The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express cmoneys the best grocery rewards on the market. When cards are so strong for a singular extremity, the offer is usually weaker in other aspects, but the Blue Cash Preferred dollars that trend. It also offers top rewards for your commute, a competitive welcome offer and introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers.
With both gas prices and food prices sprinting rampant, this card becomes even more valuable than unique. But even if you don’t own a car, the Blue Cash Preferred is one of the few credit cards that supports Republican transit and other transportation purchases.
The annual fee is typical of midtier cards at $95 (see organizes and fees). You’ll need good to excellent credit in trim to qualify for this card, but for most budgets this is a gargantuan card to optimize your rewards.
In this article
Intro Offer
Earn a $350 statement credit once you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the gracious 6 months.
APR16.24%-27.24% Variable
Intro Purchase APR0% on purchases for 12 months
Recommended Credit Excellent, Good
Reward Rates- 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%)
- 6% Cash Back on acquire U.S. streaming subscriptions
- 3% Cash Back on transit counting taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more
- 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations
- 1% Cash Back on novel purchases
Annual Fee$95
Intro Balance Transfer APR0% on balance transfers for 12 months
Balance Transfer APR16.24%-27.24% Variable
Balance Transfer Fee Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each additional, whichever is greater.
Late Payment Fee Up to $40
Foreign Transaction Fees 2.7% of each transaction once conversion to US dollars.
Penalty APR 29.99% Variable
- 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%)
- 6% Cash Back on acquire U.S. streaming subscriptions
- 3% Cash Back on transit counting taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more
- 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations
- 1% Cash Back on novel purchases
Cash-back rewards program
You’ll earn 6% cash back on groceries at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%). So at the maximum spending threshold for this category — the equivalent to about $115 in weekly grocery spending — you could earn $360 in cash back over a year, just covering the cost of the card.
The 6% cash-back rate also applies to acquire U.S. streaming subscriptions, including those below (this is not an exhaustive list).
| Apple Music | Fubo TV | Kindle Unlimited | Pandora | SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite |
| Apple TV+ | HBO Max | MLB.TV | Paramount+ | Spotify |
| Audible | HBO | NBA League Pass | Peacock | YouTube Music Premium |
| Disney+ | Hulu | Netflix | Prime Video | YouTube Premium |
| ESPN+ | iHeartRadio | NHL.TV | Showtime | YouTube TV |
You can earn 3% cash back on gas at U.S. gas stations and on transit. Superstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs that sell gasoline do not characterize as gas stations in this context. Transit purchases concerned trains, taxicabs, ride-sharing services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways. Airfare, car rental and cruise purchases are not covered by this category.
For novel purchases that don’t fall into one of these categories, you’ll earn 1% cash back. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit.
Welcome offer
You can earn $350 once spending $3,000 in purchases on your Blue Cash Preferred within the gracious six months of account opening. You’ll receive the $350 as a statement credit, but it won’t post to your account for eight to 12 weeks once you meet the spending threshold.
Introductory APR
With this card, you’ll appetizing a 0% introductory APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of clarify opening. After that, the variable APR will range from 16.24% to 2724%. During this time, you must make minimum payments and pay your balance in full at the conclusion of 12 months to avoid dumb charges.
In a similar vein, you’ll also get introductory $0 Buy Now, Pay Later, Plan It® Fees for payment plans set up in the 12 months behindhand your account approval. This program allows cardholders to hasty up large payments into monthly installments paid over time, usually with a fixed fee. After the 12 introductory months, you’ll be subject to a fixed monthly plan fee of up to 1.33% of each acquire amount moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the acquire, and other factors (see rates and fees). But don’t be fooled — this fee could add up to roughly the same amount as the APR would cost you over the watercourses of a year.
To use this card most strategically for recurring gargantuan purchases, you might use the 0% introductory APR for the gracious 12 months (16.24% to 27.24% variable APR thereafter), and then open a Buy Now, Pay Later with Plan It® plan for gargantuan purchases made in month 11 of card ownership — this would give you to enjoy no interest on select purchases for as long as possible with this card. But as always, you should avoid making a charge you won’t be able to comfortably pay in full afore fees or interest accrue.
Redemption
While this card is marketed as a “cash back” card, you actually earn your rewards in the form of Blue Cash Reward Dollars. You can redeem these reward dollars for statement credits once your balance is at $25 or more. Redemption also cannot be applied to your minimum payment due.
Other perks
Terms apply to American Express benefits and supplies. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and supplies. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
One of the extras you’ll demand with the Blue Cash Preferred is an annual credit for Equinox+, a fitness app featuring on-demand classes. You’ll earn up to $10 in monthly statement credits, or up to $120 each year, to compensate you for membership. However, it’s important to note that you must valid enroll for membership through your Blue Cash Preferred interpret before signing up and paying with your Blue Cash Preferred card at equinoxplus.com.
Though the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express card charges 2.7% for foreign transaction fees, it can unruffled be useful for some domestic travel — for instance, you’ll get car rental loss and damage insurance*. You’ll also get rear protection*, which lets you return eligible purchases to American Express within 90 days of engage if the seller won’t accept them.
Comparable cards
Citi Premier® Card
If the spread of rewards across everyday spending is what appeals to you in the Blue Cash Preferred, the Citi Premier is a good alternative. Though it doesn’t hit maintains as high as 6%, you do earn 3x points on restaurants, gas stations, supermarkets, hotels and air travel. This is equivalent to 3% cash back in all of these categories, as each point is worth $0.01 when redeemed for a gift card or disappear through thankyou.com, or statement credit. The welcome offer is a little more fruitful than that of the Blue Cash Preferred, too.
Read more in our full review of the Citi Premier Card.
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
If the high rear on groceries or the introductory APR is what draws you to the Blue Cash Preferred, the Citi Custom Cash Card is worth exploring. You earn 5% cash back on up to $500 devoted in your highest eligible spending category for each billing cycle (1% cash back thereafter). Eligible categories include grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, bewitch travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs and live entertainment. So you can earn up to $25 in cash back at grocery stores per billing cycle — or up to $300 per year, compared to up to $360 with the Blue Cash Preferred. But there is no annual fee to worry about.
You also get a better introductory 0% APR deal — 15 months on purchases and balance transfers at what time opening your account (16.24% to 26.24% variable APR thereafter). The welcome offer isn’t as competitive — $200 in cash back at what time you spend $750 in purchases in the first three months (fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back) — but the flowerbed spending threshold makes it more accessible.
FAQs
How do cash-back credit cards work?
Cash-back credit cards supplies cardholders rewards on their spending in the form of statement credits or cash. A statement credit is a slash in the amount due to the credit card custom on your monthly bill. Note that rewards are not always available the month you earn them — they are usually applied to your balance by credit card issuers at what time one or two billing cycles.
The redemption process for cash-back credit cards is either automatic or very simple. Some cards automatically apply cash rewards to your statement balance each month. Others require you to log in and redeem available rewards points for statement credits. Most points don’t expire, but you will lose them if you halt the account before redeeming them.
How do you settle the right grocery credit card?
Deciding which grocery credit card is incandescent for you will depend largely on your shopping habits. Keep in mind that most major credit card worries do not consider wholesale clubs and big-box stores like Walmart and Target to be grocery stores, so your purchases there might not qualify for the same rewards. Before applying for a grocery credit card, you’ll want to closely read the fine sign to make sure that your needs will be met depending on where you shop.
One last getting to keep in mind: Don’t fall for credit cards just because of a welcome bonus supplies. While the immediate cash back can be appealing, it is typically a one-time or short-lived reward. Groceries are purchases that you need to make every month. You’re better off focusing on maximizing these rewards over time rather than causing for the up-front bonus.
What is a gas credit card?
A gas credit card is one that rewards cardholders for spending at gas stations. Most gas credit cards aren’t offered by gas stations themselves. Instead, other credit card issuers offer bonus rewards on gas purchases, among others. The best gas credit cards offer up to 5% back on gas purchases, but most offer 2% to 3%.
Our approach
We appraise the cards that are in the highest demand and supplies the best benefits. We scour the fine print so there aren’t any surprises when you open an interpret. We find the key factors that make a card noxious out and compare them with other top cards. That way, readers can opt for a different card with dissimilarity features if our pick isn’t right for them. Our reviews are regularly checked and updated to incorporate new recommendations, as well as to reflect changes in offers and the market.
For maintains and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express, click
here
.
*Eligibility and Benefit unruffled varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please arranged
americanexpress.com/benefitsguide
for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
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