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Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Review – $150 Bonus + 6% Cash Back on Groceries

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The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is known as one of the highest paying cash back cards available. It offers up to 6% cash back and a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months.

Blue Cash Preferred ReviewAmerican Express is perhaps best known for its travel rewards–“Don’t leave home without it.” But with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, it also offers a top notch cash rewards cards. The card has a tiered reward system ranging from one to six percent. It also has a cash bonus for new card members and a 0% introductory APR offer.

Learn more about this and other cash back credit cards and apply online at CardRatings.com.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Snapshot

  • Plus, earn $150 back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 3 months.
  • Earn Cash Back: 6% U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%), 3% U.S. gas stations & select U.S. dept stores, 1% other purchases. Terms and limitations apply.
  • With the Blue Cash Preferred® Card, you can start earning cash back. No rotating reward categories. No enrollment required.
  • Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit. Cash back is earned only on eligible purchases.
  • 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, then a variable rate, currently 13.74% to 22.74%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors.
  • Terms and limitations apply.
  • See Rates & Fees

Cash Back Rewards Program

There are four components of the rewards program: (1) the $150 bonus; (2) 6% cash back;  (3) 3% cash back; and (4) 1% cash back.

  1. $150 Bonus: Spend just $1,000 on the card in the first 3 months and you’ll pocket a $150 cash bonus in the form of a statement credit.
  2. 6% Cash Back: For rewards, you earn 6% U.S. supermarkets up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%). This is one of the highest cash back rewards available from any card.
  3. 3% Cash Back: You’ll earn 3% at U.S gas stations.
  4. 1% Cash Back: On all other purchases.

Now it’s not all good news when it comes to the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.  There is a $95 annual fee that is NOT waived for the first year.  This means the initial $150 cash back bonus is cut by the annual fee; but when you take into account the high % cash back savings in a variety of categories, big spenders will love this card long-term.

For example, I used this card exclusively at the pump and at the grocery store.  I am the father in a family of four (only three eating solid food at the moment) and our grocery bill is a solid $450 every month.  My wife and I work from home, and with little children rarely eat out (once or twice a month if that) so nearly all of our meals occur within these four walls.  Spending $5,500 a year on groceries, we save $330 a year just on this one expenditure line.

Had we been using a very good 2% cash back credit card, that savings would only be $110, meaning were $220 to the positive.  Tack on the savings from 3% gas purchases, the initial $150 bonus and the perks that American Express can provide; the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is an easy addition to our wallets.

Learn more about this and other cash back credit cards and apply online at CardRatings.com.