The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a good option if you are looking for cash back, and you can take advantage of this card’s 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets and streaming services and 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, transit, and ridesharing.
Below is our review of the Blue Cash Preferred card and its benefits.
We have a lot to cover, so let’s dive right in.
- Earn a $250 Bonus as a Statement Credit After $3,000 in Eligible Purchases in the First 6 Months
- 6% Cash Back at U.S. Supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year; 1% thereafter) and on Select U.S. Streaming
- 3% Cash Back on Transit, Ridesharing, Parking, and at U.S. Gas Stations
- $0 Intro Annual Fee for the First Year, then $95. (Rates and Fees)
Welcome Bonus of $250
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred offers a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first six months.
0% Intro APR on Purchases and Balance Transfers for 12 Months
You can enjoy a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable APR of 18.24% – 29.24%.
The 0% intro APR is great if you have a large purchase coming up or want to transfer a balance to Blue Cash Preferred.
There is a balance transfer fee of either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Earning Points
6% Cash Back at U.S. Supermarkets
One of the main benefits of the Blue Cash Preferred card is 6% cash back at U.S. Supermarkets.
American Express caps the 6% cash back at $6,000 in spending each cardmember year, equaling $360 in cash back if you maximize your spending.
For all spending above $6,000 per cardmember year, you will earn just 1% cash back.
However, you will not earn 6% cash back at wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club, superstores like Target and Walmart, and specialty food stores.
The one exception is that most Walmart Neighborhood Markets will earn 6% cash back since those locations are only supermarkets, not superstores.
You can find a list of supermarkets where you will earn 6% cash back in the toggle below. This is a non-exhaustive list but an excellent example of stores included in the 6% cash back.
Blue Cash Preferred 6% Cash Back Supermarkets List
- Albertsons
- Aldi
- A&P
- Food Lion
- Food 4 Less
- Fresh Direct
- Frys
- Giant Eagle
- Harris Teeter
- H-E-B
- Hy-Vee
- Kroger
- Marianos
- Meijer
- Metro Market
- Military Commissaries
- Pathmark/Acme
- Payless
- Peapod
- Pick N Save
- Piggly Wiggly
- Publix
- Ralphs
- Safeway
- Sav-A-Lot
- Shoprite
- Sprouts
- Stater Bros.
- Stop & Shop
- SuperValu
- Tops
- Trader Joe’s
- Wegmans
- Whole Foods
- WinCo
- Winn-Dixie
- 7-Eleven (many locations)
6% Cash Back on U.S. Streaming Services
This card also earns an uncapped 6% cash back on U.S. Streaming services, including Netflix, Apple+, Hulu, Disney+, etc.
A list of qualifying U.S. streaming services is in the toggle below.
Blue Cash Preferred 6% Cash Back Streaming Services
- Amazon Music Unlimited
- Apple Music
- Apple TV+
- Audible
- DirecTV Stream
- Disney+
- ESPN+
- Fubo TV
- HBO Max
- Hulu
- iHeartRadio
- Kindle Unlimited
- Luminary
- MLB.TV
- NBA League Pass
- Netflix
- NHL.TV
- Pandora
- Paramount+
- Peacock
- Prime Video
- Showtime
- Sling TV
- SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite
- Spotify
- Stitcher
- TIDAL Music
- YouTube Music Premium
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube TV
3% Cash Back on Transit and Ridesharing
This credit card also offers 3% cash back on transit, including taxis, rideshare services (Uber, Lyft, Curb, etc.), tolls, trains, and buses.
3% Back at U.S. Gas Stations
The Blue Cash Preferred offers 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, helping you offset high gas prices.
1% Cash Back on All Other Spending
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred earns 1% cash back on other purchases.
However, 1% cash back isn’t competitive when several no annual fee cash back cards such as the Chase Freedom Unlimited with 1.5% cash back or Citi Double Cash with 2% cash back.
Card Benefits
Secondary Rental Car Insurance
Secondary rental car insurance covers any damage to a rental car not covered by your primary insurance when you pay for the rental using this card.
Other credit cards offer primary rental car insurance, which pays before your insurance and saves you the hassle of filing multiple insurance claims.
But there are situations where this secondary insurance becomes the primary insurance, including when renting a car outside the U.S. and your personal car insurance does not cover you in that country, or if you don’t have collision insurance.
You still need to maintain liability car insurance to cover damage to another person or property.
Extended Warranty
Credit card extended warranty protection adds up to an additional year of coverage for eligible purchases on manufacturer’s warranties up to 5 years.
Coverage matches the protection provided by the original warranty so that damage or defect would have to be covered by the original warranty for extended warranty coverage.
The maximum coverage is $10,000 per item and $50,000 per cardholder.
For example, if you bought a TV with a manufacturer’s warranty of three years, this card would extend the warranty for free to the fourth year.
Purchase Protection
Purchase protection could save you a lot of money if you bought an eligible item that is damaged or stolen within 90-days.
For example, if you accidentally dropped your new phone or laptop and broke the screen, you could file a claim to get it replaced if the item was purchased within the last 90 days.
Coverage for this benefit is limited to $10,000 per claim and up to $50,000 per cardholder.
Return Protection
American Express offers return protection which allows you to return an item purchased in total with an eligible card when the retailer refuses to accept the item under its return policy.
Some items are excluded, such as jewelry, plants, perishable items, software, books, formal wear, tickets, and seasonal items.
This coverage is up to $300 per item with a maximum of $1,000 per cardmember year.
$120 Equinox+ Credit
The Blue Cash Preferred offers an annual $120 Equinox+ credit in the form of a monthly statement credit of up to $10, when you enroll your card.
Equinox+ costs $39.99 per month, which is cheaper than Peloton’s monthly membership.
After factoring in the statement credit, the monthly credit effectively reduces the Equinox+ cost to only $29.99 per month.
ShopRunner Membership
This card offers a complimentary membership to ShopRunner, giving you free two-day shipping and free returns at 100+ online retailers.
Eligible stores include Bloomingdales, Under Armour, American Eagle, Saks Off 5th, Cole Hann, Fanatics, Vera Bradley, Jockey, Kate Spade, NFL Shop, NBA Store, MLB Shop, and Coach.
Access to Amex Offers
This card has access to Amex Offers, which are deals that are linked to your card, allowing you to save money or earn extra points on shopping, dining, and travel.
For example, there could be an offer such as spending $200+ at Marriott Hotels and Resorts and receiving $50 cash back as a statement credit.
You can find all of your Amex Offers by signing into your American Express account. You will need to “Add to Card” each offer to be eligible for the special offer.
Pros and Cons of Blue Cash Preferred
Here’s a quick overview of this card’s advantages and disadvantages.
Pros:
- 6x Points at U.S. Supermarkets and U.S. Streaming Services
- 3% Cash Back at U.S. Gas Stations, Transit, and Ride Sharing
- Nice shopping protections like return protection, purchase protection, and extended warranty.
Cons:
- A foreign transaction fee of 2.7%
- Lack of travel protections
Alternatives to Blue Cash Preferred
Now that you know about the pros and cons of this card and its benefits, it’s time to review the alternatives.
Or, if you are like me, who loves to maximize my rewards, here are other cards you should add to your wallet:
American Express Gold Card
The American Express® Gold Card is one of my favorite cards because it earns:
- 4x Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.,
- 4x Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x).
- 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
Plus, card members get nice credits when you enroll your Gold Card to offset the annual fee:
- $120 Uber Cash: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account, and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings and earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations.
Citi Double Cash
The Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer boasts a strong 2% rewards rate on purchases, where you get 1% back when you buy and 1% when you pay.
This zero-annual-fee card offers a solid earning potential as long as you pay your balance on time, and it provides a simple way to rack up points with no bonus categories to track.
You can also boost your rewards by also holding the Citi Premier® Card (review), which allows you to transfer points to airline and hotel programs. This combination effectively allows you to earn 2 airline miles per dollar on all spending with the Citi Double Cash.
Is the Blue Cash Preferred Worth It?
The American Express Blue Cash Preferred card can be worth it if you maximize the 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets and streaming services, and 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, transit, and ride-sharing to help offset the $95 annual fee.
The Blue Cash Preferred also offers excellent shopping protections like purchase protection, extended warranty, and return protection.
But if you like to travel, I recommend the American Express Gold over the Blue Cash Preferred due to its higher points points earning potential and more usable monthly credits.
- Earn a $250 Bonus as a Statement Credit After $3,000 in Eligible Purchases in the First 6 Months
- 6% Cash Back at U.S. Supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year; 1% thereafter) and on Select U.S. Streaming
- 3% Cash Back on Transit, Ridesharing, Parking, and at U.S. Gas Stations
- $0 Intro Annual Fee for the First Year, then $95. (Rates and Fees)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Foreign Transaction Fee on the Amex Blue Cash Preferred?
American Express charges a 2.7% foreign transaction fee for international charges using the Blue Cash Preferred.
What is the American Express Blue Cash Preferred's Annual Fee?
$95, but it is waived the first year.
Does the Amex Blue Cash Preferred Offer Airport Lounge Access?
No, the Blue Cash Preferred does not offer airport lounge access. For airport lounge access, we recommend the American Express Platinum, Capital One Venture X, or Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Is the Amex Blue Cash Preferred Metal?
No, the Blue Cash Preferred is not metal. If you want a metal card, we recommend the American Express Gold, which has similar benefits as this card.
What Credit Score Do You Need for Blue Cash Preferred?
You need good to excellent credit which is generally a credit score of 690 or better to get approved for the Blue Cash Preferred.
What is the Credit Limit of the Blue Cash Preferred?
The Blue Cash Preferred's credit limits depends the applicant’s overall creditworthiness, but it starts at $1,000 and can go up to approximately $20,000 depending on qualifying factors.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.
