First-class (670 - 850)
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express review: The everyday carte for households
Boasting one of the highest rewards rates available at U.S. supermarkets, the Blue Greenbacks Preferred® Card from American Limited remains 1 of the best cards for groceries.
Just the Blue Cash Preferred isn't a one-trick pony. With a generous welcome offering and unlimited greenbacks dorsum on essential categories like U.South. gas station purchases, transit and select U.S. streaming subscriptions, this is a superlative-shelf greenbacks dorsum card that can assistance you maximize your rewards on everyday spending.
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Pros
- Outstanding tiered greenbacks back on groceries, gas, transit and streaming subscriptions
- Buy protection, return protection and extended warranty benefits
- Gratis ShopRunner membership
Cons
- The high-earning U.South. supermarket category excludes low-toll options similar big-box stores and warehouse clubs
- Not currently offering balance transfers
- Limited rewards redemption options
A deeper look into the current menu offer
Quick highlights
- Rewards rate: 6 pct cash back on U.Southward. supermarket purchases (up to $6,000 per year, then one percent); 6 percentage back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions; three percent greenbacks back on transit; three pct dorsum on U.S. gas station purchases; 1 percent dorsum on all other purchases
- Welcome offer: Earn a $300 argument credit after you spend $three,000 in purchases on your new bill of fare within the first half-dozen months.
- Almanac fee: $0 introductory annual fee for the first yr, and then $95
- Buy intro APR: 0 percent for 12 months
- Remainder transfer intro APR: N/A
- Regular APR: xiv.24 pct to 24.24 percent variable
Electric current welcome bonus
New Blue Cash Preferred cardholders can earn a $300 statement credit subsequently spending $iii,000 within the first half dozen months of card membership. This is a slight drop from the up to $350 in statement credits you could earn with the card's previous offer, which gave you a $150 statement credit afterward a $three,000 spend in your first half-dozen months and a gamble to earn upwards to $200 via xx percent cash back on Amazon.com purchases for your start six months. That said, the new offer is a fleck more flexible, equally it does not require you to spend at any specific retailer to earn the welcome bonus.
The card's $300 welcome bonus too beats out the bonus you'll find on a number of competing cash back cards and offers double the typical timeframe for reaching the bonus spending threshold–six months versus the usual 3 months.
Rewards details
The Amex Bluish Cash Preferred offers tiered cash dorsum, which means you'll earn rewards at different rates beyond multiple categories.
Some tiered rewards cards impose spending caps on your loftier-earning bonus categories, reverting your rewards rate to i percentage after spending a certain corporeality. The typical cap is $1,500 per quarter, but the Blue Greenbacks Preferred card's half dozen percent U.S. supermarket category'due south limit is $half-dozen,000 per year in purchases.
Earning cash dorsum
Like other cash back cards from American Express, y'all earn greenbacks back initially every bit "Blueish Cash Reward Dollars" that tin then exist redeemed for a statement credit.
Yous'll earn greenbacks back on category purchases at the following rates:
- 6 pct: U.Due south. supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1 percent) and select U.S. streaming subscriptions (such as Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Spotify, etc.)
- 3 percent: U.Southward. gas stations and transit (including taxis or ride-shares, parking, tolls, public transit, etc.)
- ane percent: All other purchases
These loftier-earning categories have the potential to reap significant rewards since they're diverse plenty to cover a sizable portion of your day-to-day expenses. In fact, if you spend at to the lowest degree $132 each month at U.Southward. supermarkets, you should earn enough rewards to cover your annual fee.
You tin can then take advantage of your categories' flexibility and create more than opportunities to maximize your cash rewards. Along with its rewards at U.S. supermarkets and gas stations, 2 categories that virtually cardholders spend heavily in, the Bluish Cash Preferred carte du jour may assistance y'all earn bonus rewards with the Amex Offers program. Amex Offers are limited-fourth dimension deals y'all can actuate in your account to earn actress cash back or Membership Rewards points on purchases from participating retailers, such equally Hulu or Uber.
Redeeming cash back
Unfortunately, the Blue Cash Reward Dollars yous earn don't provide many redemption options. Y'all can redeem rewards for a argument credit, gift cards ($25 minimum) or merchandise.
Although your greenbacks back can't be a direct eolith or a check, earning statement credits with your Amex Bluish Greenbacks Preferred is a great style to save money on grocery purchases. Redeeming for a statement credit is the most versatile rewards selection since it tin can cover anything a souvenir card can and beyond, so brand sure you get identical ownership power if you sink the same rewards value into a gift card or merchandise purchase.
How much are rewards worth?
Since the Bluish Cash Preferred is a cash back card, the Blue Greenbacks Reward Dollars yous earn are equivalent to actual dollars. Your rewards are still worth $1 per Reward Dollar whether you redeem for a statement credit, gift carte or other merchandise.
Other cardholder perks
The Bluish Greenbacks Preferred doesn't carry nearly equally many benefits equally other American Express rewards cards. However, standard Amex perks like shopping and travel protections, Pay Information technology Program It and the free ShopRunner membership (enrollment required) are yet plenty useful.
Shopping and travel protections
Your Blue Cash Preferred card comes with several protections that well-nigh all American Express cards provide, as well as the less-common return protection.
- Return protection: You lot can render eligible purchases of under $300 fifty-fifty when the merchant doesn't offer returns (a limit of upward to $1,000 in returns per year applies).
- Purchase protection: If an item you purchased with the carte needs to be repaired or replaced, you can become reimbursed up to $1,000 per eligible incident (up to $50,000 per yr full).
- Extended warranty: You become an extra year of coverage on items with an existing warranty of upwards to v years (up to $10,000 in coverage per eligible detail and $fifty,000 per card).
- Car rental loss and damage insurance: If a vehicle you lot've rented with your card is damaged or stolen in an eligible country, you tin take advantage of secondary insurance coverage.
Complimentary ShopRunner membership
Since the Bluish Cash Preferred is a personal U.Due south. Amex card (unlike typical cards, the carte du jour allows you to carry a residue for sure charges, but non all), y'all'll take a complimentary ShopRunner membership (enrollment required) while your card is active. ShopRunner gives you gratuitous two-day shipping at checkout when you shop with over 100 online merchants.
Pay Information technology Program It
If y'all're trying to whittle down your residue, the Amex Pay It Plan It characteristic provides culling payment strategies. You lot can use Pay It to immediately take intendance of purchases under $100. Meanwhile, Plan It allows you to slowly pay off larger qualifying purchases over $100 and pay them over a ready flow on upwardly to 10 dissimilar payment plans.
Plan It can be useful for earning greenbacks dorsum on small purchases considering using your menu essentially becomes as easy as using a debit card. Still, your mileage might vary with Plan Information technology. In lieu of interest payments, yous'll still owe a fixed monthly plan fee, which could exist more expensive in some cases.
Fortunately, you tin enjoy $0 intro plan fees when yous use Plan It monthly installment plans during your outset 12 months. Afterwards that, your plans will have a monthly plan fee of up to 1.33% of each purchase amount moved into the programme based on its duration, the Apr that would otherwise utilize to the buy, and other factors.
Rates and Fees
On the chance that you're not sure whether the Bluish Cash Preferred card fits your spending habits, the 12-calendar month 0 percent introductory APR on purchases will buy you some time to decide. After that, the ongoing APR is 14.24 percent to 24.24 percent variable.
If y'all're looking to transfer your residue to the Blue Cash Preferred card, nosotros're pitiful to say that Amex currently isn't accepting remainder transfers to this carte.
At that place is also a two.7 percentage foreign transaction fee if you're traveling exterior the U.Due south.
The $95 almanac fee ($0 introductory annual fee for the first year) might be something some cardholders would avoid, only every bit mentioned earlier in the review, it takes only modest grocery spending to get-go that cost. Nevertheless, fee-balky cardholders can opt for the Blue Cash Preferred'south sister card—the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Limited.
Beginning-twelvemonth card value vs. ongoing value
Not only will your outset year with the Blue Cash Preferred bring bonus greenbacks back, only you lot'll also save big on card costs. Zero-interest intro purchase APR offers aren't mutual among cards with almanac fees, and to boot, the intro bonus' full cash dorsum ranks among the biggest bounties in the premium cash back card world. Plus, the annual fee is $0 introductory your start twelvemonth, so you lot don't take a $95-sized bite taken from your first full year of greenbacks back.
These are all fantabulous welcome offers, simply the Blue Cash Preferred can nearly back up itself in one case the annual fee returns. As we previously mentioned, it only takes spending $132 at U.S. supermarkets each calendar month to pay for the almanac fee—any rewards across that go direct into your pocket. But maximizing your U.S. supermarket category lonely will earn y'all $360 back. Although in that location's a price for admission, opening the floodgate to these potential grocery and gas reward paydays is well worth information technology.
| Benefits and Costs | Start-year value | Ongoing value (no welcome offers) |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly rewards* | +$657 | +$657 |
| Welcome offers | +$300 (after you lot spend $three,000 in purchases on your new card inside the kickoff six months. | — |
| Perks (of monetary value) | Northward/A | N/A |
| Annual fee | -$0 ($0 intro almanac fee for the first year) | -$95 |
| Total value | $957 | $562 |
| Total value of intro buy April** |
|
|
*Based on the following estimates for almanac expenditures past category: groceries ($vi,000); dining ($two,100); household utilities, fuels and public services ($iv,000); household supplies, effects and dwelling improvement ($ii,800); apparel and services and section stores ($1,800); gas and gas stations ($two,000); transit and ride-shares ($800); entertainment ($3,000); personal care products and services, household operations and other miscellaneous spending ($three,300); travel ($two,000); pharmacies and drugstores ($1,300); online shopping ($1,800).
**Intro and ongoing APR menu information based on a $1,000 unexpected expense, average credit card interest rate (at time of writing), minimum ongoing variable Apr and the minimum monthly payment to pay off the balance within the card'southward intro APR period factored into Bankrate's credit card payoff estimator for comparison.
Bankrate staff experience
The Bluish Cash Preferred carte du jour'south unique everyday value has impressed several credit bill of fare and personal finance experts here at Bankrate, including resident senior credit menu analyst Ted Rossman.
Rossman has written at length nigh why he loves the Blue Greenbacks Preferred, believing its focus on grocery cash dorsum is the perfect fit for his family. Only it's not just the $360 he earns in cash back every year that keeps him happy. Rossman makes sure to take full advantage of the carte, earning cash back rewards in all its bonus categories while also taking advantage of the many "perks that protect my online and in-store purchases." These include purchase and render protections, as well as an extended warranty clause.
The Bluish Cash Preferred packs then much value, Rossman prefers it over the Blue Cash Everyday® Menu from American Express as well as the American Express® Gilt Menu.
"For my money, there'south no topping the Blueish Cash Preferred."
— Ted Rossman Senior Credit Menu Analyst at Bankrate
How the Amex Blueish Cash Preferred compares to other greenbacks dorsum cards
The Blueish Greenbacks Preferred is hard to beat in the cash back world when information technology comes to consistent, loftier-earning grocery and gas rewards. Unless y'all feel earning 5 percent cash back on other types of purchases with a rotating category card is a improve friction match, alternative rewards card choices come down to the rewards structure and categories that better fit where you shop.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Utilise now
on American Express's secure site
Annual fee
$0 introductory annual fee for the offset yr, then $95.
Recommended credit
Good to Splendid(670 - 850)
Citi Custom Cash℠ Carte du jour
Recommended credit
Good to Excellent(670 - 850)
Bluish Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
Recommended credit
Good to Splendid(670 - 850)
Blue Cash Preferred® Card vs. Blue Cash Everyday® Menu from American Express
The battle of the Blue Cash cards isn't much of a fight. The Blue Cash Preferred Card provides the most value over the long term, which can more than make upwardly for the $95 annual fee. You tin not only go a bigger welcome offering, but also twice as much cash back on your U.S. supermarket spending, not to mention the college bonus rewards for spending at U.South. gas stations and on transit.
The Blue Cash Everyday Card may be a amend fit for people who don't like paying annual fees and who frequent select U.Due south. department stores similar Kohl'south or Macy'due south.
Blue Greenbacks Preferred® Card vs. Citi Custom Greenbacks℠ Card
In most cases, the Blue Greenbacks Preferred tops the Citi Custom Greenbacks Menu. For case, you lot'll have to spend more to become the Blue Cash Preferred's welcome offering, only it'southward worth $100 more than than the Custom Cash Card.
The Blueish Greenbacks Preferred is too far more than flexible. Y'all can spend as much as you want each month at U.S. supermarkets until you hit your $6,000 spending limit for the twelvemonth. After that, you'll earn one pct cash back for the residual of the yr. But your Blue Cash Preferred Card will still pack a lot of value because you earn bonus rewards in multiple categories. And the other spending categories don't accept spending limits.
Unfortunately, the Citi Custom Cash Card is only good for spending in one category, on up to $500 each billing cycle. You earn a loftier 5 percent greenbacks back rate in one of its fixed categories (restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, dwelling house improvement stores, fettle clubs and live entertainment). All other purchases earn 1 percent cash back. In one case you spend $500 in your tiptop category each billing cycle, the Custom Cash Card merely earns 1 pct greenbacks back in that category for the rest of the billing cycle.
Since information technology has no almanac fee, the Citi Custom Cash Card is a great choice for someone who will use it to make purchases in i (and only 1) category. For instance, go far your credit card that earns 5 pct cash back on gas. Or use it as a high-earning grocery rewards alternative if you max out your yearly spend with the Blue Cash Preferred's U.S. supermarket category. Merely for all your other purchases, the Blue Cash Preferred volition more than make upwards for its $95 almanac fee with its welcome offer, rewards and additional benefits.
Best cards to pair with Amex Blue Greenbacks Preferred
The Citi® Double Cash Card makes an fantabulous partner bill of fare. It's a no-frills, apartment-rate credit card that offers 2 percentage on every purchase: 1 per centum when you buy and 1 percent when you pay. It has no almanac fee and is a fantastic complement to the tiered rewards structure of the Blueish Cash Preferred Card. Use your Amex card for all of your spending that falls in the bonus categories, and then pull out your Double Greenbacks Carte du jour for any purchase that would normally only earn 1 percent.
What if you surpass $6,000 each year in groceries? In that example, the Blue Cash Everyday Menu from American Express is an excellent backup menu for another three percent U.Due south. supermarket cash back category (also capped at $6,000 annually, then 1 percent). On summit of no annual fee, you'll also become another bonus category: 2 percent cash back at select U.S. section stores.
While the Blue Greenbacks Preferred covers quite a few bonus categories, the Depository financial institution of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card tin can cover a lot of actress footing as well. Its iii percent cash dorsum category can be switched monthly for upcoming expenses similar online shopping, travel and even home comeback. Plus, its 2 pct grocery store category besides works at wholesale clubs if you're a bulk buyer. Just proceed in mind that this card's iii percentage and 2 pct cash back categories share a $2,500 quarterly cap in combined spending, then 1 percent dorsum.
Bankrate's Have—Is the Amex Bluish Cash Preferred worth it?
The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Limited offers consistently high-earning cash back rates on everyday essentials similar groceries, gas, transit and streaming subscriptions, which are a step above many other greenbacks back cards' reward offerings. Family shoppers, domicile cooks, heavy commuters and busy professionals will have a tough time finding one rewards credit card that delivers like opportunities for rewards.
Read more: Is the Amex Blue Cash Preferred worth information technology?
Oft Asked Questions
Source: https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/reviews/blue-cash-preferred-card-from-american-express/
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