Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

My wife and I like this card for grocery store rewards. Credits about every purchase. Gas Stations work about 10% of the time. And its crazy we used to go to the same gas station near out house 50% of the time, but some would count at the 3% and some won't. Call and ask why and they can say, well maybe you didn't pay at the pump... Other purchases in the gas stations work at the 3%. But still no rhyme or reason of what gas stations count or not. The Costco Visa give you 4% at gas stations so don't really need the AMEX for fuel...

My husband and I make back the annual fee (and then some) every month. They have a great "plan it" feature for large purchases, and we put all groceries and gas on this card. I think some reviewers are confusing this card with another one - there are no points, it is cash back. Anything over $25 you can get in a giftcard or as a statement credit. No messing with a complicated points system. This is an excellent everyday card. If you eat out/travel frequently, it's worth getting a second go-to for those purchases, but you really can't beat 6% on groceries and 3% at the pump (and some retailers like Kohls and Macys). Plus, Amex customer service is exceptional.

Do not apply for this card they gave me a limit for 15,000 I did a balance transfer of 11,000 to take advantage of the zero interest rate and I paid it down to 8,400 as agreed with no late payments only to have my credit limit decreased to the outstanding amount which has a zero interest rate that expires in January, so now I have no availability on this card (WTF!) Obviously I'm going to pay this off and not use this card I have no idea why they did this but it's typical of a greedy credit card company that's ****ed that I am not paying interest on the outstanding balance & have had it for just over two years. yes, I am smart &  I don't pay interest if I don't have too, they got the transfer fee then screwed me! Do not, I repeat do not apply for American Express I do not recommend it at all. I a have over 114k In credit card limit with 75% available, with higher limits on 3 of my cards, so I don't really need them, but this behavior affected my score negatively.  I won't cancel because it will hurt my score again, so I am stuck with this low balance CRAP card.

I have six credit cards but I use only my AMEX PREFERRED CASH because the benefits are better than using cash.  I pay the card off every month so I carry no interest monthe to month.  If you are diciplined on your spending and payment habits, this is the card for you.  They raised my limit twice unsolicited and the opening limit was plenty for my monthly use.

I've had this card for a few months and use it exclusively for groceries and gas. I've been with AMEX for 13yrs and this is my first credit card from them (vs charge card). I upgraded my PRG AMEX to the Platinum back in the summer. Now that the Gold card has changed I have picked that up again (keeping Platinum). With the rewards from the Gold card I don't expect to keep this card, but on its own it is a solid card and the best you can get for those categories.

I just upgraded to this card from the Blue Cash Everyday. The $95 annual fee is not great, However, it pays for itself with the 6% cash back at groerie stores, and 3% everywhere else.

Been with AMEX for 13yrs and this is my first credit card with them. I've only ever had charge cards from AMEX in the past but I was looking for something with better rewards for groceries and gas was just a nice kicker. 6% back is hard to beat and though it's unfortunate that it is capped its still a nice card to have in your wallet.

I just got the new Gold card and 4x points at groceries is on that now as well. So I'm not sure if I will be keeping this card or not, but it's a hard one to part with.

Easy to see rewards and easy to redeem. 3% back on gas and 6% on groceries is unbeatable. I pair it up Barclay Arrival+ (2.2% back on across the board) and pull over $1,000/year in rewards between these two.

...then I read all of the reviews and I just want to say thank you to the NW community once again. I was looking for an "everyday" card and thought this was a good fit until I read all of the pitfalls that some people have encountered. I had an AMEX Platinum for 7 years but ditched it when the benefits just never kept up with Chase Sapphire. That is when it became clear that AMEX is selling a brand over a real product.

I've had this card for a year and they've upped my limit twice.  I only use it for travel so I don't charge more than what I can pay off in a month.  My credit score increased substantially within the last year so it's doing the job I got it for.

The best card I have in my wallet. American Express hands down has the best customer service out of any credit card company which makes up for the 95$ annual fee. If you use this as your every day card like suggested, you accumulate points very quickly. Who doesn't spend almost 6000$ in groceries in a year? That brings your cash back just off groceries to 360$. I use this card for everything EXCEPT my emergency purchases. That goes on the American Express dark blue cash magnet. I will be an AMEX customer for life.

Exorbitant $95 annual fee for a $1k credit limit for someone with a 740 credit score with no late patements in 5 years and owns a home and 1/2 cars paid in the past 2 years. That’s nearly a 10% annual fee for a line of credit that you get to use once or twice before your credit utilization goes up to 30-40%. Add the 10% fee onto the APR and you’re basically getting a 36% interest rate. That’s worse than loan sharks. 

i asked them for an increase and they told me to apply for a different card (starwood), to which they gave me $1k again, i had to apply for an increase and they pushed that up to $3k. Because of this new request, they said they can’t do anything to my Preferred. Stay away! Not worth it! 

I love my Chase Sapphire and Reserved 100% more. 

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I didn’t think I’m a million years I would be approved for this card. I have never really had credit so I tried working on mine about 2 years ago. 

 There are several factors that go into getting this card. Your score, credit history, payments history, income, and also how many times you have checked your credit along with other factors. They pulled my Experian credit file, but looked at all 3. So maybe the best thing to do is to make sure they are all concurrent. Know your numbers and your strength. Because just because you are in the 700’s doesn’t mean you automatically qualify. I qualified with about a 677 Experian, 670 Equifax, and 650 Transunion. I have perfect payment history, about 4 years of combined credit history, and 2 recent inquiries. I hope this helps. I don’t have a perfect score or even a high score and I was shaking and nauseated applying for this card. But I got it and The people on the phone were extremely nice during the whole process. Even when they thought I didn’t qualify. They have the best customer service I’ve ever talked to. Btw I hold a slate, quicksilver, and target card. 

Sure, this card comes with a $95 annual fee. But what do you get? Aside from the fantastic Amex customer service, the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card earns an unheard-of 6% CASH BACK on groceries, and 3% CAHS BACK on gas. No other card comes close. Period. Do you spend more than $260 per month on groceries? Do you spend between $50-$75 per month on gas? If so, then the annual fee is worth it. (This is compared to the free Amex Blue Cash Everyday, which earns 3% on groceries and 2% on gas.) This card is just great. This past year alone I've earned more than $400 from cash back and special Amex offers. Seriously consider adding this card to your repertoire, especially if you buy groceries (don't we all?).

Good service, easy to cash out rewards via app or website (not sure what the people having problems were doing but its like three button clicks) and you can easily make back the fee and more.

I just read over some of the reviews stating that the points were impossible to redeem, and that they sat on the phone with apathetic customer service.. I have never found this to be the case.. I have the amex app, which lays everything out well.. It even separates your current account balance from your remaining last statement balance.. So you can easily see the needed payment to avoid interest charges... You can even add special business partner cash back offers from the app. To redeem cash back go to americanexpress.Com/rewarddollars and click on redeem.. Very, very, very simple. You do not have to call.. I once had to dispute a postal charge for stamps that never arrived. Calling the post office to dispute was taking forever and was a ton of red tape.. I called amex and 5 minutes later they had my problem fixed.. Amazing!

By far the best customer service! Great security features, fast process, amazing experience! 

personaly i prefer capital one cards,dont change the amounts of credit

This is hands down one of the best cards for the everyday family. We are a  family of 6, and typically we spend between 500-800 a month in groceries. 150-210 in gas per month.  The only downfall is Walmart is not counted a groceries.. EXCEPT.. Walmart neighborhood grocery stores and grocery pickup and delivery from Walmart. This does code as grocery. 

We typically see a return of 30-36 dollars a month alone from this card. We are not a family that travels often on planes and high end trips, again the average family benefits big from this card. Thank you AMEX! 

I was impressed that I was approved having read all the other reviews; I have been working hard on my credit after a few snafus about 10 years ago. I was approved for $5K with a 659 Exp/657 TU score, 100% ontime payments and credit utilization around 70%.  I pay more than what I owe but I had just made a large purchase so my utilization jumped from the average 50-60% range.  I plan to use this only in emergencies.

I got this card solely for 6% back on groceries. The initial $1,000 limit was disappointing but I used it regularly and literally paid the existing balance in line at the grocery store by using the app. I got a bump to $3,000 and later to $6,000. After about four years I still pull this card out of my wallet most frequently. 

I got this card by upgrading a Blue Cash. Awesome rewards on groceries and gas. So if you eat or drive this card is great.

6% back on groceries is great, but I can get 3% back on gas with other cards. Great customer service though. If you ever stop using it just downgrade.

Was able to apply and do a balance transfer right away

hi, my name is Lise, just want to tell everyone out there, there is No annual Fee on this card, it Is Cash reward card if you use it in restaurants, gas, groceries. Well i use it in Restaurants Only! i don't carry it to the grocery store, / or the Gas Station. Why? i complained about this before. I am 70 , and active 70, but i have problems seeing the Back of this card. I have to refer to my Gold card, which is american express, and always have to ask about my blue cash card. It's because it's clear, it has small print, very small, and i cannot dial the phone number as i cannot see it! i've asked them to do something about it, they said they 'd send it as a suggestion, so far, nothing! So i'm disappointed in this area. As far as i know.... nothing has happened... there's been no outreach from Amex to me.

I got this card when my credit was in the low 700s.  I was actually very surprised that I got approved since I was rebeuilding my credit.  With the incredible 6% on grocery and 3% on gas, it is the go to in our household for those two purposes.  The rewards pay off and the customer service is what AMEX is known for.

Member since '13. For about 80% of my time as a member I've been in a position to pay it to zero every month. I haven't come across another card that touches the 6% and 3% cash back on groceries and gas. Our family of 5 reaps the max benefit on the categories every year. The card totally pays for itself. And AmEx service has always been top-notch. I'm not rich, I'm just responsible, and this card rewards me for it. My credit limit is way more than I'd hope to ever need, and most of the bumps have been automatic. Regarding scores, I think I was around 730 when I applied and I'm currently hovering at 800-810.

great credit card

I applied today with an Experian score of 692. I was approved for a limit of 10,000, making it my highest credit limit. I plan to utilize the zero APR balance transfer and get my credit utilizatiion lower faster.