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Points may be my bread and butter, but millions of others live by the age-old adage that cash is king. In fact, despite my best efforts, cash-back cards are still far more popular than their points-earning counterparts.
Everyone’s needs and interests are different, and the truth is there’s no wrong way to earn rewards with credit cards (besides plunging yourself into debt). Miles might score you greater value on travel, but cash is flexible and you can use it however you want.
If it’s cashback you’re after, you’ll struggle to find a harder worker than the Blue Cash Preferred® from American Express. With massive cash-back rates on popular spending categories and a solid introductory offer to boot, the Blue Cash Preferred might be the cash-back card to pry you from your points for a while.
Let’s take a look at the benefits and perks of the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card.
- Best for: High Earning Power
- Annual Fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- APR: 18.49%-29.49% (Variable)
- Reward Rate: 1%-6%
- Recommended Credit: 670-850
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
$250 intro offer
Offer Details:
Earn $250 after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 6 months of card membership
Why we like it
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred is an almost indispensable card for racking up serious cash back. Even considering its annual fee (which has a $0 annual fee the first year), it represents tremendous value. Combined with another, more specific rewards-earning, the Blue Cash Preferred could be the foundation of an outstanding cash-back earning strategy.
Reward details
6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).
6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
3% Cash Back on transit including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more.
3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations
1% Cash Back on other purchases
Pros & Cons
Pros
Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
Buy Now, Pay Later: Enjoy $0 intro plan fees when you use Plan It® to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Pay $0 intro plan fees on plans created during the first 12 months from the date of account opening. Plans created after that will have a monthly plan fee up to 1.33% of each eligible purchase amount moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the purchase, and other factors.
Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
$84 Disney Bundle Credit: With your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred Card, spend $9.99 or more each month on an auto-renewing Disney Bundle subscription, to receive a monthly statement credit of $7. Valid only at Disney Plus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.espn.com in the U.S.
Cons
Not the most lucrative intro offer
Welcome bonus
Starting at the top, the Blue Cash Preferred currently comes with a $250 introductory bonus offer. Customers earn the bonus in the form of a statement credit after spending $3,000 within the first six months of opening an account.
It’s a generous offer, effectively eliminating the out-of-pocket costs of the card for over two years — or over three if you include the $0 annual fee in the first year. You can use the bonus cash back however you like — treat yourself to a spa day, grab some pricier essentials, or cover a short flight. The best part of cash back is that you have the freedom to use it when and how you want.
Annual fee
The card comes with a $95 annual fee. If you’re used to points and miles cards, it might seem fair, but it’s a little on the high side for a cash-back card. However, as mentioned in the previous section, the intro bonus helps lessen the financial burden for over two years.
Better yet, the first year annual fee is $0, so you won’t pay a thing until your anniversary date rolls around. Luckily, the strong cash-back earning rates on daily spend will help ensure you get a ton of cash back before you’re first year with the card is over.
Earning Rewards
While the intro bonus is nice, the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card comes into its own on the rewards-earning front. Its everyday earning rates are unmatched and beneficial for nearly everyone in some way. Any purchase not covered by these bonus categories mentioned below earns 1% cash back.
Supermarket Sweeper
The Blue Cash Preferred’s strongest earning category is its outstanding 6% cash back on U.S. supermarket purchases, up to $6,000 a year, then 1% for additional U.S. supermarket spending. That equates to $360 back in your pocket every year on your weekly groceries. It’s important to note that the rate will only be triggered in supermarkets — shopping in smaller grocery stores may not allow you to earn bonus rewards and will register as a purchase that earns 1% cash back.
If you’re savvy with your bigger purchases, it’s possible to extend this earning rate to other kinds of stores, but we’ll cover that later in the article.
Steady Stream (of points)
If you’re a serial TV binger, you’ll want to switch this card to be your preferred payment method on your many and varying streaming accounts. With the card, you’ll also earn 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, like Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, MLB.TV, Disney+, NBA League Pass, and more.
While this won’t make up a huge chunk of your total cash back, it’ll be tough to find a card to reward you as much back for your spending in this particular category. A rough estimate based on my own streaming accounts would see me enjoying two free months of these services a year with the cash back I earned from paying for them with this card — not too shabby.
Trickle-down travel
Another highlight of the Blue Cash Preferred’s earning rates is its 3% cash back on transit and U.S. gas stations. The transit category is broad: think anything from trains and buses to toll fees and taxis. Gas stations are pretty self-explanatory.
While it’s not as high an earning rate as the supermarkets get, there’s no cap on the 3% earnings. The more you use your car, the train, the ferry, or pay for parking, the more you’ll get back. It’s a generous decision, as many other credit cards opt for just one or the other bonus category.
Benefits and perks
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred doesn’t come loaded with perks. Its value stems from its earning power, so don’t expect miracles. With that said, it is armed with typical Amex benefits like extended warranties, rental car insurance, Global Assist, and purchase protection, as well as cardholders-only access to Amex-affiliated events.
In terms of quantifiable perks, it does have an up to $84 statement credit for Disney Streaming bundles. Simply set the card as your payment method for whichever combo you like (this includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+). If you spend at least $9.99 each month you’ll receive a $7 statement credit each month. That means you’re effective cost for a Disney+, Hulu, and/or ESPN+ subscription could be as low as $2.99 per month, or less than $36 per year.
How are rewards redeemed?
Amex customers redeem their cash back in the form of Reward Dollars, which are documented in user account homepages. Once earned, customers can redeem them in the form of a statement credit.
For example, a cardholder would use their Blue Cash Preferred to buy a pair of shoes. Once the transaction has processed and appears on the account, the required number of Reward Dollars can be applied to cover the cost of the purchase and effectively wipe it off your bill. While statement credits can take 8-12 weeks to post, they typically appear within a few days after redeeming your rewards. It’s also possible to use Reward Dollars on Amazon.
It’s important to remember that Reward Dollars and American Express Membership Reward Points are completely different systems and can’t be combined.
Tips for maximizing your earnings
Depending on how you do your grocery shopping, the earning rates at the supermarket might be a little frustrating. Some use multiple stores to grab everything they need — for example, a local greengrocer for veggies, a butcher for their meat, and Amazon for their cleaning supplies. On top of this, many stores we class as supermarkets, like Target and even Walmart, won’t register as supermarket purchases either. So make sure you check which stores are eligible to earn 6% cash back.
Many supermarkets sell gift cards for a variety of retailers, from Amazon to Nike to Airbnb, so you could get an effective 6% cash back on these purchases too. If you know you buy a ton of stuff on Amazon every year, grabbing $500 from the supermarket in gift cards might be sensible. It still goes down as a supermarket purchase, but it allows you to shop for things outside of the store while still earning a high cash-back rate. Restaurants are a good bet, too.
Just be careful—some stores won’t allow you to purchase gift cards with a credit card for this very reason. Double-check to make sure you’re getting full credit for your purchase.
Is the American Express Blue Cash Preferred for you?
Opting for the Blue Cash Preferred is a personal decision. If you travel regularly, a points and miles-based product may be a better option as the overall savings could be greater. But if you don’t travel a ton or find more use with cash’s flexibility, it would be challenging to find a higher-earning card with such valuable and popular spending categories.
Families, in particular, can earn huge volumes of cash back thanks to its generous rates in high-spend categories.
Everyone needs groceries. Everyone needs to move around. Almost everyone streams something. You’re missing out on a huge amount of cash back by opting for a different credit card over the Blue Cash Preferred.
The Point
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred is an almost indispensable card for racking up serious cash back. Even considering its annual fee (which is waived the first year), it represents tremendous value.
Combined with another, more specific rewards-earning, the Blue Cash Preferred could be the foundation of an outstanding cash-back earning strategy.
- Best for: High Earning Power
- Annual Fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- APR: 18.49%-29.49% (Variable)
- Reward Rate: 1%-6%
- Recommended Credit: 670-850
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
$250 intro offer
Offer Details:
Earn $250 after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 6 months of card membership
Why we like it
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred is an almost indispensable card for racking up serious cash back. Even considering its annual fee (which has a $0 annual fee the first year), it represents tremendous value. Combined with another, more specific rewards-earning, the Blue Cash Preferred could be the foundation of an outstanding cash-back earning strategy.
Reward details
6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).
6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
3% Cash Back on transit including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more.
3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations
1% Cash Back on other purchases
Pros & Cons
Pros
Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
Buy Now, Pay Later: Enjoy $0 intro plan fees when you use Plan It® to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Pay $0 intro plan fees on plans created during the first 12 months from the date of account opening. Plans created after that will have a monthly plan fee up to 1.33% of each eligible purchase amount moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the purchase, and other factors.
Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
$84 Disney Bundle Credit: With your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred Card, spend $9.99 or more each month on an auto-renewing Disney Bundle subscription, to receive a monthly statement credit of $7. Valid only at Disney Plus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.espn.com in the U.S.
Cons
Not the most lucrative intro offer
by your friends at The Daily Navigator
