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When it comes to spending at US supermarkets and spending with the major streaming services, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers the best rate of cash back out of any card on the market. Add to that the good cash back rates for spending on transit and at US gas stations and you have one of the best cash back cards around. Ordinarily, this card costs $95/year to hold, but right now you can try it out without having to pay an annual fee in your first year.
If you’d like to see a full review of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card click here otherwise, keep on reading to find out what you need to know about the card.
Annual fee:
- $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 – rates & fees
Cost of authorized User Cards:
- $0 (zero) – rates & fees
Current welcome bonus:
- Earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 on your new card within 6 months of card membership (more details).
Note: The welcome bonus is only available to applicants who have not held this card before.
Earnings (terms apply)
- 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 spending per year*
- 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
- 3% cash back on transit spending (e.g. taxis/Uber/Lyft, parking tolls, trains, buses)
- 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations
- 1% cash back on all other spending
*Any spending above $6,000 will earn 1% cashback
Thoughts
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card does not charge an annual fee in the first year of card membership ($95/year thereafter) so you can try it out and see how well it works in your wallet with no outlay at all (assuming you don’t carry a balance… which you shouldn’t).
For no annual fee in the first year (rates & fees), you get to make the most of 6% cashback (on up to $6,000 of spending) at US supermarkets, 6% cashback on spending with most major streaming services, 3% cash back on spending at US gas stations and on transit and, if you choose to go for both elements of the welcome bonus too, you can earn up to $250 of bonus cash back too.
What’s not to love about all of that?
On its own, 6% cash back is a great rebate to be given on up to $6,000 of US supermarket spending per year, but when you consider that most supermarkets also sell gift cards for eateries, clothes stores, home improvement stores, phone/cable service providers, and department stores as well as food, it quickly becomes apparent that the Blue Cash Preferred® Card is a card that earns 6% cash back on much more than your weekly grocery bill.
6% cash back available on select US streaming services will be very appealing to those who spend a lot on services like Apple Music, Apple TX+, Netflix, HBO, Disney+, and Spotify…but the cashback can be earned on considerably more services than just those. See the full list here. At the time of writing, there isn’t another card that I know of that offers a streaming service rebate as high as the 6% rebate offered by the Blue Cash Preferred® Card.
The unlimited 3% cash back offered for spending made at US gas stations isn’t market-leading but it’s also not bad at all. Generally speaking, you have to use a miles/points card to get a better return at US gas stations than the 3% that the Blue Cash Preferred® Card offers, but if you’re not particularly interested in earning miles and points, that’s not going to be of much use to you.
Lastly, while holders of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card may not be able to earn 3% cash back on hotels, rental cars, or airfare, they still get to earn 3% cash back on transit spending (trains, taxis, rideshare services, buses, etc…) which can be incredibly useful. Effectively, when a cardholder isn’t earning 3% cash back on the gas they’re putting in their car, they’re earning 3% cash back on most other forms of transport they use from day to day and that’s an offering that’s hard to beat.
Bottom line
One of the best cash back cards on the market continues to come with a $0 annual fee for the first year of card membership ($95 thereafter) so, as long as you’re not carrying a balance (which you shouldn’t), you can try out this card and get some fantastic rates of return without paying Amex a dime.
If you prefer to earn cash back to miles and points, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card is almost certainly a card that you should have in your wallet. Actually, even if you love the miles and points game you should probably consider it too. The card offers great rates of cash back in a number of categories in which a lot of people spend a considerable amount of their budget (gas, groceries & transit) so, used correctly, it can be a fantastic money saver.
Find out how to apply for the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please visit this page
For the Amex Blue:
1) the fine print says “prepaid cards” are excluded from the 6% grocery store points. Does that exclusion include gift cards such as Visa/MC, or Home Depot, Amazon, restaurants, etc?
2) I’m confused about how much gasoline purchased at a supermarket earns. Can somebody clarify if it earns 6%, 3% or 1%.
Thanks,
I’ve never had an issue getting points or cash back with gift card purchases made with my Amex cards…but then I’ve also never gone crazy and I’ve played things conservatively. ETA: I’m referring specifically to gift cards other than Visa/MasterCard gift cards which I do not buy with Amex Cards.
As far as gas at supermarkets goes, I’ll have to let someone else answer that question as I don’t use an Amex card for my gas purchases.
In my experience, gasoline purchased at gas stations attached to one of the major chain supermarkets does code as gasoline, not groceries, on the credit card statement.
One tidbit I’ll mention is that American Express, unlike Chase, specifically excludes gasoline purchased at Costco or Sam’s Club from the gasoline category.