Amex Blue Cash Everyday Review: Lucrative Cash-Back Rewards With No Annual Fee

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Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Learn MoreRates & Fees

• Our Rating 4/5 How our ratings work
• APR18.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
• Annual Fee$0
• Welcome Bonus $200Cash Bonus More Info

  Earn $200 Back After you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership. You will receive the $200 back in the form of a statement credit. bonus_miles_full

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express offers good value among cash back rewards card competitors. Between its competitive grocery rewards rate and welcome offer, it’s easy to extract a lot of value from this card.

A No-Annual-Fee Powerhouse from Amex

The Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express is a cash back rewards card that offers a good balance of rewards and costs. It’s notable for a 3% top cash back rewards rate on bonus categories and no annual fee.

If you’re looking for a simple card to get cash back and earn a bonus on the popular groceries and gas categories, this card could fit your spending needs. Read more about the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card to decide if it deserves a coveted spot in your wallet.

Welcome Offer

After you’re approved for a new account, you should start using the card right away to ensure you earn the welcome offer: bonus_miles_full (Terms Apply). This will get you a $100 statement credit. The additional $150 you earn as statement credits by simply shopping with PayPal and using your new card to check out. You earn 20% back up to $150, which would require $750 in spend via PayPal.

For reference, that’s an average of about $333 per month to reach $2,000 on purchases. Some households spend enough on gas and groceries to easily cover that amount without any extra spending outside of your usual habits.

At the same time you’re earning credit for the welcome bonus offer, you also earn regular cash back rewards. If you spend the first $2,000 only on groceries, where you get the top 3% rewards rate, you earn an effective 8% cash back on your first $2,000 in purchases.

Product Image	Intro Bonus	Rewards Rate	Annual Fee	Product Link
card_name	bonus_miles	1% - 3%Cashback	annual_fees	Learn More Rates & Fees
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Apply Now	60,000Chase Ultimate Rewards Points More Info Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Dollar Equivalent: $1,320 (60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points * 0.022 base)	1x- 5xPoints More Info Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.	$95	Apply Now

Earning Rewards

This credit card shouldn’t go to the back of the drawer after you earn the bonus. It offers competitive rewards for everyday purchases, hence the “Everyday” name.

These are the primary rewards categories and rates for the card_name:

• 3% back at U.S. grocery stores up to $6,000 per year: After reaching $6,000, you’ll earn the standard 1% back. If you get the full $6,000 annual limit, you will earn $180 per year in reward from grocery purchases.
• 2% back on purchases at U.S. gas stations: There’s no limit to what you can earn in this category.
• 1% everywhere else: You’ll get a standard 1% back on all other purchases.

There are some cash back cards with a higher “everything else” rewards rate that may be worth considering as well. 1% back is somewhat standard as a base cash back rate among cash back cards with no annual fee, but some offer a little more here, often without the bonuses for gas and groceries.

Blue Cash Everyday Card Rewards

Let’s say you want to estimate your cash back rewards. Plug your numbers into this example to get an idea of what you could earn. Check your budget or past credit card statements to see a breakdown of your spending.

For this example, assume you spend $400 per month on groceries, $150 per month on gas and $1,200 on other purchases. Here’s how much you would earn per year:

• Groceries: $144 cash back
• Gas: $36 cash back
• Everything else: $144 cash back
• Total: $324

While it likely won’t make or break your financial situation, who wouldn’t want an extra $300 per year? If you primarily use a debit card with no rewards, moving to a cash back credit card offers several benefits, including getting paid for those regular trips to the store or your favorite online shopping website.

The rewards you earn from a cash back card typically only make sense when you can keep your balance under control and pay off the card in full monthly. If you know your spending habits would lead to credit card debt you can’t afford to pay off, it may be best to stick with that debit card. Otherwise, cash back rewards credit cards are a great way to boost your bank account.

Redeeming Rewards

Cash back rewards are redeemed in the form of a statement credit. That means your cash back rewards lower your credit card balance, so you don’t owe as much in the future. A dollar is a dollar, so a statement credit is a reasonable and good way to redeem rewards. Cash back doesn’t count toward your minimum payment due.

You’ll need to save up at least $25 in cash back rewards to redeem. Once you hit that level, you can open the Amex mobile app or head to AmericanExpress.com to log in and redeem. You can save up to redeem more at once, or redeem every time you hit the $25 threshold. Rewards don’t expire as long as you keep the account open and in good standing.

If you expected to see a bonus in your balance and only earned the 1% rate, check the seller category. Every merchant has a spending category assigned and not all places that sell groceries count as grocery stores, for example. Superstores, convenience stores, warehouse clubs and meal-kit delivery services are not considered supermarkets for bonus purposes. Similarly, superstores, supermarkets and warehouse clubs that sell gasoline are not considered gas stations.

Benefits and Perks

No annual fee credit cards typically don’t have the same insurance and protections you get from cards with an annual fee requirement. The Amex Blue Cash Everyday has a few nice additions, but the benefits are not extremely compelling.

• $7 back per month on the Disney Bundle. Get $7 back each month after using your Blue Cash Everyday Card to spend $13.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription to The Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. Enrollment required.
• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: When you pay for your car rental entirely with the card, you can waive the rental company’s expensive daily insurance coverage and trust American Express to have your back. This coverage insures the car but adds no additional liability coverage, so you should still drive carefully.
• 24/7 Global Assist® Hotline: When traveling at least 100 miles from home, you can call for help with basic emergencies, like a quick card replacement or referral to medical care. The hotline is free, but you have to pay for any costs charged by third parties.
• American Express Experiences: Access ticket presales and exclusive American Express member events through the American Express website. (I used this benefit to score great tickets to a Rolling Stones concert a few years ago.)

These are great benefits, notably the rental car insurance coverage and Disney Bundle credit. However, there are a couple of missing purchase coverage options this card is missing. These include purchase protection, extended warranty protection, price protection, return protection and cell phone protection coverage. If those protections were added, this card would be more compelling.

Costs and Fees

As we’ve mentioned a few times, you can use this card entirely for free. Here’s a rundown of the fee schedule, so you know what to look out for:

• Cash advances: 5% fee ($10 minimum) for cash advance transactions. Because of the added fee and higher interest rate for cash advances, it’s best to avoid them. Also, be aware that some gift card purchases or cryptocurrency account deposits may count as cash advances, so be careful when using the card to buy cash equivalents.
• Foreign transactions: If you travel outside of the United States regularly, this card may not be the best fit, as there’s a 2.7% foreign transaction fee added to each purchase not made in the United States in US dollars. This fee is on par with other cards requiring a foreign transaction fee. Many travel rewards cards come with no foreign transaction fee.
• Late payments: Never pay your bill late, as it impacts your credit score and could put you into default. Plus, you’ll owe a $40 fee. It’s best to always pay on time regardless to help your credit and keep costs low. Automatic payments help you avoid paying late if it’s an issue for you.
• Returned payments: If your check or electronic payment is returned for insufficient funds, you’ll have to pay a $40 fee to Amex. Always make sure you have enough cash in the bank when you make a payment or your automatic payment goes through.

Interest rates vary based on your credit history and current market conditions. Rates are variable and can change at any time. Late or returned payments may trigger a higher default interest rate for at least six months. But again, to emphasize how important it is, if you pay off the card in full every month by the due date, you never have to pay any interest.

American Express Blue Cash Everyday Alternatives

If you’re not completely sold, consider these Blue Cash Everyday alternatives, all with no annual fee and cash back rewards:

Citi Custom Cash® Card

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Secure application on issuer’s website

Rates & Fees

• Our Rating 4.5/5 How our ratings work
• APR18.49% - 28.49% (Variable)
• Annual Fee$0
• Sign-Up Bonus $200Cash Bonus More Info

  Earn $200 in cash back after you spend $1500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

The Citi Custom Cash® Card, from our partner Citi, has a novel approach to rewarding spending. It offers impressive cash back on purchases made in your top eligible spending category each month, up to a monthly spend cap—no activation required.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®

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Secure application on issuer’s website

• Our Rating 4.5/5 How our ratings work
• APR19.99% - 28.74% (Variable)
• Annual Fee$0
• Bonus Offer 1.5%Extra Cash Back More Info

  Earn an extra 1.5% on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) — worth up to $300 cash back. That's 6.5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 4.5% on dining and drugstores, and 3% on all other purchases.

We like that the card offers a high flat rewards rate but also provides accelerated rewards on some common everyday spending categories. You’ll also get access to the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel portal, which allows you to use your cash-back earnings for travel rewards, gift cards and more. If you make this your primary card for most purchases you can quickly rack up a lot of rewards.

Is the Blue Cash Everyday Worth It?

For fans of cash back with no annual fee, the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express could be a good fit. The opportunity to earn 3% back on groceries and 2% back on gas – plus the $200 welcome bonus for new users – is a great way to earn cash back where you may already spend most.

While groceries and gas fit nicely into many peoples' budgets, it's still best to consider a few similar cards before deciding on the Blue Cash Everyday card. After all, one of its competitors' bonus categories might align better with your spending habits.

If you’re looking to maximize your rewards, you may even want to combine two or more cards to get the best bonus rates possible. But if you prefer to keep it simple with an easy-to-use cash back card from a reputable credit card company, the Blue Cash Everyday card might be a good choice.

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