Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Review

Having written about credit cards for a long time, it’s become easy to distinguish good cards from bad. A good credit card will deliver in a variety of ways. Big perks, big bonuses, good rewards program, etc. A bad credit card wows you with one feature, then takes advantage of you in every other way.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a credit card I knew I always wanted. When it was released many years ago, my credit score was in the tank (high 400s), so I had no reason to apply. After a few years of saving and working hard to restore my credit, I finally had the opportunity to own this cash-back credit card. I use this card for every grocery store purchase and easily save hundreds of dollars a year.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Welcome Offer + Cash Back Rewards Program

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has the following welcome offer: Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.

If you’re worried about being able to spend that amount of money, don’t be. My cable bill + grocery bill each month is well over $700. After just a few months, I would have no trouble reaching the $3,000 hurdle. Toss in gas, department stores, restaurants, and other utility bills, and getting there should be even easier. Last, you can pay for health, life, and auto insurance with a credit card.

Cash Back Reward Tiers

Beyond the welcome offer, this credit card excels in another major area: cashback. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers an amazing set of tier levels to earn cash back on everyday spending:

If the 6% cash back category stands out, this is one of the only credit cards offering better than 5% on anything. Its inclusion in such a widely used category makes this card valuable to people who spend a lot of money on groceries. The other cash-back amounts are also nice. When I don’t have a 5% gas cash back quarter available, this is the card I use at the pump.

Cash back from American Express comes in membership rewards dollars, and they never expire so long as your account is in good standing. Rewards dollars can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.

Blue Cash Preferred Rewards Calculator

Use our calculator to see how much cash back you can earn with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.

How to Maximize the Cashback You Earn with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

So, how often should you use the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express? Let’s discuss how this card can fit into your wallet, depending on how many credit cards you own, to maximize rewards.

• If the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is the only card you use for all purchases.
• If the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is one of two credit cards you own.
• If the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is one of three credit cards you own.

Annual Cash Back Using Only the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Annual Cash Back Using the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express AND Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

Annual Cash Back Using the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express AND Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card AND Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Looking at the above three scenarios, the total annual spend amount is the same: $31,200.

• Using the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express as your only credit card, you could earn $667 or an overall cashback rate of 2.14%.
• Using the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express as one of two credit cards could earn $889 or an overall cashback rate of 2.85%.
• Using the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express as one of three credit cards could earn $1,024 or an overall cashback rate of 3.28%.

Remember that one benefit of using more than one credit card for your spending is earning multiple welcome bonuses. Still, your monthly spending patterns may need tweaking to meet multiple spending requirements.

When considering how many credit cards you should own, a simple way to think about it is how much you find yourself spending with credit cards each month. If the number exceeds the proposed budget, 3+ cards best suit you. If the amount is around or slightly below the proposed budget, you’re best owning 2-3 credit cards. If you do not use your credit card often, owning a single, strong cash-back credit card is likely best.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Pricing Details

New cardholders will receive a 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases and 12 months on balance transfers from the account opening date. After the intro rate expires, the variable ongoing APR is 18.49% – 29.49% based on your credit history. Other interest rates and fees on the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express are as follows:

• Foreign transaction fee – 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars.
• Late payment and returned payment fee – Up to $40
• Annual fee – $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

Paying an annual fee on a cash-back credit card can be a bad idea if you plan to use your credit card sparingly. However, if you plan to use this card for most of your shopping and grocery purchases, the cash back earned is well worth the price of the annual fee.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Welcome offer: Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
• Up to 6% cash back: Unparalleled 6% Cash Back at U.S. Supermarkets (on up to $6,000 in purchases, 1% after)
• Cashback on gas: Great 3% Cash Back at U.S. Gas Stations

Cons

• Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
• Foreign Transaction Fee: 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Comparison

Another version of this card is the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. The rewards program is a bit smaller, but the big selling point is that the card carries an $0 annual fee. Assuming the same spending patterns for a family, what kind of annual cash-back savings can you expect from each card?

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Using the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is often better than its no-fee counterpart. The savings at the grocery store are too great a feature for people who shop there regularly.

Final Thoughts

I currently own a lot of credit cards. When I browse my wallet, I see that only two have an annual fee. One is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The other is the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. I despise annual fees, but you take advantage when you have a credit card offering a 6% cash back category year-round. With a family of four who spends 6-7 days and nights every week making food from home, the savings are tremendous.

Include a welcome offer, a 0% intro APR for 12 months on purchases and for 12 months on balance transfers from the date of account opening (after that, a variable ongoing APR of 18.49% – 29.49% applies), and high cash back percentages on things like gas and at supermarkets. There’s little reason not to own the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.

Below, we recap the features, fees, credit score requirements, and alternatives.