American Express Blue Cash Preferred card

Last year, I analyzed the costs and benefits of a few credit cards in this post. Recently, I noticed benefits to the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card that I was not previously aware, so let me provide an additional analysis.

As stated before, the annual fee is $95. The cash back structure is as follows.

• 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%
• 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
• 3% cash back on gas at U.S. gas stations
• 3% cash back on transit (e.g., taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses)
• 1% cash back on other purchases

I thought there was no limit on groceries (in fact, last year I got $557 cash back despite the fact that I only used the card for groceries—maybe some of the redeemed cash back was from the previous year), but apparently the limit is now $6,000 per year. I need to pay attention.

The 6% cash back on streaming and 3% cash back on gas are irrelevant for me, as I don’t use any streaming services, I don’t own a gas car, and even if I drive, the Citi Costco Anywhere Visa card gives 4% cash back, which is better.

The interesting item is 3% cash back on transit. Previously, I thought this benefit was redundant because the Citi Costco Anywhere Visa card gives 3% cash back on travel. However, I discovered that what counts as “travel” is murky, and I discovered rideshare is excluded. From now on, I will use the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card for transit.

In case the reader is interested in getting this card, use this referral link to receive bonus statement credit.