Overview

Blue Cash Preferred Card Snapshot
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Annual Fee: $95 (free first year)

Recommended FICO Score: 690-850

Interest Rate: 17.74% to 28.74%

SignOn Bonus: $300 cashback after $3,000 in 6 months

Card Type: Cashback

Best For: Grocery, gas and everyday purchases.

The American Express Blue Cash Preferred credit card is an amazing cash back card that offers a strong 6% cash back for grocery shopping on up to $6,000 a year and on select streaming subscriptions. It also offers 3% on transit expenses including gas stations and 1% cash back on all other purchases. These high cash back rewards more than make up for the fact that the Blue Cash Preferred card has an annual fee of $95 (which is waived the first year). For families with high annual expenditure (especially on groceries) this card can be very profitable.

Reward Offering

The Sign On Bonus

The American Express Blue Cash Preferred card has a one-time bonus of $300 cashback once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 6 months from account opening.

Reward Multiplier

6%

Earn 6% cash back on purchases at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 annually) and select streaming services (approved list here).

3%

Earn 3% cashback at U.S. gas stations.

1%

Earn 1% cashback on all other purchases.

Other Benefits

Special Intro Buy Now Pay Later Plan It® Fee Offer: $0 buy now, pay later Plan It fees on plans created during the first 12 months after account opening. Plans created after that, will have a plan fee up to 1.33% of each purchase amount of $100 or more moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the purchase, and other factors.

Car rental and damage insurance and purchase protection.

Who Is This Card Suited For

The American Express Blue Cash Preferred credit card is a great cash back option for most families. Even with the annual fee of $95 (waived the first year) the rewards offered here on the groceries and gas stations should more than cover it to make this a worthwhile investment. The average annual expenditure of US households on groceries is over $6,000, so if you get the maximum cashback on that segment alone that represents a $360 value.

It is important to note that AMEX Blue Cash Preferred card offers these higher rewards for select supermarkets, gas stations and streaming services (full list located here). What is excluded from the 6% cashback segment are wholesale clubs such as Sam’s Club, superstores like Target and Walmart, specialty food stores. Also, gas stations at warehouse clubs, superstores and supermarkets do not qualify for 3% cashback. Only traditional stand-alone gas stations qualify.

Even with these restrictions on qualifying retailers the Blue Cash Preferred card is a great cashback card any family would benefit from.

Key Benefits:

  • High spending multipliers on grocery shopping and gas stations.
  • Intro APR and no annual fee first year.

Key Drawbacks:

  • An annual fee.
  • Spending caps on most lucrative reward segment ($6,000 annually on grocery shopping).
  • Foreign transaction fees.

Card Fees And Expenses

Annual Fee$0 for the first year, then $95
Foreign Transaction Fee2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars.
Interest Rates0% introductory APR for the first 12 months from the date of account opening.

After that, your APR will be 13.99% to 23.99%,
Late FeesUp to $40
Cash AdvanceEither $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater.

25.24% APR