The Amex Blue Cash Preferred Credit Card – Full Review [2021]

Kids dropped off at school? Check. Grocery shop for the family? Check. Filled the car up with gas so you can pick kids back up again, take them to their friends’ house this weekend, and repeat the routine? Double-check.

With the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, you can reward yourself for all the cooking and driving around you do every week, whether you’re a parent or just someone with a routine at-home lifestyle!

• 6% back at U.S. supermarkets and on select streaming services
• 3% back on U.S. gas stations and transit (including rideshares, parking, etc.)
• 1% back on all other purchases
• Return protection
• Car rental coverage

• $95 annual fee (after the $0 introductory annual fee for the first year; see rates and fees)

Those best suited for the Blue Cash Preferred card are those who are looking for a strong cash-back card, don’t mind paying an annual fee, and have significant yearly spend in 1 or more of the cards bonus categories.

Cash-Back Opportunities

The primary benefit of the Blue Cash Preferred card is the numerous bonus categories it offers. Cardholders will earn between 3% to 6% back on their purchases that fall within the U.S. supermarket, U.S. gas station, select streaming subscriptions, and transit categories, plus the 1% back you’ll earn on all other purchases.

Return Protection

When you purchase a product with your Blue Cash Preferred card, return protection covers you if the seller won’t accept a return for the item, up to 90 days from the date of purchase.

Return protection covers you for up to $300 per item, and up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year.

Car Rental Coverage

When you pay for your rental car with your Blue Cash Preferred card, it comes with complimentary secondary car rental insurance. This insurance covers any damage or theft to the rental car. Keep in mind that this is secondary coverage, so you’ll need to file a claim with your primary insurance first.

• You spend heavily at U.S. supermarkets and eat at home a lot
• You commute often or go on a lot of road trips
• You use a lot of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu
• You’re a routine-type person and will continually use the card (ensuring you reach the redemption minimums)

• You eat out more than you cook
• You do all of your shopping at warehouse clubs or big-box stores like Target
• You won’t use the card frequently enough to pay off the annual fee

U.S. Supermarket Purchases

With your Blue Cash Preferred card, you’re going to earn 6% cash-back on U.S. supermarket purchases on up to $6,000 in spending each year. This gives you the opportunity to earn $360 cash-back if you were to hit the $6,000 yearly cap — which is just $500 per month.

List of Supermarkets and Grocery Stores That Qualify for Cash-Back:

Keep in mind that this is not a complete list of eligible merchants. Merchants that do not qualify include specialty stores (wine shops, fish markets, etc.), superstores (Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.), and warehouse clubs (BJ’s Club, etc.). For more information, you can view the rewards info section of the American Express website.

Select Streaming Subscriptions

You’ll also earn 6% back on select monthly/yearly streaming subscriptions, with no caps on how much you can earn. So if you’re someone who has quite a few streaming subscriptions that you use, then the Blue Cash Preferred card might be a perfect option for you.

List of Streaming Companies That Qualify for Cash-back:

As you can see, the list of covered platforms is quite extensive. Take, for example, a person who has monthly subscriptions to Netflix (standard $12.99), Hulu (no ads $11.99), Disney+ ($6.99), HBO Max ($14.99), and Spotify Premium ($9.99). With the annual total of these subscriptions amounting to $683.40, you’d receive $41 in cash-back.

Transit Purchases

Cardholders get 3% back on all purchases that fall within the transit category. So those that commute often or spend a lot on rideshare services can really benefit from this category.

List of Transit Purchases That Qualify for Cash-back:

So regardless of whatever sort of transit commute you have, whether you take the subway or bus into work, pay to park in a parking garage each day, or take rideshare services like Uber or Lyft, you’ll find the Blue Cash Preferred card rewards you on all these purchases.

U.S. Gas Station Purchases

The final category, 3% back at U.S. gas stations, is perfect for anyone who commutes to work daily, or takes a lot of long road trips.

Examples of Gas Stations That Qualify for Cash-back:

Keep in mind that this is not a complete list and that you will not earn any extra cash-back if the gas station is part of a supermarket or warehouse club. However, if the gas station is also a convenience store, you can earn 3% cash-back on items sold inside.

Everyday Spending

You’ll earn 1% cash-back on all purchases that fall outside of the four bonus categories. While this won’t be as lucrative as the 3% to 6% back you’ll earn elsewhere, it is still a great way to earn cash-back for purchases you’ll be making anyway.

Statement Credit

Those who value simplicity will enjoy that the Blue Cash Preferred offers only one redemption option — cash-back.

When you make purchases with your card, you’ll accrue your cash-back month to month that can be redeemed as a statement credit to offset purchases you’ve one your card when the bill comes due.

One caveat though, is that you must have accrued at least $25 in cash-back in order to redeem it. Meaning if your cash-back balance at the end of 1 month is $23.50, you’ll need to wait until you surpass $25 to redeem those funds.

Bottom Line: Redeeming rewards with the Blue Cash Preferred card is simple. You’ll earn 6 cents back per $1 spent at U.S. supermarkets and select streaming subscriptions, 3 cents back per $1 on transit and U.S. gas stations, and 1 cent back elsewhere.  Then you can redeem those rewards as a statement credit once you’ve reached $25 in cash-back. 

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Credit Card

Benefits & Info

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express Learn More (at Amex's secure site)

Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months. Buy Now, Pay Later: Enjoy $0 plan fees when you use Plan It® to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Pay $0 plan fees on plans created during the first 15 months after account opening. Plans created after that will have a plan fee up to 1.33% of each purchase amount moved into a plan based on the plan duration, the APR that would otherwise apply to the purchase, and other factors. Low intro APR: 0% for 15 months on purchases from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 13.99% to 23.99%. Earn 3% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%). Earn 2% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations and at select U.S. department stores. Earn 1% Cash Back on other purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be easily redeemed for statement credits. Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-840) Annual Fee: $0 Terms Apply. For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday card, click here. UP’s Bonus Valuation*: $200 Must Reads: For more info on the Blue Cash Everyday Card, see our guide on its benefits and our full review.

If you want a card that is similar to the Blue Cash Preferred card in most ways but does not charge an annual fee, then the Blue Cash Everyday card is the perfect option. With the card you’ll earn 3% back at U.S. supermarkets, 2% back at U.S. gas stations and select U.S. department stores, and 1% back on all other purchases.

Chase Freedom Flex℠ Credit Card

Credit Card

Benefits & Info

Chase Freedom Flex℠ Credit Card Learn More (at Chase's secure site)

Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Earn 5% cash back on grocery store purchases (not including Target® or Walmart® purchases) on up to $12,000 spent in the first year. Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter! Earn 5% on Chase travel purchased through Ultimate Rewards®, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1% on all other purchases. 0% Intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases, then a variable APR of 14.99 - 23.74%. No minimum to redeem for cash back. Cash Back rewards do not expire as long as your account is open. Good to Excellent Credit Recommendation (670-850) Annual Fee: $0

If you like the idea of a no annual fee, cash-back card, but prefer different bonus categories, the Freedom Flex card is a great option to consider. You’ll earn 5% back on a quarterly rotation bonus category and travel purchases through Chase, 3% back on dining and drugstores, and 1% back on all other purchases.

We’ve also compared the Blue Cash Preferred against other popular rewards cards.

• Blue Cash Preferred vs. American Express Gold Card
• Amex Blue Cash Everyday vs Blue Cash Preferred

The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. 

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, click here.