Review of the Amex EveryDay and Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Cards

American Express offers this pair of unique cards: the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card and the Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card.

What makes them different? They give you extra points if you use your card a certain number of times during a billing period. They’re meant to be used “every day.”

The EveryDay Preferred card is an upgraded version of the regular EveryDay card. The Preferred card comes with an annual fee, but for that you’ll also earn points at a higher rate and get a better bonus for using your card frequently during the month.

Our Ratings

These are basic rewards cards for earning American Express Membership Rewards points for no annual fee or a low annual fee.

These cards award a bonus percentage of points earned during a statement period if you use the card for a certain minimum number of transactions. We’ve never seen a bonus point program like this on any other cards, and it can be a very rewarding feature if you’re able to take advantage of it every month.

There’s a decent 12-month 0% introductory APR offer on each of these cards, which could be useful if you want to transfer a balance or make a large purchase and potentially avoid interest while paying it off over time. This is not as long as some introductory APRs that are out there, but it’s a nice feature to have on these cards that have so much reward potential.

Earning and redeeming points can be a little confusing, since it takes some work to figure out how you’ll redeem points to maximize their value. Instead, you could go for the simplicity of cash back with the Blue Cash EveryDay and Blue Cash Preferred cards from American Express (Review).

Amex EveryDay: 4 out of 5 Stars

For all the reasons above, this card gets 4 stars. It’s a no-annual-fee way to earn some Membership Rewards points, and even though the bonus program is novel, you might get a little confused keeping track of points and determining the best way to redeem them.

If you don’t spend much at supermarkets, though, you may be able to get more rewards by choosing a different card for your everyday spending.

This is a good card for no annual fee, but you may be able to earn a higher cash back equivalent with other cards depending on where you spend with the card and how you redeem points, which is why this card didn’t get 5 Stars.

Amex EveryDay Preferred: 4 out of 5 Stars

Depending on your purchasing habits and how often you’ll use the card, the annual fee for the EveryDay Preferred could easily pay for itself.

If you spend a lot at supermarkets and gas stations or book travel on Amex’s travel site then this could be a good rewards card for you, but if you don’t spend in any of those categories much you may be able to earn more rewards from everyday spending with a different card.

For the same reasons as the regular EveryDay, we decided to give this card 4 Stars. It’s a very good card, but it doesn’t stand out as a must-get card.

Insider Advice: Using One of These Cards as Part of Your Credit Card Strategy

• The main reason to get one of these cards is the bonus you get for using the card a certain number of times in each billing cycle. If you don’t think you’ll be able to get to the minimum number of transactions each cycle, you can probably earn more rewards value with other cards.
• Use one of these cards for small transactions or recurring bills to help you trigger the bonus each month and maximize points you’re earning.
• You probably won’t want both of these cards in your wallet since they’re so similar, so choose the one that’s a better fit for your spending.
• Use one of these cards as your go-to card at the supermarket, and gas stations too if you have the EveryDay Preferred.
• If you already have a card that rewards you for spending at supermarkets, consider whether one of these cards would be more rewarding as a possible replacement.
• You may want to get one of these cards just to use at supermarkets (or gas stations and amextravel.com if the Preferred version make sense for you) and use a different credit card for purchases at other merchants to maximize your rewards.
• If you’re unsure, you could start with the no-annual-fee EveryDay, and then evaluate your spending on the card after a year. If the annual fee would have been worth it to you, consider upgrading to the EveryDay Preferred.
• Consider how you redeem your points, as there is a wide range of values you could get per point depending on how you redeem. Transfer your points to a partner airline to potentially maximize their value.

The Rewards

Amex EveryDay

This card earns the equivalent of roughly 1.2% – 2.4% cash back, depending on how much you spend, where you spend, and how you redeem your points.

With this card you’ll get:

• 2 points per dollar at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases, then 1 point per dollar)
• 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
• A 20% point bonus if you make at least 20 purchases in a billing period
• A signup bonus of 10,000 points for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months

So, if you use this card to make at least 20 purchases in a given billing period (about a month’s time) you’ll get a 20% bonus on however many points you earned. Membership Rewards points don’t expire as long as the account is open and in good standing, so you can save up points over time without worrying they’ll go away.

Let’s say you earned 500 points and had over 20 transactions in the previous statement period. 20% of 500 is 100, so you would get an additional 100 points (600 points total) during that statement period. One way to look at this percentage-based point bonus is that if you hit the bonus, it’s the equivalent to earning 2.4 points per dollar at supermarkets, and 1.2 points per dollar for other purchases.

When it comes to redeeming points, cashing in points for a statement credit will only get you $0.006 per point, while you can redeem for gift cards at $0.01 per point. You’ll usually be able to get the highest value for points by transferring Membership Rewards points to a partner’s frequent flyer program or hotel loyalty program.

If we assume a value of $0.01 per point and you always hit the transaction threshold to trigger the bonus, you’re basically earning the equivalent of 1.2% to 2.4% cash back with this card, depending on the categories of your purchases. But remember, you could get more by redeeming your points in a way that values them above $0.01.

Points can be transferred to one of many major frequent flier/traveler programs:

Participating Airline Travel Partners Include:
Delta	AeroMexico	Air Canada	KLM/Air France	Alitalia	ANA
Asia Miles	British Airways	El Al Israel	Emirates	Frontier	Hawaiian Airlines
Iberia Plus	jetBlue	Singapore Airlines	Virgin America	Virgin Atlantic

Participating Hotel Partners Include:
Choice Privileges	Best Western Rewards
Hilton HHonors	Starwood Preferred Guest

Amex EveryDay Preferred

This card earns the equivalent of roughly 1.5%–4.5% cash back, depending on where you spend, how much you spend, and how you redeem your points.

For its annual fee you get better rewards than the basic version:

• 3 points per dollar at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 in purchases, then 1 point per dollar)
• 2 points per dollar at US gas stations
• 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
• A 50% point bonus if you make at least 30 purchases in a billing period
• A signup bonus of 15,000 points for spending $1,000 in the first 3 months

You’ll need to use this card 30 times in a given billing period — or an average of about once per day — to earn the 50% point bonus.

If you earned 500 points during a statement period where you hit the bonus like in the example above: 50% of 500 is 250, so you’d get 250 extra points, or 750 points total.

When you hit the threshold that’s the equivalent of earning 4.5 points per dollar at supermarkets, 3 points per dollar at gas stations, and 1.5 points per dollar for all other purchases.

You’ll be able to redeem points with this card just like the basic EveryDay described above. So, if we assume a value $0.01 per point and you always hit the transaction threshold to trigger the bonus, you’ll basically earn the equivalent of 1.5% to 4.5% cash back with this card, depending on the categories of your purchases, and you could get more by redeeming your points in a way that values them above $0.01.

Comparison

These cards offer several ways to earn points, and, as you can see, you have the potential to earn a lot more points with the Preferred card.

The unique value of these cards come from the point bonuses for frequent spending, but the question is: will you really use one of these cards enough to earn the bonus?

You may find it difficult to use the basic EveryDay card 20 times per month, and I think many people would have a hard time using the EveryDay Preferred 30 times per month to get the 50% bonus (unless you go out of your way to make a lot of tiny purchases). Remember, if you’re not hitting that transaction threshold you’re not using these cards to their full potential.

Thankfully there is a way around this — you can sign up your (trusted) friends and family as authorized users on your account, which will give them their own cards to use. Having 2 or more people spending with the card will make it much easier to get you to those thresholds.

If you’re trying to decide between these two cards, first consider how much you’ll spend at supermarkets. If you spend the full $6,000 per year that will earn you extra points, you’ll earn 12,000 points with the regular EveryDay card or 18,000 points with the EveryDay Preferred. Assuming a value of $0.01 per point, that’s $120 in rewards versus $180 in rewards, and that $60 difference alone is not enough to cover the annual fee of the EveryDay Preferred.

However, let’s assume you’re hitting the bonus threshold each month. Now, if you spend the full $6,000 per year at supermarkets, you’ll earn 14,400 points with the regular EveryDay card or 27,000 points with the EveryDay Preferred. Assuming a value of $0.01 per point, that’s $144 in rewards versus $270 in rewards, and that $126 difference more than covers the annual fee of the EveryDay Preferred. This doesn’t even consider the additional rewards you can earn at gas stations with the EveryDay Preferred.

You may need to do a little math and consider your spending to decide which card can earn you more when you factor in the annual fee, but as you can see it’s possible you can come out way ahead with the Preferred version if you spend enough at supermarkets and gas stations, and take advantage of the whopping 50% bonus you get for having at least 30 transactions per month.

The Benefits

The EveryDay card and the EveryDay Preferred card come with pretty standard benefits you’d expect to see on most American Express cards.

The benefits on these cards are almost entirely the same, except for extra baggage insurance with the EveryDay Preferred. If you get one of these cards, read the Guide to Benefits that comes with your card to learn about specific benefits you have and how to access them.

Entertainment Benefits

American Express offers an “Entertainment Access” benefit, which they claim provides exclusive access to pre-sale and member-only events in big cities around the world. I’ve seen this happen occasionally when a popular concert is coming to town — American Express will send out an email to cardholders, who can purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

Shopping Benefits

Most major credit card issuers offer some shopping benefits, like extended warranties, and these cards come with a set of those benefits. Here’s a quick overview of the shopping benefits:

• Extended Warranty: Adds up to 1 year to the manufacturer’s warranty on eligible items, for warranties of 5 years or less.
• Purchase Protection: Eligible items are protected against damage and theft for 90 days after the date of purchase. This can be nice if you buy a smartphone on your credit card and drop it the next month, for example.
• Return Protection: If a retailer refuses to take back an item, American Express will provide a refund for eligible items up to 90 days after the date of purchase, up to $300 per item and $1,000 per year.
• Dispute Resolution: American Express will work with you to resolve any problems you have with unauthorized or unrecognized charges.

Some similar cash back cards, like the Citi Double Cash (Review), offer a price protection benefit that will refund you the difference when you buy an item then find it at a lower price somewhere else shortly after your purchase. There are no such benefits on the Amex EveryDay cards.

Travel Benefits

It’s common for major credit cards like these to have some basic travel benefits, like travel accident insurance and car rental damage insurance. There’s nothing that stands out too much on these cards, but here’s a quick overview of the travel benefits:

• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: Provides coverage if your rented car is damaged or stolen, when the rental company’s own insurance is declined. Not all vehicle types and rentals are covered.
• Global Assist Hotline: When traveling more than 100 miles from home, provides 24/7 access to legal, medical, emergency, and other assistance services.
• Travel Accident Insurance: Provides coverage against accidental death and dismemberment when traveling by Common Carrier.
• Roadside Assistance Hotline: If you break down on the road, Roadside Assistance will help you find nearby services to get you back on track. Third-party service charges will apply.
• Baggage Insurance Plan (EveryDay Preferred Only): This benefit is only available with the EveryDay Preferred version of the card. When traveling by Common Carrier, this benefit provides coverage if your checked or carry-on bags are lost or damaged.

Comparison

As you can see, both of these cards provide some nice benefits to help you out when shopping and traveling, but benefits like this are pretty standard on most major rewards cards so nothing really stands out about the benefits of these cards.

The EveryDay Preferred card only has the one baggage insurance benefit that the regular EveryDay card doesn’t offer, so there isn’t a lot to consider when comparing the benefits these two cards offer.

The Costs & Fees

Card	Annual Fee	Intro APR for Purchases and Balance Transfers	Regular APR	Regular Balance Transfer APR	Cash Advance APR	Foreign Transaction Fee
Amex EveryDay	$0	0% for 12 months	13.99%–23.99% Variable	13.99%–23.99% Variable	26.24% Variable	2.7%
Amex EveryDay Preferred	$95	0% for 15 months	13.74%–23.74% Variable	13.74%–23.74% Variable	25.99% Variable	2.7%

Card	Penalty APR	Late Fee	Returned Payment Fee
Amex EveryDay	29.99% Variable	Up to $37	Up to $37
Amex EveryDay Preferred	29.24% (Variable)	Up to $38	Up to $38

Comparison

When it comes to the costs and fees, there is only one difference between these cards: the Preferred version has an annual fee, while the basic version does not.

Notice they both have a foreign transaction fee, so if you’re planning to use your next card for purchases outside of the country, there may be a better choice for you.

Examine your shopping habits carefully before making a decision between the regular EveryDay and the EveryDay Preferred — will that $95 fee be worth it? If you spend a lot at supermarkets and make plenty of purchases to hit that 30 purchase threshold, it’s likely that the card will be worth the fee.

The Bottom Line

First, you’ll need to decide if one of these cards is right for you:

• Will you use one of these cards enough times every month to get the bonus?
• Do you already have a credit card that’s giving you more rewards at supermarkets?
• Do you already have a general use rewards card you use for small purchases? (small purchases can help you hit the transaction threshold quickly)

If you don’t already have a card that gives you more rewards at supermarkets and you shop at supermarkets somewhat frequently, the EveryDay card or the similar no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday card (Review) might make sense since there is no annual fee and you could earn more rewards at supermarkets.

However, if you know that you’ll be using the card for at least 30 transactions per month and you’ll spend a lot at supermarkets and gas stations, then the EveryDay Preferred may be more than worth the annual fee for you.

Adding an authorized user or two could help you hit the threshold to trigger point bonuses faster, and this can be a great way to rack up rewards (as long as everyone uses his or her card responsibly).

How to Apply for the Amex EveryDay or Amex EveryDay Preferred

You can apply for these cards online, and you may get an instant decision on American Express’ website. When you apply, American Express will usually pull your Experian credit report, though occasionally they’ll pull other reports as well.

These cards are meant for people with good to excellent credit, so you may not necessarily get it if you apply.

You may also be able to get a better offer if you check for pre-qualified offers on the American Express website.

Alternatives to the Amex EveryDay and Amex EveryDay Preferred

Since there’s a lot of competition among cash back cards and other rewards cards that aren’t specifically designed for travel, there are quite a few cards to pick from that could be considered alternatives to the EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred.

• Blue Cash Everyday & Blue Cash Preferred (Review of both): very similar, cash back instead of points, slight reward categories variations
• Citi Double Cash (Review): flat 2% cash back rate, longer 0% intro APR on balance transfers
• Discover it (Review): rotating 5% cash back category, longer 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers, nice introductory bonus opportunity
• Chase Freedom Unlimited (Review): flat 1.5% cash back rate, better introductory bonus
• Amazon Rewards Visa Signature and Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature (Review of both): more reward categories, 3–5% back on Amazon purchases

Blue Cash Everyday & Blue Cash Preferred

The Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred from American Express (Review of both) may look very similar to the EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred, and the “Blue Cash Everyday” name certainly adds to the confusion.

The main difference between these cards and their EveryDay card cousins is that the EveryDay cards reward you for using your card a certain number of times per month. The Blue Cash cards don’t have this type of bonus, although they have the potential to earn you more cash back in certain categories.

If you don’t think you’ll hit the minimum number of transactions to trigger the bonus, one of the Blue Cash cards may be a better choice for you.

While the EveryDay cards earn points, the Blue Cash cards earn cash back. Cash back cards can also be simpler if you don’t ever plan on transferring points to a travel partner, or just don’t want to think about collecting and redeeming points.

The Blue Cash Everyday earns 3% at supermarkets (6% with Preferred) up to $6,000, 2% gas and select department stores (3% with Preferred), and both earn 1% cash back on other expenses.

So, the EveryDay cards are missing any extra rewards for “select department stores,” which is a list of 16 brands you can find here. If you value a Membership Reward point at $0.01 and hit the transaction threshold bonus, the Blue Cash cards win over the EveryDay cards for supermarkets, since the EveryDay earns the equivalent of 2.4% cash back at supermarkets and 4.5% for the Preferred version. However, if you plan to redeem points through a travel partner you may be able to get a higher value for your points, making the EveryDay the better choice for you.

The Blue Cash Everyday gives you a $100 statement credit after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months, and with the Preferred version the statement credit is $150. If you value a Membership Reward point at $0.01, these introductory bonuses are basically the same as what you get with the EveryDay cards.

The Blue Cash Everyday and Preferred both have a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, which is the same as what you get with both EveryDay cards.

The Blue Cash Everyday has no annual fee, and the Blue Cash Preferred has a $95 annual fee. Sound familiar?

Unless you spend over $6,000 per year at grocery stores, it probably doesn’t make sense to get one of the Blue Cash cards and one of the EveryDay cards, but they seemed important to include as an alternative since the cards are so similar and people often ask us questions about the differences. You may decide one of the Blue Cash cards is a better fit for you than either EveryDay card.

Citi Double Cash

The Citi Double Cash (Review) is a simple card that earns 2% on all purchases: 1% when you make a purchase and another 1% when you pay it off. There are no particular spending categories to worry about or points to redeem. This card has no introductory bonus, and no annual fee.

If you don’t think you’ll use your card for enough transactions to trigger the bonus each month, you may want to get the Double Cash instead of one of the EveryDay cards.

The Double Cash has a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, so even though it’s 6 months longer than the 0% intro APR on either EveryDay card, it only covers balance transfers, not purchases.

The foreign transaction fee is slightly higher than the EveryDay cards, at 3% instead of 2.7%, so you’ll want to pick a different card than any of these for purchases outside the U.S.

If you’re looking to maximize rewards, you could get the Double Cash to complement one of the EveryDay cards. When you’re spending in a category where the EveryDay earns more than 1 point per dollar, use the EveryDay. If you’re already on track to hit the transaction threshold on the EveryDay and spending in a category where the EveryDay would only earn 1 point per dollar, use the Citi Double Cash instead to get 2% cash back (unless you’re able to redeem Membership Rewards points for over $0.02 per point).

Since the Double Cash is issued as a Visa or MasterCard, you could also get it as a backup for situations where American Express cards are not accepted.

Discover it

The Discover it (Review) is a cash back card with rotating categories.

Unlike either of the EveryDay cards, the Discover it doesn’t have a set of stable reward categories. Instead, it has categories that rotate every 3 months, offering 5% cash back at a variety of merchants in different categories. You’ll get 1% cash back on any purchases outside those categories. For example, at the time I’m writing this Discover is offering 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in purchases at restaurants from July – September 2017.

This card gives you a 0% intro APR for 14 months on purchases and balance transfers, which is 2 months longer than the EveryDay cards.

The introductory offer on this card is rather unique: Discover will double your cash back earned at the end of the first year, so you have the potential to earn up to 10% cash back in certain categories. If you’re able to spend a lot in the 5% category (they usually do Amazon.com in Q4) you could be looking at some serious cash back during the first year.

Since there’s no annual fee, this card might make a good complement to one of the EveryDay cards to have on hand in situations where you can earn more rewards per dollar with the Discover it. Or, if you don’t think you’ll be able to use an EveryDay card enough each month to get the bonus you may want to consider the Discover it instead.

Chase Freedom Unlimited

The Chase Freedom Unlimited (Review) has no annual fee and provides 1.5% cash back, unlimited, on all purchases.

As long as you’re hitting the transaction threshold with one of the EveryDay cards and redeeming your points at a value of at least $0.01, the EveryDay cards have the potential to earn you 1.2%–4.5% depending on the categories where you spend. But if you don’t want to think about different spending categories or redeeming points, or don’t think you’ll hit the transaction threshold, the Freedom Unlimited can give you more simplicity.

This card also gives you a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, which is 3 months longer than the EveryDay cards. And, if you spend $500 in purchases on the card within the first 3 months of opening it you’ll get a $150 bonus.

There’s also the regular Chase Freedom (Review), which is more like the Discover it with its rotating categories.

This card might be a good complement to an EveryDay card to use when you’ve already met the bonus transaction threshold on the EveryDay but aren’t spending in a point bonus category. It could also be nice to have in situations that American Express cards are not accepted since it’s a Visa card.

Amazon Rewards & Amazon Prime Rewards

The Amazon Rewards Visa Signature and Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature (Review of both) are great rewards cards if you shop on Amazon frequently.

The Amazon Rewards card earns 3% back on Amazon, 2% at gas stations, restaurants, and drugstores, and 1% back on all other purchases. If you have Amazon Prime, you’ll get the Prime Rewards card instead, which earns 5% back on Amazon. The rewards are all issued in Amazon credit.

So, the 2% back at gas stations, restaurants, and drugstores provides a little more flexibility than the EveryDay or EveryDay Preferred’s 2x category for just gas stations.

There’s no annual fee for either of these cards, but of course you’d need to pay the $99 annual fee for a Prime membership separately to get the Prime version of the card, which is also made of metal.

I chose to include this card here as an alternative for a few reasons. If you’re like me, you’ve been shifting a lot of your supermarket spending to Amazon. Unlimited 5% back on Amazon may be more appealing than the roughly 4.5% cash back at supermarkets you can get with the EveryDay Preferred, which is capped at $6,000.

Also, depending on the categories where you spend most, it might make sense to get one of the EveryDay cards along with one of the Amazon cards. You could use the EveryDay card at supermarkets and for small transactions, and an Amazon card for Amazon purchases, restaurants, drugstores, and gas stations (if you only have the regular EveryDay). Since the Amazon cards are Visa Signature cards, you could use one of them as a backup in case a merchant doesn’t accept American Express cards.

If you liked this review, go ahead and share it with a friend! And if you use either of these cards, do you have a hard time getting to the purchase threshold? How do you do it? Leave your own review of the EveryDay card or the EveryDay Preferred, we’d love to here from you!