Amex Blue Cash Everyday vs. Blue Cash Preferred: Two top cards for everyday spending

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express both offer solid rewards on everyday purchases and some excellent new-cardholder incentives.

But depending on how you spend your money, one may have a clear edge over the other. Here’s what you need to know about both cards to help you determine which one is right for you.

The Amex Blue Cash Everyday has a $0 annual fee. Compare that to the Amex Blue Cash Preferred, which has a $0 annual fee for the first year, after which it will cost $95 annually.

If you want to avoid an annual membership fee for the long-term, the Amex Blue Cash Everyday is the better option.

Let’s break down the Amex Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred welcome offers:

• Amex Blue Cash Everyday: Earn a $200 statement credit after spending $2,000 within the first six months.

• Amex Blue Cash Preferred: Earn a $250 statement credit after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases in the first six months.

For overall earnings, the Blue Cash Preferred is the better option. It requires more spending to earn its welcome bonus, but six months of everyday purchases is likely more than enough time for many people to spend the minimum amount.

These cards have similar spending categories but vastly different earning potential. Here are the cash-back rewards rates for the Amex Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred:

The Blue Cash Preferred is generally the more rewarding option because of its higher cash-back rates. Although the available bonus categories on both cards are slightly different, the Blue Cash Preferred likely still has better earning potential for most people.

Both cards offer the same redemption options: You can trade in your rewards for a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.

If you’re interested in a 0% intro APR offer on purchases or balance transfers, you’re in luck — both the Amex Blue Cash Everyday and Blue Cash Preferred have them. Here’s how they stack up against each other:

• Amex Blue Cash Everyday: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, after which the standard APR applies.

• Amex Blue Cash Preferred: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, after which the standard APR applies.

The offers are nearly identical at first glance, but a second pass shows they differ in their offer period lengths. The Amex Blue Cash Everyday offers last 15 months (compared to 12 on the Blue Cash Preferred), giving you additional time to avoid interest charges on eligible purchases or qualifying balance transfers.

The main differences are that the Blue Cash Everyday has a Home Chef benefit (enrollment required), while the Blue Cash Preferred has return protection and extended warranty coverage.

In this comparison, we recommend the Blue Cash Preferred because its additional purchase protections are likely more useful to most potential cardholders than a Home Chef benefit.

The American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card could be worth considering if you spend less than $500 monthly on average in its bonus rewards categories. It could also be worthwhile if you already have Disney Bundle and Home Chef subscriptions or could get good use out of them after enrolling.

Something further to consider is that this is a better card for online shopping, as the Amex Blue Cash Preferred doesn’t have a bonus category for U.S. online retail purchases.

While the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card offers great rewards on several spending categories, you could make a case for applying with eligible grocery spending alone.

More specifically, if you spend $6,000 yearly at U.S. supermarkets, you’ll earn $360 in cash back on those purchases — that’s $180 more than what you’d get with the Blue Cash Everyday and almost double the Blue Cash Preferred’s annual fee.

The card is also beneficial if you spend a lot on U.S. streaming subscriptions or commute by public transit or car.

With multiple overlapping bonus rewards categories and benefits, applying for the Blue Cash Everyday and the Blue Cash Preferred doesn’t make much sense.

Instead, you’d likely want to pair either card with another cash-back credit card that offers a higher base rewards rate or different bonus categories that align with your spending habits. That way, you can ensure you consistently earn more than 1% back on your everyday spending.

If the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card and Blue Cash Preferred Card aren’t the right fit for reaching your personal finance goals, consider these other card offers.

Why we like it: The Freedom Unlimited has no annual fee and provides a higher base earning rate than either of the Amex Blue Cash cards. The rewards you earn have flexible redemption options, including travel, cash back, and gift cards. You can also take advantage of a 15-month 0% intro APR offer.

Read our full Chase Freedom Unlimited review

Why we like it: The Capital One Savor is one of the best cash-back credit cards for earning rewards on everyday purchases. Its bonus categories match many that the Blue Cash cards offer, but there’s no spending cap, so you can earn unlimited elevated rewards.

Read our full Capital One Savor Cash Rewards review

Why we like it: Consider the Capital One Venture Rewards if you prefer earning travel rewards on everyday purchases. With its high base rewards rate, you can quickly rack up miles on any type of eligible purchase, including groceries, gas, dining, streaming services, travel, rideshares, and more. As a travel credit card, the Venture Rewards doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.

Read our full Capital One Venture Rewards review

This article was edited by Alicia Hahn

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