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American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
The Blue Cash Preferred provides high rewards at U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations, and for streaming services and transit expenses. It has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 (Rates & Fees), but you can easily make it back if you find yourself in the grocery aisle or at the gas pump often enough.
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The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is incredibly rewarding, featuring top-level cash back rates and decent perks. The annual fee is minuscule when compared to the card’s overall earning potential.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees)
When we talk about the grocery and gas rewards below, we’re only referring to groceries bought from U.S. supermarkets and gas purchased from U.S. gas stations. Groceries from other stores, like Walmart or Costco, or from gas stations, won’t earn 6% with the Preferred.
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The Blue Cash Preferred is a great choice if you spend a lot on groceries, gas, or streaming subscriptions.
The 6% it earns is potentially the highest around for groceries. You could comfortably make $95 back to cover the annual fee, even if you spend as little as $2,000 on groceries per year.
Just that amount of spending will give you a return of $120. Most people all too easily spend far more than that. And that’s not even taking into account the other categories of gas, transit, and streaming services.
There’s also the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (Review). It’s a step down from the Preferred, and as such offers less substantial rewards, but it doesn’t have an annual fee (Rates & Fees). Take a look at an in-depth comparison of the two cards.
However, as stated above, it’s all too easy to spend a lot on groceries (and gas too) in a year, so you’ll quickly be able to cover the annual fee of the Preferred, and then some.
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The U.S. supermarkets category is quite broad, and probably includes most retailers that you’d classify as a U.S. supermarket. This category does not include specialty food stores, superstores like Walmart or Target, or warehouse clubs.
The list of eligible stores in the U.S. supermarkets category includes, but is not limited to:
U.S. Supermarket Category Example Retailers | ||||
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Gristedes | Foodtown | Meijer | Pathmark | Shoprite |
Stop and Shop | Vons | Wegmans | Whole Foods | Online supermarkets like FreshDirect |
When it comes to “select streaming services,” you can generally expect popular picks like Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music, Spotify, HBO, and Amazon to be covered.
The “U.S. gas station” category defines a gas station as “a merchant that is in the primary business of selling gasoline to consumers,” so that will include pretty much every gas station you’ll ever find in the U.S.
Take note that this category does not include superstores, supermarkets, and warehouse clubs that sell gas.
Eligible examples of transit include taxis and rideshares, parking, tolls, trains, and buses. But it’s important to know that airfare and car rentals aren’t on the list.
You’ll get 1 Reward Dollar for every $1 in cash back that you earn, but the final value you get will depend on how you redeem those Reward Dollars. There are three ways to redeem:
Cash back redemptions are always in increments of $25, unless otherwise noted.
Purchase APR | Balance Transfer APR | Cash Advance APR |
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0% for 12 months, then 13.99% - 23.99% Variable | 13.99% - 23.99% Variable | 25.24% Variable |
Annual Fee | Foreign Transaction Fee |
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$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 | 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. |
Balance Transfer Fee | Cash Advance Fee |
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None | Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater. |
Penalty APR | Late Fee | Returned Payment Fee |
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29.24% Variable | Up to $40 | Up to $40 |
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees)
So there’s an annual fee, but you should be able to limit the impact that’ll have on your finances by how much you’re earning in rewards. There’s also a 0% introductory APR for purchases, so you’ll have additional time to pay before the balance begins to take on interest.
Take note, however — if you make a late or returned payment, you could lose that intro period early, so make sure you’re paying your monthly payments on time.
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is one of the most rewarding cards on the market. The 6% cash back you earn is pretty incredible, and 3% in the other categories is also very good.
Although this card has a $6,000 limit for the 6% rate at U.S. supermarkets, you’ll still get quite a bit of cash back even if you hit that limit. If you spend the full amount in one year this still equates to $360, quite a nice return on purchases you’ll already be making. And that doesn’t even take into account the other categories.
While the Preferred card does have an annual fee, the rewards you earn should easily cover it. (Rates & Fees)
Plus, it comes with the award-winning customer service of American Express, so you can expect a relatively good experience if you need to deal with any problems that might come up (compared to some other card issuers).
The application process for the Preferred will be through the card issuer’s website. Simply follow the link below to apply now.
The Blue Cash Preferred is designed for people with good credit.
To qualify for good credit, your credit scores would need to be in the ranges of 670–739 for FICO or 700–749 for VantageScore.
If your scores are below that range you still have a chance, because credit card issuers will look at more than just credit scores. And if you’re in or above that range, you still have a chance of denial.
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American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
Some of the more useful benefits include Amex Offers, which provides increased rates at a changing selection of online retailers, and Lowest Hotel Rates Guarantee, which will match the price of an online hotel listing if you book with Amex Travel. There are also a few shopping and travel protections included, like return protection and rental car insurance.
Take a look at the complete list of benefits you can expect.
The main differences lie in their rewards and fees. The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (Review) offers 3% at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 spent per year, then 1%) compared to the Preferred’s 6%, only earns 1% on streaming services, and earns 2% at U.S. gas stations and select U.S. department stores.
However, there’s also no annual fee (Rates & Fees), compared to the Preferred’s $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 fee (Rates & Fees).
It also lacks the return protection, extended warranty, and rental car insurance protections, but the other benefits are the same.
The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (Review) is the basic version of the Blue Cash Preferred. It has no annual fee, but features less-impressive rewards. (Rates & Fees)
You’ll earn less cash back at U.S. supermarkets with this card, and will lose the streaming services bonus category. And instead of earning 3% at U.S. gas stations and on transit, you’ll earn 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations and select U.S. department stores. The benefits are pretty similar.
The main differences are the rewards and the lack of an annual fee. If your annual grocery spending doesn’t exceed about $2,500, this version might suit you more than the Preferred. Take a look at your spending habits, and see what card would work best for you. Check out our comparison of the Blue Cash Preferred with the Blue Cash Everyday for help.
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Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees)
American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
The Discover it® Cash Back (Review) is a cash back rewards card that works a bit differently than the Blue Cash Preferred. It features quarterly rotating categories that you have to activate every three months.
Instead of earning rewards in the same bonus categories day in and day out, you’ll earn 5% back in select categories (up to $1,500 spent per quarter, then you’ll earn 1%), along with 1% for every other purchase. So there’s a bit more flexibility here, and occasionally the categories might cover the same bonus categories as the Preferred, including groceries and gas.
The benefits, however, are not as nice as what you’d get with the Preferred. There aren’t any shopping or travel protections, shopping portals, or complimentary memberships. You will be able to monitor one of your credit scores, but this service is available to everyone, not only Discover cardholders.
But if you don’t feel like choosing, you could always combine the two. Use the Preferred where it earns the most, and then the Discover card where (and when) it’ll earn the most.
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The 5% cash back calendar for 2021 is:
Quarter | 5% Cash Back Categories |
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January – March | Grocery Stores, Walgreens, CVS |
April – June | Gas Stations, Wholesale Clubs, Select Streaming Services |
July – September | Restaurants, PayPal |
October – December | Amazon.com, Target.com, Walmart.com |
The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer (Review) is one of the most rewarding cash back credit cards available today.
It’s pretty simple, with a small twist. You’ll earn 2% cash back for every purchase you make, but your rewards are split. You’ll earn 1% when you make the purchase, and you’ll get the other 1% when you pay it off (you must pay at least the minimum due to earn cash back). So it’s not as rewarding as the Preferred, but you also won’t have to pay attention to how much you’ll earn at each store.
That also makes it a great companion card for the Preferred. Simply use the Preferred for all the purchases where it’ll shine, and then use the Double Cash for everything else.
The benefits this credit card offers are meager when compared to the Preferred’s. There are no shopping or travel protections, or much of anything else aside from a concierge service and a credit monitoring tool. You will, however, have a 0% APR offer for 18 months on Balance Transfers (then your rate will be 13.99% – 23.99% (Variable)).
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Citi is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
The American Express® Gold Card (Review) is a bit different than the other cards included here. Rather than a general rewards card, the Amex Gold is a mid-range travel card.
The annual fee is a fair bit higher than the Preferred’s, sitting at $250. (Rates & Fees) However, that effectively drops to a far more manageable $130 thanks to the $120 dining credit. There’s also a number of travel protections you won’t get from the Preferred. So the emphasis with this card might be more on the benefits than the rewards.
That said, the rewards are still pretty solid. You’ll earn 4X points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 annually, then 1X) and on dining, and 3X for flights booked through airlines and Amex Travel. And, if you transfer your points to Amex’s travel partners, you might be able to find a point value of 2 cents or more. That would get you a cash back equivalent in the 4X categories of 8% or more, so it could even outperform the Preferred card in some cases.
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American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
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American Express is a Credit Card Insider advertiser.
Do you use the Amex Blue Cash Preferred? Do you earn a lot of cash back from groceries? Let us know how you like it!
Not impressed? Take a look at some of our other favorite cash back cards. Best Cash Back Credit Cards of February 2021Evan graduated from SUNY Oswego with a degree in journalism and creative writing. In his professional writing career, he strives for precision and comprehension in his work. He’s written news articles, blog posts, and copy, working across a slew of different mediums. With in-depth research and great care for accuracy and detail, he now works to bring you the most up-to-date credit information.
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