For many years I’ve had The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express, and have considered it to be one of the best cards for earning Membership Rewards points. However, with the introduction of the American Express® Gold Card, I think it’s finally time to trade one card for the other, at least based on my spend patterns. Let me explain my logic.
Why I’ve had the Amex EveryDay Preferred
The Amex EveryDay Preferred Card has a $95 annual fee and offers:
- 3x points at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 of purchases per year
- 2x points at U.S. gas stations
- A 50% points bonus when you use your card 30 or more times per billing period, less returns and credits
That 50% bonus applies even to the bonus categories. Assuming you make at least 30 transactions per billing cycle, that means you’re earning:
- 4.5x points at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 of purchases per year
- 3x points at U.S. gas stations
- 1.5x points on non-bonused spend
Personally I spend virtually nothing on gas and fairly little on supermarkets, so the main reason I’ve had this card is to earn 1.5x points on non-bonused spend.
The thing is, this isn’t the only card that earns 1.5x transferable points per dollar spent. I consider the single best credit card duo out there to be the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited®, as the Freedom Unlimited also earns 1.5x points.
But I’ve appreciated the opportunity to diversify my points, and earn both Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards points at that rate.
The information and associated card details on this page for the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Why I think the Amex Gold Card makes more sense for me
The Amex Gold Card has a $325 annual fee (Rates & Fees) and offers:
- 4x points at restaurants (on up to $50,000 of purchases per calendar year and then 1x)
- 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 of purchases per calendar year and then 1x)
- 3x points on airfare purchased directly with airlines or at AmexTravel.com
Of those categories, I don’t place any value on the 3x points on airfare. That’s because I have The Platinum Card® from American Express, which offers 5x points on airfare purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
The benefit of having this card is that it offers a best in class 4x points at restaurants while also offering an excellent bonus at U.S. supermarkets. With the Amex EveryDay Preferred I’d earn up to 4.5x points at supermarkets, but 4x points is nearly as good, and there are fewer hoops to jump through (like the requirement to make 30 transactions per billing cycle to achieve that return).
The information and associated card details on this page for the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
This helps me maintain the balance of the two currencies
Like I said, I value both Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards points roughly equally, and care about having plenty of points with both currencies. Both the Amex EveryDay Preferred and Freedom Unlimited offer 1.5x points (with Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards, respectively), and the benefit has been that I’ve been able to spend on the EveryDay Preferred when I needed Amex points, and the Freedom Unlimited when I needed Chase points.
But with the Amex Gold Card, I think I can maintain that general balance pretty well. Going forward I can use:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express for 5x points on airfare purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel, on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, and then 1x
- The American Express® Gold Card for 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25k in calendar year purchases and then 1x) and 4x points at restaurants (on up to $50k per calendar year and then 1x)
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express for 2x points on the first $50,000 spent annually (1x after that)
Between those cards, I should be able to maintain a healthy balance of Membership Rewards points, while shifting the rest of my spend to Ultimate Rewards. Going forward I’ll use:
- The Chase Sapphire Reserve® for 3x points on travel (with the exception of airfare) plus 3x points on dining abroad
- The Chase Freedom Unlimited® for 1.5x points on everyday purchases
- Chase Freedom FlexSM for 5x points in rotating quarterly categories
- The Ink Business Cash® Credit Card for 5x points on the first $25,000 spent annually at office supply stores, and on cellular phone, landline, internet, and cable TV services, and 2x points on the first $25,000 spent annually at gas stations
- The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card for 3x points on the first $150,000 of combined purchases per account anniversary year on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable, phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines
Bottom line
The American Express® Gold Card is a phenomenal card, and for me, it’s even easier to justify if I cancel the Amex EveryDay Preferred Card. I’ll no longer have to make 30 transactions per billing cycle, which is freeing, and can also earn even more points at restaurants, which is a big category for me, that more than offsets the 0.5 points I lose per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets.
Does anyone else plan on replacing the Amex EveryDay Preferred with the Amex Gold Card?
The information and associated card details on this page for the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees).
@Ben
Just got the Gold, was an AU for years on my spouse, however only reason I kept EDP was to factor in the 3X gas since I easily hit bonus and will continue with Gold, as well as Platinum/Blue Business. That way basically everything on MR is 2X or higher! :) .
@Michelle
No you cannot product change from Amex SPG to Gold; totally different card product.
Thanks for the referral lucky! I was losing hope about the 50,000MR point sign up bonus for the Amex Gold card - couldn’t find it anywhere. With your referall link my SO and I were both able to apply and got accepted. This will be our first personal Amex card (and charge card in general). We’re hoping to someday open up a Platinum but waiting for the 100k or more sign up bonus. For now...
Thanks for the referral lucky! I was losing hope about the 50,000MR point sign up bonus for the Amex Gold card - couldn’t find it anywhere. With your referall link my SO and I were both able to apply and got accepted. This will be our first personal Amex card (and charge card in general). We’re hoping to someday open up a Platinum but waiting for the 100k or more sign up bonus. For now we’ll make do with our CSR trifecta for travel needs.
@5105d: in your experience do you know what kind of restaurants Amex gold recognizes? Or what criteria it uses for the distinction of a “restaurant” that falls within the 4x category?
I was going to do the same thing....until I went to apply and got the dreaded new popup saying that I have applied and canceled or not utilized my current AmEx cards and they won’t give me a sign up bonus....guess I’m going to put spend on my EDP card I just got last month.
@ Debit -- You clearly have too much time on your hands.
AmEx GOLD does not recognize all restaurants as restaurants so only 1 point is given for some. Chase Sapphire Reserve DOES count ALL restaurants. Also, AmEx GOLD from prior PRG gets 2x points on gas.
@Eric - anecdotally, I get both points and cash back offers across all 4 of my Amex cards. There is no rhyme or reason to it. Sometimes I even get the same offer twice, but one as cash back and the other as points, ie 5000 points for x amount of spend vs 50 bucks back for x amount of spend on the same product or brand.
Can you product change from Amex SPG over to the Gold? Do you recommend that?
Thanks for the referral - I was immediately approved! :)
Are you concerned that by canceling your EDP and then applying for AMEX Gold, they may turn you down for "too much opening and canceling?"
@magice: have you seen them as a cash back or bonus points offer?
I imagine some folks would prefer the bonus points to the cash back, and my EDP almost always has the bonus points alternative, whereas my Platinum has the same offer but cash back.
@eric : I am pretty sure I have seen all of these offers, and I am on Gold card.
Lucky - I think you are forgetting one point.
One thing you have to evaluate is what kind of Amex Offers will be given on the new Amex Gold card. For instance, while the earning potential for Amex Gold is higher, I've gotten a steady supply of Bonus Points offers strictly on the EDP (5k on Hugo Boss, 3k Ebags, 10k Intercontinental Hotels) while the Platinum card does not have nearly as many points...
Lucky - I think you are forgetting one point.
One thing you have to evaluate is what kind of Amex Offers will be given on the new Amex Gold card. For instance, while the earning potential for Amex Gold is higher, I've gotten a steady supply of Bonus Points offers strictly on the EDP (5k on Hugo Boss, 3k Ebags, 10k Intercontinental Hotels) while the Platinum card does not have nearly as many points bonuses. My Amex Platinum gave me similar offers, but with cash value vs. points bonus. Curious to see how the new card will work in terms of the Amex Offers.
I only use no annual fee card and use
Uber visa for 4% restaurant
3% airline, any website
Bank of america cash rewards for 3 % fuel, 3% airline,
Blue cash everyday no annual fee gives 3% grocery .
Not even mentioning other benefits each card provides .
Saves more than your annual fee cards....
What about the Amex BBP for 2% on everyday purchases?
I’m curious though why would you want to lose the credit line, will you allocate it elsewhere? Plus Amex good is a charge card. Are you at your limit on Amex cards?
My first thought was to cancel my everyday preferred, but I ended up downgrading it to the no fee version. I probably won't use it much, but I at least get to keep the benefit of the credit limit and history on my credit report.
@Bmlynn, unless you're using credit to invest in a business in order to profit later, you shouldn't be carrying a balance, regardless of card. It means you're living above your means. For the odd large purchase that I do want to split up, I'll do an interest-free balance transfer to one of my other cards, but that is something that only happens once every couple of years.
Can you product change from the EDP to the Amex Gold? I cancelled my Amex Gold earlier this year when the AF hit. Obviously I won't get a sign up bonus per Amex's once per lifetime rule, but that 4x on dining is really tempting.
I JUST got the EDP this year after waiting for ages for a decent sign-up bonus just for use at supermarkets, which is probably my biggest spending category. I was waiting for my next account anniversary to cancel the PRG, but doesn't really make much sense to keep the EDP now. Until now, most of my spending has been pretty split between the CSR (travel, including metro, and dining), EDP for groceries, and CFU for...
I JUST got the EDP this year after waiting for ages for a decent sign-up bonus just for use at supermarkets, which is probably my biggest spending category. I was waiting for my next account anniversary to cancel the PRG, but doesn't really make much sense to keep the EDP now. Until now, most of my spending has been pretty split between the CSR (travel, including metro, and dining), EDP for groceries, and CFU for random purchases like brick and mortar stores and Amazon. I think the only spending I'd put on my PRG over the last few months was my Amex gift cards which were automatically reimbursed. This is definitely throwing me for a loop. I don't love the higher AF, but 4x points at supermarkets is very appealing.
I’m just going to downgrade EDP to ED. Keep it around for 1.2X on everyday non bonus spend.
@Bmlynn, I hate to be preachy, but if you aren't paying your cards off in full each month, regardless if its a credit or charge card, you are negating the value of points with the interest you accumulate and pay for. You should be paying off your balance in full always if you are trying to derive value from credit card points, that's rule number one.
@Ben, your strategy is very similar to mine now,...
@Bmlynn, I hate to be preachy, but if you aren't paying your cards off in full each month, regardless if its a credit or charge card, you are negating the value of points with the interest you accumulate and pay for. You should be paying off your balance in full always if you are trying to derive value from credit card points, that's rule number one.
@Ben, your strategy is very similar to mine now, although its come about sort of unexpectedly. I've had the Gold card forever, and picked up the Platinum a few years ago. I also cary the Blue Biz Plus. I upped the Gold to PRG a couple of years ago as well. I was ready to ditch the gold and pick up the CSR and Amex EDP to better balance my points earning, but the changes to the Gold really solidified my Amex strategy to remain as is. Its hard to beat the domestic combo of Plat, Gold and Blue.
I also just picked up the Citi Premier. With Chase dropping KE as a transfer partner, I'm not seeing the immediate benefit of jumping in right now where the extra benefits of the CSR are largely overlapped by my Plat/Gold combo. The Premier will cover international spend at a slightly reduced AF. But as the last 3 or 4 months have shown us, things can change pretty quickly in this game.
Why are you using referral links instead of affiliate links? Does one pay more than the other.
When the new perks were announced that was the first thing I thought. Cancel the everyday preferred
No you need a very healthy cash flow for that card ( all balances must be paid at end of month )
Since I fly non rev for free or almost free on most airlines I don’t need points but I love those supermarket and restaurant point toward your card balances on ghe preferered card ... ITS JUST A MATTER OF TASTE !!