The Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express earns 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets and streaming services. Plus 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, ride-sharing, and on transit.
Blue Cash Preferred Card Information
Application Link: American Express Blue Cash Preferred.
Current Sign Up Bonus: Up to $400 cash back plus 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months.
Recommended Bonus: At least $300 cash back.
Annual Fee: $0 first year; $95 thereafter.
Earning Rewards:
- 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year).
- 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
- 3% cash back on transit (trains, taxis, rideshares, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways).
- 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations.
- 1% cash back everywhere else.
Blue Cash Preferred Benefits
The Blue Cash Preferred has several nice benefits including return and purchase protection, and secondary rental car insurance.
The one benefit the card is missing is no foreign transaction fees, which will be 2.7% for any charges outside the United States.
Secondary Rental Car Insurance
This secondary coverage pays for any damage to the rental car not covered by your insurance.
If you don’t have collision insurance, this coverage is primary coverage.
Amex Offers
This card, like all American Express cards, have access to Amex Offers, which are discounts at hundreds of merchants.
Most discounts are in the form of spend $X and get $Y back, but sometimes you can earn extra SkyMiles instead of cash back.
Extended Warranty
This benefit extends an original manufacturer’s warranty by one year on warranties of 5 years or less.
ShopRunner
American Express cards enjoy free two day shipping and free returns at 100+ online retailers with ShopRunner.
Purchase Protection
This coverage covers the replacement costs of items bought with the card that were stolen or accidentally damaged within the first 90 days up to $1,000 per item.
Return Protection
Return Protection allows you to seek reimbursement if you try to return an eligible item within 90 days from the date of purchase and the merchant will not take it back.
This coverage is up to $300 per item with a maximum of $1,000 per card member year.
The Verdict
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred card can be worth it if you plan on spending at least $2,500 per year at grocery stores on the card.
We calculated this break-even point based on the cash back you would earn on $2,500 in grocery spending with the Blue Cash Preferred ($150) versus the 2% cash back you would earn with the no annual fee Citi Double Cash ($50).
It is also nice that you can earn 6% cash back on streaming services and 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and ride-sharing services.
