The Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express is worth it if you spend a good amount on U.S. supermarket purchases, U.S. streaming subscriptions, transit or U.S. gas stations — all common spending categories. Once you spend about $1,580 on groceries alone, you’ll have paid for the card’s annual fee once the intro period ends.

Since this card comes with a solid earning rate and generous welcome offer, this card will likely be worth it for people looking for a cash back card that covers many of their everyday expenses.

• Generous cash back rewards

  Earn 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 and on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more), 1% Cash Back on other purchases. Terms apply.

  Note that the card’s transit and streaming categories include a large number of vendors and services:
  

  Qualifying transit purchases

  Qualifying streaming purchases

  Trains, taxi cabs, ride-share services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, subways

  Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple Music, Apple TV+, Audible, DirecTV Stream (formerly known as AT&T TV or AT&T TV now), Disney+, ESPN+, Fubo TV, HBO Max, HBO (standalone streaming subscription only, formerly known as HBONow), Hulu, iHeartRadio, Kindle Unlimited, Luminary, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, Netflix, NHL.TV, Pandora, Peacock, Paramount+, Prime Video, Showtime, Sling TV, SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite, Spotify, Stitcher, TIDAL Music, YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Premium, YouTube TV

  If you max out the $6,000 spend threshold at U.S. supermarkets each year, you’ll earn $360 back annually on those purchases alone — which more than covers the card’s annual fee each year.

  You receive cash back on the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express in the form of reward dollars that you can redeem as a statement credit, with no minimum redemption amount.

• Valuable welcome offer

  Yet another reason to give this card a try: New cardmembers earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card within the first 6 months. We should note that this six months is a particularly notable benefit — in order to earn the welcome offer, most cards will require you to reach the spend threshold within just the first three months of card membership.

• Intro APR on purchases

  If you need to finance a big purchase, it’s helpful that the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express offers an intro APR of 0% on purchases for 12 months. After, a 18.99%-29.99% variable APR applies.

  Not every card offers an intro APR, so this can be a big pro for people that may not be able to pay off an entire balance right away. Its intro APR period is on the low end, however, as there are cards with 0% intro APRs for as long as 21 months.

• Limit on higher cash back rate

  After you spend $6,000 at U.S. supermarkets, the cash back you earn on the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express for that category drops from 6% to 1% for the rest of the year.

  Despite there being a cash back cap, it’s still a quite generous one. The average American spends $5,259 on groceries each year, according to 2022 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — so the cap is a bit above that.

• Annual fee

  This card charges an annual fee of $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95. If you spend $1,585 on purchases eligible for 6% cash back, you’ll earn enough to recoup amount of the annual fee.

  However, if you don’t spend enough in the cash back categories to make the annual fee worth it, you may prefer the Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express, which also earns rewards on purchases at U.S. supermarkets (though at a lower rate) and has a $0 annual fee.

  To see rates & fees for Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express please click here.

  To see rates & fees for Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express please click here.

• Foreign transaction fee

  When traveling abroad, it’s better to leave this card at home, because there’s a foreign transaction fee of 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. Many cards that offer annual fees don’t charge foreign transaction fees, so this is an uncommon exception.

  To see rates & fees for Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express please click here.

• Limited redemption options

  With the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express, you can only redeem your cash back as a statement credit. Some other cash back cards offer more flexibility with redemption options.

  For example, the Discover it^® Cash Back allows you to redeem your rewards for cash (a deposit into your bank account), PayPal and Amazon rewards, gift cards and charitable donations, on top of statement credits. The Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card lets you use cash back to offset recent purchases, withdraw from ATMs in $20 increments, gift cards and qualifying Wells Fargo checking accounts and mortgages — also on top of statement credits.

Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express vs. Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express

The Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express may be better if you don’t want to deal with an annual fee. It’s basically a toned-down version of the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express: You can earn 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 in purchases, then 1%. 1% cash back on other purchases. Terms apply. Like the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express, your rewards are redeemable for statement credits.

It’s a better option if you’re looking for an intro APR on purchases or balance transfers. It offers an intro APR of 0% on purchases for 15 months, then a 18.99%-29.99% Variable APR. It also offers an intro APR of 0% on balance transfers for 15 months, then a 18.99%-29.99% Variable APR.

But if groceries is a heavy spending category for you, then you may be better off with the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express despite the annual fee.

Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express vs. Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

If a card that rewards dining and entertainment, as well as grocery store purchases, is more your speed, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card could be a better fit for your needs.

It’s a better option for foodies than the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express, since it offers a bonus on both restaurants and grocery stores. You can earn 3% Cash Back on dining and entertainment; 3% Cash Back on popular streaming services; 3% Cash Back at grocery stores; 1% Cash Back on all other purchases. Earn 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases.

The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card also lets you earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. You can redeem your cash back for a larger variety of options, including statement credits, checks, credits toward previous purchases, and gift cards, or to shop online with PayPal using the PayPal Pay with Rewards feature.

Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express vs. Discover it^® Cash Back

If you don’t want to pay an annual fee and would rather earn bonus rewards in a variety of categories that change each quarter, then the Discover it^® Cash Back might be right for you. It lets you earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places each quarter like Amazon.com, grocery stores, restaurants, and gas stations, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases - automatically.

This card also offers its unique Unlimited Cashback Match – only from Discover. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300. This could be valuable if you’re a heavy spender, since you can earn a larger bonus by spending more.

However, the Discover it^® Cash Back‘s categories change each quarter and may not always match up with your spending. If you spend heavily at U.S. supermarkets all year long instead of just one quarter, then the Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express is likely a better fit.

The Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express offers one of the most generous cash back rewards around for purchases in the supermarket category. In addition, it’s a great choice for commuters — whether you travel by train, bus, or car — thanks to its transit and gas rewards. Just do the math and make sure you spend enough in the cash back categories to recoup the annual fee after the first year of having this card.

If you can’t match the annual fee, then a no-annual-fee grocery credit card may be the better way to go.