Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express Benefits & Review for 2024

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The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express isn’t the best card for earning travel rewards but can be an excellent companion for road trips and daily purchases. You can earn up to 3% cash back on purchases and there is no annual fee. 

Here is what you need to know about the Blue Cash Everyday Card and if it’s right for you.

Who is the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card For?

Consider the Blue Cash Everyday Card if you want to earn cash rewards instead of travel rewards. It’s also worth your consideration if you want a no-annual-fee card.

However, this card isn’t international travel-friendly as it has a 2.7% foreign transaction fee. 

Cash back can be the better option for several reasons:

• Your travel purchases don’t align with the travel redemption categories
• Enjoy the redemption flexibility of cash 
• You prefer monthly statement credits to reduce your statement balance

Travel miles can be worth more than cash rewards if you choose the right travel credit card and the best redemption options. Usually, award flights are the most valuable travel award.

However, most travel credit cards require you to book award flights, hotel nights, or rental cars on the credit card booking site instead of directly from the carrier. 

For example, if you book Airbnb stays or don’t like using third-party booking portals like Expedia, it can be difficult to redeem your travel miles.

Other travel credit cards are only beneficial if you are loyal to a particular airline or hotel loyalty program.  If you travel infrequently, a co-brand card with loyalty perks or a flexible rewards card with 1:1 point transfers isn’t helpful for your lifestyle.

A cash rewards card lets you earn bonus points on your largest monthly spending categories like groceries, dining, and gas. And, you have the flexibility of using your rewards to pay for travel or cover other bills when you stay home.

Featured Blue Cash Everyday Card Benefits

These are the most valuable perks of the Blue Cash Everyday Card.

$300 Bonus Cash Welcome Offer

First-time applicants for the Blue Cash Everyday Card can qualify for a signup bonus worth up to $300 cash back.

The first part of the bonus is earning $150 bonus cash after making $2,000 in purchases during the first 3 months.

You can earn the remaining $150 cash bonus by receiving 20% back on the first $750 in Amazon.com purchases (up to $150 back) during the first 6 months. All remaining purchases above $750 earn the standard cash back rate.

This offer isn’t available to previous cardholders who have already earned a Blue Cash Everyday Card signup bonus. You can qualify if you own one of the other Blue Cash cards.

0% Purchase APR for 15 Months

The other introductory offer is a 0% APR on new purchases for the first 15 months. After the promotion period ends, the ongoing APR is a 13.99% to 23.99% variable APR.

This 0% introductory APR also applies to Plan It Select purchases larger than $100. The fixed monthly plan fee is up to 1.33% after the first 15 months.

3% Back on Groceries

The first $6,000 in grocery purchases at U.S. supermarkets earn 3% back. After that, all remaining purchases earn 1% back until the card anniversary.

This is the highest-rewarding purchase category for the Blue Cash Everyday Card. It’s also one of the best rewards rates for a cash back credit card with no annual fee.

2% Back on Gas

This card can be an excellent option for road trips and commuting as U.S. gas station purchases earn unlimited 2% back.

2% Back at Department Stores

Major department store purchases earn 2% back as well. 

Some of the participating stores include:

• Belk
• Bloomingdale’s
• Dillard’s   
• Kohl’s
• Macy’s
• Neiman Marcus
• Nordstroms
• Saks Fifth Avenue

“Big box stores” like Walmart, Target, and Amazon won’t qualify for this bonus category.

1% Back on Standard Purchases

Purchases that don’t qualify for the 3% or 2% bonus categories earn unlimited 1% cash back. Your annual U.S. supermarket spending above $6,000 earns 1% back too.

No Annual Fee

There is no annual fee for the primary card or any additional cards. 

Not having to pay an annual fee means you can keep 100% of your cash rewards and makes this a great card if you only make a few purchases each month but still want to earn rewards.

Other Blue Cash Everyday Card Rewards

The best reason to get this card is to earn cash back on every purchase. These additional features can add extra value.

Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance

Most car rentals are eligible for a complimentary secondary auto rental collision damage waiver (CDW). You will need to decline the rental agency’s CDW coverage to qualify.

24/7 Global Assist Hotline

Another travel perk is the 24/7 Global Assist Hotline that American Express offers free of charge. When traveling at least 100 miles from home, you can call the hotline and get help with urgent travel, medical, financial, and entertainment requests.

Third-party charges apply for any services you receive.

Free Shoprunner Membership

You can enroll in free Shoprunner membership to get free 2-day shipping and complimentary return shipping at participating online retailers.

Amex Offers

In addition to earning up to 3% back on purchases, participating retailers offer one-time bonus cash rewards. The Amex Offers program lets you save money on select online and in-store purchases.

Purchase Protection

Qualifying purchases can qualify for up to $1,000 in purchase protection (up to $50,000 per calendar year). Covered events include accidental loss, damage, and theft within 90 days of the purchase date.

Pay It Plan It

This card qualifies for the Pay It Plan It payment feature. You have flexible options for small and large purchases:

• Pay It: Make multiple payments during the month for purchases smaller than $100
• Plan It: Evenly divide payments for purchases above $100 for several months

This payment feature can be better than paying the ongoing variable purchase APR. Instead, you pay a fixed monthly charge of up to 1.33% and can calculate your total purchase cost.

These purchases earn cash back but the monthly fees can exceed your rewards.

Redeeming Rewards

The only Blue Cash Everyday Card redemption option is cash statement credits. The redemption minimum is $25. 

This redemption minimum is relatively high for a cash back card. It can be difficult to frequently reach this cashout threshold if you have minimal monthly card purchases or use another card for your primary spending.

The statement credit reduces your monthly statement balance but doesn’t apply to your monthly payment.

Card Fees

Here is a review of the Blue Cash Everyday Card fees:

• Annual Fee: $0
• Foreign Transaction Fee: 2.7%
• Purchase APR: 0% for the first 15 months, then 13.99% to 23.99% variable APR
• Plan Fee: 0% for the first 15 months, then up to 1.33% fixed finance charge
• Late Payment: Up to $40
• Returned Payment: Up to $40

You won’t pay any fees if you pay your balance in full each month and don’t make any international purchases.

Credit Cards Similar to the Blue Cash Everyday Card

These cards can be a better fit for your spending habits or rewards preference.

Chase Freedom Unlimited®:

The Chase Freedom Unlimited earns at least 1.5% cash back on purchases: 

• 5% back on travel purchases made on Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3% back at restaurants (includes meal delivery apps) and drugstores
• 1.5% back on all other purchases 

There is no redemption minimum for cash statement credits and bank deposits.

You can also redeem your rewards for gift cards and award travel for 1 cent each. That’s the same redemption value as the cash payouts.

The annual fee is $0 but the foreign transaction fee is 3%.

Chase Freedom Flex℠:

The Chase Freedom Flex is another cash back card without an annual fee. 

You can earn up to 5% back on purchases:

• 5% back on $1,500 in combined purchases on quarterly bonus categories
• 5% back on travel purchases on Chase Ultimate Rewards
• 3% back on dining, meal delivery apps, and at drugstores
• 1% back on non-bonus purchases

There is no redemption minimum for cash back, gift cards, or award travel.

The annual fee is $0 but the foreign transaction fee is 3%.

Blue Cash Preferred Card:

If you’re comfortable paying an annual fee and want cash rewards, the American Express Blue Cash Preferred Card is the bigger sibling to the Blue Cash Everyday Card. 

Card benefits include:

• 6% back at U.S. Supermarkets (on the first $6,000 then 1% back)
• 6% back on select streaming services
• 3% back on transit
• 3% back at U.S. gas stations
• 1% back on all other purchases

The redemption minimum is $25 for cash statement credits. 

The annual fee is $0 for the first year and then $95. International purchases incur a 2.7% foreign transaction fee.

This card makes sense if groceries (up to 6%) and the 3% bonus categories are your most prominent credit card expenses. The extra rewards may easily offset the $95 annual fee. 

Capital One SavorOne:

The Capital One SavorOne has similar but slightly different rewards categories to the Blue Cash Everyday Card.

You will earn unlimited 3% cash back on these purchases: 

• Dining
• Entertainment
• Groceries
• Popular streaming services

All non-bonus purchases earn 1% back.

There are no annual fees or foreign transaction fees.

Citi Double Cash Card

The Citi Double Cash Card earns 2% back on purchases (1% when at the purchase time and 1% when you pay your balance).

The redemption minimum is $25 for cash statement credits, paper checks, and linked Citi bank account deposits.

This flat-rate rewards card can be the better option when most of your monthly spending doesn’t earn bonus points with the Blue Cash Everyday rewards tiers.

The annual fee is $0, although it has a 3% foreign transaction fee.

Capital One VentureOne:

If you still yearn for travel rewards, the Capital One VentureOne earns 1.25x points on every purchase. You can redeem your points for travel statement credits on recent travel purchases, book upcoming trips, or transfer to airlines and hotels.

The card doesn’t have an annual fee or a foreign transaction fee.

The Vacationer’s Final Thoughts

The Blue Cash Everyday Card has one of the highest rewards rates for select lifestyle purchases like groceries and gasoline. If these two expenses are some of your biggest monthly expenses, this card makes it easy to earn bonus rewards without an annual fee.

However, you must be comfortable earning cash statement credits and only being able to redeem your rewards once you reach $25 in cash rewards. 

Cash statement credits can offer more flexibility than travel rewards and this card can consistently earn more on purchases than most $0 annual fee travel credit cards.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.