Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express

The American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card is a relatively straightforward cash back credit card that has no annual fee. While the base earn rate is a mere 1% cash back for most of your spending, it has 3 bonus earn rate spending categories that can really boost your cash back over time.

• American Express Blue Cash Everyday rewards
• 5 American Express Blue Cash Everyday benefits
• 3 American Express Blue Cash Everyday drawbacks
• Amex Blue Cash Everyday vs. Preferred
• Alternatives to the American Express Blue Cash Everyday
• FAQ

American Express Blue Cash Everyday rewards

As a straight up cash back card, one of the most important factors is just how much cash back you'll be able to earn on your everyday spending.

This Amex card has a relatively low base earn rate, but a few spending categories with boosted earn rates:

• 3% cash back at grocery stores, up to $6,000 spent annually,
• 2% cash back at gas stations and select department stores, and
• 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

These are pretty solid earn rates for a no fee credit card.

Amex Blue Cash Everyday welcome bonus

As an added bonus, you'll also be able to earn $150 bonus cash back after spending $1,000 in the first 6 months you have the card.

5 American Express Blue Cash Everyday benefits

While simple, this credit card has a lot going for it.

1. No annual fee

The American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card costs nothing to keep in your wallet. Whether you use it for all of your spending, or you just pull it out at the grocery store, you'll earn cash back on all your purchases without having a pesky annual fee cutting into your rewards.

2. Easy to earn welcome bonus

$150 bonus cash back is a nice treat for a no fee card. To get it, of course, you have to spend at least $1,000 on your card in the first 6 months, but that works out to under $200 a month. Use it for your regular trips to the supermarket, and you'll get there in no time.

3. Base 1% cash back earn rate

No matter what you're buying, you'll get at least 1% cash back when using this card. There are cards with better base cash back earn rates, of course, but the boosted earning categories make this card worth considering.

4. Boosted earn rate in 3 everyday spending categories

While 1% is a bit low, you'll earn from 2% to 3% cash back on the bonus spending categories we discussed above.

These boosted earn rates on some spending categories can add up fast.

5. 0% APR on purchases for the first 15 months

If you have any big ticket purchases coming up, you can take advantage of the Blue Cash Everyday's promotional APR of 0% on purchases for 15 months.

Unfortunately this doesn't apply to balance transfers, so you can't use it to reduce your interest on existing debt, but if you need to carry a balance for a little while, this American Express credit card will help you keep your hard-earned money in your own pocket.

3 American Express Blue Cash Everyday drawbacks

A simple, no fee cash back credit card might seem like a no brainer, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

1. There are other no fee cards with better rates of return

While the boosted earn rates for groceries, gas, and select department stores sound great, once you factor in everything else that only has a 1% rate of return, the average rate of return (based on a typical $2,000 monthly spend), is roughly around 1.5%.

We'll look at some of these alternative credit cards below.

2. Minimal included insurance

The Amex Blue Cash Everyday card only includes 2 types of insurance: purchase protection, and car rental loss and damage insurance. This doesn't even include extended warranty coverage, which is a shame.

3. Few other perks and benefits

And while it's not unexpected that a simple no fee cash back card wouldn't have a bunch of extra perks and benefits, well...they're still nice to have and something to wish for.

If you're looking for a credit card with travel perks or other benefits, you're probably going to want to look at some of the best travel rewards credit cards available. They're often much more expensive, but the perks can make up for that if you're a frequent traveller.

Amex Blue Cash Everyday vs. Amex Blue Cash Preferred

Want to boost your cash back rewards and don't mind paying an annual fee? The American Express Blue Cash Preferred card might be more your speed.

The only real differences between these cards are the Preferred's $95 annual fee, the increased welcome bonus, boosted cash back earn rates, and the addition of Return Protection insurance. Otherwise you're looking at a couple of very straightforward cash back cards.

Comparison of earn rates

But what do these different earn rates actually mean, in the end? Both cards give a base 1% cash back on most purchases, and the bonus rates are on similar-but-not-the-same everyday spending categories.

We crunched the numbers based on a typical $2,000 monthly spend to see how much cash back you'd actually earn with each of these credit cards.

What we found was that the Amex Blue Cash Everyday would earn an estimated $360 cash back over the course of the year, while the American Express Blue Cash Preferred would earn an estimated $498.

Turn that into an average rate of return, and it looks like this:

Based on our typical spend, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred would bring you an extra $138 per year in cash back. But, factor in the $95 annual fee and you're only looking at a difference of $43.

Of course, your mileage may vary – if your spending patterns are significantly different, or if you're using the Blue Cash card just for purchasing groceries or things in other bonus earn rate categories, you may see different numbers than these.

Alternatives to Amex Blue Cash Everyday

Let's take a closer look at some alternatives to the Amex Blue Cash Everyday card.

3 alternative cash back cards, all with no annual fee. It's nice to have some choice and flexibility.

Comparison of earn rates

The earn rates are pretty straightforward, except for the Chase card, which is a bit tricky to figure out. We put them to the test, however, and here's how these 4 cards measure up.

If you're looking for a simple no fee cash back credit card that you can just use for everything, the Citi Double Cash Card might be a better option for you. But, if you want to really maximize your cash back without paying any fees, you might consider using it in combination with the American Express Blue Cash Everyday.

Bottom line

Simple cash back rewards are an enticing proposition for those of us who want to save money without having to think about how best to redeem travel rewards points.

The American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card will give you a solid average rate of return, but would really shine if used in combination with another credit card that has a higher rate of return on all your everyday spending.

FAQ

Is American Express Blue Cash Everyday a good card?

This is a solid no fee cash back credit card with a decent average rate of return, but that really shines when it comes to its bonus earn rate spending categories. On the other hand, there are other no fee cash back credit cards with a higher average rate of return.

Is Amex Blue Cash Preferred better than Everyday?

The American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card will give you a slightly higher average rate of return, but is clearly superior when it comes to its highest earn rate spending categories. You will pay a $95 annual fee to keep it in your wallet, however, which is something you'll have to factor in when deciding whether it's the right card for you.

Is it hard to get an American Express Blue Cash card?

While American Express doesn't have minimum income requirements for getting approved for either of their Blue Cash cards, you will still need a good credit score to qualify for these cards.