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3. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Image: Image of the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express

659 reviews from Intuit Credit Karma members

3.8

Rating: 3.8 out of 5.

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Great for maximizing grocery rewards

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Annual fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95

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Member stats

Updated daily

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28.6%

Average credit utilization (or what percent of the card’s credit limit is being used) of members who matched with this card or similar cards.

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41 years

Average age of members who matched this card or similar cards.

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$100,782

Average annual income of members who matched this card or similar cards. Note: Income may be estimated for some members by Credit Karma and may differ from members’ actual incomes.

Card highlights

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Good welcome bonus offer

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Bonus cash back rewards for groceries, streaming services, gas and transit

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Low intro APR on purchases and balance transfers

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express review: Great for family nights

Updated January 25, 2024

This date may not reflect recent changes in individual terms.

Written by: Tim Devaney

Pros

• Good welcome bonus offer
• Bonus cash back rewards for groceries, streaming services, gas and transit
• Low intro APR on purchases and balance transfers

Cons

• Cash back limit and exclusions on bonus categories
• Annual fee could be cost-prohibitive if you don’t spend much on groceries or transportation

4 things to consider about the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

1. The welcome bonus can jump-start your cash back

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express comes with a $250 statement credit if you spend $3,000 on purchases during the first 6 months from your account opening.

The welcome bonus could help you start piling up cash back quickly, but in the long run, the biggest opportunity to earn cash back may lie in other regular purchases you make.

2. Bonus categories for groceries, streaming services, transit and gas

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express can earn you rewards dollars that you can redeem for a statement credit or when checking out at Amazon.

Groceries: 6% cash back on up to $6,000 you spend each year on purchases at U.S. supermarkets (1% back after that).

If you like to cook at home, you could earn plenty of cash back from your grocery purchases with this card. But keep in mind that U.S. supermarkets don’t include warehouse clubs or superstores like Walmart.

Digital subscriptions: 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services, including popular services like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Apple Music, ESPN+ and Kindle Unlimited.

You can get cash back for dozens of these subscriptions. But how many streaming services do you actually use? If you’re the type of person who only purchases HBO for one month a year to watch “Game of Thrones,” you might not notice a difference.

Transit and gas: 3% cash back on transit (including trains, buses, tolls and even rideshares and parking garages) as well as 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations.

It’s worth noting that the 3% cash back on transit is aimed at local transportation, not long-distance travel to your next vacation spot. So it doesn’t apply to things like airplanes, cruises or car rentals.

Outside of these categories, you’ll earn 1% cash back on your other purchases.

3. Is the annual fee worth it?

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express comes with a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 after that. But if you spend enough in the card’s bonus categories, you can more than make up for it.

You could break even on the annual fee with the rewards from your grocery purchases alone if you spend about $1,600 each year at U.S. supermarkets (or roughly $30 per week).

On the other hand, if you spend more than $115 a week on groceries, you could run up against the $6,000-per-year cap for 6% cash back on purchases at U.S supermarkets.

Compare cash back credit cards on Credit Karma to see if there’s another card that suits your spending better.

4. Planning a big purchase? The 0% intro APR could help

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is more than a cash back card. If you’re planning to make a big purchase and you need time to pay it off, it could also help you save money on interest charges.

Of course, we recommend that you pay off your credit card balance in full by the due date each month to avoid paying any interest on purchases. But that’s not always possible.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months after account opening. But make sure you pay off your purchases and transfers before the intro APR expires, or you’ll be charged a variable regular APR of 19.24% - 29.99% on both. Balance transfers must be requested within 60 days of account opening to qualify for the intro rate and there’s also balance transfer fee: Either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.

Who this card is good for

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express could be particularly fruitful for three types of people.

1. People who like to cook at home
2. People who subscribe to certain streaming services
3. Commuters who drive to work or take public transportation

If you spend a lot of money on groceries, streaming and commuting, the cash back could add up quickly. But if that’s not where you spend your money, other cash back credit cards could benefit you more.

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