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Blue Cash Everyday from American Express Card Review

Written by Dayana Yochim
Edited by Carolyn Kimball
Fact-checked by Andrea Coombes

March 12, 2024

Why trust us? Investor.com has no financial relationship with any of the credit card providers whose products we analyze and review. Our opinions are based solely on data and our own extensive independent research — that means unbiased guidance for consumers. Rewards cards in our cashback credit card calculator are listed in descending order according to how much money they pay out annually based on the inputs.

The no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday card includes all the Amex perks while paying a competitive 3% cash back on common, everyday purchases (groceries, gas and online retail therapy). Glow-up features include preapproval (no dings to your credit to see if you qualify) and a Buy Now, Pay Later program offering a dramatically lower interest rate than traditional credit cards charge.

The Blue Cash Everyday Card offers all the goodies you expect in an Amex card: American Express shopping perks and partner deals, elevated awards via Amex Offers, access to supplemental car rental insurance, and a welcome bonus and 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers to boot. These extras — on top of the competitive cash back rewards rates — made it our 2024 investor.com Annual Awards pick for Everyday Essentials Cashback Card.

What else ya got?: Among Amex's lineup of cash back cards, the closest competitor is the flat-rate, no-annual-fee Cash Magnet card. Based on identical monthly spending inputs, an average consumer would earn roughly $20 more in cash back annually with the Blue Cash Everyday card. See more in this side-by-side comparison: American Express Cash Magnet vs Blue Cash Everyday from American Express.

The basics: Earn 3% cash back on groceries, gas, and U.S. online retail purchases on up to $6,000 a year in purchases in each separate bonus category, and then 1% thereafter. All other purchases earn 1% unlimited cash back. 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months from date of account opening. In the first six months earn $200 back after spending $2,000 in purchases.

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Monthly Spend

Spend Categories expand_more

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dining Dining

theater_comedy Entertainment

local_gas_station Gas

shopping_cart Groceries

monetization_on Other

local_pharmacy Pharmacy

card_travel Travel

local_shipping Amazon

storefront Costco

construction Home Improvement

shopping_bag Online Shopping

smart_display Streaming

local_taxi Transit

power Utilities

kitchen Whole Foods

receipt_long Wholesale Clubs

Calculate Cash Back

Blue Cash Everyday from American Express

Cashback Per Year

$...

Annual Fee

Welcome Bonus

$250

Apply Now

Want to compare more cards? Use our full calculator.

Blue Cash Everyday from American Express pros and cons

thumb_up_off_alt Pros

3% cash back at supermarkets, gas stations and on online retail purchases
Welcome bonus and 0% APR on purchases/balance transfers available
Offers installment payment plans
Includes Amex network perks
No annual fee

thumb_down_off_alt Cons

3% rewards spending capped after $6K per year in spending per bonus category
1% cash back on non-bonus category spending and purchases that exceed caps
Not as widely accepted abroad, which may be a blessing because…
Charges a 2.7% foreign transaction fee

Blue Cash Everyday from American Express cashback rewards spending categories

The following table shows the cashback rewards rate per $1 spent in the six most common spending categories. The “Bonus Rate” refers to the amount you can earn in excess of the card’s standard rewards rate.

Some cashback cards limit the spending amount eligible for the bonus rate (aka the “Spend Cap”). Once you hit that cap (e.g., $1,500 spending in a particular category during a defined time period), the rewards rate on future purchases in that category reverts to the lower “Default Rate.”

Category	Default Rate	Bonus Rate	Bonus Spend Cap	Bonus Spend Period (Months)
Gas	1.00%	3.00%	$6,000	12
Travel	1.00%	-	-	-
Dining	1.00%	-	-	-
Entertainment	1.00%	-	-	-
Pharmacy	1.00%	-	-	-
Groceries	1.00%	3.00%	$6,000	12
Other Purchases	1.00%	-	-	-

Note: In addition to groceries and gas, the Blue Cash Everyday card from American Express also pays 3% cash back on U.S. online retail purchases. The same spending cap indicated in the table above applies here, too: You'll earn 3% on your first $6,000 of purchases per year in this category, and 1% cash back after that. We’ve factored this higher rate into the calculator to show your potential earnings.

What we like

3% cash back on groceries, gas, and online shopping is a pretty sweet deal for a no-annual-fee card.

The introductory 15-month 0% APR applies to purchases and balance transfers, making it a lovely welcome gift for those planning big purchases and/or have balances on other cards charging an arm and a leg in interest.

Comes with unique Pay It and Plan It features (through the Amex app). Pay It lets you pay off small purchases (less than $100) right away, earning rewards and avoiding interest. With Plan It, you can create an installment payment plan (on qualifying purchases of $100 or more) for a monthly fee that’s less than your APR. (See Amex’s FAQ for more details.)

Pre-approval protects your credit. American Express allows potential customers to get screened for the Blue Cash Everyday Card before submitting a formal application. Finding out whether you're approved beforehand saves you from the formal sting of rejecting (and subsequent ding to your credit score).

Put your kids to work, child labor laws notwithstanding, by adding them (ages 13-plus) — and employees and your spouse — to the account to help rack up rewards on your behalf.

Card membership includes Global Assist Hotline access in case you need a lawyer, help with lost luggage or a translator to order a decent wine with dinner.

Comes with other American Express card network perks, like car rental loss/damage insurance and purchase protection.

No reward redemption minimums. Cardmembers can redeem reward dollars for statement credits (to lower your balance) or use the money to pay for eligible items at Amazom.com checkout.

More forgiving reward spending caps. Many tiered-rate rewards cards combine multiple bonus categories under a single spending cap. The Blue Cash Everyday card applies the $6K annual spending cap to each separate bonus category. So cardholders earn 3% cash back on up to $18,000 combined in grocery store, gas, and U.S. online purchases per year.

What we don't like

Big spenders may bump up against the rewards spending caps. Maybe you don't pump $6,000 in gas into your tank each year. But if you're buying groceries for a large family or are a single shopper with haute cuisine taste buds, the Blue Cash Everyday's reward spending caps may limit your earning potential within some of the card's bonus categories.

As with most rewards cards, superstores, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, and meal-kit delivery services are not considered "supermarkets" and are therefore ineligible for the 3% cashback rate.

Another note on 3% cashback qualifications: Travel or "entertainment" purchased online do not qualify as "online retail purchases." Same goes for your Instacart order.

The underwhelming 1% default cashback rate applies to everything you don’t buy at a supermarket, gas station or online — and purchases in each bonus category that exceed the $6K annual spending cap . So, basically, a lot... This is why you may want to pair this card with a no-hassle, flat-rate credit card.

That 2.7% foreign transaction fee is a definite downside for international travelers.

Earning the welcome bonus requires a sizeable spend. At least you have six months to rack up enough charges to earn a few hundred bucks. Just make sure you don't use it as an excuse to buy stuff you don't need. /lecture

The bottom line

Is the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express the best rewards card for your wallet? The answer depends entirely on your spending patterns. Let the numbers speak for themselves: Use the investor.com Cashback Credit Card Calculator to see which credit card pays back the highest rewards based on how much you spend each month.

Blue Cash Everyday from American Express fine print

Interested? Get the full lowdown on the American Express Blue Cash Everyday card terms and conditions.

Does the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express charge an annual fee?

No, there is no annual fee for the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express.

tips_and_updates Trivia time!

How common are annual fees? Roughly 17% of the consumer cash back cards we review charge an annual fee. They range from $39 to $99, with an average annual fee of $67.

Does the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express offer a welcome bonus?

Yes, the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express has a welcome bonus of $250.

tips_and_updates Fun fact

More than half (55%) of the consumer cash back credit cards we track in the investor.com database offer a welcome bonus, ranging from $30 up to $300. The average sign-up bonus for new cardholders is $197, with the median being $200.

How much cash back can I earn with the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express?

The average American that spends $1000 per month will earn $201.36 in cash back per year using the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express. For comparison, the average annual rewards payout from the cashback credit cards in the investor.com database is $191.26, and $180 is the median.

These calculations are based on average consumer spending data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the reward payout rates from the providers we track. Of course, you’re so much more than an average data point (aka “consumer unit,” in BLS parlance). The amount you can earn in cashback rewards using the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express depends entirely on your unique spending habits.

Find out exactly how much you’ll rake in with the Blue Cash Everyday from American Express by tailoring the spending inputs in the calculator above.

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Methodology

The results of the investor.com Credit Card Rewards Calculator are based on the monthly spending amounts you enter and the annual dollar value of the rewards each credit card program pays per $1 spent. Credit card companies often express this payout amount as a percentage (e.g., 1.5% of every dollar spent) or on a points basis (e.g. ,1.5 points for every dollar spent). We converted all of them to a dollar amount (“Cash Back Per Year”) to make comparing offers easier.

To calculate the amount of cash back you could earn per year, we factored in:

Spend category inputs: The default dollar values for each “Spend Category” in the Best Cashback Credit Cards tool — gas, groceries, travel, restaurant, entertainment, pharmacy, other — are based on average American spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. We also include additional spend categories (such as streaming services, online shopping, utilities, transit, Amazon and more) to help you see which rewards cards are most closely aligned with your actual spending patterns. We encourage you to customize the monthly spend inputs for the most accurate results.
Tiered rewards rates: If a rewards credit card pays higher cashback rates on certain spending categories (also called “Bonus Rewards”), that difference is reflected in the total “Cash Back Per Year” tally.
Rewards spending caps: Some cards impose category- or time-based limits (monthly, quarterly, annually) that affect the amount of rewards you can earn. For example, a card may pay 3% cash back on groceries on up to $1,000 of spending each quarter, then revert to the base/default rewards rate until the following quarter. We accounted for bonus spending caps and timeframe in the calculations.
Default rewards rates: Purchases that exceed a spending cap are usually subject to a lower default rewards rate (e.g., 1% or 1.5%). We mathed that out too.
Annual fees: If a rewards card charges an annual fee, we deducted that amount from the “Cash Back Per Year” total to provide a true accounting of a card’s annual rewards payout.

What’s not included in the “Cash Back Per Year” total is the cash value of any sign-up/introductory bonus. We highlight any Welcome Bonus separately. While sign-up bonuses can be the most lucrative part of getting a new cashback rewards credit card, not everyone will want or be able to do what it takes to earn the extra cash. (It usually requires spending a certain amount in a specified time period after the card is activated.)

About the Editorial Team

Dayana Yochim

Dayana Yochim has been writing (articles, books, podcasts, stirring speeches) about personal finance and investing for more than two decades, focusing on bringing clarity and the occasional comedic aside to what is often a murky, humorless topic. She’s written for NerdWallet, The Motley Fool, HerMoney.com, Woman’s Day, Forbes, Newsweek and others, and been a guest expert on "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, NPR and wherever they’ll hand her a mic.

Carolyn Kimball

Carolyn Kimball is Managing Editor for Reink Media Group and the lead editor for content on investor.com. Carolyn has more than 20 years of writing and editing experience at major media outlets including NerdWallet, the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News. She specializes in coverage of personal financial products and services, wielding her editing skills to clarify complex (some might say befuddling) topics to help consumers make informed decisions about their money.

Andrea Coombes

Andrea Coombes has 20+ years of experience helping people reach their financial goals. Her personal finance articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MarketWatch, Forbes, and other publications, and she's shared her expertise on CBS, NPR, "Marketplace," and more. She's been a financial coach and certified consumer credit counselor, and is working on becoming a Certified Financial Planner. She knows that owning pets isn't necessarily the best financial decision; her dog and two cats would argue this point.