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One of the best cash back credit cards on the market is The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.
It earns an incredible 6% cash back on the first $6,000 in purchases spend on U.S. supermarket purchases during the calendar year (then 1%) which makes it great for anyone that spends around $500 per month in the category.
The Blue Cash Preferred Card also earns bonus cash back on several other top categories such as popular streaming services, U.S. gas stations, and transit purchases.
The Blue Cash Preferred Card earns 6% cash back on up to $6,000 in U.S. supermarket spend per year. After the cap is reached, you'll earn at the non-category rate of 1% cash back for the remainder of the calendar year.
Superstores, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, and meal-kit delivery services are not considered supermarkets.
6% U.S. Streaming Services
The Blue Cash Preferred Card earns 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions. Eligible streaming services include:
Amazon Music Unlimited
Apple Music
Apple TV+
Audible
DirecTV Stream (formerly known as AT&T TV or AT&T TV NOW)
Disney+
ESPN+
Fubo TV
HBO Max
HBO (standalone streaming subscription only, formerly known as HBONow)
Hulu
iHeartRadio
Kindle Unlimited
Luminary
MLB.TV
NBA League Pass
Netflix
NHL.TV
Pandora
Paramount+
Peacock
Prime Video
Showtime
Sling TV
SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite
Spotify
Stitcher
TIDAL Music
YouTube Music Premium
YouTube Premium
YouTube TV
3% U.S. Gas Station
The Blue Cash Preferred Card earns 3% cash back on U.S. gas station purchases. Examples incldue Murphy USA, Exxon, Speedway, and Shell.
Superstores, supermarkets, and warehouse clubs that sell gasoline are not considered gas stations.
3% Transit
The Blue Cash Preferred Card earns 3% cash back on transit purchases. Transit includes, but is not limited to:
Trains
Taxi cabs
Ride share services
Ferries
Tolls
Parking
Buses
Subways
1% Everything Else
All other purchases made on the Blue Cash Preferred Card earns 1% cash back.
As a Blue Cash Preferred Card member, you can enjoy complimentary ShopRunner Membership which gives you free 2-day shipping and free returns at 100+ stores. Enrollment required.
American Express Benefits
The Blue Cash Preferred Card comes with several American Express benefits including:
Amex Send & Split
Pay It Plan It®
American Express Experiences
American Express Presale
American Express Seating
AMEX Offers (Enrollment Required)
Travel & Purchase Protections
The Blue Cash Preferred Card features both travel and purchase insurance which includes:
Cash back earned with personal American Express credit cards are referred to as reward dollars.
Reward dollars are worth face value and can be used for statement credits when you have at least 25 reward dollars in your account. If you have less than 25 reward dollars in your account, you will not be able to redeem your rewards.
Cash Back Calculator
Calculate cash back for the Blue Cash Preferred based on spend and compare results alongside any of the 200+ cards featured on the site.
Any spend entered into the primary card column (the first column) will carry over to all credit card calculators on the site, so there's no need to re-enter spend when viewing other credit cards.
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Credit Cards
Use this section to add credit cards to the calculator. You can search for a card or go through our top recommendations for each category.
Once you select a card, you'll be shown the details of the card. Any link you click on in the details will open up in a new tab, so you will not lose your calculations.
Clicking on Add Selected Card will add it to the calculator.
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Add a credit card to compare side by side based on spend, benefits and fees.
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Family Cards
These cards are part of the same family and generally earn the same type of rewards.
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Travel Cards
Travel credit cards are great for building rewards redeemable towards a wide variety of travel including airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more. Most travel cards also offer a range of benefits that can make your trips more enjoyable and save you money.
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Cash Back Cards
Cash back is one of the most flexible form of rewards and most easy to understand. Rewards earned are worth face value and they can be used towards almost anything.
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Business Cards
Put money back into your business by earning cash back, points, or miles on business expenses. Many cards also offer travel insurance, purchase protection, and more.
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Airline Cards
These are the best credit cards if you're looking to use rewards towards award flights. Some of these cards also offer various benefits such as lounge access the ability to earn qualifying miles through spending.
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Hotel Cards
If you're looking to use rewards towards free nights at hotels, these are the best cards for you. Many of these cards also offer great benefits such as annual free nights, complimentary elite status, and more.
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No Annual Fee
If you're looking to minimize your immediate costs while still earning plenty of value, you may want to consider a credit card with no annual fee. Some of these cards also offer lower interest rates and balance transfer offers.
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Intro Bonus:
Annual Fee:
Authorized User Fee:
Bonus Categories:
Loyalty & Memberships
Loyalty: When adding hotel rewards cards (and a select few others) you'll be able to factor in the points earned from elite status. If a card offers complimentary status, the proper status will be selected by default.
Loyalty is reflected by a blue LOY image. Adding a card with loyalty attached to it will add it to the calculator. It becomes its own entity once added to the calculator and can be removed independent of the card that added it.
Membership: If a card offers any kind of bonus rewards based on your membership in a program, the option will be listed here. Do note that some options calculate automatically.
Welcome Bonus: Any welcome bonuses that changes the earning rates of a card will also be listed here. This allows you to toggle the bonus on or off.
Category Spending
Use this section to enter how much you plan on spending either monthly or yearly across different categories for each card listed.
You can click on the option button for access to a lot of useful tools you can use to quickly adjust spending for the calculator.
Change the order of the categories in the Category Spending section. This has an impact on cards that have spend limits and bonus caps on categories.
Resets all fields in the Category Spending section for all columns. Also clears all saved spend values that carry from calculator to calculator.
Add Categories
Search for categories and click 'Add Category' to add it to the calculator. If you want to be more specific, you can specify domestic or international spend.
Type at least 3 characters.
Currently Selected:
Spend Region:
Category Spending Total
The amount of rewards earned from card spending.
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Rewards & Bonuses
If a card earns bonus points, miles, or cash back, it will be listed here. You'll be able to edit or toggle on/off most bonuses listed here.
Do note that some bonuses may be automatically calculated based on spend entered in the Category Spending section.
If you want to factor in an intro or welcome bonus, you can also do that here by entering it in the Extra Value field. You can click on View Offers when applicable to see current sign up bonuses for all top credit cards by category.
Extra Value
Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.
Extra Value
Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.
Extra Value
Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.
Rewards & Bonus Total
The amount of rewards earned from card bonuses.
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Total Rewards
This is the total of all points, miles, and cash back earned between Loyalty/Memberships, Category Spending, and Reward Bonuses.
This is how much we value the rewards earned with the card on average based on our valuations. Cards that may offer bonus/additional value are reflected here.
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Transfers To Partners
Redemptions to do with transferring rewards to partner loyalty programs and redeeming them for high value (when applicable). These redemption values typically require knowledge of the best transfer partners.
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Cash Back, Statement Credits
Redemptions to do with turning your rewards into cash back or using it as a statement credit to offset purchases made to the card.
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Travel
Redemptions to do with using your rewards towards travel such as airfare, hotels, and car rentals (not including transfers to partners).
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Gift Cards
Redemptions to do with using your rewards towards the purchase of gift cards.
The total amount of rewards earned from the Category Spending and Rewards & Bonuses sections.
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Currency Worth
Enter how much you value a single rewards point or mile in cents or regional currency equivalent (X.XX). The value of cash back cannot be changed.
Rewards Cash Value
The average cash value of rewards earned in the Grand Total section based on the set Currency Worth.
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Monetary Bonuses
This section lists all monetary bonuses. This includes annual credits and top-tier benefits that can offer great monetary value.
If there's a perk or benefit missing that you find valuable, you can add how much you value it in the Extra Cash Value field.
Extra Cash Value
Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.
Extra Cash Value
Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.
Extra Cash Value
Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.
Total Cash Value
The total cash value of all listed benefits plus the cash value of rewards earned.
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Fees
With great benefits comes great annual fees. If a card has a fee that you have to pay annually (or monthly in rare cases), it will be listed here. You have the ability to change it.
If the card charges a fee for adding authorized users, it will also appear in this section.
Annual Fee
This is the fee you must pay annually to have the card.
Authorized User Fee
This is the cost to add additional users or supplemental cards to the account. Enter total amount of authorized users.
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Total Card Value
This is the total cash value of each listed card when factoring in all rewards and all fees.
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FAQ
Is the AMEX Blue Cash Preferred a charge card?
No. It is a credit card.
Is the Blue Cash Preferred or Blue Cash Everyday better?
This will depend on your credit card spend. The Blue Cash Preferred is the better option if you spend more than $270 in U.S. supermarkets purchases.
Is the AMEX Blue Cash Preferred worth it?
The card is easily worth it if you spend between $300 and $500 on at U.S. supermarkets.
What can you use AMEX cash back for?
Cash back earned with AMEX credit cards are referred to as Reward Dollars and can be used for statement credits.
Does AMEX cash back expire?
No. Rewards earned with AMEX are good as long as you have an active account and you're in good standing.
Can you get pre-approved for the Blue Cash Preferred?
You can use the CardMatch Tool to see if you're pre-approved for an American Express credit card based on your credit profile.
