The American Express Blue Cash Preferred (AMEX BCP) credit card is a mid-tier card for groceries, streaming, and getting around. It can be a decent card for everyday use, and/or a complement for premium cards like the American Express Platinum. The annual fee can effectively pay for itself over time, depending on your spending habits, although other options might be better.
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
- $95 annual fee (usually waived the first year)
- 2.7% foreign transaction fee
- 6% cash back on groceries (up to $6,000 in annual spending, then 1% back)
- 6% cash back on select streaming
- 3% cash back on transit
- 3% cash back on gas
- 1% cash back on everything else
- AMEX Offers
SIGN UP BONUS
The sign-up bonus on AMEX cards varies often. As of November 2022, you can earn $300 after spending $3,000+ in your first 6 months of holding the card. There’s also 0% APR (and no fees on each Buy Now, Pay Later Plan) for the first 12 months. This is a 10% return not counting the annual fee (which is currently waived for the first year). This is a reasonable offer, although not the highest-ever. In March 2022, the sign-up bonus was $50 higher.
If you have an E*Trade or Morgan Stanley account, there may be better offers. As of November 2022, you can earn $400 and the $95 annual fee is waived for the first year. The co-branded card has another perk too: “Earn a $100 statement credit after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases per calendar year on the Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred Card.” So if you use the card a lot, it easily pays for itself.
American Express sometimes has upgrade offers too. If you have a no-fee AMEX credit card, you may be able to get a bonus for upgrading it into the Blue Cash Preferred. Keep an eye on your emails.
Note: American Express limits sign-up bonuses on each card to one per “lifetime” (typically 7-10 years). Make sure you’re getting a good deal when you apply for an AMEX card. If you don’t see an all-time-high sign-up bonus for an AMEX, it may be worthwhile to wait.
OTHER BENEFITS OF THE AMERICAN EXPRESS BCP
- $10 monthly Equinox+ credit ($120 per year)
- Free ShopRunner membership (doesn’t expire as long as your account is open)
- Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance (Secondary)
- 24/7 Global Assist Hotline
- Extended Warranty
- Purchase Protection (Return Protection)
- American Express Experiences
- “Receive $7 back each month (up to $84 back annually) after spending $13.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription to The Disney Bundle which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ using your Card. Enrollment required.”
- Occasional statement credits on Small Business Saturdays
RESTRICTIONS AND CREDIT SCORE
Recommended credit score: 670+
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred is mostly restricted to U.S. purchases. That, combined with the foreign transaction fee, makes the card a no-go when traveling. For going overseas, a Visa card is typically best. AMEX Gold or Platinum are decent travel options too.
The “streaming” category applies to a select list of 31 services, including Netflix and Spotify. Transactions outside of these services may earn 1% cash back instead of 6%. There are similar restrictions on what counts as “grocery.”
American Express may limit the number of credit cards you can have open with them. Charge cards are generally unlimited, but individuals can’t have more than 4-5 personal credit cards with AMEX.
MAXIMIZING REWARDS WITH AMERICAN EXPRESS BLUE CASH PREFERRED
This card earns cash back rewards, not points, so there aren’t any optimization strategies. Simply use the card, redeem your cash back, and occasionally check AMEX offers for bonus earnings. BCP doesn’t earn American Express Membership Rewards points like the Gold or Platinum charge cards. Rewards are unlimited (outside of grocery spending) and they don’t expire.
Cash back can only be redeemed when you have $25+ of rewards available. It doesn’t have to be increments of $25 though. You can redeem $27 or $33 or any other number above $24.99.
The 6% cash back on groceries and streaming is higher than most cards on the market. However, to outdo no-fee 3% cards, you need to spend around $270 a month in these categories. (Easily done with $250 on groceries and $20 on streaming.) Otherwise you’re not earning enough cash back to make up for the $95 annual fee. The BCP is at its best when you’re using all of its categories, alongside maybe 1-2 other credit cards.
Morgan Stanley’s co-branded version requires $15,000 in annual spending to get the $100 statement credit. You’d have to max out grocery spending ($6,000) while spending $9,000 on streaming/gas/transit over 12 months, which is unlikely. AMEX expects people to put a lot of “other” spend on the BCP too, but with just 1% cash back for miscellaneous purchases, it’s a questionable RoS. The $100 credit is meant to effectively eliminate the $95 annual fee, but you can cut out annual fees by simply using no-fee cards instead, with similar results.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE BLUE CASH PREFERRED
Blue Cash Everyday (BCE) is a no-fee downgrade version. If you use the BCP for a year and decide you don’t want to pay the annual fee, you can contact AMEX to easily switch to the Everyday card. Unfortunately it has the same spending limit ($6,000 per year) and a card like the Capital One SavorOne is often better. SavorOne’s grocery cash back earnings are unlimited, and it has four 3% categories (while the Everyday card has just one). Blue Cash Everyday isn’t as useful for everyday spending; BCE is primarily for avoiding the BCP annual fee.
For higher spenders who don’t mind a bigger annual fee, check out the American Express Gold.
Citi Custom Cash Card (CCCC) is better for single-category spending like groceries. It has the same spending limit ($500 per month) without an annual fee. Even though CCCC earns 5% cash back instead of 6%, not having a fee is better. If you max out the $6,000 annual limit, CCCC earns $300 per year, while BCP earns $265 (after the $95 fee). BCP is only worthwhile for those using the other categories too (streaming, gas, transit) with $65+ of rewards earned ($2200+ annual spend at 3% back). However, you have the option of using no-fee cards for the BCP’s other categories.
For more grocery options, read our list of the top no-fee cards for supermarket spending.
No-fee alternatives for streaming include:
- U.S. Bank Altitude Go (cash back rate depends on annual spending; can be 7-9% back)
- U.S. Bank Cash+ (5% back)
- Max Cash Preferred (5% back)
No-fee alternatives for gas include:
- Abound Credit Union Visa Platinum (unlimited 5% cash back)
- Penfed Platinum Rewards (unlimited 4.25+% cash back)
- Cardless New Orleans Pelicans (unlimited 4% cash back)
- PNC Cash Rewards (4% back with an $8,000 annual spending limit)
For transit or other travel, check out our list of the top no-fee cards for travel-related spending.
And, of course, you’ll need a general 2+% card for non-category spending. Since the BCP earns 1% on “other” purchases, a card earning 2% (or more) will double your cash back.
The Alliant Cashback Visa Signature earns 2.5% back on every purchase, up to $10k spent monthly.
CONCLUSION
The Blue Cash Preferred tries to be an all-in-one credit card for non-travelers. While it largely succeeds at this, there are usually better options for optimizing cash back. If you combine no-fee cards like the Citi Custom Cash and Wells Fargo Propel, you should get more cash back without paying $95 a year. Several card combinations can get you further ahead without foreign transaction fees. The BCP’s utility depends on your personal preferences.
If you don’t want to optimize your cash back, BCP can be a solid option. It has a low annual fee and four spending categories. Just note that its 6% cash back on groceries is effectively 4.4% when considering the annual fee, IF you meet the $6,000 annual spending limit. (Not including streaming/gas/transit categories.) If you only spend $3,000 annually on groceries, the BCP is effectively 2.8% cash back. In that case, many alternatives would give you superior cash back rates.
Overall, the Blue Cash Preferred is a fair card. Many people will see it as a good deal which doesn’t add much complexity to their wallets. The sign-up bonus is also decent, especially if the card’s annual fee is waived for 12 months. BCP is great if your preferences and lifestyle align with its earning structure. The annual fee can effectively become $0 with the right levels of spending. Or if you have the Morgan Stanley co-branded BCP, and spend $15,000+ each year on the card, the annual fee literally becomes $-5.
We rate the Blue Cash Preferred card 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Note: This review was last updated in November 2022. Details may have changed since then. Please do your own research where applicable, to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Or contact us directly to benefit from our personalized consulting services!