The Amex Blue Cash Everyday card has no annual fee and pays 3% cash back in three places: U.S. supermarkets, U.S. online retail and U.S. gas stations. Each category earns 3% on up to $6,000 a year, then 1%. Everything else earns 1%. That's a simple pitch, and it works best if your spending already lands in those three categories. If groceries are your biggest bill, the Blue Cash Preferred pays more there, but it charges a fee after the first year. This review covers how the Everyday earns, what it costs and who should skip it.
Quick Summary
Best For: Households that spend across groceries, online shopping and gas and don't want an annual fee. Standout Benefit: 3% cash back in three everyday categories with no annual fee. Biggest Drawback: the 3% rates stop at $6,000 a year in each category, and the card charges a foreign transaction fee. Current Offer: Amex's card page says you apply and, if you're approved, find out your offer amount. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for one.
What the Card Is
The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is a cash back card. It earns Reward Dollars, which you can redeem for a statement credit, a deposit into an American Express High Yield Savings Account or at Amazon.com checkout. There's no annual fee. It sits one step below the Blue Cash Preferred, which has higher rates on groceries and streaming and charges an annual fee after its first year. We compare the two below.
How the Earning Works
Amex's Blue Cash Everyday page lists four rates:
- 3% at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $6,000 a year in purchases, then 1%.
- 3% on U.S. online retail purchases, on up to $6,000 a year, then 1%.
- 3% at U.S. gas stations, on up to $6,000 a year, then 1%.
- 1% on other eligible purchases.
The $6,000 limit applies to each category on its own. Amex words the categories as supermarkets, online retail and gas stations, and it applies the rates to eligible purchases. Read the card's terms before you assume a particular store or website counts, especially if you shop at a warehouse club or a store that sells groceries but isn't a supermarket.
Redeeming Reward Dollars
Amex gives three ways to use Reward Dollars. You can take a statement credit, deposit them into an American Express High Yield Savings Account or apply them at Amazon.com checkout. Our article on redeeming Blue Cash Reward Dollars into a high yield savings account covers the savings option.
Amex says your cash back has the same value at Amazon.com checkout as it does when you redeem it as a statement credit, so pick the option that puts the money where you want it.
The Disney Streaming Credit
The card carries an $84 Disney Streaming Credit. You get up to $7 a month as a statement credit after you use your enrolled card for a subscription purchase, including a bundle, on the DisneyPlus.com, Hulu.com or Stream.ESPN.com U.S. websites. Amex says there's no minimum purchase. The subscription is subject to auto-renewal.
This credit only has value if you already pay for one of those services. If you do, it's a monthly offset on a bill you'd pay anyway. If you don't, don't add a subscription to use it.
Other Benefits and Protections
Amex lists a handful of extras on the Everyday card page:
- Amex Offers: you can add offers to the card and earn extra rewards on purchases at select brands.
- Send & Split: send money and split purchases, powered by Venmo and PayPal. Enrollment is required.
- Presale and reserved tickets: access to Amex Presale Tickets and Amex Reserved Tickets for select events, while supplies last.
- Purchase Protection: covers a purchase for up to 90 days from the purchase date if it's stolen or accidentally damaged, up to $1,000 per covered purchase and $50,000 per Card Member account per calendar year.
- Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: secondary coverage when you reserve and pay for the entire rental with the card and decline the rental company's collision damage waiver. It doesn't include liability coverage, and it isn't available for vehicles rented in Australia, Italy and New Zealand.
- Global Assist Hotline: 24/7 emergency help when you travel more than 100 miles from home. You pay the costs the third-party providers charge.
- Balance transfer: you can request one within the first 60 days of account opening. Fees apply.
None of these is the reason to get the card. The earning rates are. Still, the rental car coverage is worth knowing about before you pay for a rental with a different card.
What It Costs
The Everyday has no annual fee. It charges a 2.7% foreign transaction fee on each transaction after conversion to U.S. dollars, so it's the wrong card to pull out abroad. Amex says that if you're approved, it shows you whether you're eligible for an intro APR offer and for how long, so check that before you plan a balance transfer.
How It Compares With the Blue Cash Preferred
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is the obvious alternative. Here's how Amex lists the two:
- Annual fee: the Everyday has none. The Preferred has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- Supermarkets: 3% on the Everyday, 6% on the Preferred, each on up to $6,000 a year, then 1%.
- Online retail: 3% on the Everyday, on up to $6,000 a year, then 1%. The Preferred's page lists its 6% and 3% categories as U.S. supermarkets, select U.S. streaming subscriptions, transit and U.S. gas stations.
- Streaming: 6% on select U.S. streaming subscriptions on the Preferred. Streaming isn't one of the Everyday's three 3% categories.
- Gas: 3% at U.S. gas stations on both. The Everyday's gas rate applies to up to $6,000 a year, then 1%.
- Transit: 3% on the Preferred, covering taxis and rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more. Transit isn't one of the Everyday's three 3% categories.
- Disney Streaming Credit: $84 on the Everyday, up to $7 a month. $120 on the Preferred, up to $10 a month.
- Foreign transaction fee: 2.7% on both.
The choice comes down to where your money goes. If you spend a lot at supermarkets or on streaming, the Preferred's higher rates are built for you, and you can check them against its fee in our Blue Cash Preferred review. If you want no annual fee, or your spending is spread across groceries, online shopping and gas, the Everyday keeps it simple. Our comparison with the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card covers another no-fee option.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- No annual fee.
- 3% in three everyday categories.
- Cash back with several redemption options, including a savings deposit.
- A Disney Streaming Credit that offsets a subscription you may already pay for.
Cons
- Each 3% category stops at $6,000 a year, then drops to 1%.
- A 2.7% foreign transaction fee.
- Lower grocery and streaming rates than the Preferred.
- The categories are narrow, so a store you assume counts may not.
Who Should Get the Blue Cash Everyday
Great fit: a household that buys groceries, shops online and fills a gas tank, wants one no-fee card for all three and doesn't want to track rotating categories. Not ideal: anyone who spends most of their money abroad, anyone who spends heavily at supermarkets and would rather compare the Preferred, and anyone who wants travel points instead of cash.
Final Verdict
If your spending is spread across supermarkets, online retail and gas, the Blue Cash Everyday is a clean, no-fee way to earn 3% where you already shop. If supermarkets or streaming dominate your budget, compare the Preferred before you apply. Skip the Everyday for foreign spending, and don't count on a welcome offer until you see yours in the application. You can apply for the Blue Cash Everyday here.
