by Daniel | Last Updated March 9th, 2021
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So today I am going to review the American Express Blue Cash Preferred credit card and go over some of the benefits that it has.
So the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card is a great Cash Back card.
Basically, it rewards you with cashback as opposed to rewards points like some other cards do.
This card is especially good for people who don’t travel much as you can utilize the cashback in statement credits, gifts cards, or use it when shopping.
First up the Card has an Annual Fee of $0 for the first year and then for the second year, it will be $95.
This is a nice initial offer and a great way to get into credit cards as it won’t cost you anything for the first year as long as you pay off your credit on time.
Along with this, you will also earn a $300 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in the first 6 months of opening the account.
Next up and one of the main benefits of the card is the rewards you receive for using the card.
To begin with, you will earn 6% cash back at US supermarkets up to a total of $6,000 per year.
You will also get 6% cash back on select US streaming subscriptions, so you pretty much earn cashback just by watching your favorite shows!
Next up you will receive 3% cashback on transit such as taxis, rideshares, trains, busses, parking, and tolls.
You will also get 3% cash back at US gas stations.
Any other purchases will receive 1% cashback.
So with the cashback that you get with this card, you have 3 different redemption options which can all be used once your cashback balance is more than $25.
First of all, you can choose to receive a statement credit.
Second, you can redeem the cashback by way of a gift card.
Or you can spend the cashback when you are shopping.
I personally would recommend receiving the cashback in way of a statement credit, as you can use the card to pay for gift cards and earn even more cashback.
So these are all of the cashback benefits that you can receive with the card, Let’s now have a looks at some of the perks that come with the card.
The first benefit you will get is car rental loss and damage insurance.
This is a nice extra that you can use when you hire a rental car, and it will actually save you some money!
To take advantage of it you will need to use your card to reserve and pay for the entire car rental, then you can decline the collision damage waiver that is offered by the rental agency.
The Amex Blue Cash preferred card will cover damage or theft for a vehicle in a covered territory.
Another benefit that comes with the card that is quite useful is the return protection.
Basically American Express will give you return protection on eligible items for up to 90 days after you purchase a product if the seller won’t take it back.
And it is valid for up to $300 per item and for a total of $1000 per calendar year.
Just make sure that if you want to use this benefit the item must be fully paid for with your Amex card.
One thing to note is that this card does have a foreign transaction fee of 2.7%, so if you do travel a fair amount it may not be the best card for you.
So, in my opinion, the American Express Blue Cash Preferred credit card is a pretty good deal and great for anyone who is new to credit cards as you get the first year of card ownership for free.
This gives you a chance to use the card and see if it is suitable for your situation without having to pay for it.
And if you don’t like it you can always cancel it before the year is up so you are not charged the annual for the following year.
Just note that if you do cancel the card it will forfeit any rewards cashback balance that you do have.