American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card is among the best grocery credit cards, offering the highest rewards rates at American supermarkets. It provides an unlimited cashback offer and significant welcome offer on essentials like certain U.S. streaming subscriptions, petrol station purchases in the United States, and transit back. With this highly competitive card, almost everyone can discover a way to optimize their cash back on regular purchases.

The card has a $95 annual fee, which may be expensive for those who make small purchases. Additionally, the card offers 6% cash back at American supermarkets on yearly purchases of up to $6,000. It also offers 6% cash back on certain streaming services, a 3% cash back reward at gas stations and public transportation, and 1% cash back on all other eligible transactions. Reward Dollars are received in the form of cashback and can be redeemed for statement credits in addition to a respectable 0% APR offer on purchases. You will receive a 0% introductory APR on transactions and balance transfers during the first two months of account opening.

American Express Blue Cash Preferred® Benefits

Top-Notch Cashback Rewards— particularly at Streaming Services and Supermarkets: This card offers the highest percentage of cashback rewards for grocery and streaming services. Currently, it provides 6% cash back in American supermarkets on purchases up to $6,000 annually and a few specific services like Netflix, Hulu, and SiriusXM.

One-Time Offer: New cardholders benefit from a one-time offer. This is the most generous gift currently on the market and is easy to achieve. After making $3,000 in purchases with their new card during the first six months of card membership, new cardholders can receive $250 back. You will get a statement credit in the form of cashback.

0% introductory APR: All purchases made with this card have a 0% intro APR during the first year of membership. That could be helpful if you want to finance a large purchase and repay it before the introductory period ends. After the first year, the APR rises from a typical range of 18.24% to 29.24%.

American Express Blue Cash Preferred® Drawbacks

High Annual Fee: American Express provides new cardholders a first-year annual charge of $0. But after one year, there is a $95 annual fee. As a result, once you've received the generous first-year signup incentive and the introductory offer of no annual price, you'll need to use the card rather frequently to compensate for the $95 fee. You must spend a minimum of $31 per week on groceries and streaming services combined or $62 per week on transit or gas to pay for the fee within a year.

The Top Cash Back Rewards Exclude Warehouse Clubs and Superstores: Supermarkets like Target and Walmart and wholesale clubs like Costco or Sam's Club do not offer groceries or gasoline that are eligible for the 6% cash back category or 3% cash back. Instead, any purchases made at these only result in the standard 1% cashback.

Foreign Transaction Fee: Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express imposes a 2.7% transaction fee on foreign transactions. This fee is for all credit card transactions involving a foreign merchant or bank.

American Express Blue Cash Preferred® Rewards

Blue Cash Preferred Card has a one-time offer.

After making $3,000 purchases with your new American Express Blue Card, you will receive a $250 statement credit within the first six months.

That's a little investment for a significant reward. On a net basis for the year, the one-time offer represents a return of almost 10% on the card's first spend alone.

Compared to the statement credit you receive with the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card, representing cash in your pocket, other cards' one-time offers take the shape of points, a less tangible form of reward.

Earning Rewards

This card gives a 6% cash back reward at U.S. supermarkets with a $6,000 reward spending cap, 6% cashback on most U.S. streaming audio and video services, and 3% cash back on gas and transportation costs. A 1% cash back return is given for all other purchases.

To qualify for cashback benefits, make all streaming service payments from a retailer that accepts American Express. The list is extensive and includes the majority or all of the popular streaming video (Hulu, Netflix, HBO Now) and audio (Spotify, Apple Music).

Taxis, ferries, ride-sharing services, tolls, buses, subways, and parking are a few examples of transit purchases.

Redeeming Rewards

When cashback rewards reach $25 or more, they can be claimed as a statement credit. Cashback incentives are offered as reward dollars.

Who is the American Express Blue Card best for?

American Express Blue Cash Preferred card is considered best for people who frequently use streaming services or traditional supermarkets for grocery shopping. A record-breaking 6% of incentives are given for purchases in these segments. For instance, if you spent the maximum amount allowed at supermarkets ($6,000), you would receive cash back of $360, more than covering the $95 annual charge. You might earn an additional cashback of $36 each year if you spend $50 each month on streaming services such as Hulu, Netflix, HBO Now, Spotify, and ESPN+.

The Blue Card is also a good option for commuters because it offers 3% cashback on fuel and transit expenses.