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Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express review: Solid grocery rewards for no annual fee

Great as an every day, no-annual-fee cash back card.

 /  16 min
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Snapshot

4.6

Bankrate rating
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Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5

Bottom line

The Blue Cash Everyday is one of the most competitive no-annual-fee cash back cards on the market thanks to its impressive rewards rate at U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations, as well as its U.S. online retail purchases bonus category — which can be hard to find on a rewards card.

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2024 Bankrate Awards Winner
15 MONTHS 0% INTRO APR | BEST FOR EVERYDAY REWARDS
Apply now Lock
on American Express's secure site
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
  • Rewards value
    Rating: 4 stars out of 5
    4 / 5
    APR
    Rating: 1 stars out of 5
    1 / 5
    Rewards flexibility
    Rating: 2 stars out of 5
    2 / 5
    Features
    Rating: 3 stars out of 5
    3 / 5
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
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Recommended Credit
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Intro offer

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1% - 3%

Rewards rate

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Annual fee

Regular APR

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express Card overview

As far as no-annual-fee cards go, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is one of your best options for earning rewards on everyday spending. The card offers strong, year-round cash back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. online retailers. In fact, the Blue Cash Everyday is one of few cards to offer ongoing, boosted cash back for U.S. online retail purchases, which is a potentially valuable category if you frequently shop online. 

While the Blue Cash Everyday card’s generous rates in everyday categories can make it a great fit for many shoppers, it’s not the strongest cash back card on the market. Some cards include more bonus categories or offer greater rewards on all purchases, giving them more cash back potential if you don’t spend heavily at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations or U.S. online retailers. And if you’re willing to pay an annual fee, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express could offer even more cash back on groceries than the Blue Cash Everyday.

That said, while the Blue Cash Everyday card’s generous rates in everyday categories can make it a great fit for many shoppers, it may not be the most lucrative option. Some cards include additional bonus categories or offer rewards at a higher flat rate on all purchases, giving them more cash back potential for cardholders who don’t spend heavily at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations or U.S. online retailers.  And if most of your spending goes toward U.S. supermarket purchases and you’re willing to pay an annual fee, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express could offer even more value than the Blue Cash Everyday.

  • Credit Card Cash Back

    Rewards

    • 3 percent cash back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. online retail purchases of up to $6,000 per calendar year in purchases in each category (then 1 percent)
    • 1 percent cash back on other purchases

    Expert Appraisal: Exceptional
    See our expert analysis

  • Rewards

    Welcome offer

    • Earn a $200 statement credit after you spend $2,000 in purchases on your new card within the first six months

    Expert Appraisal: Typical
    See our expert analysis

  • Credit Card Apr

    0% APR offer

    • 0 percent intro APR on purchases for 15 months from the date of account opening
    • 0 percent intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months from the date of account opening (greater of $5 or 3 percent balance transfer fee)
    • 19.24 percent to 29.99 percent variable ongoing APR

    Expert Appraisal: Good
    See our expert analysis

  • Credit Card Search

    Rates and fees

    • No annual fee
    • Cash advance fee: The greater of $10 or 5 percent of the amount advanced
    • Foreign transaction fee: 2.7 percent of each transaction after conversion to U.S. dollars
    • Late payment fee: Up to $40
    • Returned payment fee: Up to $40
    • Overlimit fee: None

    Expert Appraisal: Typical
    See our expert analysis

  • Congrats

    Other cardholder perks

    • Pay It, Plan It
    • American Express Experiences
    • Global Assist® Hotline
    • Dispute Resolution
    • Complimentary ShopRunner Membership
    • The Disney Bundle credit

    Expert Appraisal: Good
    See our expert analysis

Blue Cash Everyday card pros and cons

Pros

  • Checkmark

    It offers a solid mix of rewards categories with generous rates for no annual fee.

  • Checkmark

    Its U.S. online retail shopping reward category is unique compared to what other rewards cards offer.

  • Checkmark

    It includes a competitive introductory APR offer on purchases and balance transfers.

Cons

  • Wholesale clubs and superstores like Target and Walmart don’t count as U.S. supermarkets in the card’s bonus category.

  • If you pay late or miss a payment, you’ll incur a penalty fee of up to $40 and a higher penalty APR that lasts at least six months (see rates and fees).

  • It has a 2.7 percent foreign transaction fee (see rates and fees) that makes spending abroad costly.

Why you might want the Blue Cash Everyday Card

The Blue Cash Everyday card is a great choice if you’re just getting started with cash back rewards and aren’t quite ready to commit to a rewards card with an annual fee. Its cash back program is simple and rewards you for common household purchases.

Rewards rate: Simple cash back for everyday staples

The Amex Blue Cash Everyday earns cash back at the same generous rate in multiple categories, making it easy to track your earnings and manage your cash back strategy. You can earn 3 percent cash back on your first $6,000 in spending per category (then 1 percent), per calendar year in each of the following:

  • U.S. supermarket purchases
  • U.S. gas station purchases
  • U.S. online retail purchases
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Bankrate Insight

It’s worth noting that although Amex markets them as cash back cards, American Express Blue Cash cards earn “Reward Dollars.” American Express’s simple rewards program lets you redeem these rewards as statement credits or at Amazon.com checkout. 

Benefits: Cardholder perks carry value beyond cash back

Not many no-annual-fee cards offer perks with monetary value, but the Blue Cash Everyday card has two notable perks that outclass what even some annual fee cards carry. 

The most notable is the Disney Bundle credit, which is one of the best streaming perks on any rewards card. When you spend $9.99 or more each month on an eligible subscription to the Disney Bundle, you’ll get $7 back each month (enrollment required; subject to auto-renewal) —  about a 54 percent discount. Since the Disney Bundle includes popular streaming services Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, this gives the card an impressive amount of additional value, especially for households with kids, sports fans and binge watchers. This perk alone will get you close to offsetting the annual fee on many rewards cards.

The Everyday card also includes a complimentary ShopRunner membership for as long as your card is active. You’ll need to enroll first, but when you pay with your card, you receive free two-day shipping and returns with participating retailers. This perk is especially nice because it pairs well with the Blue Cash Everyday card’s 3 percent cash back for U.S. online retail purchases.

Intro APR: Intro offers and Pay It Plan It form a user-friendly combo

This card’s introductory APR is quite good for a no-annual-fee cash back card, as many cards typically offer just one type of intro APR offer. It pairs well with American Express’s exclusive Pay It Plan It program: the intro APR offer gives you breathing room on purchases or balance transfers, and you can also carry a balance while avoiding interest charges on eligible purchases with the Plan It feature.

Rather than add new purchases directly to your balance and accumulate interest, Pay It allows you to pay upfront for qualifying purchases less than $100. Plan It lets you combine up to 10 purchases of more than $100 each into extended payment plans for a fixed fee.

Of the two Pay It Plan It features, Plan It is more useful since it can allow you to make several large purchases and pay them off over time without paying interest, for a small fee. However, you should always calculate your Plan It fees ahead of time to determine if the fixed plan fee is more affordable than the interest you would pay at the card’s regular APR. Fortunately, you can enjoy $0 intro plan fees on Plan It monthly installment plans for your first 15 months with the card. After that, you’ll have the normal monthly plan fee of up to 1.33 percent of each purchase amount moved into the plan based on its plan duration. The card’s regular APR would otherwise apply to the purchase.

Why you might want a different cash back card

If you want to avoid fees or you want a more attainable welcome offer, you should look elsewhere. You may also find the annual spending caps on its best rewards rates a burden if you’re a big spender.

Welcome offer: High spending requirement on a no-annual-fee card

The Blue Cash Everyday card’s welcome offer is the same as what you can expect on most other no-annual-fee credit cards, but its spending requirement is twice as high as comparable cards. Although you have a longer-than-average period to meet the spending requirement, chasing the bonus could lead to overspending if you don’t usually spend $2,000 on your credit card in six months.

A total bonus value of up to $200 is impressive for a no-annual-fee cash back card. But the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards credit card and Citi Custom Cash® Card — two other terrific, no-annual-fee cash back cards — have welcome offers of equal value and lower spending requirements than the Blue Cash Everyday (See Rates & Fees for the Capital One SavorOne). The Custom Cash card requires spending $1,500 in the first six months, while the Capital One SavorOne only requires cardholders to spend  $500 in the first three months.

Fees: Transaction fees and penalties can add up quickly

Aside from an annual fee, the Blue Cash Everyday card charges just about every typical card fee. Although it’s not unusual for a cash back card to charge fees for late or returned payments, many similar cards don’t charge foreign transaction fees. 

Plus, if you’re new to rewards cards or aren’t the most practiced credit user, you could risk missing a payment, which would incur a pricey fee. Fees for missed and late payments combined with interest that builds on your balance at this card’s regular APR can quickly amount to more money than you might be able to pay off.

Spending cap: A $6,000 limit may be too low for some cardholders

Spending limits can be restrictive for cardholders who use one card for all purchases. The Blue Cash Everyday card is a great pick because it includes several categories in its best rewards tier. However, if you spend more than the card’s $6,000 spending cap in each boosted category, you might want to pair it with another card to continue maximizing your earnings.

According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the average American household spends around $5,700 a year on groceries. This cuts it close to the Blue Cash Everyday’s $6,000 yearly spending cap for that category. If you spend more than $500 a month on groceries, then you’ll hit the cap before the end of the year and the card’s U.S. supermarket category’s cash back rate drops to 1 percent.

We tried it: Here’s what our experts say

The Blue Cash Everyday Card is a card Katie Genter, a travel rewards specialist at The Points Guy, had recommended to her parents.

My parents dislike paying annual fees, and many of their purchases are for groceries at U.S. supermarkets and online retail purchases with U.S. merchants. So, the Blue Cash Everyday Card’s lack of an annual fee and 3 percent cash back categories are a good fit for their lifestyle.

— Katie Genter, Senior Writer, The Points Guy

How the Amex Blue Cash Everyday compares to other cash back cards

Since its launch, the Blue Cash Everyday Card has held its own against many of the best rewards cards. But if you typically make purchases outside the Everyday card’s bonus categories, you could get better value with a competing cash back rewards card.

Image of Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
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See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
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on American Express's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

Earn $200
Info

Rewards rate

1% - 3%
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
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Image of Citi Double Cash® Card
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Citi's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

$200 cash back
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Rewards rate

1% - 5%
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Fair to Good (580 – 740)
Info
Image of Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on American Express's secure site

Annual fee

$0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.

Intro offer

Earn $250
Info

Rewards rate

1% - 6%
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info

Best cards to pair with this card

The best cards to pair with the Blue Cash Everyday card earn boosted rewards in categories that American Express doesn’t include in the Blue Cash Everyday card’s 3 percent tier.  A flat-rate rewards card would also work well if you make frequent purchases outside common rewards categories.

Who is the Blue Cash Everyday card right for?

The Blue Cash Everyday’s categories best benefit these kinds of people.

Bankrate’s Take — Is the Amex Blue Cash Everyday worth it?

The Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express is worth it if you want to earn excellent cash back in common categories such as groceries, gas and online shopping without paying an annual fee. However, if you don’t do much online shopping, fear you might run into the card’s spending cap or don’t mind paying an annual fee, you might look to other popular cash back cards for a better value.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday Card, please click here.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred Card, please click here.

Eligibility and Benefit level varies by card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefits guide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.

All information about the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The issuer did not provide the content, nor is it responsible for its accuracy.

How we rated this card

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We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). 

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:

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Written by
Brendan Dyer
Associate Editor, Credit Cards

Brendan Dyer holds a Master of Fine Arts in Journalism from Western Connecticut State University and worked previously as a content editor for Regional News Network, a hyper-local TV news station contracted by Verizon FiOS1 News. As a national service volunteer, Brendan exercised a passion for helping underserved communities and demographics through direct, community service. He constantly seeks to apply his expertise as a journalist to the field of personal finance with the goal of helping people navigate the complexities of the credit card industry.

Edited by Senior Editor, Credit Cards

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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.