Ironically enough, many of the most rewarding credit cards out there have no annual fee. In this post I wanted to take a look at the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, which is an excellent card if you’re looking to earn Amex Membership Rewards points. For that matter, I’d consider this to be the best no annual fee personal Amex card.
In this post:
Amex EveryDay Card Details For May 2022
The Amex EveryDay Card is the only no annual fee personal credit card that earns Amex Membership Rewards points that can be transfered to airline and hotel partners. The card offers a welcome bonus, useful bonus categories for spending, and some potentially valuable perks.
Amex EveryDay Welcome Bonus
The standard welcome bonus on the Amex EveryDay Credit Card offers 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after spending $1,000 within three months. I value Amex points at 1.7 cents each, so to me that bonus is worth $170, which isn’t bad for a no annual fee card.
Note that for the purposes of earning the bonus and being approved, this is considered a separate product from the Amex EveryDay Preferred Card.
All the typical Amex application rules apply, including that you can have at most five Amex credit cards at a time. Anecdotally I find that for those with excellent credit, Amex cards are among the easiest to be approved for.
Amex EveryDay No Annual Fee
The Amex EveryDay Card has no annual fee for both the primary cardmember and additional users. There’s a lot of reasons this is potentially valuable:
- The card gives you access to Amex Offers, Amex’s refer-a-friend program, the Amex Rakuten partnership, and more, which can earn you cash back and points; you could basically be “making” money with a no annual fee card
- Holding onto credit cards long term is good for your credit score, so I always recommend getting as many no annual fee cards as possible for that purpose
- This is a good “hub” card for maintaining your Amex Membership Rewards points, since it allows you to always keep those points active without paying an annual fee; therefore this could also be a great card to downgrade to from another Amex card, if you don’t want to pay an annual fee
Amex EveryDay Points Earning Structure
The Amex EveryDay Card might not have an annual fee, but it still offers a great rewards structure. The card offers the following rewards on spending:
- 2x points at U.S. supermarkets, on the first $6,000 spent annually
- A 20% points bonus when you make 20 or more purchases per billing cycle
In other words, assuming you have at least 20 transactions per billing cycle, you’re earning:
- 2.4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets
- 1.2x Membership Rewards points on all other purchases
Based on my valuation of points, that’s like earning a ~4.1% return on U.S. supermarket spending, and a 2%+ return on everyday spending. That’s very competitive for a no annual fee card.
Is The Amex EveryDay Card Worth It?
The Amex EveryDay Card is a phenomenal no annual fee card for earning Amex Membership Rewards points, and it’s great for anyone wanting to get into miles & points without paying an annual fee.
While credit card super-users might not have this card at the front of their wallet, the card has a welcome bonus, and is potentially useful for grocery store and everyday spending. Having no annual fee cards can also be great for your credit score and offer lots of value long term, which is all the more reason to get it.
To help people decide if this card makes sense, I wanted to briefly compare this to the Amex EveryDay Preferred, talk about a similar Amex business card, and also discuss the best no annual fee card alternative.
Amex EveryDay Vs. Amex EveryDay Preferred
The Amex EveryDay Preferred Card (review) is the premium version of the Amex EveryDay Card, so how do the two cards compare?
- The EveryDay has no annual fee, while the EveryDay Preferred has a $95 annual fee
- The EveryDay offers 2x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000) and a 20% points bonus with 20 transactions per billing cycle, while the EveryDay Preferred offers 3x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000), 2x points at U.S. gas stations, and a 50% points bonus with 30 transactions per billing cycle
- Points earning structures aside, most of the other perks of the cards overlap, from Amex Offers, to the Amex refer-a-friend program, to points redemption opportunities
Which card is better for you depends entirely on how much spending you would direct onto these cards in the categories of U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and everyday spending.
The Best Amex Business Card Alternative
The most comparable business credit card to the Amex EveryDay Card is The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review). The card has no annual fee (Rates & Fees), and offers 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 spent every calendar year (and then 1x).
That’s incredible, given that it’s one of the best cards for everyday spending. Those Amex points can also be transferred to airline and hotel partners.
Citi Double Cash: The Best Alternative
If you’re looking for a no annual fee card that’s extremely rewarding, I think the Citi® Double Cash Card (review) is the other card to consider. While it’s completely different (in the sense that it doesn’t earn Amex points):
- The card is rewarding and flexible, as it offers 1% cash back when you make a purchase, and 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
- Rewards on the card can be converted into Citi ThankYou points in conjunction with the Citi Premier® Card (review), at the rate of one cent per point; that’s potentially a great deal, and a great combo for maximizing Citi ThankYou points
Bottom Line
For someone who wants a no annual fee card that offers generous rewards, the Amex EveryDay Card is one of the most lucrative personal cards in the market. The card earns Membership Rewards points that can be transferred to airline and hotel partners, and is one of only two no annual fee cards accruing “full” Membership Rewards points.
Even better is that the card earns up to 1.2x Membership Rewards points on everyday spending, which is better than many of Amex’s cards with annual fees.
When you consider all of the other perks to having no annual fee cards, along with the limited downside, I think this is a card that a lot more people should have. At a minimum, keep this card in the back of your mind as a potential downgrade option if you have another Amex card but no longer want to pay an annual fee.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).
Ah, the cover photo of an airline for a country that doesn't want us to visit. May as well call it Thai Airways II, since that's the only place US Citizens can travel to on that aircraft.
I downgraded my personal platinum to green last week to avoid the fee increase (I have 300K points). I wanted to downgrade to the blue everyday no fee card, but was told I would have to apply as a new account. NOT wanting the immediate hassle of unlocking my credit reports, I opted to go green. But I'll apply for the blue everyday and get rid of the green.
I’ve kept an eye on this card for years. Seems like a solid option.
Can you product change into this card from one of the Marriott Bonvoy Amex cards? My partner has 10+ years of history built up under that card from when it was an spg card and I don’t want her to lose it. If not, is there any other no fee Amex card she could product change into? Thanks!
Could you answer this question: if I get this card and then close an Amex Gold, will I keep the accumulated rewards from Gold and be able to transfer them to airlines at any time in the future? (Otherwise closing a Gold card requires using up all rewards first)
Hi there, I can answer this for you. Your one Amex account stores all points for all cards that earn Amex points so you can open this card and close the gold card. Currently I have every day, gold, and platinum cards and all cards earn points that get deposited into one Amex account. Hope this makes sense.
@Ben said, "...keep this card in the back of your mind as a potential downgrade option if you have another Amex card but no longer want to pay an annual fee." Note that you cannot downgrade to this card from the Green/Gold/Platinum cards, so if you are looking to get rid of any of those cards and use the EveryDay as a no AF option to keep your points active, you'll need to apply outright.