Blue Cash Preferred Review

The Blue Cash Preferred card annual fee is $0 intro 1st yr, $95 after. Blue Cash Preferred's $95 annual fee, which starts the second year, is higher than the average annual fee among new credit card offers right now. It's not the only fee you need to worry about with the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, either.

Blue Cash Preferred Fees

• Annual Fee: $0 intro 1st yr, $95 after
• Cash Advance Fee: 5% (min $10)
• Foreign Fee: 2.7%
• Max Late Fee: $40

The best Blue Cash Preferred benefits are rental car insurance and extended warranty. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express card also has instant card numbers and lowest hotel rates guarantee, which are more common perks across American Express cards.

Blue Cash Preferred Card Benefits

• Rental car insurance
• Extended warranty
• Instant card numbers
• Lowest hotel rates guarantee
• Purchase protection
• Global Assist (an emergency card  assistance hotline)
• Return protection
• Free ShopRunner membership (for free shipping with participating online merchants; enrollment required)

Along with these benefits, the Blue Cash Preferred card has a $95 annual fee ($0 for the first year) annual fee and gives rewards on all purchases. As long as you have good credit, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is certainly a card to consider adding to your wallet.

The Amex Blue Cash Preferred supermarkets list includes Gristedes, Foodtown, Meijer, Shoprite, Stop and Shop, Vons, Whole Foods and Winn-Dixie. These U.S.-based supermarket chains all earn 6% cash back on the first $6,000 in combined purchases charged to the Blue Cash Preferred card each calendar year. Online supermarkets such as FreshDirect also get 6% cash back, up to the combined limit. To qualify, purchases must be classified with the merchant category code for supermarkets and grocery stores.

According to the Amex website, the Blue Cash Preferred supermarkets list is not exhaustive, meaning that similar supermarket chains located in the U.S. may also earn 6% cash back. Retailers such as Target and Walmart, however, are not considered supermarkets, making them ineligible for the bonus rewards. Other excluded merchants include warehouse clubs, specialty food stores, gourmet stores, convenience stores and more.

To find out if a merchant qualifies for 6% cash back, take a look at a recent billing statement and check the merchant category code listed with each transaction. On the Blue Cash Preferred card, you should see “Grocery Stores” under each eligible purchase.

The Blue Cash Preferred foreign transaction fee is 2.7%. This is the surcharge applied to all transactions made outside of the U.S. That includes both purchases in another country and stateside transactions through an internationally-based merchant.

American Express Blue Cash Preferred foreign transaction fees and more:

• Foreign transaction fee: 2.7%
• When the foreign transaction fee applies: On all transactions outside of the U.S. and through an internationally-based merchant.
• Annual Fee: $0 intro 1st yr, $95 after.
• Introductory APR: 0% for 12 months on purchases.
• Cash advance fee: 5% (min $10) of the balance.
• Maximum Late Fee: $40
• Regular APR: 14.74% - 24.74% (V)

All American Express cards with foreign transaction fees charge 2.7%. This includes the Blue Cash Preferred's companion card, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. The percentage other issuers apply to foreign transactions varies, but will range from 1%-3%. However, there are major issuers, like Capital One and USAA, that charge no foreign transaction fees on any of their cards.

The Blue Cash Preferred is ideal for everyday purchases. But it may not be the best option for travel. It offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 spent per year), 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% back at U.S. gas stations and on transit, and 1% back on all other purchases, earned as statement credits. There's also a $300 statement credit for spending $3,000 in the first 6 months. Cash back rewards can be redeemed for statement credits, gift cards and merchandise. The Blue Cash Preferred's annual fee is $0 intro 1st yr, $95 after.

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express credit score requirement is 700 or better. That means people with good credit or better have a shot at getting approved for the Blue Cash Preferred Card.

You should note that while your credit score is an important factor, there are plenty of other things that will impact your chances of being approved for the Blue Cash Preferred Card, too. Some other key criteria include your income, existing debt load, number of open accounts, recent credit inquiries, employment status, and housing status.

If you excel in other areas, you might be able to get approved with a slightly lower credit score in some cases. But it's best to wait to apply until you meet the Blue Cash Preferred credit score requirement. You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub.

Yes, Blue Cash Preferred is worth it for cardholders who spend enough to recoup the value of the card's $95 annual fee (waived the first year) in rewards earnings. The easiest way to do that is by spending $3,000 within 6 months of opening an account. That will trigger the card's $300 initial bonus (earned as a statement credit), which will help offset the annual fee for a couple of years.

Here's how to make the most of Blue Cash Preferred:

The Blue Cash Preferred card will continue to be worth it if you consistently charge purchases to the card after meeting the initial bonus offer, especially in its bonus rewards categories. With this card, you earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 spent per year), 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% back at U.S. gas stations and on transit, and 1% back on all other purchases, earned as statement credits.

Ultimately, the best way to figure out if Blue Cash Preferred is worth it is to figure out how much you spend in each category per year, determine how much you would earn in rewards based on that, and then compare the rewards value to the annual fee. If you break even or make money, the card is worth it. If not, you should consider a cheaper card.

Unfortunately, there is no longer a Blue Cash Preferred department stores bonus. The card used to offer 3% cash back at select department stores, but it ended that bonus category in July 2019.

Here's what you get with the Blue Cash Preferred card:

If you want a card that offers bonus cash back at department stores, consider the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. It gives 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 spent per year), 2% back at U.S. gas stations and select U.S. department stores, and 1% back on all other purchases, earned as statement credits. The Amex Blue Cash Everyday card has a $0 annual fee.

To log in to your Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express card account, go to the login page on the American Express website or mobile app and enter your username and password in the appropriate fields. Then, click the “Log In” to access your online account. If you don't already have an account, you will need to start by clicking “Create New Online Account” in order to set up a username and password.

How to Log in to a Blue Cash Preferred Credit Card Account

1. Register your Blue Cash Preferred credit card for online account access. Click “Create New Online Account” and enter your card number and 4-digit card ID to verify your credit card account.
2. Choose your Blue Cash Preferred card username and password. The username must be between 5 and 20 characters, including special characters, but no spaces. The password must contain from 8 to 20 characters and have at least one letter and one number. The password is not case sensitive and may contain special characters.
3. Log in with your new Blue Cash Preferred card credentials. From the login page on the American Express website or mobile app, fill out the User ID and Password fields using your new credentials, and click “Log In” to access your account.

After you have signed up and logged in, you'll be able to manage your Blue Cash Preferred card account online. You can pay your credit card bill, see credit card statements, monitor account activity, and change account information such as passwords and automatic payments.

If you forget your login information, click “Forgot User ID or Password?” on the American Express login page. Then, just follow the prompts to reset or retrieve your username or password.

These are the Blue Cash Preferred card's rewards:

Blue Cash Preferred is a great rewards card choice for people who usually spend on groceries, streaming services, transit purchases and gas. It's not for everyone, though, because you need at least good (700+) credit in order to get approved.

Yes, Blue Cash Preferred does have a bonus of 6% cash back on Amazon Music, as part of the card's bonus rewards on streaming services. All other Amazon purchases earn only 1% back, since they don't fall into any of the Blue Cash Preferred card's bonus categories.

More info about the Blue Cash Preferred Amazon bonus:

Keep in mind that grocery purchases from Amazon do not count toward the “supermarkets” bonus category. Plus, Amazon Prime, and its video streaming service Amazon Prime Video, are not included in the “streaming services” category.

So, if you have an Amazon Music subscription, it's a good idea to charge it to your Blue Cash Preferred card. But you may want to consider using a different credit card for normal Amazon purchases. You'll earn more rewards with the Amazon.com Store Card or the Amazon.com Credit Card.  

It's also good to note that while some Amex cards allow you to redeem rewards directly for Amazon purchases, that's only available with points cards. You can't do it with cash back cards like Blue Cash Preferred.