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Updated March 15, 2019

Blue Cash Preferred Review: Worth Annual Fee?

Read more about American Express, a CreditDonkey advertiser
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by the card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of the issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the issuer.
Ad Disclosure: This article contains references to products from our partners. We receive compensation if you apply or shop through links in our content. You help support CreditDonkey by using our links. (read more)

If you are looking to get cashback rewards on common household categories like purchases at U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations, consider the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. Amex created the Preferred card as an upgrade to the Blue Cash Everyday.

Blue Cash Preferred
Apply Now

Overall Score

3.9

Rewards

4.5

Interest Rates

3.0

Fees

4.0

Benefits

4.0
5-point scale (the higher, the better)

Pros and Cons

  • 6% at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6k/year in purchases, then 1%)
  • 3% at U.S. gas stations
  • Bonus cash back promotional offer
  • Annual fee
  • Not a Visa/MasterCard

Bottom Line

Excellent cash back credit card for families

Attention Shoppers

American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card earns 1% Cash Back on most categories and has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95 (See Rates & Fees). Nothing to get excited too about, right?

But here's the kicker: for certain purchases, you have the potential to earn a lot more...

Note: Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed for statement credits.

(See more benefits)

For practical families, this is one of our favorite credit cards for groceries and gas.

Who This Card Is Good For

  • Weekly grocery shoppers: Do you always find yourself spending too much on groceries?

    If you have many mouths to feed, you'll enjoy the boost you'll get with this card's 6% cash back on items you're probably already buying at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 worth of purchases, then 1%).

  • Commuters: Do you drive to work?

    Some cards give you extra rewards on gas but only for 3 months out of the year. With this card, you get 3% back for what you pay at the pump at U.S. gas stations year-round.

Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.

What credit score do you need?
Typically, AMEX has higher credit score requirements. Most Blue Cash Preferred cardholders have good to excellent credit scores over 700.

Why This Card

Is the annual fee worth it? Families who spend a lot on groceries and gas find that the rewards more than make up for the annual fee. Even if you spend just $100 a week at U.S. supermarkets, that will give you $312 in cash back per year. Generally, we say this card is worth it if you spend more than $264 per month at U.S. supermarkets.

Supermarket List

You might be wondering what exactly qualifies as a "U.S. supermarket".

American Express considers a supermarket to be a store that offers a variety of food and household products, including produce, meat, and dairy as well as cleaners and pet food.

Chances are if a store sells clothes and electronics in addition to groceries, it is not - in Amex's view - a supermarket. So-called "big-box stores" (like Wal-Mart and Target), online superstores (like Amazon), and warehouses (like Costco) are NOT considered supermarkets. Your mom-and-pop corner convenience store or specialty shop that only sells cheese or meat are also NOT considered supermarkets. Retailers that qualify include Whole Foods, Meijer, Shoprite, Winn-Dixie, Stop and Shop, Vons, Pathmark, and online supermarket FreshDirect, among others.

Foreign transaction fee: Blue Cash Preferred has a foreign transaction fee of 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars (See Rates & Fees). So it's not the best choice to take abroad. If you're a frequent traveler, check out these credit cards with no foreign transaction fee.

Gas Station List

The good news about this card's cash back for gas station purchases is it goes beyond just gas. If the gas station you frequent also has a convenience store, consider using your Amex both at the pump and inside the store to get your milk or other last-minute items.

Amex views qualifying gas stations as those in the United States that primarily sell gasoline, so supermarkets (like Safeway) and warehouse clubs (like Costco) do NOT fall under this category even if they have their own pumps. Shell, Mobil, Hess, Exxon, Gulf, and Murphy are some examples of gas stations where you can get 3% back with this card.

Streaming Subscriptions List

Earn 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions. You can earn cash rewards for purchase made from these specific providers:

  • Amazon Music
  • Apple Music
  • Audible
  • Paramount Plus
  • Direct TV Now
  • ESPN+
  • Fubo TV
  • HBO Now
  • Hulu
  • iHeartRadio
  • Kindle Unlimited
  • MLB.TV
  • NBA League Pass
  • Netflix
  • NHL.TV
  • Pandora
  • Prime Video Unlimited
  • Showtime
  • Sling TV
  • SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite
  • Spotify
  • YouTube Music Premium
  • YouTube Premium
  • YouTube TV

Note: If your subscription is bundled with another product or service or billed by a third party (such as a digital platform, a cable, telecommunications, or internet provider, or a car manufacturer), your purchase may not be eligible.

Pros:

Cons:

  • $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95
  • Not as widely accepted as Visa/Mastercard
  • 2.7% foreign transaction fee

How it Compares

With the Blue Cash Preferred, you have the potential to earn at least $360 a year in rewards just for doing your regular grocery shopping (if you spend at least $500 per month at U.S. supermarkets).

If you want a no annual fee credit card:
For a side-by-side comparison, here is how the Blue Cash Preferred stacks up against the Blue Cash Everyday, it's no annual fee sibling (See Rates & Fees).

Blue Cash Preferred vs Blue Cash Everyday: Blue Cash Everyday has no annual fee, but earns less rewards. It gives 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases), instead of 6%. If you spend less than $264/month at U.S. supermarkets, then consider the no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday.

If you want to earn Membership Reward points (instead of cash back):
American Express Gold
Apply for American Express Gold Card
You may want to consider the American Express Gold Card (review), which earns Membership Rewards points.

Why would you want Membership Rewards points instead of cash back? Well if you like to travel, you can transfer Membership Reward points to a number of airline transfer partners and hotel partners. To learn more, read our beginner's guide to airline miles.

Compared to the Blue Cash Preferred card, the American Express Gold Card has the edge in terms of how rewards can be used (see Blue Cash Preferred vs American Express Gold for an in-depth comparison).

Bottom Line:

In our opinion, families who spend a lot on purchases at U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations should consider the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card. Since this card charges an annual fee, you need to use your card often to justify this cost.

If you do not pay by credit card often, you are better off with the no annual fee American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card. Remember, as with all credit card offers, terms and limitations apply.

Next Step: View the issuer's official application, terms, and details

David R is a contributing writer at CreditDonkey, a credit card comparison and reviews website. Write to David R at davidr@creditdonkey.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest posts.

Note: This website is made possible through financial relationships with some of the products and services mentioned on this site. We may receive compensation if you shop through links in our content. You do not have to use our links, but you help support CreditDonkey if you do.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by American Express. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser's affiliate programs.

Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser's affiliate programs.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express Gold card, please click here.


Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
Apply for Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express
At American Express' Secure Site
  • Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
  • $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
  • Buy Now, Pay Later: Enjoy $0 intro plan fees when you use Plan It® to split up large purchases into monthly installments. Pay $0 intro plan fees on plans created during the first 12 months from the date of account opening. Plans created after that will have a monthly plan fee up to 1.33% of each eligible 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% on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable APR of 19.24% - 29.99%. Variable APRs will not exceed 29.99%.
  • 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%).
  • 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions.
  • 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations.
  • 3% Cash Back on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more).
  • 1% Cash Back on other purchases.
  • Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit.
  • Get up to $120 in statement credits annually when you pay for an auto-renewing subscription to Equinox+ at equinoxplus.com with your Blue Cash Preferred® Card. That's $10 in statement credits each month. Enrollment required.
  • Thinking about getting the Disney Bundle which can include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+? Your decision made easy with $7/month back in the form of a statement credit after you spend $9.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription (subject to auto renewal) with your Blue Cash Preferred® Card. Enrollment required.
  • Terms Apply.
  • See Rates & Fees
  • Go to issuer's official application, terms, and details
Intro APR for PurchasesIntro APR for Balance TransferRegular APRAnnual Fee
0% on purchases for 12 months
0% on balance transfers for 12 months
19.24% - 29.99% Variable
$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95

Compare Blue Cash Preferred to:

Compare Blue Cash Preferred vs Blue Cash Everyday
Apply for Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express
At American Express' Secure Site
  • Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
  • No Annual Fee.
  • Balance Transfer is back! Enjoy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months from the date of account opening. After that, 19.24% to 29.99% variable APR.
  • 3% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%.
  • 3% Cash Back on U.S. online retail purchases, on up to $6,000 per year then 1%.
  • 3% Cash Back at U.S. gas stations, on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%.
  • Thinking about getting the Disney Bundle which can include Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+? Your decision made easy with $7/month back in the form of a statement credit after you spend $9.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription (subject to auto renewal) with your Blue Cash Everyday® Card. Enrollment required.
  • Enjoy up to $15 back per month when you purchase a Home Chef meal kit subscription (subject to auto renewal) with your enrolled Blue Cash Everyday® Card.
  • Terms Apply.
  • See Rates & Fees
Intro APR for PurchasesIntro APR for Balance TransferRegular APRAnnual Fee
0% on Purchases for 15 months
0% on Balance Transfers for 15 months
19.24% - 29.99% Variable
$0

Compare Blue Cash Preferred vs Chase Sapphire Preferred
Apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
At Chase's Secure Site
  • Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
  • Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, and 2x on all other travel purchases, and $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, plus more.
  • Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
  • Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024.
  • Member FDIC
Intro APR for PurchasesIntro APR for Balance TransferRegular APRAnnual Fee
N/AN/A
21.49% - 28.49% Variable
$95
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