Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is the upgraded version of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, offering increased rewards on purchases at U.S. supermarkets, select U.S. streaming subscriptions, and U.S. gas stations. It comes with a $0 introductory fee for the first year, then $95/year. (Terms apply. See Rates and Fees)
The card offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 in purchases per year, plus 6% back on a long list of streaming providers. The card earns unlimited 3% cash back on U.S. gas stations and on transit. Other eligible purchases earn 1% cash back.
The Blue Cash Preferred® can be a great choice to use for retail purchases, as it offers the trifecta of retail insurance benefits: Purchase protection, return protection, and extended warranty. Terms apply to all benefits.
card_name: bonus_miles_full
Our take on the welcome bonus: American Express doesn’t often offer an increased welcome bonus on this card. If you plan on getting this card, there is no reason to wait.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0 intro fee for the first year, then $95.
Rewards: 6% at U.S. supermarket on $6k per year, then 1%; 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions; 3% at U.S. gas stations and on transit; 1% on other eligible purchases.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express at a glance
Here’s what you need to know about the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. Terms apply to all benefits.
Rewards
6% cash back on up to $6,000 in purchases per year at U.S. supermarkets, then 1%.
6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
3% cash back at U.S. gas stations.
3% cash back on transit
1% on all other eligible purchases
Benefits
Car rental loss and damage insurance
Extended warranty
Purchase protection
$84 The Disney Bundle credit
Amex Offers
Other important terms
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95. (Terms apply. See Rates and Fees)
2.7% foreign transaction fee
Welcome bonus
card_name: bonus_miles_full
Our take on the welcome bonus: American Express doesn’t often offer an increased welcome bonus on this card. If you plan on getting this card, there is no reason to wait.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0 intro fee for the first year, then $95.
Rewards: 6% at U.S. supermarket on $6k per year, then 1%; 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions; 3% at U.S. gas stations and on transit; 1% on other eligible purchases.
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express rewards
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers increased rewards in everyday categories like U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and select U.S. streaming subscriptions. Here are the details.
U.S. supermarkets: 6% cash back on up to $6,000 in purchases per year, then 1%.
Streaming services: 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
U.S. gas stations: 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations.
Transit: 3% cash back on transit
1% cash back on other eligible purchases.
How to apply:
card_name: bonus_miles_full
Our take on the welcome bonus: American Express doesn’t often offer an increased welcome bonus on this card. If you plan on getting this card, there is no reason to wait.
The link above is our affiliate link. We always show you the best offer, and this is the best offer we know about on this card.
Card highlights:
Annual fee: $0 intro fee for the first year, then $95.
Rewards: 6% at U.S. supermarket on $6k per year, then 1%; 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions; 3% at U.S. gas stations and on transit; 1% on other eligible purchases.
A few notes on applying for American Express credit cards
- If you have ever gotten a welcome bonus for the same American Express card before, you are usually ineligible for the bonus. Some targeted offers do not have the lifetime language in them, meaning you can get a welcome bonus if you’ve had the card before. Anecdotally, you may be able to get a welcome bonus again on a product that you have not had for seven years.
- Some American Express cards, like the personal Platinum card or the Charles Schwab Platinum card have language that prohibits you from earning a welcome bonus if you’ve ever had a card from the same card family before.
- American Express will inform you during the application process if you are ineligible to earn a welcome bonus.
- You can have a maximum of five American Express credit cards at one time. In addition, you can hold up to 10 American Express charge cards (like the Platinum, Gold, and Green cards.) These limits are known to occasionally be flexible for some cardmembers, some of the time.
- American Express offers some customers targeted offers. See our post on how to get the best welcome offers from American Express and try those methods before applying for an American Express card. You might be able to get an elevated welcome bonus.
- You can check the status of your American Express card application online through the Amex website.
Should you keep the card after the first year?
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has a $0 introductory annual fee in the first year, then $95. (Terms apply. See Rates and Fees) You should only keep a card after the first year if you receive ongoing value in excess of the card’s annual fee. If you spend more than $3,200 each year (about $62/week) on groceries, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred’s 6% cash back earning on groceries will more than offset the card’s annual fee, when compared to a no-annual-fee card that earns 3% cash back on groceries.
Here are the additional benefits that might make this card worth keeping after the first year.
- Increased cash back earnings in bonus categories
- Return protection benefits
- Extended warranty benefits
Benefits of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
In addition to cash back earnings, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers cardmembers a number of additional benefits. Here are the benefit highlights of this card. This isn’t an exhaustive list of card benefits; we don’t include things like 24/7 customer service or the ability to add a card to a mobile wallet.
Travel insurance benefits
Cards targeted toward travelers often offer travel insurance benefits that can protect you when you are traveling away from home. Terms and restrictions apply to all benefits.
Car rental loss and damage insurance – Car rental loss and damage insurance protects you against damage or theft to your rental vehicle. For coverage to apply, you need to reserve and pay for your vehicle using your card and decline your car rental company’s collision damage waiver. The coverage provided by the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is secondary to your personal auto insurance. This means that you will be required to make a claim against your personal auto insurance before this policy will pay. Additional terms apply. See your card’s guide to benefits for details.
American Express benefit disclosure: Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance can provide coverage up to $50,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible Card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the Commercial Car Rental Company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. Geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
Consumer insurance benefits
Many cards offers consumer insurance benefits that can protect the things you buy. Terms and restrictions apply to all benefits.
Extended warranty – Extended warranty protection provides additional warranty coverage on items you purchase with your card. The extended warranty coverage of the Blue Cash Preferred® doubles the manufacturer’s warranty, up to one additional year, on purchases with warranties of five years or less. Extended warranty coverage is provided up to $10,000 per covered purchase, and up to $50,000 per year.
American Express benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase to an Eligible Card, Extended Warranty can provide up to one extra year added to the Original Manufacturer’s Warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your Card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Purchase protection – Purchase protection protects the things you buy with your card from damage or loss for a certain amount of time after you buy them. The purchase protection on the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express provides protection on many items for 90 days from the date of purchase, up to $1,000 per claim and $50,000 per calendar year.
American Express benefit disclosure: When an American Express® Card Member charges a Covered Purchase with their Eligible Card, Purchase Protection can help protect their Covered Purchases for up to 90 days from the Covered Purchase date if it is stolen or accidentally damaged. The coverage is limited to up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.
Return protection – If a store or online shop won’t offer a refund or replacement of an item you purchased within 90 days, return protection can provide a refund. The Blue Cash Preferred® provides return protection up to $300 per item purchased, up to $1,000 per year.
American Express benefit disclosure: With Return Protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. American Express may refund the full purchase price excluding shipping and handling, up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible American Express® Card. Purchases must be made in the U.S. or its territories. Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
Statement credits
Some cards offer statement credits for purchases at select merchant partners. Terms and restrictions apply to all benefits.
$84 The Disney Bundle Credit – Receive a $7 statement credit each month when you make a qualifying purchase at Disneyplus.com, Hulu.com or Plus.espn.com equaling $12.99 or more. A qualifying purchase is a Disney Bundle monthly subscription or any other monthly subscription, annual subscription, or add-on. You must enroll to receive this benefit. Terms apply.
Amex Offers – American Express cardmembers receive targeted merchant-specific deals through Amex Offers. These targeted offers are offered in partnership with merchants and range in value from a marginal amount of to rebates upwards of 25%. Enrollment is required to take advantage of an Amex Offer.
Frequently asked questions
The Amex Blue Cash Preferred offers cash back as its rewards. The rewards you earn are not transferable to airline or hotel travel partners.
If you have the Blue Cash Everyday card, it might make sense to upgrade to the Blue Cash Preferred for additional rewards on gas and groceries. The Blue Cash Preferred offers 6% back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 in spending each year, plus unlimited 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please visit this link: See Rates and Fees
Advertiser disclosure: Cards and Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Cards and Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on this site are from advertisers. Compensation may affect how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies or all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card benefits.