Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Review
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express card is the bigger sibling to the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (review). The Blue Cash Preferred has an annual fee, but in exchange, you get a more robust cash back earning potential with more categories and higher rates. In our Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express review we will take a look at the card perks, welcome offer, earning structure and share our overall thoughts.
Blue Cash Preferred Welcome Offer
The welcome offer for the Blue Cash Preferred card is as follows:
- Earn $250 cash back after spending $3,000 within the first 6 months of card membership. Terms Apply
- The card has a $0 intro offer annual fee and then $95 a year after that. (Rates & Fees)
Amex Application Rules
If you choose to apply, remember that Amex typically will not approve you for more than two Amex credit cards during a 90-day period. They also have a limit of 5 credit cards per person, of which this is one. There is also a 10 card limit on the colored Membership Rewards earning cards (of which this is not one of).
Amex also has a once per lifetime welcome offer rule on each card. This is more like every 5 – 7 years in reality though, and not actually your lifetime. That timeline is based off of when you last held a card, not when you last earned a welcome offer on the product though. If you are ineligible for the welcome offer for any reason American Express will usually let you know that with a pop-up before the application is processed. You can cancel the application at this time with no hard pull.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express Review: Earning Rate
The Blue Cash Preferred card earns bonus cash back in the following categories:
- 6% cash back on your first $6,000 of purchases per year at U.S. supermarkets (1x after that)
- 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
- 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit (such as taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, and buses)
- The card also earns 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
- Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit
Keep in mind that Amex cash back do not convert into Membership Rewards points. This differs from Chase and Citi, where the cash back earned on some cards can be converted into Ultimate Rewards or ThankYou Points.
Card Perks
The Blue Cash Preferred card does offer a few perks, which is welcomed for a cash back card. They are as follows:
- Get $7 back each month after using your card to spend $12.99 or more| $7/month back in the form of a statement credit after you spend $9.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription (subject to auto renewal) with your Blue Cash Preferred(R) Card.
- Enrollment required.
- The card also gives you access to valuable Amex Offers.
- These are like coupons for certain stores or partners that can save you money on certain purchases. They need to be loaded to your card before using and can be found at the bottom of your American Express account login.
- Get up to $120 in statement credits annually when you pay for an Equinox+ membership at equinoxplus.com with your Blue Cash
Preferred(R) Card.- That's $10 in statement credits each month.
- Enrollment required.
Amex Blue Cash Preferred Review: Our Analysis
The Blue Cash Preferred card is a great cash back card. The strong earning potential makes the $95 annual fee well worth it for those who spend enough on the card. Earning 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations puts this card among the best cash back credit cards for gas spend. 3% cash back for transit is also excellent.
The 6% back on your first $6,000 in spend each calendar year at U.S. supermarkets is the real show stopper though. People may be tempted by the no fee Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express and the 3% back at U.S. Supermarkets on their first $3,000 in spend each calendar year. But that would only make sense if you spend $3166.66 or less each year at U.S. supermarkets ($95 / additional 3% in earnings). After that you would come out ahead using the Blue Cash Preferred.
ToP Thoughts
The Blue Cash Preferred card is a great cash back card. The card's robust earning potential can justify the $95 annual fee is you spend enough in the bonused categories. The newer addition of a $7 monthly credit towards a Disney Bundle streaming package that will cover the annual fee on its own. This is a card that you should consider only if you are over Chase 5/24 though.
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For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred please visit here
