Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express

Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express is a cashback card from American Express with a $95 annual fee, $300 back after $3,000 in 6 months, and good to excellent credit.

Why we like it

Its strongest earning category is Groceries at 6%, backed by 1% on general spending.

Earn elevated rewards with 6% on Groceries, 6% on Streaming and 3% on Gas, plus 1% on other purchases.

• 6.0% on groceries
• 6.0% on streaming
• 3.0% on transit
• 3.0% on gas
• 1.0% on other

Welcome offer

$300 back after $3,000 in 6 months

Bonus value estimate: $300* · Spend requirement: $3000 in 6 months

* Estimated dollar value based on point transfer rates and portal redemption. Actual value may vary depending on how you redeem your rewards.

People focused on cashback rewards who can justify a $95 annual fee and who typically have good to excellent credit.

Qualification snapshot

Recommended credit: Good to excellent credit. Published score range: 700-850.

Historical approval estimate in the current dataset: 65%

Pros

• $300 back after $3,000 in 6 months
• Potentially worthwhile if you use the card enough to cover the $95 annual fee
• Earns 6% on Groceries
• Earns 6% on Streaming

Tradeoffs

• Annual fee of $95 means you need ongoing value from the card
• Foreign transaction fee of 2.7% can hurt value abroad
• Typically requires good to excellent credit
• Base rewards on non-bonus spending are relatively modest