At the moment American Express is offering increased welcome bonuses on two of its popular cash back personal credit cards. In a previous post, I reviewed the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (review), and in this post, I wanted to take a closer look at the other Blue Cash product that’s available.
6 Reasons to get the Blue Cash Everyday Card
In this post, I wanted to take a look at the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, and share six reasons you may want to consider this card. In no particular order:
No annual fee
The Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card has no annual fee (Rates & Fees). Not the first year, and not in any subsequent year either. Nowadays a lot of people are trying to minimize their credit card annual fees given all the uncertainty, and for that reason, this card could be lucrative.
$200 welcome bonus
The Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card is offering a welcome bonus of a $200 statement credit after spending $1,000 within three months. That’s basically cash in your pocket, and it’s a pretty solid bonus for a no annual fee card. This limited-time offer is available through December 10, 2020.
0% intro APR for 15 months
As part of its welcome bonus, the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card is offering 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months from the date of account opening. After that, there’s variable APR, currently between 13.99% - 23.99% (Rates & Fees).
This isn’t for everyone, and quite to the contrary, in general, I recommend avoiding financing purchases through credit cards. Then again, if a short term 0% APR opportunity can help you and you can pay off the amount before the interest rate increases, it’s an option at least worth being aware of.
3% cash back at U.S. Supermarkets
The Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card offers 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, on the first $6,000 spent every calendar year. Americans are increasingly spending money at supermarkets in light of the pandemic, and therefore this could be a useful bonus category.
Earning 3% cash back at supermarkets with no annual fee is solid.
Save money with the Amex Offers program
The Amex Offers program can save you money with a variety of retailers, just by registering your American Express card and then making an eligible purchase.
Different American Express cards are eligible for different offers, so in general I try to have as many Amex cards as possible to be able to take advantage of this program. Having no annual fee cards is ideal, since the card isn’t costing you anything, but you’re potentially going to save money.
Use no annual fee cards to improve your credit score
Having no annual fee cards long term is a great way to help improve and stabilize your credit score:
- 30% of your credit score is made up of your credit utilization, and the more credit you have available but don’t use, the better
- 15% of your score is made up of your credit history, and the older your average account age is, the better
My strategy is to get several no annual fee cards and keep them long term, since it can be beneficial for your credit score.
2 Reasons NOT to get the Blue Cash Everyday Card
While there are several reasons to consider the Blue Cash Everyday Card, there are also a couple of reasons to not get this card, or at least not apply outright for it. In no particular order:
Get the Blue Cash Preferred Card instead
If you generally like the idea of the Blue Cash Everyday Card, there might still be a better play here. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (review) is the premium version of the card, and there are some reasons to consider it:
- While the Blue Cash Preferred has a $95 annual fee, it’s waived for the first 12 months (Rates & Fees)
- The Blue Cash Preferred is offering a welcome bonus of a $300 statement credit after spending $3,000 within six months, which is better than the $200 statement credit offered on the Blue Cash Everyday
- The Blue Cash Preferred has more robust bonus categories, as it offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 of spending per year), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services, 3% cash back on transit, and 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations
Even if you’re someone who prefers a no annual fee card long term, there really is value to getting this card instead. You can get it for a year, and then if you’re not happy you should be able to downgrade it, giving you the best of both worlds.
There are better cash back cards for everyday spending
While there’s lots to like about the Blue Cash Everyday, it’s also not particularly well rounded if you’re looking for an all-in-one cash back credit card.
In addition to the 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets, the card offers:
- 2% cash back at U.S. gas stations
- 2% cash back at select department stores
- 1% cash back on everything else
1% cash back is pretty uncompetitive nowadays for savvy consumers. For example, the no annual fee Citi® Double Cash Card (review) offers 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase.
For your everyday spending you’ll come out ahead on that card vs. the Blue Cash Everyday, unless you spend a lot at supermarkets and not a lot elsewhere.
There are still some advantages to the Blue Cash Everyday, like the $200 welcome bonus, access to Amex Offers, and more.
Bottom line
If you’re looking for a no annual fee personal American Express cash back card, the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card is as good as it gets. The card offers up to 3% cash back at supermarkets and a $200 welcome bonus, plus it gives you access to Amex Offers.
The card isn’t for everyone, though, and for some it could make sense to instead consider the Amex Blue Cash Preferred Card.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).
