Amex Blue Cash Credit Cards
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$95
Blue Cash Preferred: $350, $150 for $3,000 spend in first 6 months, plus 20% back on up to $1,000 spending at Amazon. Some people see an extra $50 in private browsing mode.
Blue Cash: $250, $100 for $2,000 spend in first 6 months, plus 20% back on up to $750 spending at Amazon. Some people see an extra $50 in private browsing mode.200 dollars
$1,000 initial spend
($90 net value, .09/$)
Signup Bonus Chart6% US Supermarkets
6% Streaming Services
3% Transit
3% US Gas Stations
3% Select US Department Stores (Until August)
1% Everywhere Else
2.7% Foreign Transaction Fee
The Blue Cash Preferred Card earns fantastic rewards on Grocery spending (6% cash back). The only card that earns more is the Amex EveryDay Preferred Card (4.5x Membership Reward points), but only if you make 30 transactions every month and are comfortable redeeming Membership Rewards points for frequent flyer tickets. If you don't already have a card that earns good rewards at grocery stores, it can be worth getting the Blue Cash Preferred just to earn extra rewards on your grocery store purchases.
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Amex Blue Cash Card Options
There are two Blue Cash cards. In addition, American Express offers two Business Blue card—the Blue Business Plus Card and the Blue Business Cash Card—that are different enough that they are covered in their own guides.
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Blue Cash Preferred. For almost everyone interested in the extra bonus categories rewards from one of the Blue Cash cards, the extra rewards from the Preferred version are likely to justify its $95 annual fee. For example, if you spend $4,000 on groceries each year, you'll earn an extra $120 per year with the Preferred version. If you don't spend very much, it probably isn't worthwhile to get either version of this card. Amex Webpage. Signup Bonus Chart. |
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Blue Cash Everyday. The no-annual-fee card only earns 3% on groceries, 2% on gas, and doesn't earn bonus rewards on streaming subscriptions. It does earn 2% at department stores, but you should already be earning this amount or more from your general-purpose reward card. Amex Webpage. Signup Bonus Chart. |
Collecting the Signup Bonus
- This card is primarily interesting for its bonus rewards, not for its signup bonus. The typical signup bonus is $200. After subtracting the annual fee and the opportunity cost of using the card for $1,000 of spending, the calculated net value for the initial year is $90 (9 cents per dollar spent). It isn't very much, but it is better than nothing..
- You can only earn the signup bonus once per lifetime. With Amex cards, you are normally not entitled to earn the signup bonus, if you've ever had the card before. However, you may eventually receive a targeted offer that bypasses this limitation, allowing you to earn the bonus an additional time.
- However, you can earn the bonus from both versions of the card. The no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday card only has a $150 signup bonus. But if you start running out of other Amex cards to take advantage of, you might want to eventually collect that bonus as well.
- You may want to wait until you receive a better than normal offer. Since Amex will normally only let you receive the signup bonus once per lifetime, and frequently offers promotional signup offers, it can be worthwhile to postpone signing up, so you don't waste your bonus on a less valuable offer.
Notable Benefits
- Access to Amex Offers. Amex continuously provides discount offers to their cardholders. Most of the offers are in the form of "Spend $x, get $y back", but other offers are in the form of "x% off your entire order" or "Earn an extra Membership Reward point on your purchases". To take advantage of the offers, you need to go to the Amex website, find the ones you are interested in, and "add them" to your card. Each offer will then be automatically applied when you use your card to make the corresponding purchase. Amex Offers Website.
- Free ShopRunner membership. As with all Amex cards, you are entitled to a complimentary ShopRunner membership, which provides free two-day and return shipping from around 150 of the largest online retailers. ShopRunner Website
- Exclusive access to entertainment events. Amex sponsors cardmember-only events around the country and also provides early ticket access for some other shows.
Bonus Categories
- The Blue Cash Preferred card some of the most valuable rewards on grocery purchases. It earns 6% cashback. The only card that earns more valuable rewards is the Amex EveryDay Preferred card and only if you make at least 30 transactions per month and are able to get good value from using your points for frequent flyer tickets. You might also prefer a card that earns Membership Rewards or ThankYou points that can be transferred to frequent flyer programs. Best Credit Cards for Grocery Spending.
- The Blue Cash Preferred earns bonus reward rates on two less common categories: streaming services (6%) and transit (3%). The travel category for many credit cards includes transit. If you have one of these cards, it will likely be a better option. But the 6% reward rate for streaming services is better than you can get from any "personal" card. A few business cards earn bonus rewards for telecommunication services that include most streaming services as well.
- There are better options for your gas purchases. 3% cashback is more valuable than what you would get from a good general-purpose reward card, but you can earn even more valuable rewards with other cards. Best Credit Cards for Gas Spending.
- The reward rates on the no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday card aren't very interesting. It does earn 3% on groceries, but that is lower than most of the other possible options. Most people can earn enough extra rewards from the Preferred version to offset its annual fee.
- You don't want to use these cards for your everyday spending. You'll earn higher rewards from a good general-purpose reward card. Get a Great General Purpose Reward Card and Use It for All of Your Spending.
Getting Rid of the Card
- Make sure to cash out your rewards balance before you cancel your card.
- We usually recommend cancelling your card, rather than doing a product change. If you change to a card that you haven't had before, you won't be able to earn the signup bonus for that card in the future. In addition, signing up directly for the new card would earn a referral bonus for your Amex referral partner. And it usually isn't hard to get approved for a new Amex card when you need it.
- You can wait to cancel the card until after the annual fee shows up on your statement. As long as you cancel within 30 days of the statement closing date, Amex will refund the fee. After 30 days, you can receive a pro-rated refund by downgrading to a lower-priced card, such as the no-annual-fee version.
- You might be able to receive a retention offer to keep your card. It could be enough to make it worthwhile to keep the card.
You can product change between the Everyday Preferred ($95), Everday ($0), Blue Cash Preferred ($95), Blue Cash Everyday ($0), Cash Magnet ($0), or Blue ($0) cards.